Music Talks as a Podcast may have finished but my desire to share my Favourite Albums of the Year has not abated and in fact this is the 25th year I have been doing it. 

It started in 2000 with me, a Dual CD recorder and handmade artwork. Then it was on to a Spotify Playlists and for the last 6 years a Podcast where myself and my dear friend Steven Routledge each choose our favourite 10 albums of the year and talk through why they made the list. 

Part 1 was released on 19/12/24 and this is Part 2 where we tale through choices 5 to 1 and announce our respective 'Album of the Year' ! 

I hope you enjoy the episode and ideally find some new music that you love. If you do please let me know at [email protected]. 

You can find the song selections played in this episode here : 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6qRL4bX56BreAEMRoM9wqi?si=772f619f1c4b403b

Steven's choices start at 0' 53 and my section is at 27'17" - enjoy :-)

Music Talks as a Podcast may have finished but my desire to share my Favourite Albums of the Year has not abated and in fact this is the 25th year I have been doing it. 

It started in 2000 with me, a Dual CD recorder and handmade artwork. Then it was on to a Spotify Playlists and for the last 6 years a Podcast where myself and my dear friend Steven Routledge each choose our favourite 10 albums of the year and talk through why they made the list. 

Part 1 is now out where we both talk through albums 10 to 6 and Part 2 will be out on Boxing Day.

I hope you enjoy the episode and ideally find some new music that you love. If you do please let me know at [email protected]. 

You can find the song selections played in this episode here : 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dBRVhkPjEytVjZoqPa6KR?si=48518c60563343ac

Steven's choices start at 1' 44" and my section is at 25'08" - enjoy :-)

This is Part 2 of the 100th Episode of Music Talks, which is also the final episode of Music Talks. 

Five years and 100 episodes felt to me like a good time to bring things to a close. It has been a fantastic, joyful, fulfilling and most importantly FUN experience doing this Podcast, and it is something I will always treasure. 

To mark this occasion, I thought it was time for me to appear as a guest on my own show and I’m delighted to say that my very first guest, Steve Clayton, agreed to come back and be the host of this episode. Thank you Steve!

It will be no surprise to anyone that I had quite a lot to say hence splitting the episode into two parts, both of which are a vinyl friendly 45 ish minutes in length! 

Music Talks was originally conceived as a 'music nerd' Podcast but over time it morphed into something different with many guests not just telling their life story but also being incredibly open and honest about the ups and downs they had faced. I felt I had to honour that in these episodes and do the same. In musical terms my episode contains major and minor chords but of course music (and life) is only interesting when there are both!. 

I hope you enjoy the stories and that even for my oldest friends there might be a new story or two in there. As far as the music choices go these were my song choices for Part 2. 

90's -  Don't Look Back In Anger *-           Oasis 

00's -  First Day of My Life             -           Bright Eyes

10’s -  Long Walk Home                  -           Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

20’s -  The Only Road                      -           Elbow   

* The episode was recorded just BEFORE Oasis announced their reunion tour! 

I say my thank you' s at the end of the episode but a heartfelt thanks to all my guests and everyone who ever listened, you gave me SO much for which I will always be grateful!

To close out Music Talks completely there will be a couple of compilation episodes in October & November and then the annual ' Favourite Albums of the Year' with Steven Routledge in December. 

I hope you will be able to listen to those episodes but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this one :-) 

This is Part 1 of the 100th Episode of Music Talks, which is also the final episode of Music Talks. 

Five years and 100 episodes felt to me like a good time to bring things to a close. It has been a fantastic, joyful, fulfilling and most importantly FUN experience doing this Podcast, and it is something I will always treasure. 

To mark this occasion, I thought it was time for me to appear as a guest on my own show and I’m delighted to say that my very first guest, Steve Clayton, agreed to come back and be the host of this episode. Thank you Steve!

It will be no surprise to anyone that I had quite a lot to say hence splitting the episode into two parts, both of which are a vinyl friendly 45 minutes in length! 

Music Talks was originally conceived as a 'music nerd' Podcast but over time it morphed into something different with many guests not just telling their life story but also being incredibly open and honest about the ups and downs they had faced. I felt I had to honour that in these episodes and do the same. In musical terms my episode contains major and minor chords but of course music (and life) is only interesting when there are both. 

I hope you enjoy the stories and that even for my oldest friends there might be a new story or two in there. As far as the music choices go these were my choices for Part 1 

50’s -  Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’      - From ‘Carousel’ 

60’s -  I Am The Walrus                             - The Beatles

70’s -  My Old School                               - Steely Dan

80’s -  Mary’s Prayer                                 - Danny Wilson 

I mention a lot of other music as well and for Part 1 they can be found here along with my main selections. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jCpe8EAqur9pqEI9SW0xj?si=ad7da10f6eb1478f

I hope you enjoy Part 1 enough that you will be back for Part 2 which will be out on Thursday 12th September. 

Thanks for listening and enjoy! 

September 5th will see the 100th and final episode of Music Talks and I know the guest for that episode pretty well as its ……ME!! 

Given I will be moving chairs I needed someone to be the host of that episode and who better than Steve Clayton, a dear friend, my very first guest on Music Talks and one of the best communicators I know. Given his role at Microsoft is ‘Chief Storyteller’ that’s no surprise. 

The original episode I did with Steve went out on June 25th, 2019, but I didn’t  want to just re-post it. The brilliant Andy Rhode at Audionauts has been helping me edit Music Talks for almost three years now and so I asked him to re-edit and remaster that original recording and I think he’s done a great job. 

I was never happy with the sound on that first episode and whilst it’s still not perfect it sounds a lot better than it did. He’s also edited it down to a Vinyl friendly 45 minutes and I’m pleased to say that most of what has been edited out is me not Steve! 

For those of you who have heard the original episode I hope this will be an enjoyable reminder and for anyone that hasn’t then I hope this will be a good introduction to the host of Episode 100. 

Steve’s music choices were: 

70’s –   Go Your Own Way -                                                 Fleetwood Mac

80’s -    Where The Streets Have No Name -                    U2

90’s -    Unfinished Sympathy -                                          Massive Attack

00’s -    The Planets Bend Between Us                              Snow Patrol

10’s -    A Sky Full of Stars                                                    Coldplay

Enjoy and see you on September 4th 

Welcome to Episode 99 of Music Talks, it’s a significant one with a very special guest. The guest in question is Kevin Clement who amongst other things is the host of the brilliantly named radio show ‘Mysterious Debris’ on Rockin’ the Suburbs Radio. 

Kevin is special to me because prior to starting Music Talks I did some pilot episodes with my dear friend Jesse Jackson as a co-host under the name ‘Teatime with Terry’ (I thought that was a great name until somebody said they thought it was a golf podcast). 

The original plan was that we would have friends of mine or Jessie’s as our ‘guinea pigs’ to test out the format. Jesse was good enough to post the first couple of episodes on Setlustingbruce.com at which point an email arrived from Kevin saying, ‘like the format and love to be on the show’! Believe me I can still remember the excitement 😊 

I have always thought of Kevin as my first guest, but the episode was only ever a pilot and I always knew I would have him back on to Music Talks at the right time. Episode 99 is the right time as Kevin is also going to be my last guest as after much deliberation, I have decided to bring Music Talks to a close. There will be Episode 100 and the guest is me……..! I will give my thoughts, reflections and thanks in that episode as I don’t want to detract from what is for me just a great guest and episode. 

Kevin was born in 1973 in a small town called Thibodaux. At the age of three the family moved to Baton Rouge and that is where Kevin lives today with his wife Alisa and their 10-year-old daughter Sarah. 

Music and Broadcasting have always been a love for Kevin, and he was spinning his first discs at the age of 10 at the local roller-skating rink ‘Skate Galaxy’. His degree is in Broadcasting & PR, and he did stints in numerous radio stations with great names like KNSU, KPEL and KTBY. In the early Noughties after marrying Alissa he changed careers and for the last 17 years has worked in the Juvenile Court System in Baton Rouge which is a job he describes as presenting new challenges every single day. 

Kevin returned to his broadcasting roots in Feb 2022 with the launch of his radio show ‘Miscellaneous Debris’ which really is a must listen. You can find it at www.suburbspod.com/radio/ or on MIxCloud. 

Kevin’s song choices are:  

70’s – Superstition                                    -                              Stevie Wonder

80’s – A Forest                                            -                              The Cure

90’s – Sick of Myself                                 -                              Matthew Sweet

00’s – Save It For A Rainy Day              -                              The Jayhawks

10’s – Perfect World                                 -                              Broken Bells

20’s – The Luckier You Get                    -                              American Aquarium 

Enjoy:-)

My guest in this episode is Nicki Cockburn. 

Nicki now lives in Cardiff but was born in 1978 in Zimbabwe. At 5 months old, after her Mum insisted on a second opinion, she was diagnosed as being blind. For sighted people like me that would feel like a massive burden and challenge but in talking about it Nicki says “I’m really happy with it, you have to adapt’ and “it’s been a problem for a lot of people, but never for me”. 

Nicki doesn’t shy away from discussing some of the challenges and prejudice she has faced but her indomitable spirit shines through our whole conversation and I found it deeply inspirational, and I trust you will too. 

The other thing that shines through is Nicki’s deep love of music which has been a positive force in her life for so long. She references over 70 artists in our chat and it’s not everyone that can go from ‘The Chicken Song’ through Jaco Pastorius to Rage Against the Machine! 

Nicki isn’t just a listener she is also a musician. Her musical journey has gone through Piano, Flute and Guitar before she arrived in early 40’s at the Bass Guitar, which describes as ‘her instrument’ and one of her song choices specifically reflect that. 

Her song choices are : 

70’s      Your My Best Friend                                Don Williams

80’s      Rio                                                                      Duran Duran

90’s      The Car Song                                               Elastica

00’s      Bass Tribute                                                 Victor Wooten

10’s      Trust In You                                                  Lauren Dagle

20’s      Too Good For Giving Up                       Liam Gallagher 

Enjoy :-)

My guest today is dear friend and an ex-colleague, Derrick Mc Court. 

Derrick and I first met in 2001 when he joined Microsoft in Ireland. Our paths crossed many times and in many ways over the years and it has always been a pleasure to spend time with him. 

Today he is General Manager of the Customer Success Unit in Microsoft UK and sits on the UK Board.  A quick look at his LinkedIn Profile will show the considerable skills he has but for me the most significant thing is that in amongst all the corporate madness he has managed to remain impressively grounded and that comes across in our chat. 

Derrick has three passions which are key to him keeping his feet on the ground the first of which is his family. He was born in 1969 and grew up in Belfast during ‘The Troubles’ which he reflects on in a typically thoughtful and moving way. For the past 15 years home has been in Edinburgh where he lives with his wife and their two boys Conner and Joe. His eldest boy Jamie got married last week and his daughter Lucy lives in London and works in I.T. 

The second passion, as you will hear is music and at festivals like Download that is shared with Connor and Joe. 

His final passion is running, and he is well on the way to completing the ‘Big 6’ Marathons and getting his ‘Six Star Finisher Medal’. Music and Playlists are clearly an important part of his running regime hence the title of the episode. 

Derrick’s song selections are: 

70’s      I’ve Got A Feeling                                      The Beatles

80’s      Alive And Kicking                                       Simple Minds

90’s      Paranoid Android                                      Radiohead

00’s      I Predict A Riot                                            Kaiser Chiefs

10’s      X-Ray Visons                                               Clutch

20’s      Mr. Motivator                                               Idles 

Enjoy 😊 

My guest in this episode is Lynn Asher ( www.lynnasher.com ) who was introduced to Music Talks by a recent guest Paul Webb (Ep 92).  

Lynn is a native of Portland Maine but she had a childhood dream to move to California. It took some time to fulfil her dream but this year Lynn celebrates 30 years living in California and her musical career spans a similar timescale. 

Despite being a ‘late bloomer’ Lynn has performed and recorded with many big names in the music business including:

·       Big Brother & The Holding Company

·       Jerry Harrison - Talking Heads, 

·       Bob Weir- Grateful Dead 

·       Narada Michael Walden - Producer - Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand. Drummer for Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, & Journey. 

Lynn writes her own original material, one of which is the song choice for the 2000’s and was also the assistant to Tracy Chapman for a time. As you will hear at the start of the episode there was also a live appearance with a big musical hero of mine ……

In 2009, Lynn became a vocal coach and it has become a real passion, particularly working with young singers, one of which provides her song choice for the 2020’s (www.annaharrell.net )

Lynn’s story is a great musical journey but there is also a personal journey and adversity to be dealt with. In Lynn’s case this was dealing with Breast Cancer on three occasions, and I hope you find her insight into how she thought and dealt with that as inspirational as I did. 

Lynn’s song choices are. 

60’s -    Hey Jude                                                        - The Beatles

70’s -    You Should Be Dancing                         - Bee Gees

80’s -    You Can Sleep While I Drive               - Melissa Etheridge

90’s -    Why                                                                   - Annie Lennox

00’s -    Now That You’re Gone                           - Lynn Asher

10’s -    Freedom                                                         - (From ‘Django Unchained’) 

20’s -    Night Light                                                    - Anna Harrell

My guest in this episode is Claire Sanderson who was introduced to the show by an early guest and now a dear friend, Ian Braisby. 

Claire was born and grew up in Cornwall with her parents and two elder brothers. She describes her childhood as being ‘surrounded by all types of music’ and that breadth is reflected in her song choices and the much longer list she sent to me. Her song choices are: 

80’s      I Should Be So Lucky                                                             Kylie Minogue 

90’s      I’ll Do Anything For Love (But I Wont Do That)    Meat Loaf

00’s      Song For The Road                                                                 David Ford

10’s      F**kin’ Perfect                                                                           Pink

20’s      I’ll See You In My Dreams                                                   Bruce Springsteen 

At 18 Claire moved to Cardiff to study Music at the University and has had the good sense to stay in the city ever since. By day she is a Civil Servant, but flexible working enables her to follow her passion for music as a serious amateur musician who plays in an orchestra and sings in a choir. She also recently started doing on-line talks about music which you can find at 

https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/?categories=music

Music has been a constant in Claire’s life, and it has provided both comfort and joy. But she also talks very openly about the challenges she faced in studying and playing at the highest level and there are great lessons for all of us in that story. 

A recent convert to the delights of Bruce Frederick Springsteen the episode closes with a poignant song choice from his most recent album ‘Letter To You’ and a Music Talks first where we play two versions of the same song ! 

Enjoy 😊