BritPopCast

As a member of arguably two of Britain’s most iconic bands, Peter Hook has had a front row view of some very special musical moments. In the first of two parts, Hooky talks Joy Division, New Order, getting sober, naughty Ibiza holidays with The Happy Mondays and how to this day he still feels nerves stepping out on stage.

Keyboardist in the Inspiral Carpets Clint Boon laid part of the foundation for Madchester and Britpop. After the band split it took Clint back to reality but also to solo success and a new career as a DJ and broadcaster. With Paul and George he looks back on the lasting friendships of the Manchester scene, how Noel Gallagher was his roadie and selling merch financed the band’s first album.

In what the NME described as “the new acoustic movement” Starsailor scored a massive Platinum debut album with further success to follow. Frontman James Walsh joined the BritPopCast to talk about the birth of the band, going onto work with the legendary but now disgraced producer Phil Spector, conflict with Oasis and being joined on-stage by Peter Kay.

Britpop’s PR pioneer and the author of the brilliant Lunch With The Wild Frontiers: A History Of Britpop And Excess in 13 and a 1/2 Chapters, Jane Savidge joins Paul and George to talk representing Suede, the birth of Elastica and taking calls from 10 Downing Street. Jane was the beating heart of Britpop PR and not only saw it all, was the start of it all.

Rick McNamara and his brother Danny began Embrace at the bottom of their garden in a shed before going on to release 7 studio albums to date. Their albums Out of Nothing and This Day have been given the reissue treatment so it seemed like an ideal time for George and Paul to revisit 90s tales of label bidders wars after sending out the band’s demo, scoring numbers ones, some slight agro with Oasis and how a stag-do led to a KFC advert.

George and Paul are taken through Shed Seven's formation and first gig by frontman Rick Witter plus almost breaking the abstinence of a true American rock n' roll legend, the success of Shedcember and accidentally writing a new record.

Jagz Kooner is the king of remixes in the 90s working with the likes of Primal Scream, but not only that he formed part of The Sabres of Paradise with the late legend Andrew Weatherall. In this episode he talks to Paul and George about how he began his musical career, how that journey brought him to the attention of what would become his band mate Andrew Weatherall and from famously remixing Primal Scream and many lost night on tour with the likes of Primal Scream and The Dust Brothers who would become The Chemical Brothers.

Rowetta takes Paul and George on a trip as she recalls setting her sights on being in The Happy Mondays, who she had to win a competition to make it on tour whilst in the band, reliving the drama of a Bargain Hunt Scandal and the reveal of how she’s been sampled by a band you would not expect.

Which member of Oasis was fast asleep photographing the now iconic album cover for Be Here Now? Before that, how was Berwick Street chosen for (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? How do you react when Noel Gallagher asks you to come up with an idea on the spot after listening to Shakermarker?

Welcome to the BritPopCast with George Lewis and Paul McCaffrey. In our debut episode we get the pleasure of speaking to Brian Cannon, a man who’s work you’ve laid eyes on more times than you’ve realised. We get into how a start in graffiti led to creating Oasis’ iconic logo and being the vision behind The Verve’s album artwork.