The Hustle

Google Richard James Burgess. Trust me. His list of accomplishments, inventions, innovations, businesses, etc is long. We focus on his production career here and it barely scratches the surface. He started out in the late 70s as the frontman for a quirky synthpop band called Landscape that had a couple hits in the UK. He quickly went into production work starting with the first couple Spandau Ballet albums and then became a go-to guy for vibrant pop music with a dance accents and an r&b angle. His credits during this time include King, Living in a Box, Adam Ant, Kim Wilde, Shreikback, When in Rome and straight r&b with Five Star, New Edition and Imagination. Legends like Kate Bush and Thomas Dolby are in there too. He's an extremely interesting guy with a great musical resume. Enjoy!

This week we are honored to welcome our good friend, and first time author, BJ Kramp to the show to talk about his new book on Cheap Trick. Many of us may feel like we have a book somewhere inside of us, but BJ actually did, conducting hundreds of interviews to tell the origin story of one of the greatest American bands ever. We learn about his writing process, the band's involvement, and why he connects with Cheap Trick so much. The book is great and we're incredibly proud of our friend and his accomplishment. 

We did it! It only took 382 episodes, but we finally get to hear from the great Howard Jones! Next week sees the release of his new album, Dialogue, which is the 3rd album of a four-part series that discusses the issues of our time and humanity's responsibility to find common ground. If anyone knows about staying positive in the face of adversity, it's Howard Jones! We also discuss his performance at Live Aid, the ups and downs of his career, following his creative muse, and why he's so huge in Utah. The world needs more Howard Jones, we're grateful to have him! 

Writer Mitchell Cohen started working in the music business during those heady days in the 70s that we imagine as the peak period for record labels. When Clive Davis began Arista Records, Mitchell was there on the ground floor doing marketing and A&R and helping to build the label into what it would become. He writes about these experiences in his new book, Looking for the Magic, that details label politics, building marketing campaigns, and highlighting musicians big and small. He shares those stories with us as well. Enjoy! 

Gang of Four's 1979 debut album Entertainment! defined what we think of when we think of "post-punk". They perfected the mix of angular guitars crossed with disco bass, driving beats and political lyrics. The band's sound continued to evolve over time, but never lost its bite or urgency. Unfortunately, as with most bands, there's been a lot of animosity over the decades, but with the passing of guitarist Andy Gill last year, frontman Jon King is carrying the torch and recently completed a successful US tour. Jon and I discuss Andy's death, being banned by the BBC, whether David Byrne stole his look, being on the Karate Kid soundtrack, curating their new box set, and all the albums. Gang of Four deserve the deepest of deep dives. If you don't know them that well, now's your chance! 

Annabella Lwin has seen a lot. More than she wants to talk about, honestly. We know the story - discovered at 13 and made the lead singer of a band masterminded by the outlandish Malcolm McLaren, Bow Wow Wow. They make a sound no one's ever heard before and leave behind a bunch of hits no one will ever forget (sadly, only "I Want Candy" got much traction in the States). The career she had would never fly now, not like it did then, but she's survived a lot, including the end of the band, a solo album and grinding away as an artist in a tough business. These days Annabella is mostly viewed as the icon she is and plays many shows a year, including a couple Lost 80s Live shows on 8/20 and 25. We touch on all of this, address some tough stuff, and move past others. She can still do it all and better than ever. 

Rock in Retrospect host Nick Bambach recently had Jon and Haydn Murdoch of the INXS: Access All Areas podcast on his show to make their case why INXS deserves consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is our impassioned plea!

www.rockinretrospect.buzzsprout.com

This week is another legendary producer, the fantastic Stephen Street! Stephen first came to prominence when he engineered those classic Smiths album like Meat is Murder and The Queen is Dead. He ultimately produced the Strangeways, Here We Come album, which led to a partnership with Morrissey on his solo debut. Stephen is also best known for his work with Blur and producing Parklife, one of the ultimate British albums of the modern era. He's also had long collaborations with the Cranberries and the Kaiser Chiefs. We also get in albums he's done with New Order, the Psychedelic Furs, Suede, and much more. Stephen's talent has defined a sound specific to British alternative guitar pop of the 80s and 90s. Here's his story! 

Jon, Andy and Jan recap the second quarter's episodes, and discuss what's going on in their lives, and gigs.  Jan's curious love of redheads makes an appearance ( you think he'd learn, after the first one ).

We also get into gig openers, and discuss our faves!  Make sure and tell us yours!

There's also some great music available.  Check out the following:

Opener: The Byson Family 

Dusty: Dusty Miller

Our featured song for this recap can be found at Rich Bischoff Original Music

In Minneapolis, the Peterson family musical dynasty goes back decades. Paul Peterson didn't even have to think about what he'd do with his life. In his late teens, he was pegged to join Morris Day and the Time for their Ice Cream Castles album which became their biggest and featured hits like "Jungle Love" and "The Bird". From there, Prince decided to build The Family, one of his many 80s side projects, around the voices of Paul and Susannah Melvoin. But, after one album The Family ended and Paul went solo. For over 30 years, Paul has been making his own music (new album Break On Free just came out) and working as an in demand hired gun for people like Steve Miller, Kenny Loggins, Oleta Adams and Donny Osmond. In addition to his excellent new album, Paul has a great podcast called Music on the Run about staying in shape on the road. It's a unique and fascinating story you have to hear!