The Hustle

For most of us, singer/songwriter Donna Lewis appeared out of nowhere in 1996 when her smash hit "I Love You Always Forever" got to #2 on the charts and seemed to never go away. What was strange is she kind of disappeared almost as fast, with further singles and albums not making the same impact. You may be surprised to find out Donna's never stopped working and even has a new album, Wanderlust, her seventh, with collaborator David Lowe and it's just as strong as the rest. Get to know an artist you remember, but probably don't know that much about! 

There is a new series of books released the last couple years that tell the story of a band we all love from the perspective of the fans. Hundreds of stories have been crowdsourced from true obsessives to tell a biography you don't hear as often. This time we welcome Richard Houghton and Iain Key to discuss their new book telling the story of the Smiths. Anecdotes from personal interactions with the band members, epic concerts, purchasing albums and other swag, correspondence, etc. Has Morrissey tarnished the band's legacy beyond repair? Why did they attract such a "laddish" fanbase? What are their worst songs? And a giveaway! Enjoy! 

www.spenwoodbooks.com/current-titles 

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod?vanity=user

Robin Beck could have been one of the top AOR singers of her era. She had the looks, the voice, the songs - the whole package. But, she was so successful in the jingle world she never really wanted it that much. She did have success anyway, including a massive global hit with "First Time" which, coincidentally, was used in a popular Coca-Cola ad at the time. With this came Top of the Pops, working with people like Desmond Child, Cher, Bowie and even Miles Davis. She has released consistently strong albums on her own schedule over the years, including her latest, Living Proof, which features contributions from former guest Peppy Castro. Robin's never done a podcast before, so we're honored to be her first and hope you all enjoy her fascinating story! 

You won't find a list of "bands that should have been huge" that doesn't include The Producers. Their debut album from 1981 stood perfectly at the crossroads of power pop and new wave and should have birthed multiple hits. They even performed at the very first MTV's Rockin' Eve. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen and neither did the excellent follow up, You Make the Heat with "She Sheila". Eventually the guys took the hint and broke up, but anyone who's heard them is utterly confused. What more could you ask for?! Drummer Bryan Holmes joins us this week to tell the whole story. Thankfully, the tide is turning as the band are included on this year's Totally Tubular bill that also includes Thomas Dolby, Men Without Hats and more. If any band deserved success, it's them. Enjoy!

In his nearly 84 years on earth, Swamp Dogg has seen some stuff. He was born Jerry Williams and recorded under that name before taking on the Swamp Dogg persona in 1970 as a way to better express himself and his unique view of the world. He's been a legend ever since. Over his long career he's tried on almost every genre of music (including a couple recent albums heavy on the Auto-tune. His latest sees him grappling with what's next in Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife and you know he has some wisdom to pass along. We get into a lot - his friendship with John Prine, his lovelife, his recent documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, and the secretly profound advice he has for staying vital and working hard in your later years. We're honored to hear from him! 

Breathe were one of the leaders of that sophistopop movement in the late 80s and scored five big hits over two albums for their work, including the enduring ballads "Hands to Heaven" and "How Can I Fall". Unfortunately, after those two albums they disappeared and have never been heard from again, especially the uber-talented front man David Glasper. That leaves guitarist Marcus Lillington as the only former member able to provide some details, but even he can be reluctant about it, which is why it's such a huge boon to have him join us this week. He explains as best he can what happened to the band, the degree to which they were "manufactured" and what happened to Dave. We're extremely honored to welcome Marcus this week and be reminded of this special group. Enjoy! 

Dirty Vegas were shot out of a cannon in 2002 when their song "Days Go By" was selected by Mitsubishi to soundtrack their new ad campaign. The song was everywhere and suddenly there was a culture shift with artists and their music as it relates to advertising. This gave Steve Smith from the band a career that's taken some unexpected turns, but has never let up. Dirty Vegas released a couple albums, then he went solo, and for the last several years he's been a member of Squeeze and is featured on their new album, Trixies, and on their current world tour. Dirty Vegas is still at it too, releasing new music in 2024. Steve lays out this journey for us this week. Enjoy! 

When "Sleeping Satellite" hit the airwaves in 1992, it announced a new unique talent in Tasmin Archer that seemed to be going far. Little did we know that we'd only hear from her sporadically over the next 34 years. The usual label politics slowed the follow up album and after that she found it more to her liking to go independent and be her own boss, amounting to only four full length albums, including last year's A Cauldron of Random Notes. Tasmin walks us through this journey, explaining why she made the decisions she did and where things stand today. She's every bit the unique talent she always was, she's just doing it her way. Enjoy!  www.tasminarcher.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

It's difficult to summarize Robert Margouleff's career in a nutshell. He's a musical innovator thanks to him and his musical partner Malcolm Cecil's invention of a sort of synthesizer they dubbed Tonto's Expanding Headband. Tonto caught the ear of Stevie Wonder, who brought the guy's onboard to engineer/produce him during that peak 70s period (Innervisions, Talking Book, etc). This lead to further jobs with other legends like Devo, Billy Preston and Richie Havens. Music might be most of the story, but not all. He's made movies, sang opera, sailed ships, sang opera, started businesses and tons more. He tells his story well in his newly published memoir, Shaping Sounds. Robert joins us this week to discuss it all. You won't want to miss our chat or the book! www.margouleff.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod