Sending Signals

Good morning, afternoon, and/or evening! This week I’m joined by original Wings drummer Denny Seiwell to talk about his new project “Ram On”, which is a tribute to the classic McCartney album “Ram”, which Denny played on, and is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary at the moment.

My other guest is M G Boulter, whose new album “Clifftown” is utterly brilliant. Matt grew up, and lives in the same area as me, and I’ve seen him play with his band The Lucky Strikes a lot over the years. He’s fantastic company; warm, eloquent, and very interesting. Matt gives us a track-by-track tour of “Clifftown” and we ponder what it means to grow up and stay put in a seaside town. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

mgboulter.co.uk

dennyseiwell.com

Another exciting instalment of Sending Signals is here! This week I talk to David Marks about his time in The Beach Boys. David was only about 12 when he joined the band, and grew up across the street from the Wilson brothers. I get David’s take on whether Brian Wilson is being exploited, whether Mike Love gets a bad rap, and the truth about the guitar stabs on “Don’t Worry Baby”.

My other guest is David Brewis from one of Britain’s finest bands Field Music. I’ve loved this band for a long time, and David is such nice company. Their latest album “Flat White Moon” is out now and it’s predictably great. Unfortunately the circumstances that inspired the album were less than great, and David and I have a candid conversation about loss and the nature of memory. It’s a good one.

davidleemarks.com

field-music.co.uk

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

What-ho! In this very special episode, David Crosby talks to me about the new 50th Anniversary box set of Crosby Stills Nash & Young’s masterpiece “Deja Vu”, as well as the future of the band, learning to control his temper, and how to die well.

Also, I dig into the show’s archive to bring you a little bit of my interview with Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown who sadly passed away last week aged 65. 

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Whatcha. This week I’m joined by one of my teenage guitar heroes Steve Cradock. Steve is the guitarist in Ocean Colour Scene, as well as frequently working with Paul Weller, and more recently playing lead for The Specials. He’s just reissued his second solo record “Peace City West” with a new mix.

Also joining me is Scott Milligan, the brains behind Burton prog-poppers Kitten Pyramid. There’s a new Kitten Pyramid album out now called “Koozy” and it’s a triumph over absurdity; funny, sad, and bizarre. Scott takes me through it, track by track. 

Twitter @signalspodcast

Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

kittenpyramid.co.uk

stevecradock.com

Me again! This week I talk to screenwriter and director William Nicholson about his incredible movie “Hope Gap” and the personal experiences that fed into the project. Bill also has screenwriting credits on “Les Mis”, “Gladiator”, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, and more, so it was fascinating to learn about his approach to projects that diverse.  

Also on the show I talk to Halifax indie-disco merchants The Orielles about their brilliant new record “La Vita Olistica” and the accompanying short film. We discuss the relationship between different art forms, the benefits of returning to a project with some perspective, and much more.  

Twitter @signalspodcast

Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

theorielles.co.uk

williamnicholson.com 

Good morning/afternoon/evening! The 50th anniversary of “American Pie” is fast approaching and Don McLean is here, reflecting on how the song has affected his life and legacy, how he’s changed since he wrote it, and the album cover where it looks like a plane is flying up his nose.

Also on the show, Spencer Zahn joins me from upstate New York to discuss his remarkable album “Sunday Painter”, one of the finest records of 2020. 

Let me know what you think.

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

spencerzahn.net

donmclean.com

It’s that time again! Very fun episode this week. I was delighted to talk to Chris Hillman about his work with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, as well as the process he went through to write his recent autobiography. We chat about memory, his songwriting process, and what people misunderstand about him.

You might not recognise the name Boy Meets Girl, an American pop duo consisting of George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, but you will undoubtedly be familiar with some of their work. As a band they are best known for 80’s classic “Waiting For A Star To Fall”, but they’re also the writing team behind Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” and the smash hit (is that still a thing?) “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. They were so much fun to hang out with; I really enjoyed myself on this one.

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

boymeetsgirlmusic.com

chrishillman.com

How are you? This episode Steve Hackett returns to Sending Signals to discuss his remarkable new album “Under A Mediterranean Sky”. We discuss the effect of location and geography on creating music, and for some reason, the movies of Jack Hawkins.

Also this episode Steve Rothery puts up with my disparaging remarks about their 1999 record “Marillion.com”, discusses his guitar sound, new solo project “Revontulet”, progress on the new Marillion album as of November ‘20, losing weight, and much more (well maybe not MUCH more, that’s enough to be getting on with surely?).

Speak soon. Matt

marillion.com

steverothery.com

hackettsongs.com

Twitter: @steverothery

Twitter: @hackettofficial

Twitter: @signalspodcast

Instagram: @postcardsfromtheroad

Instagram: @stevehackettofficial

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Hello again! This episode I’m joined by author Mike Gayle, and drummer Andy Williams from the band Doves. Both guests were excellent company and I hope you enjoy it.

As you will hear, Mike has a history in music and teen journalism. His first novel “My Legendary Girlfriend” was published in 1998. Last year he released his 17th book, the excellent “All The Lonely People”. The novel deals with themes of loneliness and multiculturalism; there was plenty to talk about. We discuss deciding where to end a story, the problem with descriptions like “realistic”, and whether writing your 17th book is harder than your first.

Doves are back after an extended break, and they’ve released one of the finest albums of their career, “The Universal Want”. Andy gave me some background on the making of the record, and I was intrigued to find out whether there had been any difficulties reconnecting after such an extended break from the band.    

Let me know your thoughts on the episode.

Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

Twitter @signalspodcast

www.mikegayle.co.uk

www.dovesofficial.com

Welcome back! This episode I have a seriously epic conversation with singer Fish about his final studio album “Weltschmerz”. I’m fascinated by the idea of deciding you’ve done all you can within a certain media and wanting to do something else. We unpack that idea and lots of other things during our chat. Fish is a great conversationalist and we had a great time talking. You’ll also hear from clips from the album.

Also on the show I speak to actor and musician Brian Protheroe. Brain released several albums in the 70s before focussing on his acting career. He appeared in Superman The Movie, various BBC Shakespeare productions, and TV shows such as Lovejoy, Holly City, Midsomer Murders, and Spooks. Brian still enjoys making and self-releasing music and he recently released a collection of songs called “Desert Road”. I hope you enjoy our chat! 

PS: My debut solo album is out on all major streaming services now! Matt Royal: “Meet You By The Photobooth”

Twitter @signalspodcast

Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

fishmusic.scot 

brianprotheroe.co.uk