Classic Song Chats

She's Not There was a number 1 in America and was the debut single from The Zombies - a quintet from St Albans. More than 60 years later, the surviving band members are set to reunited at a festival for fans.

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

Ways to support the channel:

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Echo Beach, one of the greatest New Wave singles of all time. And here to tell the story of the song and the band, are writer, Mark Gane, and singer, Martha Johnson, of Martha and the Muffins.

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

Ways to support the channel:

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 1969, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull came up with a flute-driving progressive rock song in 5/4 time that unexpectedly became a hit that inspired many, including Sting.

In this interview with host, Des Burkinshaw, Ian Anderson tells the story behind the song, but also ruminates on a wide range of subjects outside music.

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

Ways to support the channel:

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was it like to create one of the defining songs of the 1980s?

Des Burkinshaw, your host, sat down with Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins on Classic Song Chats, to find out.

Tom talks about the story behind their huge hit “Hold Me Now” — the song that became one of the most recognisable and enduring anthems of the era.

Tom takes us behind the music, sharing insights into songwriting, recording, production, fame and life at the height of the Thompson Twins' success.

We also revisit one of the most extraordinary moments in the band's career: their legendary Live Aid performance in Philadelphia in 1985, including the unforgettable appearance of Madonna and Nile Rodgers.

Tom also reflects on the Thompson Twins' remarkable journey, the realities of international fame, his approach to writing and producing music, and what he has learned throughout an extraordinary career.

If you love 80s music, new wave, synth-pop, songwriting, and music history this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

#TomBailey #ThompsonTwins #HoldMeNow #LiveAid #80sMusic #80s #MusicInterview #MusicPodcast #ClassicSongChats #DesBurkinshaw

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and more.

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Please subscribe to the channel* Or at least hit the hype button!

Lol Creme tells the story behind Cry - one of the most distinctive songs and promotional videos of the 1980s.

In this extended episode of  @ClassicSongChats , Lol looks back at the making of the song, which he created with legendary producer Trevor Horn, and discusses how the track evolved into the record we know today.

He tells host, Des Burkinshaw, the story behind the song's famous promotional video, exploring the ideas, technology and creative decisions that made it such an enduring piece of music-video history.

But Cry is just one part of an extraordinary career, now in it's 7th decade. Lol talks about his years with 10cc, the formation and work of Godley & Creme, and his pioneering career as a director of promotional videos, and his return to live work in recent times with the Trevor Horn Band.

He recalls working with some of the defining artists of the 1980s, including Duran Duran, The Police and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and reflects on the extraordinary creative possibilities that opened up when music and film began to collide in a new way.

From 10cc and Trevor Horn to Godley & Creme and some of the most memorable promotional videos of the MTV era, this is a rare chance to hear Lol Creme telling the story in his own words.

If you love 80s music, new wave, synth-pop, songwriting, and music history this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

#LolCreme #GodleyandCreme #KevinGodley #TrevorHorn #10cc #80sMusic #80s #MusicInterview #MusicPodcast #ClassicSongChats #DesBurkinshaw

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sheila Chandra is one of the most distinctive and influential British-Asian voices to emerge from the British music scene of the 1980s. In this in-depth interview with host, Des Burkinshaw, Sheila reflects on her remarkable life and career — from her teenage years and the formation of Monsoon, through her pioneering solo work for Indipop Records, her extraordinary albums for Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, and ultimately the medical condition that brought her singing career to an end.

At just 17, Sheila Chandra became the lead singer of Monsoon and found herself at the centre of an extraordinary musical experiment. In 1982, Monsoon’s “Ever So Lonely” combined Indian musical influences, raga-based ideas, tabla and contemporary pop production to create something that was unlike almost anything else being heard in the British mainstream at the time. The single became a major UK hit and Sheila appeared on Top of the Pops, making a particularly powerful impression on young British Asians who had rarely seen themselves represented in that way on mainstream television.

Here is that Top of the Pops clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6B8l1fWu8&list=RDlP6B8l1fWu8&start_radio=1

Monsoon’s success, however, was relatively short-lived. The group’s debut album, Third Eye, remains an important landmark in the history of East-West musical fusion, but Sheila soon became frustrated with the pressures and expectations of the record business. Rather than simply pursue another conventional pop career, she returned to the independent Indipop label, where she was able to develop her own musical ideas and explore the possibilities of her voice.

The result was a fascinating sequence of albums including Out on My Own, Quiet, The Struggle, Nada Brahma and Roots and Wings. These records document Sheila's evolution from pop singer to an increasingly adventurous and independent artist. She explored Indian and Western musical traditions, drones, rhythm, vocal textures and, increasingly, the human voice as an instrument in its own right.

In this interview, Sheila talks about this period of her career and the freedom that working with Indipop gave her. Her approach was unusual for the time: rather than fitting herself into an established musical category, she was gradually creating her own musical language.

That journey eventually brought her to Peter Gabriel’s Real World label.

Sheila’s Real World recordings became some of the most acclaimed and adventurous music of her career. Her trilogy of albums — Weaving My Ancestors’ Voices (1992), The Zen Kiss (1994) and ABoneCroneDrone (1996).Rather than treating the voice simply as a vehicle for lyrics and melody, Sheila explored drones, overtones, vocal ornamentation and the extraordinary range of sounds that a single human voice can produce.

In 2009, Sheila developed Burning Mouth Syndrome, a chronic condition that caused severe discomfort and made speaking and singing increasingly difficult. By around 2010–2011, singing had become impossible, effectively forcing her to retire from the profession that had defined so much of her life.

What's likely to be her final album, Echo, is released by Real World on September 25. It's a stunning collection reworked from old live tapes.

This episode is part of the first season of ⁨@ClassicSongChats⁩ in which Des Burkinshaw interviews his favourite artists, about his favourite records of all time. Season 1 artists already recorded include The Thompson Twins, Buggles, PP Arnold, Jona Lewie, Manfred Mann, 10cc, Nancy Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Men Without Hats, Talking Heads, and many more. All season 1 episodes are being released before Christmas 2026.

Subscribe now to make sure you never miss an episode. A few episodes with low quality video will only be available on audio sites.

You can also buy me a coffee to help support the channel - and while you're there, make a suggestion for a song you would like to see covered.

https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mari Wilson first made her mark on British pop in the early 1980s, arriving with an unmistakable look, a towering beehive and a sound that drew affectionately on the glamour and musical style of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her breakthrough came with “Just What I Always Wanted”, which reached No. 8 in the UK singles chart in 1982, followed by her debut album Showpeople and further chart success, including her much-loved version of “Cry Me a River”.

But there is considerably more to Mari Wilson's story than one iconic song and one iconic hairstyle. Alongside The Wilsations, she became one of the most distinctive performers of the period, bringing together pop, soul, humour, glamour and a very strong sense of theatre. Her appearances on Top of the Pops helped establish her as one of the memorable personalities of the era, while her live performances demonstrated that there was a serious vocalist and performer beneath the larger-than-life image.

Mari is just about to release a new solo album of breezy 60s influenced pop, Girl About Town, as well as performing a couple of full-band shows in the UK.

Check https://www.mariwilson.co.uk for details.

As her career developed, Mari moved beyond the pop world and explored jazz, performing extensively in live venues and building a reputation as a versatile and accomplished singer. That later work became an important part of her musical identity, allowing her to explore different material and develop a repertoire that reached well beyond the hits that had first made her famous. She has subsequently continued to combine pop, jazz and soul influences in her performances and recordings.

And now, in the latest episode of Classic Song Chats, Wilson joins Des Burkinshaw for an extended conversation about her life and career in music.

Subscribe now to make sure you never miss an episode. A few episodes with low quality video will only be available on audio sites.

You can also buy me a coffee to help support the channel - and while you're there, make a suggestion for a song you would like to see covered.

https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

#MariWilson #80spop #femalesinger #80sMusic #80s #MusicInterview #MusicPodcast #ClassicSongChats #DesBurkinshaw

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this fascinating and in-depth 45-minute interview, Des Burkinshaw talks to Tom McGuinness, guitarist and founder of McGuinness Flint, about the making of one of the great records of the early 1970s – When I’m Dead and Gone.

Tom takes us right back to the beginning, from his years as a key member of Manfred Mann, one of the defining bands of the British Invasion, to the formation of McGuinness Flint with drummer Hughie Flint.

We hear the story behind the band, how Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle came into the picture, and how two young Scottish songwriters who had been working with Apple Records became responsible for the song that would give McGuinness Flint their breakthrough hit.

Tom talks in detail about the writing and recording of When I’m Dead and Gone, the musicians involved, the sessions with producer Glyn Johns, and the extraordinary speed with which the record came together. The single reached No. 2 in the UK charts and helped establish McGuinness Flint as one of the most distinctive groups of the period.

But this interview goes much further than one famous song.

Tom recalls his time with Manfred Mann, working alongside some extraordinary musicians, the transition from bass back to guitar, the decision to leave the group, and what it was like to be part of the British music scene during those remarkable 1960s years.

There are also plenty of stories about Hughie Flint, Gallagher & Lyle, the recording of the first McGuinness Flint album, the pressures that came with sudden success, and what happened when the original line-up began to come apart.

A wonderful opportunity to hear it all from the man who was there.

If you love McGuinness Flint, Manfred Mann, British rock and folk-rock, or the story behind classic records, I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation.

#TomMcGuinness #McGuinnessFlint #WhenImDeadAndGone #ManfredMann #GallagherAndLyle #BritishInvasion #ClassicRock #musichistory

Ways to support the channel:

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was it really like to be at the heart of the British music explosion of the 1960s?

In this in-depth 77-minute interview, Paul Jones, the legendary original singer and harmonica player of Manfred Mann, talks to host, Des Burkinshaw, about the music, the friendships, the hits — and some remarkable stories that you may never have heard before.

Paul takes us back to the beginning of Manfred Mann and the astonishing rise of the band, including the story behind their massive worldwide hit “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.”

But then the conversation takes some fascinating turns.

Paul reveals stories about his connections with The Rolling Stones, life inside the British music scene at the height of the 1960s, and what happened when he made the decision to leave Manfred Mann.

And then there’s Abbey Road...

Paul recalls an extraordinary recording session where Paul McCartney and Jeff Beck were among the musicians involved. Hearing him tell the story firsthand gives a remarkable insight into just how interconnected — and sometimes unbelievable — the British music scene of the 1960s really was.

From Manfred Mann and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” to The Rolling Stones, Abbey Road, Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck and his career after leaving the band, this is a deeply personal journey through one of the most exciting periods in popular music history.

77 minutes of stories, memories and first-hand accounts from a man who was there.

Looking for ways to support the channel:?

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Carrack sang 3 of the biggest hits of all time - How Long by Ace, Tempted by Squeeze and The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics. In this Classic Song Chat with host, Des Burkinshaw, Paul goes into the ins and outs of being a band in the 70s, how a career can unfold unexpectedly and why his son started looking up to him when he found out he did session work for The Smiths.

Classic Song Chats features chats with the original artists behind some of the greatest pop records of all time. Between now and Christmas 2026, episodes will drop every few days featuring artists from the 60s to the 00s - Nancy Sinatra, Blue Mink, PP Arnold, Hue and Cry, 10cc, Pilot, McGuinnes Flint, Manfred Mann, Monsoon, Godley and Creme, Wings, The Beach Boys, Jona Lewie, Men Without Hats, Tasmin Archer and many more.

Des Burkinshaw, a former BBC/ITV music TV producer and journalist at The Times/The Mirror and contributor to Mojo, Q etc, is also a songwriter/music producer and host of the Without the Beatles podcast.

Ways to support the channel:

You can subscribe or how about buying me a coffee?!

buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Thanks!

A video version of every episode is also available on youtube.

If you can afford to, please support the show by buying us a coffee. https://www.https://buymeacoffee.com/classicsongchats

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.