A season’s worth of passports, flight cases, and stories converge in a finale that refuses to fade to black. We trace the hidden arteries of live music—from a retired tour pro’s poolside idea to a globe‑spanning set of conversations with production managers, security pros, artists, superfans, and the die‑hards who kept sound and light alive in deserts, ferries, and freezing tarmacs.

We start where tours truly begin: backstage. Jake Duncan’s leap from a drum shop to Bay City Rollers and Wham captures the chance encounters that bend lives, while Steve Martin drops us into the command centre of Live Aid and the pressure of delivering David Bowie’s vision when a stage design suddenly isn’t big enough. Then the energy tilts to pure rock and roll with Stan Urban, who turns hoovers into instruments, weddings into gigs, and remembers jamming with Robert Plant before Ibiza swapped poets for package flights. It’s messy, joyful, and proof that invention beats perfection when the clock hits showtime.

The road stretches East as promoter Yatzek Slotala guides Pink Floyd past the Iron Curtain with a bag of rubles, a borrowed Air Force plane, and nerves of steel. He helps Tina Turner rebuild Private Dancer on Central European stages with borrowed backlines and bulletproof grace. In India, Rock Machine becomes Indus Creed as Uday Benegal explains why a name can trap you and how original songs, scrappy trains, and a sedated fox terrier named Scooby wrote their origin story. Two superfans rewind to first gigs—Genesis with Peter Gabriel’s theatre and Rory Gallagher’s raw voltage—reminding us why live music burns into memory.

We swing through France on a chaotic bus of Glasgow bands—Franz Ferdinand among them—proving that if your town lacks a scene, you make one, even if chairs go overboard on the ferry. Security steps forward with rare warmth as Ronnie Franklin reflects on three decades protecting George Michael, including a holstered‑gun scare diffused with calm and kindness. Finally, we walk the Memphis Mansion in Denmark, where a Rat Pack‑serenaded piano still sings, and head to the Gulf with the “desert rats,” who fought heat, sand, and fried dimmers so the show could go on.

Hit play for craft, chaos, and heart from Wham to Pink Floyd, Elvis to Indus Creed. If these stories moved you, follow the show, rate us, and share your first live gig memory—what was the song that changed everything?

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We relive how comedy, concerts, and sheer grit brought modern live entertainment to the Gulf, from Billy Connolly and Lenny Henry to Bollywood stadium spectacles and ballet on the beach. Heat, customs, and failing gear tried to stop us; diplomacy, craft, and humour carried the day.

• British comedians breaking new ground across the Gulf
• Jasper Carrot’s late-career surge and Lenny Henry’s airport pranks
• Cancelled shows, customs hiccups, and strict cultural lines
• Bootleg tapes, censored artwork, and local media quirks
• Airport systems for moving bands and gear fast
• Indian and Arabic weddings with complex technical limits
• The Sharjah Bollywood epic with camels, horses, and balloons
• Gypsy Kings rescue plan after lighting failure
• Ballet under blistering lights and DIY power solutions
• Winning over electricians and hotel crews through respect
• Saudi gigs, Sadiqi stories, and a narrow escape
• Shout-outs to crews, mentors, and long-time colleagues

Go to YouTube for the video version of this podcast. There’s a link is- https://youtu.be/e0Yjm_wJSBA and some fabulous images of the Deserts Rats in action  and more ...

If you would like to have a podcast production for your organisation, get in touch with me:[email protected]

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email [email protected]

In this, the first of two parts, we trace how a small team of promoters and techs hauled second-hand gear, charmed airlines, and built a live music circuit across the Gulf in the 80s. Stories of burning dimmers, poolside plotting, cultural shows in ballrooms, 

A concert scene doesn’t just appear; someone has to drag it across borders, bolt it together in the heat, and pray the dimmers don’t catch fire. We look back at how a handful of stubborn promoters and techs built a touring circuit across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Al Ain, Bahrain and Kuwait in the 1980s, bringing Tina Turner, Duran Duran, Meat Loaf, UB40 and more to a region with almost no infrastructure.

Russell is joined by lighting mastermind Graham Trudgeon and sound engineer Kevin Winder to unpack the grind behind the glamour. The stories are vivid: second-hand Tasco and Brit Row rigs arriving as “excess baggage,” lighting plans sketched from the swimming pool because the stage sat at the deep end, and follow spots that fought back with live shocks. There’s the Hyatt Ballroom turned into a three-hour Meat Loaf marathon with a smart blackout to dodge a kiss, UB40 dressing room brawls that vanished by breakfast, and Chris Rea touring with a plumber’s bag while borrowing socks from the crew.

Beyond rock, the team staged cultural shows that made improbable sense: Bolshoi stars on the beach with scene changes in the wind, Swan Lake in tracksuit bottoms for Kuwait’s conservative venues, and Cossack dancers leaping off stages that were a size too small. Local heroes like Sharif, the James Brown lookalike truck driver, powered the whole effort—hauling gear up mountains, surviving electrified follow spots, and delivering hot food to remote plateaus. Promoters and hotel GMs covered pools to build stages, charmed airlines for baggage, and kept audiences coming back for more, night after night.

It’s a portrait of resilience, ingenuity and mischief that laid the foundations for today’s polished Gulf live industry—air‑conditioned warehouses, reliable rigs, and arena-level shows. If you love live music, touring history, or stories of impossible projects pulled off with tape and nerve, this one hits hard. Enjoy the ride, then subscribe, rate and share so more people can discover the desert rats who made the music happen.

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We tour Memphis Mansion with Hendrik Knudsen and Stan Urban, tracing the stories behind Elvis’s TCB chain, the Johnny Cash exhibits, and the spirit that keeps rock and roll alive. We balance myth and memory, dig into Colonel Parker, and plan a return when July’s residency hits.

 From the sparkle of the first TCB chain to the quiet authority of gold records and stage clothes, we follow the artefacts that carry stories—why they exist, what they meant to the artists, and how they still teach us what great performance looks like.

We don’t dodge the complicated parts. Colonel Tom Parker’s shadow looms large, and we unpack his savvy early moves, his infamous contracts, and the instinct to turn grief into blame after Elvis’s death at 42. That nuance opens a wider conversation about how mid-century music was sold, the cost of fame, and the difference between myth and the machinery that keeps a career on the road. Hendrik shares candid memories of working with members of Elvis’s band—the Jordanaires, the Imperials, the TCB band—threading living voices into the archive.

The path then turns to Johnny Cash and the second museum built during COVID, where the American recordings help reintroduce a legend with stripped-back power. Add a replica of Elvis’s Tupelo house, a small cinema screening documentaries, and a lively diner where the Stan burger is a staple, and you’ve got a full-day experience that invites you to linger rather than rush. Stan’s July residency seals the deal: this isn’t a mausoleum, it’s a stage where rock and roll still breathes.

If you’re planning a visit, expect anywhere from an hour to a full day, with local hotels and clear info at MemphisMansion.com. We also tease our next on-location stop at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, the birthplace of classics like Bohemian Rhapsody. Subscribe, share with a fellow music lover, and leave a review—then tell us: which artefact would you most want to see up close? Rockfield Studios scheduled for Season 2 - early 2026

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Fame can feel like a storm. We sit down with veteran security lead Ronnie Franklin to map the invisible work that keeps artists, crews and fans safe when the wind picks up—without turning the night into a fortress. From his baptism at London’s Rainbow Theatre to global tours with Wham and decades at George Michael’s side, Ronnie unpacks how planning and people skills beat brute force every time.

We trace the birth of modern concert security: radios that cut out around corners, promoters debating headcounts, fans copying passes, and the simple fix that worked—fewer pass types, smarter briefings, and relentless clarity. Ronnie takes us into Wham‑mania, where police vans, service corridors and decoy routes replaced glamour, and into Japan’s “polite hysteria” and China’s culture shock, where flight cases met 1940s trucks and loud sound cleared a hall in seconds. There’s a hair‑raising plane turnback, a football kickabout with Rod Stewart, and the infamous Wembley moment when a guard swore “that’s not George Michael,” all handled with humour and calm.

As George went solo, loyalty met scale. American management arrived, but George chose trusted UK heads for key roles, and Ronnie led security for the Faith tour with a low‑key brief: keep it safe and invisible. We talk about setting boundaries with stars, leaning on local law enforcement for rare credible threats, and training a new generation to de‑escalate first. Along the way, Ronnie paints a generous, focused portrait of George Michael—driven, kind, and precise about what he wanted—proof that the right protection lets artistry breathe.

If you care about live music, touring life, or how crowds are kept safe without killing the vibe, this conversation is packed with stories and hard‑won insight. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves music history, and leave a review to tell us which story blew your mind most.

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Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason meet a Scotsman, an Irishman, and a Frenchman for their journey to a tiny Breton, French town and reshape what a music scene can mean. We open the podcast  in 90s Glasgow, where Chemical Underground helped a new wave of indie bands find their voice and their values. From cramped stages and borrowed gear to a label identity forged by conviction, the scene thrived on camaraderie, sharp taste, and the kind of local folklore that sticks—like loading out together after the last chord rings.

Then comes the leap. David, a young chef from Brittany with a burning love for music, invites the Glasgow crew to his rural hometown. One bus, a handful of fans, a chaotic ferry crossing, and a village square where cows outnumber people. It shouldn’t work. It did. Years later, filmmaker Niall retraces that journey, capturing a road movie that doubles as a time capsule and a mirror. Funding hurdles, music clearances, and the streaming-era squeeze haunt the edges, but what takes centre stage is trust: musicians, crew, and locals building something bigger than a gig.

Across Momo’s bar, impromptu sets, gear hiccups, and last-minute saves, the story becomes a study in how art survives. Alex Kapranos, Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Paul Savage of The Delgados, and more reflect on timing, luck, and the stubborn will to keep going. The film—Lost in France—shows how a village can feel like home, how a label can be a lifeline, and how friendships carry music further than any marketing plan. It’s funny, messy, and deeply human, with scenes you’ll retell and a spirit you’ll recognise if you’ve ever believed in DIY.

If you care about indie music history, Glasgow’s creative DNA, or the fragile magic of making something together, you’ll feel at home here. Press play, then tell a friend who still loves small rooms and big feelings. Subscribe, rate, and share your favourite Glasgow gig memory—we’ll read the best on a future show.

The movie - 'Lost in France' is available to stream on Tourism Cinema and on DVD from Amazon

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Ever wonder why some gigs tattoo themselves on your memory while others fade as the lights come up? We sit down with two lifelong friends and serial gig-goers to trace a fan’s journey from teenage awe at the Brighton Dome to the organised chaos of modern stadium shows. Their stories move fast: queuing for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court, discovering Rory Gallagher’s fire, and catching Deep Purple tearing up the Half Moon in Putney. Along the way, we weigh what really matters — rooms that sing, mixes that breathe, and the crowd energy that turns a setlist into a shared event.

The debate gets spicy where performance meets production. Stadiums bring scale, but do giant screens make you a spectator instead of a participant? From Oasis at Wembley to Coldplay’s LED spectacles, we unpack when visuals elevate and when they steal the show. Then a pivot to the pure: Bob Dylan’s phone-free theatre, where every phrase lands because there’s nothing else to look at. We talk queues, exits, and the odd miracle ticket, but keep coming back to sound — the tone, separation, and punch that made the Brighton Dome a revelation and Rush a byword for precision.

No fan’s tour is complete without guitar heroes. Jimmy Page for invention, Rory Gallagher for heart, Gary Moore for bite, David Gilmour for melody, Prince for the solo that still silences rooms. Thin Lizzy’s revolving door of players, Wishbone Ash’s harmonies, and the support acts that later exploded — Def Leppard under AC/DC, Bon Jovi under KISS — all feed a bigger question: why did so many bands from the 70s endure while newer acts struggle to jump from clubs to arenas? Fewer venues, different economics, and the vanishing art of earning a following onstage are part of the answer.

If you love live music — the sweat, the surge, the note that lifts a room — this conversation is a reminder of why we keep showing up. Hit follow, share it with a gig buddy, and tell us: which concert still lives rent-free in your head?

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A powerboat race, a broken fax, and a last‑minute visa scramble set the stage for a story about identity, reinvention, and the stubborn joy of playing loud. 

In this espisode  Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason  'sits down' with Uday Benegal—frontman of India’s pioneering rock band Indus Creed—to trace the band’s evolution from Rock Machine, the bold name change that reframed their destiny, and the craft behind blending tabla, sarangi, and bansuri into guitar-driven songs without falling into cliché.

The journey flows through sunburnt beach gigs in Dubai, bewildered crowds in the USSR, a UK Womad run, and openers with Europe, Bon Jovi, and Santana. Uday contrasts the tour cultures with insight—how Santana’s crew modeled true professionalism—and shares a delightfully messy onstage cameo with Slash in Bangalore. 

Along the way, we explore the role MTV Asia played in easing a risky rebrand, the practical magic of backline and FOH, and the creative decision-making that kept identity authentic while broadening appeal for global audiences.

There’s a detour to New York, where disillusion with India’s shifting industry pushed Uday toward indie cinema and writing for the Village Voice, before a return home reignited the band with younger players and new energy. We go deep on recording Evolve in Mumbai and landing mix legend Tim Palmer through a thoughtful cold email—a field guide in how independent bands can reach world-class collaborators. Most of all, Uday reflects on the legacy he cherishes: helping shift India’s live circuit from cover-band defaults to original music as the standard. He also teases a gentler solo project produced by a rising young talent, proving reinvention never really ends.

If stories of music branding, cross-cultural production, and life on the road light you up, this one’s for you. Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves rock history with heart, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find us.

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Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason joins concert producer Jacek Slotala for a hands‑on journey taking us from Polish postcard singles to Pink Floyd’s sold‑out Moscow shows. 

This fascinating, incredible story is told by the fixer who cracked Gosconcert and flew tours on army planes. We share how food, language, and nerve turned red tape into roaring crowds without a single lyric censored.

A postcard single pressed in 1960s Poland. A phone that never stops ringing. And a plan bold enough to fly a rock tour on a Soviet army plane. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how Western music crossed the Iron Curtain, from jam‑packed Leningrad halls to Pink Floyd lighting up Moscow without a single lyric censored.

We trace the path from Pagart, Poland's state monopoly, to the first real breakthrough: Wishbone Ash in Leningrad, chosen for taste and temperament. Food, not lights, became the make‑or‑break factor, so the team toured with a portable kitchen, UK‑trained Polish chefs, and pallets from West Berlin. Those breakfasts backstage did more for morale than any rider. Then came a bigger swing: assemble a new band, the Lost Empires, and barter shows for flight hours to reach Siberia. Gear lashed into an Antonov, crew in army seats, and a bucket with a lid for a loo—proof that ingenuity beats infrastructure when the music matters.

The Pink Floyd chapter is a masterclass in production under pressure. Fifty‑six trucks replaced by cargo jets, a customs bridge to win crucial hours, and a last‑minute hotel wipeout solved with roubles and relentless door‑knocking. When national mourning paused a show after a tragic explosion, the band added a makeup date at the end to keep faith with fans and still make Helsinki. Along the way we meet interpreters who could silence police, legendary road crew soldering mid‑tour, and the caterer who trained a generation. No propaganda, no grandstanding—just the quiet power of concerts to ease tension and make strangers sing the same chorus.

We also look at milestone tours that reset expectations: Procol Harum reopening Poland, Tina Turner building her Private Dancer comeback from bare floors, and how language, respect, and precision got Western acts invited back. 

If you care about live music logistics, cultural diplomacy, or the sheer stubborn joy of making the impossible run on time, you’ll feel right at home here. 

Press play, subscribe for more untold tour stories, and leave a review with the wildest backstage fix you’ve ever heard—what would you have done in that Moscow hotel scramble?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email [email protected]

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email [email protected]