The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show

S6E49 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio on 7 Dec 2023 at 19h00.  Fourth last show of 2023, this year has flown.  We kicked off at the start of the alphabet and checked out Alter Bridge off the Fortress.  It was a great way to start, a nice build-up to 3 hours of rock and metal. 

This week's Immortal slot went to the Mightly Judas Priest with ‘Blood Red Skies’ off Ram It Down

The Diabolical Challenge took in the year 1970.  Back in those days there were only about 20 releases to choose from but man, the quality of those twenty !  Here they are:  

 Black Sabbath – Paranoid

Deep Purple – In Rock

Uriah Heep – Gypsy

Led Zeppelin – III

 Artists featured:  Alter Bridge, Danko Jones, Ted Nugent, Marilyn Manson, Poison, Edguy, Dio, Chickenfoot, Airbourne, Cold Chisel, Vandenburg, Rush, Rammstein, Grandfunk Railroad, Roger Kaye, ACDC, Slash, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones. The Pretty Reckless, Sophie Lloyd, Dan Patlansky, Pebbleman, Bullet For My Vallentine, Paradox, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, The Stranglers, Def Leppard, Mercyful Fate, Philistine, Saxon.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E48 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio on 30 Nov 2023.  All last week’s technical problems were sorted and we had a hassle-free show other than the fact that I forgot to turn on the inverter before load shedding which took us off air for 5 min.  The podcast is fine but that’s what that was about when I mentioned it.  The show kicked off and closed off with KISS.  This amazing band are largely responsible for my love for rock and metal.  As detailed in the Book The Story of Rock and Roll, once I heard KISS for the first time I was hooked forever.  KISS are playing their last show on 2 Dec 2023 and that will be at Madison Square Gardens.  After that, it’s the end of KISS as a live act.   That is what the band are saying whether or not they will ever do a one-off who knows 

The Immortals track this week was ‘The King Will Come’ off Wishbone Ash’s career highwater mark Argus.  Amazing track by an amazing band.   

This week's Diabolical Challenge looked at 1998: 

Marilyn Manson -Mechanical Animals

System of a Down – System of a Down

Pearl Jam – Wishlist

Kid Rock – Devil Without a Cause

Artists Featured:  KISS, Burn Halo, Hinder, Dave Hause, Volbeat, Joel Hoekstra’s 13, Elegant Weapons, Coheed & Cambria, Hell Fire, Black Stone Cherry, Frank Marino, Whitesnake, Montrose, Van Halen, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, The Cure, Stiff Little Fingers, David Bowie, Rush, ACDC, Ozzy Osbourne, Sixx A.M., Sister Sin, Summerlands, Wishbone Ash, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, Pearl Jam, Kid Rock, The Pogues, Tom Waites, Metallica, Hell Yeah, Piet Botha & Jack Hammer. Valiant Swart, The Rolling Stones, KISS.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E47 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 23 Nov 2023.  The live show was a bit of a disaster due to the fibre going down, I had to abort half way through.  The podcast however is great.  We kicked off with ‘Good Times’ by Jimmy Barnes in a duet with the late great Michael Hutchins.  From there it was ‘all systems dogs’ as Danie Maritz used to say.  We covered a wide range of rock and roll from around the world and across the decades.  See Artists featured below to check out who was on the show.  

The Immortals track this week featured Guitar God Yngwie Malmsteen.   His Rising Force album left guitarists around the world gob smacked.  It was hard to believe anyone could play this fast with super human precision.  The Icarus Dream Suite is the prefect showcase of what Yngwie was all about.  

This weeks Diabolical Challenge didn’t get a lot of love.  It is interesting how many people that love rock and metal and know all the classic bands seemed to stop listening in about 2010.  I found it difficult to get any clear favourite out of these four.  Most people just had not listened to them:

Foo Fighters – Concrete and Gold

Arch Enemy – Will To Power

Kreator – Gods of Violence

Accept – The Rise of Chaos

Artists featured:  Jimmy Barnes, Clutch, The L.A. Maybe, Twisted Sister, Junkyard, ZZ Top, Judas Priest, Queensrÿche, Corey Taylor, Seether, The Winery Dogs, The Gaslight Anthem, Attick Demons, Iron Allies, Nita Strauss, Sophie Lloyd, Tesla, We Are Harlot, Jackson Colt, Wonderboom, The Cure, The Clash, blink-182, Those Damn Crows, St. Aurora, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Foo Fighters, Accept, Kreator, Arch Enemy, Hinder, Jethro Tull, Sister Sin, Union, White Wizard, KISS.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E46 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 16 Nov 2023.  We kicked off with Megadeth and that strange coincidence whereby both Metallica and Megadeth independent of each other used the children’s rhythm “Now I lay me down to sleep”.  Check out 'Artists featured' to see who was played and whereabouts in the show.  It was a pretty chaotic show, just like the old days, with lots of technical problems and lots of laughs.     

The Immortals track was a toss-up between Judas Priest and Joe Bonamassa 

The Diabolical Challenge this week looked at 4 albums from 2008: 

The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound

Volbeat – Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood

Metallica – Death Magnetic

Guns ‘n’ Roses – Chinese Democracy 

Artists Featured:  Megadeth, BlackØwl, Great White, Thunder, Airbourne, Marilyn Manson, Tin Machine, Blue Öyster Cult, The Sweet, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, KISS, Scorpions, Jared James Nichols, Sophie Lloyd & Michael Starr, Marvelous 3, Black Star Riders, Kan Roberts, Status Quo, Tomm petty, Thin Lizzy, Jimi Hendrix, Attick Demons, Triumph, Joe Bonamassa, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Metallica, The Gaslight Anthem, Volbeat, The Rolling Stones, Supertramp, Texas Hippie Coalition, U.D.O., In Flames, Arch enemy, Foo Fighters

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E45 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 8 Nov 2023.  Check out artists featured below to get a flavour of what we played.  The South African music was covered with two brand new tracks from Vaughn Prangley and Jackson Colt.  

There is a bit of confusion at 43:56 where I thought the mic was off but it wasn't and then turned it off and did the bit again because I didn't know what we had captured.  The joys of live radio.  

This week's Immortals track was Johnny Was by Stiff Little Fingers and for the Diabolical Challenge we looked at 1968.  

The Beatles – The White Album

Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

Jeff Beck - Truth 

Artists featured:  Slash, Seether, Herman Frank, Thundermother, The Pretty Reckless, Great White, Sons of Liberty, Judas Priest, Burn the Priest, The Sweet, The Temperance Movement, W.A.S.P., Whiskey Myers, Texas Hippie Coalition, The Gaslight Anthem, Tin Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Union, The Dead Daisies, Volbeat, Dirty Honey, Alice Cooper, Hell Fire, Metallica, Tremonti, Stiff Little Fingers, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Triumph, Rush, Vaughn Prangley, Jackson Colt, Airbourne, Tom Petty, Kid Rock

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E44 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 2 November 2023.  It was nice to be broadcasting live again after a week away.  It was one of those shows where we just ran out of time. Highlights included new tracks by Green Day and Blink 182.  We also looked at John Corabi’s work and I discussed his awesome Biography ‘Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.   

This episode's Diabolical Challenge looked at 4 albums from 1996: 

Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar

In Flames – The Jesters Race

Soundgarden – Down on the Upside

Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows

This week The Immortal's track was off A Night at the Opera by Queen.  It's a track that got overshadowed by 'Bohemian Rapsody' and it totally show cases what Queen were all about.  I am of course talking about 'The Prophets Song'.

Artists featured:  Hell Yeah, Led Zeppelin, Greta Van Fleet, Walking Papers, Danko Jones, Dirty Honey, Trouble, Loverboy, Triumph, Type O Negative, James Reyne, Jimmy Barnes, Bryan Adams, Joe Jackson, Green Day, Blink 182, Mötley Crüe, The Dead Daisies, Warrant, Chickenfoot, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, Joe Walsh, Tesla, Queen, Marilyn Manson, Sound Garden, In Flames, Zakk Wylde, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, Windowpane, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Jasper Dan

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 43 went out pre-recorded as I was in the Maldives.  The show aired at 19h00 on 26 October 2023 on Rebel Rock Radio.  There is a great interview with Cindy Louise and super talented South African lady working out of The Netherlands.  We got a scoop by playing her brand new track Innocence which was released on Friday morning 27 Oct

The Immortals for this episode was Iron Maiden's 'Blood Brothers'

The Diabolical Challenge looked at 4 albums from 2016:

Airbourne - Breaking Out of Hell
Volbeat - Seal The Deal and Let's Boogie
Sixx A.M. - Prayers for the Blessed
Megadeth - The Threat Is Real

Artists featured: Alice Cooper, Bullet Boys, Van Halen, Warrior Soul, Beautiful Creatures, KK's Priest, Ar=erosmith, The Rolling Stones, Tesla, Circus of Power, Marilyn Manson, Buckcherry, Foo Fighters, The Answer, Overdrivers, U.D.O., White Wizard, Cindy-Louise, Wolf, Burning Witches, Judas Priest, Irin Maiden, Airbourne, Volbeat, Megadeth, Sixx A.M., Sir Lord Baltimore, Rory Gallagher, Blue Øyster Cult, The Allman Brothers Band, Arch Enemy, Texas Hippie Coalition, The Rolling Stones.

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

S6E42 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 19 October 2023.  It was a tough one, those of you who listen regularly to TSORR will have heard me mention Athol Curtis on many occasions.  Athol has been a fan of TSORR since it started on Mix FM on 21 12 2017.  We were musical brothers and I considered him the TSORR Musical Director due to his many suggested tracks for the shows.  Athol sadly passed away Tuesday night 17 Oct.  His family and friends are devastated at the loss of this amazing human being.  Athol was born to rock, he was a uniquely charismatic individual, full of life and energy and always supporting and helping everyone around him.  He was a party animal with a heart of gold.  He was the 'effervescent antidepressant'.    

This entire show was dedicated to Athol.  I wasn't sure how it would go, and I tried to keep it upbeat and focused on the good times and the power of the music rather than the sadness.  I will miss him forever and I hope I have done him justice in these 3 hours.  All of these tracks were favourites of ours and in most cases, I have vivid memories of discussing them with him over the last 6 years.  Rest in Peace my brother I will miss you

Foo Fighters, Judas Priest, KISS, L.A. Rats. Audioslave, Type O Negative, Shinedown, Skid Row, Buckcherry, Danko Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead, Billy Idol, Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones, ACDC, Def Leppard, Rammstein, Böhse Onklez, The Stranglers, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Scorpios, Quiet Riot, Cinderella, Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Hinder, Kid Rock, The Distillers, The Cult, Tom Petty

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 41 of season 6 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 12 October 2023.  Just before kick-off, we heard the sad news on the death of Kobus de Kok Jnr, frontman for The Black Cat Bones.  The Bones are without doubt one of SA’s top bands and Kobus was a phenomenal frontman.  Condolences to Andre Kriel and the rest of the band.  It changed the show a bit as it was necessary to pay tribute to The Black Cat Bones.  RIP Kobus and strength to his family and long-time friend and bandmate Andre Kriel.  The show kicked off with Dokken and 'Dream Warriors' off the Nightmare on Elm Street soundtrack.  From there we went through all sorts of stuff, and you can follow the sequence in Artists featured below.  

The Immortals slot this week was filled by a track that is a rock classic in anyone’s book, 'L.A. Woman' by The Doors.  No doubt this will be a contender when we do the best of the 2023 Immortals at the end of the year. 

The Diabolical Challenge we looked at 1989: 

Motley Crue – Dr Feelgood

The Cult – Sonic Temple

Tesla – The Great Radio Controversy

Skid Row – Skid Row

Artists featured:  Dokken The Black Cat Bones, Seether, Rainbow, Sammy Hagar, Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, Lord Sir Baltimore, Rose Tattoo, Shinedown, Rush, Wolfmother, Biters, Halestorm, Thundermother, Billy Idol, Bill Joe Armstrong, Joe Strummer, Q5, Stone Senate, Winery Dogs, W.A.S.P., Black Sabbath, The Clash, Judas Priest, The Doors, Mötley Crüe, The Cult, Tesla, Skid Row, Beautiful Creatures, Badlands, Piet Botha, The Black Cat Bones, Steve Winwood.

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Epidose 40 of Season 6 went out live on Rebel Rock Radio at 19h00 on 5 October 2023.  It has been six long years since we lost Tom Petty, hard to believe, such a tragedy.  Epidose was a typo but it is quite cool so I will keep it instead of Episode, hopefully not getting Alzheimer's, I have only been retired for a month, seems a bit quick.  The show kicked off with Airbourne and a track called Raise the Flag.  And that is what we did,  raised the flag for rock and roll for 180 minutes.   Check out the artists featured list below to see who we played, it’s sequential if you are looking for something in particular.   

The Immortals this week was taken care of by Jethro Tull and a live version of Aqualung off Bursting Out – Live

The Diabolical Challenge looked at 2002:

The Albums were:

Seether – Disclaimer

System of a Down – Steal This Album

Audioslave – Audioslave

Bruce Springsteen – The Rising

Artists featured:  Airbourne, Body Count, Kadavar, Face To Face, The Distillers, Michael Schenker Group, ad Company, Joe Bonamassa, Hell Yeah, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Billy Idol, Halestorm, Buckcherry, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Texas Hippie Coalition, Bernie Torme, The Almighty, Sixx A.M., Talking heads, Pop Evil, ACDC, KK’s Priest, Twisted Sister, Jethro Tull, Seether, System of A Down, Audioslave, Bruce Springsteen, Collective Soul, The Stranglers, Sham 69, Megadeth, Metallica, Slash, The Kiffness, Koos Kombuis, David Bowie

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock