Derek Shulman returns to talk about his memoir Giant Steps, charting his journey from frontman of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and Gentle Giant to music executive behind artists including Bon Jovi and AC/DC. Derek reflects on formative moments, witnessing his father’s death, early musical ambitions, his friendship with Elton John, forming Gentle Giant with Gerry Bron’s support, and working with Tony Visconti. He shares insights on artist development, avoiding rock ’n’ roll excesses, and staging the record-breaking 1991 Monsters of Rock Moscow concert.

Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey from Stage Lights to Executive Heights

Podcasts also available: Gentle Giant’s Derek Shulman and John Weathers, Chris Slade AC/DC, Rick Buckler – The Jam

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

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The post Derek Shulman’s Giant Steps appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Few music biographers have lived with the Beatles’ story quite like Philip Norman. Across shelves of bestsellers, Norman has charted the group’s myth and minutiae, from the Hamburg grind to Apple’s undoing. In a live conversation with Jason Barnard, he revisited his earliest encounters with the Fab Four, the writing of Shout!, and the shifting lens through which he now views John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

With anecdotes drawn from time spent inside Apple Corps in 1969, and encounters with figures like Yoko Ono, Brian Epstein, and Little Richard, the evening veered between poignant reflection and mischief. Norman’s candid take on Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary and his evolving appreciation for George Harrison made for particularly sharp moments. And as always, the question lingers: just how much more is left to be said about the Beatles? If you’re Philip Norman, quite a bit.

Read Me Do with Philip Norman – Substack

FortyFive Vinyl Cafe

Podcasts also available: Ray Ennis – The Swinging Blue Jeans, Philip Norman on John Lennon, George Harrison by Philip Norman, Mike McCartney’s Early Liverpool

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

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In the second part of his live interview, Paul Jones charts his path beyond Manfred Mann, through film and stage work, and his return to music with The Blues Band. Recorded at the Cat Club, Paul recalls the cult 1967 film Privilege, before turning to sessions featuring Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Paul McCartney. He reflects on a riotous tour with The Who and Small Faces, and how a renewed passion for blues led him to form a band that would last over four decades. There are tales of radio shows, and turning points; some missed, like a sitcom that made Richard Beckinsale a star, and others embraced, like his work with Dave Kelly and The Manfreds. Paul Jones remains, as ever, a storyteller with more than a few surprises up his sleeve.

Recorded live at The CAT Club, Pontefract 19 June 2025

themanfreds.com

Podcasts also available: Becoming Paul Jones (2025), Paul Jones (2022), Peter Asher, Tom McGuinness, Mike d’Abo

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

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The post Being Paul Jones: Reinvention, Longevity and the Call of the Blues appeared first on The Strange Brew .

In the first of a two-part interview, Paul Jones reflects on his formative years, from singing in cathedral choirs and discovering jazz, to forming a skiffle group and falling in love with the blues. Speaking live at The Cat Club, Paul offers sharp and often funny insights into his early career: turning down a young Brian Jones’s offer to front what would become the Rolling Stones, joining Manfred Mann, and helping take the group to the top of the charts with hits like ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’ and ‘Pretty Flamingo.’ But as the music grew increasingly pop-driven, Paul made the bold decision to walk away and pursue a solo path, one that proved even harder to control.

Recorded live at The CAT Club, Pontefract 19 June 2025

themanfreds.com

Podcasts also available: Paul Jones (2022), Mike Vickers, Tom McGuinness, Mike d’Abo,

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

The post Becoming Paul Jones: Early Influences, Manfred Mann and Making It appeared first on The Strange Brew .

As the voice and driving force of The Swinging Blue Jeans, Ray Ennis helped shape the sound of Merseybeat, blending trad jazz and beat music into hits including ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’ and ‘You’re No Good.’ Ray reflects on the Cavern Club days, where The Beatles supported them, the group’s Hamburg education, and the missed chances that might have made them transatlantic giants. Even today, Ray remains wry, clear-eyed, and passionate about music. This is a rare insight into an artist who was at the centre of Britain’s 1960s pop revolution.

The Swinging Blue Jeans – Hippy Hippy Shake! by Peter Checksfield

Ray Ennis podcast tracks

Podcasts also available: Mike McCartney’s Early Liverpool, Mike Pender – The Searchers, Tony Hazzard, Tony Waddington

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

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Few musicians of Mike Batt’s vintage are still pushing creative boundaries with the same fervour that defined their youth. In a career-spanning conversation, Mike discusses his Kickstarter campaign for his Ukraine Symphony; a four-movement orchestral work shaped by war, hope, and human resilience. The interview touches on everything from his self-taught mastery of orchestration, early work with Family and Jeff Lynne’s The Idle Race, to writing ‘Bright Eyes’ and orchestrating XTC. He speaks candidly about the realities of funding new classical music in the streaming era and why, no matter what, this symphony will be completed.

Mike Batt (photo by Claire Williams)

Mike Batt: A Symphony – The Kickstarter Campaign ends on 28 July

Podcasts also available: Mike Batt (2020), Roger Chapman – Family, Jeff Wayne, Allan Clarke (2023)

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

The post Mike Batt on songwriting and his symphony appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett discusses his new live album The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall. Steve reflects on reimagining Genesis classics from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, his pioneering guitar techniques, and the tensions created by releasing solo material whilst still in the group. He also shares insights into his creative process, from incorporating 1950s British cultural references into performances to his innovative two-hand tapping technique inspired by Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” – a method that became fundamental to modern rock guitar playing.

The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall by Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett: The Lamb Stands Up podcast tracks

Podcasts also available: Steve Hackett (2022), Steve Hackett (2020), Tony Banks (2024), Tony Banks (2019), Anthony Phillips, Bill Bruford, Chester Thompson

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

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What do you get when you mix a band of power pop visionaries into the jaws of crooked management and catastrophic misfortune. You get Head First, Badfinger’s great lost album, a masterpiece taped in 11 days, buried for half a century, and finally exhumed by Bob Jackson, the last man standing. Jackson lays it all out: the betrayal, the lawsuits, and the heartbreak, but also the defiance, the friendship, and the songs. It’s a tale so tragic it makes Let It Be look like a garden party, and yet Jackson is still here, championing the greatness of Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins.

Badfinger – Head First is out now

Bob Jackson podcast tracks

Podcasts also available: Joey Molland, Jeff Wayne, Steve Harley, Ian Hunter 

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

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Al Jardine reflects on the life and legacy of Brian Wilson and his own musical path. In the wake of Wilson’s passing, Jardine speaks about the emotional weight of touring with the Pet Sounds Band, his new EP Islands In The Sun, the group dynamics of The Beach Boys, and why he still sees himself as a student of the “Brian Wilson school of music.”

Al Jardine – Islands In The Sun EP

Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band tour dates

Al Jardine podcast tracks

Podcasts also available: David Marks, Gerry Beckley – America, Russ Giguere – The Association

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Dylan Jones has long been one of British journalism’s more discerning cultural archaeologists, whether digging into David Bowie’s legacy or chronicling the evolution of British style. In 1975: The Year the World Forgot, he turns his attention to what he sees as an unfairly overlooked moment in musical history, a year caught between the idealism of the 60s and the insurgency of punk. Jones speaks with Jason Barnard about rescuing 1975 from the “bowels of anonymity,” reflecting on a year where sophistication, soul, krautrock and the singer-songwriter tradition converged in rich and sometimes unfashionable ways. Together, they reassess forgotten classics, cocaine-fuelled creativity, and why Steely Dan may still be the guiltiest of pleasures.

Dylan Jones – 1975: The Year the World Forgot

Podcasts also available: Phil Manzanera – Revolución to Roxy, Main Course: Bob Stanley on the Bee Gees’ Reinvention, British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974, Davey Johnstone – The Elton John Band

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and all usual platforms

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The post 1975: The Year the World Forgot appeared first on The Strange Brew .