Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware

Today’s guest is one of Martyn’s oldest and best friends Adi Newton. Since they met at Meatwhistle arts and drama project in Sheffield in 1974, they have collaborated on several group identities including the Dead Daughters, VDK and the Studs and most famously The Future (with Ian Craig Marsh). His most successful band ClockDVA have a loyal international fanbase, and his love of the avant-garde in...

Today’s special guest on Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware is the legendary composer, producer and lyricist Jeff Wayne. In 1978, he released  Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds , his musical adaptation of  H. G. Wells ' science-fiction novel  The War of the Worlds , which went on to become a much-loved theatrical science fiction extravaganza, touring the world...

Today’s guest is the very popular physicist and musician Professor Brian Cox. He is best known as the presenter of science programmes, especially the Wonders of... series and for popular science books. Before his academic career, Brian was a keyboard player for the bands D:Ream and Dare. He is also proud of his roots in Oldham, but most of all he is an engaging and entertaining guy who passio...

Today’s episode features Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers, the remaining two members of the legendary Belgian synthpop band Telex.  They were formed in 1978 with the intention of "making something really European, different from rock, without guitar — and the idea was electronic music". Telex mixed the aesthetics of disco, punk and experimental electronic music, and their classic hit Moskow Disk...

This episode is a double whammy – it features a fascinating chat with two of the most engaging and talented luminaries of the electronic and trip hop scenes – Will Gregory and Adrian Utley. Will is best known as the lead keyboardist, producer and composer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp, having started his illustrious career performing and recording with Tears For Fears, Peter Gabriel, The C...

Tomorrow’s guest on Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware is the one and only Boy George. Is there anyone who loves pop music worldwide who doesn’t know George O’Dowd? He has been a national treasure since he emerged from the London Blitz/King’s Road scene in the early 80’s to sign for Virgin Records, where Heaven 17 and Culture Club were labelmates. His unique take revolutionised mainstream pop s...

Today’s episode is part two of the epic Odyssey-like story of Sananda Maitreya. This is unmissable. More stories of his new life in Italy and his incredible body of work under the genre title of Post Millenium Rock. His talent shines brighter than ever, and his latest album ‘Pandora’s Playhouse’ is a triumph – don’t take my word for it, have a listen… Ladies and gentlemen – the rarest of talents t...

Tomorrow’s episode features Sananda Maitreya and is somewhat of a scoop. I produced his first album ‘The Hardline According To…’ in the late 80’s, and his impact was shockingly huge and immediate. He sang like a soul angel, he moved like a combination of James Brown and Otis Redding, and his charisma was off the scale. But most importantly, his supreme songwriting and performance talent was undeni...

Jo Callis and Martyn have been friends since 1979 when The Human Leagues supported the Rezillos on their first major London date. Jo is a very talented songwriter and performer, whose influence on the major hits on Dare and other albums is underestimated. His ability to tap into the publics pop sensibility is impressive, and his good humour and intelligence makes him a natural collaborator. Ladies...

Peter Hook is a very talented friend. We are the same age, and our cultural references are almost identical, both being proud northerners. Peter’s fantastic work as part of Joy Division and then New Order is well known, and he now tours the world as Peter Hook and The Light. His storytelling is legendary, and his spirit of daring and empathetic collaboration is clear in everything he does. He has...

My good friend Sarah Jane Morris is a singer with an astonishing vocal range. She is probably best known for her stellar recordings with Jimi Somerville in The Communards, but her 40-year career is so much more diverse than that… Over the decades she has developed a loyal and loving international audience (particularly in Italy), and her rich contralto voice goes from strength to strength. She has...

Chic, Sister Sledge, Madonna, David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Sheila B Devotion, Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, Sheena Easton, Diana Ross, B-52’s, Duran Duran, Pharell Williams, Christina Aguilera, George Michael, etc.etc.etc…. the list goes on and on.  He has been an inspiration for generations of songwriters and producers. Tell me someone who doesn’t like Chic – come at me… Nile Rodgers has written...

Martyn has known Arthur Baker for many years, sometimes competing for similar productions but always remaining good friends. He is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa and Planet Patrol, and his work with New Order. His love of dance music and his creativity merged to form the ‘Arthur Baker’ sound – the origins of which heavily featu...

It’s hard to describe how much respect I have for Daniel Miller. As a creator and music producer - from the early days of The Normal (Warm Leatherette, TVOD), Silicon Teens, to Duet Emmo and Sunroof,  to his foundation of Mute Records, and his boundless support for young electronic artists, he is without doubt one of the music industry’s good guys, without whom many artists would never have f...

Rusty is a constant thread throughout the history of electronic music in the UK. Since the early days with the Rich Kids, and then Visage, his drive, invention and talent has helped to create a template for glamorous synthesised pop music. He also established the importance of the DJ tastemaker influence on the ‘scene’ at the famous Blitz club. Just as important, he has always been at the beating...

Of all the people I wanted to interview for this podcast, Tony Visconti was my number one choice. He has produced 12 of my top 20 all-time favourite albums, and he is simply one of the greatest producers of all time. Bowie, Bolan, Sparks, Paul McCartney, The Move, Iggy Pop, Kaiser Chiefs, Thin Lizzy, Holy Holy, Morrissey, Prefab Sprout, Angelique Kidjo... the list goes on and on... Then there’s th...

Morris Hayes is the much-respected musical director of New Power Generation and the trusted right hand man of Prince’s band for nearly 20 years (Prince called him 'Mr. Hayes'). He is also working with Prince’s estate and his huge vault of legacy recordings, including the recently announced, previously unheard brand-new Prince album ‘Welcome 2 America’. His stories and insights into the Paisley Par...

Neil Arthur and Martyn have known each other since they worked together on Blancmange’s first demos. They immediately became firm friends, and their mutual love of football and the north remains strong. In the 80’s, Blancmange blasted out a string of top 20 electronic pop classics like Living On The Ceiling and Blind Vision, and three classic albums, and Neil has continued in the last decade with...

Chris Watson – what a dude… Part of the original lineup of the truly legendary Cabaret Voltaire (and a major influence on the early Human League during their time together in Sheffield), his destiny was always connected to his love of sound recording. He has a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals and habitats from around the world. As a freelance composer...

Stephen Mallinder (AKA Mal from the Cabs in my memory) is a multifaceted artist and musician who was a founding member of the most seminal pre and post punk band Cabaret Voltaire, who went on to work as Sassi & Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros., Hey! Rube, Wrangler and Creep Show. He is also one of Martyn’s oldest and best friends, without whose support, mentorship and inspiration, the nascent Human Lea...

Richard  " Kid "  Strange  is an English writer, actor, musician, curator, teacher, adventurer and the founder and front man of seminal mid-1970s  protopunk art rock  band  Doctors of Madness . Martyn has been a fan of his since the Doctors first album release, and their paths only recently crossed once more when Richard and he became lecturers at Tileyard Education i...

John Foxx aka Dennis Leigh is the quietly powerful and enigmatic maker of futurist electro pop and composer of elegant soundscapes. Martyn met him and became friends whilst recording in his studio The Garden 40 years ago, and his work has remained massively influential since then, featuring an ever changing series of reinventions. His commitment to innovation and education is a powerful one. And h...

Roisin Murphy is without doubt a force of nature. After her rise to stellar fame with the band Moloko, and the club classic ‘Sing It Back’, she has matured into a unique musical visionary. Born in Ireland, moved to Manchester and settled in Sheffield, she has gone on to create some of the most intelligent and futuristic electronic pop music in the last 2 decades. Apart from being massively respect...

Gary Numan is a fascinating and surprisingly affable guy – he’s a singer, a songwriter, a composer and producer, and one of the great electronic pop pioneers. Tubeway Army started as a punk band and, under his Gary Numan persona, quickly metamorphosed into the most popular electronic futurist band of the early 80’s. He is creatively driven, a true artist who clearly doesn’t flinch from controversy...

Thomas Dolby is a very interesting and surprisingly humble renaissance man and polymath. He has always combined a fascination with the future as a kind of geeky avatar, with a playful and highly commercial musical approach. Perhaps best known for blinding us with science, Thomas Dolby has always blurred the lines between composition and invention. As a London teenager, Tom Robertson was fascinated...