Queer the Music with Jake Shears

By Mercury StudiosMusic Music Commentary Music Interviews

Queer the Music with Jake Shears episodes

August 04 How ‘Yes’ Became a Queer Anthem | David McAlmont | Queer the Music with Jake Shears
Season 4 of Queer The Music continues with singer-songwriter David McAlmont. Joining Jake Shears, he reflects on breaking through with McAlmont & Butler’s iconic hit Yes, navigating Britpop as an openly queer Black artist, and the industry pressures to hide his identity.

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45 min
July 28 Baby Queen on Ego Death, Therapy & Starting Over | Queer the Music with Jake Shears
On this episode of Queer the Music we have indie rock darling Baby Queen. Joining Jake Shears, she reflects on the creative and personal journey behind her deeply honest new album, I Hope You Don’t Remember Me. They get deep on topics such as ego, rejection, therapy, queer identity and the pressure of life in the music industry. She also talks about how stepping away from expectations helped her rediscover her voice and create her most personal record yet. It’s a great episode, be sure to tune in!
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41 min
July 21 How Jodie Harsh Built London’s Biggest Queer Party | Queer the Music with Jake Shears
On this episode of Queer the Music we’re featuring DJ, promoter and nightlife icon Jodie Harsh. Joining Jake, she traces her journey from sneaking into London’s legendary gay clubs as a teenager to building one of the capital’s biggest queer parties. Together they discuss drag, addiction, sobriety, the evolution of queer club culture, and why creating spaces for joy has never been more important.
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45 min
July 14 Tove Lo on Body Confidence, Bisexuality & Pop Music | Queer the Music with Jake Shears
Season 4 of Queer the Music continues with Swedish pop trailblazer Tove Lo. Joining Jake Shears, she reflects on the song that changed everything, Habits (Stay High), the freedom of becoming an independent artist, and her journey from Stockholm songwriter to one of pop’s most fearless voices. The pair also discuss bisexuality, body confidence, queer club culture and the power of radical honesty in songwriting, alongside the making of her bold new album, Strut.
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46 min
July 07 How Brian Molko (Placebo) Redefined Rock | Queer the Music with Jake Shears
Season 4 of Queer The Music launches today in discussion with Placebo’s iconic frontman Brian Molko. In this special, extended edition, he and Shears discuss everything from their mutual love of David Bowie to outlier-status in alternative music and media. The episode also notably marks the 30th anniversary of Placebo’s radical breakout hit, ‘Nancy Boy’. Originally written in reclaim of a slur, ‘Nancy Boy’ explores themes of sexuality, gender and identity: it is now widely regarded as a defiant act of protest that continues to resonate with new audiences today.
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54 min
July 06 Queer the Music returns for season 4!
Jake Shears’ hit Queer The Music podcast returns for its fourth season. Kicking off with an episode featuring Placebo’s Brian Molko, this follows a double win for the number 1-charting podcast at the prestigious Webby Awards (including ‘Best Music Podcast’), with guests for Season 4 already set to include Swedish pop queen Tove Lo plus DJ, alt-pop artist Baby Queen and drag royalty, Jodie Harsh. Entering its biggest and most ambitious season to date, Queer The Music celebrates the music, artists and cultural moments that have shaped LGBTQ+ lives, also shifting politics, perception and popular culture in plain sight. Stay tuned for a new episode dropping every Wednesday at 6pm.
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2 min
December 23, 2025 The Greatest Bits From The Past 3 Seasons
Christmas has come early as Jake selects some of his favourite bits from the last 3 seasons. Really just a reminder to go back and listen to the episodes you've missed - there have been some brilliant conversations - wishing everyone a Happy New Year and thank you for listening to Queer The Music in 2025!
We'd love to hear from you - get in touch via instagram @queerthemusicpodcast
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43 min
December 16, 2025 A Queer Year In Music with Self Esteem
For this special episode of Queer The Music Jake is joined by the brilliant Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem. With a critically acclaimed new album, a concert tour and book under her belt this year, the pair have plenty to catch up on.
Listen as Jake and Rebecca discuss their highlights of the year in queer music, answer questions from listeners, reveal what 2026 has in store for them and tell us who they’ll be kissing under the mistletoe.
We'd love to hear from you - let us know who you would like to hear on Queer The Music - you can get in touch via instagram @queerthemusicpodcast or leave us a review
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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41 min
November 18, 2025 "Epic" by Faith No More with Roddy Bottum
It's our season finale and we're delighted to be joined by Roddy Bottum, best known as the keyboardist of Faith No More.
Back in 1990 Roddy found himself in the spotlight in the rock world as its first openly gay star. In this special episode Jake and Roddy celebrate Faith No More's breakthrough hit 'Epic' and they discuss what it was like to be the only out queer in rock, on tour with Guns N' Roses and Metallica, his important friendship with Courtney Love and Curt Kobain and his brilliant memoir 'The Royal We'.
Thank you for listening to Series 3 of Queer The Music! Keep an eye out for some special bonus episodes dropping next month...
We'd love to hear from you - let us know who you would like us to feature on Queer The Music ⁠@queerthemusicpodcast⁠ via Instagram.

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53 min
November 11, 2025 'Grace Kelly' by Mika
This week on Queer The Music we celebrate Grace Kelly - the debut single from Multi-platinum, BRIT Award-winning, and Grammy nominated global pop visionary Mika.
Listen to Jake and Mika's fascinating conversation about Mika's childhood, the struggles he faced, how he found sanctuary through music, his creative process and how he created the hit single Grace Kelly which shot to the top of the UK charts and stayed there for 5 whole weeks.
Mika's new single Modern Times is out now
We'd love to hear from you - let us know who you would like to hear on Queer The Music - you can get in touch via instagram @queerthemusicpodcast or leave us a review
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
47 min

About Queer the Music with Jake Shears

From the publisher's feed

Jake Shears’ award-winning podcast Queer The Music celebrates the music, artists and cultural moments that have shaped LGBTQ+ lives, also shifting politics, perception and popular culture…