The RHODcasts

Long before a suspected North Korean gang stole $6.3billion from crypto exchange Binance, mind-boggling sums of money have been illicitly taken from people’s crypto accounts. Rhod Sharp tells the story of a couple who risked everything on a Bitcoin bet and won a new life for themselves - only to lose it all in minutes to organized crime. None of their precautions saved them. The FBI investigated, for a few hours. British police sent them a “helpful” booklet. In this ruthless online world, we are all Fortune’s Fools.

“Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern have done it again.” So began one of the most glowing reviews of a new Broadway show that Dorothy Parker ever wrote. The objects of her affection were the three most successful creators of new musicals in the years both before and after the United States entered World War One. One - Jerome Kern - would stay firmly in the business of making music for the stage. Two - Guy Bolton and PG Wodehouse - would make a splash as writers in Hollywood. And then Wodehouse would go on to even greater fame with the Jeeves and Blandings novels for which he is most fondly remembered today. In Oh Boy! Wodehouse on Broadway Rhod Sharp reunites with Tony Staveacre to tell that origin story of a young writer making his way in New York and discover Wodehouse’s elegantly simple, funny and sometimes touching lyrics and hear them brought to life.

To celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth the Second, memories of one of the Queen’s most incident-filled world tours. Having accepted an invitation from President Reagan to visit his home state of California in February and March 1983, the Queen and her party run into some really wild and wet weather. In Long to Rain Over Us, Rhod Sharp and his guests Andrew Morton (“The Queen” “Diana ”"The Morton Files") and Emmy-award winning broadcaster and columnist Patt Morrison talk over the tour which threw them together and how, often enjoyably for the Queen, things went West.

In When Jazz Came to Europe, Tony Staveacre and Rhod Sharp uncover the story of a musical innovator who has never had the recognition he deserves in his own country. Philadelphia’s Sam Wooding not only brought his band to Europe, but a whole new sound.

In Tony’s Taste of Comedy, Tony Staveacre takes Rhod Sharp on a lightning tour of some of the best standup comedians of the twentieth century - from the forgotten to the unforgettable. Thus Sid Field (bottom right) one of the first standups to make a living doing impressions, and Billy Bennett (top right) a war hero who nevertheless portrayed himself as "almost a gentleman." Tony's lifelong involvement with comedy and comedians through his books and TV shows results in a very personal take on what makes us all more human.

In Dream World - The Life and Death of Al Bowlly, Rhod Sharp and Tony Staveacre explore the story of a 1930s British superstar who outsold Bing Crosby. With seven of his original hits, here is Al Bowlly’s explosive career remembered in archive interviews with fellow band members and friends.

Rhod Sharp and Tony Staveacre take a fond look back at the 57 year career of the beloved British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor. Tony caddies for Tim on the golf course where they grew up, stopping along the way to remember Tim’s radio heroes.

What was the prevailing sound on the Titanic? Light music, and lots of it. In The Band Played On, Tony Staveacre and Rhod Sharp recreate the musical voyage of SS Titanic, with a pickup band from the Savage Club of Bristol performing numbers from the White Star line songbook. 

Rhod talks to his old friend JAMES (Jim) NAUGHTIE about Jim’s introduction to the country 50 years ago this year and other memories collected in his book On The Road. (Recorded November 2020)

Starting at a party thrown by the Kennedy family at their compound on Martha’s Vineyard and ending with an autumn 2020 encounter in a Scranton, PA. coffee shop with two voters separated by generations and party affiliation, JIM NAUGHTIE weaves more stories of the  changing American body politic while asserting unshakeable faith in human nature.