Famous Lost Words

This week, part three of our celebration of ‘70s rock! Our previous two episodes consisted of interviews that, for the most part, had not been heard on our show before.  But we realized that there were also a number of artists that people were asking about… like Aerosmith, Heart, April Wine… and to the chagrin of Christopher and the joy of Tom… KISS! What we’r...

          We start this episode with Tom telling the story of how he almost got fired from his job – and how it almost meant the end of Famous Lost Words before it even started! Then we continue with our series on ‘70s Rock.  Last week we featured Boston, The Doobie Brothers, Jethro Tull, BTO and others.  This week, more from that era, including a great series of interview clips with Mick Jones an...

We’ve been doing this show for almost 7 years and we’re finally doing series of episodes on that much maligned and much beloved genre… ‘70s rock! This week, we have classic interviews with the likes of Brad Delp, the phenomenal lead singer of Boston, who we lost far too soon.  Delp talks about his humble beginnings as well as the obsessive leader of the group, Tom Scholz. We also have some great c...

This week, an excellent 2005 interview with Roger Hodgson, as he reflects on the glory days of Supertramp, his post-breakup years and his relationship with his former bandmates.  Roger also tells the very entertaining stories behind two of Supertramp’s biggest hits.             We also have Tom’s chat with the wonderful Natasha Bedingfield from the early 2000s.  Natasha is a very good singer and s...

First up this week is an extraordinary 1992 interview with Lindsey Buckingham.  Lindsey recently turned 75 and is still creating music, but it’s so interesting to hear him more than 30 years ago. Although the interview was ostensibly to promote his solo work, Lindsey talks a lot about Fleetwood Mac – from the early days all the way through to Tango In The Night.  And we even have a bonus clip of S...

          We are back with Season Ten!  Christopher and Tom begin by talking about their favourite interviews ever.            Then, we launch into one of the best interviews you’ll ever hear with one the most reluctant rock stars ever – Robert Plant.  This 2005 interview with our friend Bill Welychka is very revealing.  And within that interview is three episodes of “When Rock Stars attack… which...

Season Ten of Famous Lost Words is coming soon! - You’re days away from hearing Robert Plant take pot shots at just about everyone, including himself.   - You’ll hear the unusual story of how an 11-year-old was directly responsible for the first big hit by Tom's favourite band.  – We have Lindsey Buckingham talking about his solo career, Fleetwood Mac, and Stevie Nicks  – A blues legend reveals hi...

FLW Special - Purple Rain at 40           In this very special episode, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the film “Purple Rain”.  The overwhelming success of the movie made Prince the first artist in history to have the same project simultaneously #1 on the singles, albums, and movie charts in the United States.           We speak to one of the foremost Prince experts; author an...

With Taylor Swift being a big part of the pop culture conversation lately, we thought we’d present three Taylor interviews from our archives, one that has never been heard on FLW. From 2019 – a great chat with Taylor and broadcaster Shannon Burns, talking about Swift’s album “Lover” and how it reflects a more positive outlook than the moodier “Reputation”. She also talks about putting “Easter Eggs...

A Famous Lost Words drinking game?  Is this REALLY a good idea? Tom proposes a non-alcoholic version that is based solely on his own (many) verbal quirks. For our last episode of season 9, we begin with Carly Simon in conversation with broadcaster Ingrid Schumacher in 1987.  This was a great year for Carly because she had just worked on the soundtrack for the movie “Heartburn” and her new album “C...

This week, a very good example of the wide range of artists in the Famous Lost Words archives…             First up is a collection of early ‘70s conversations with Crosby, Stills & Nash, where David, Stephen and Graham cover the entire history of the group.  Plus, maybe Tom’s worst interviewing moment when Stephen Stills takes him to task for asking what we thought was a reasonable question. ...

 This week, part 2 of our series on R&B, Soul, Disco and Hip-Hop!  As usual, we have a great collection of interview clips with some of the greatest artists of the genre. -        Tina Turner breaks down her performing style (and explains why she didn’t like her voice) -        Michael Jackson recalls the earliest days of The Jackson 5 -        The O’Jays explain how they initially rejected on...

            It’s part 1 of our epic two-part celebration of Soul, R&B, disco and hip-hop!  We’ve gathered an incredible collection of interview moments with some of the greatest artists of the genre. We’ll hear from: Gladys Knight & The Pips – Gladys breaks down every element that goes into making a great record. She also rightly insists there should be a Grammy Award for backing vocals. E...

In this special episode, we pay tribute to the late Myles Goodwyn, the lead singer and songwriter of April Wine. Myles was seemingly in good health and spirits in late September as he and April Wine were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.  Goodwyn was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. We feature two segments from the Famous Lost Words archives.  First up is Tom's 2021 int...

            In what can only be described as a hell of a coincidence, this week we feature a series  of clips with Daryl Hall & John Oates.  These are particularly interesting in light of the news of Daryl suing John, and even asking for a restraining order against his old friend and bandmate.  First up is both guys from 1981, around the time of the “Voices” album. Then about a year later in ’...

          This week... an absolute gem – a 2004 interview with Prince. You’ve never heard him sound so loose and relaxed as he talks about playing live, his legacy, working with his incredible band and his fight with his record label.           He’s also very funny.  After one fan asks about Prince’s legendary vault of unheard music, Prince looks at the guy and says “Hmmm….I’m trying to figure out...

            This week – it’s the finale of our epic three-part celebration of New Wave!  Among the shows highlights… ⁃ Phil Oakey of Human League talks about his musical ineptitude as well as the League’s worst concert ever ⁃ Chrissie Hynde explains the meaning behind the Pretenders breakout hit “Brass In Pocket” ⁃ OMD discuss how a love song about an infamous war plane became their first hit ⁃ Bo...

          What is the greatest New Wave album of all time? Christopher and Tom (along with our special guest, Rob Preuss of The Spoons) break down the results of our recent listener survey.  They also answer the question: Is The Clash REALLY a new wave band??           Plus, we feature some amazing interview clips from the archives… David Byrne talks about creating the stage show for Stop Making S...

This week, we kick off our most ambitious series yet – it’s the music of New Wave.  We dove deep into the archives for classic interviews that encompass the “twitchy, but tuneful” music of the early ‘80s.  And for this episode, Christopher and Tom welcome former Spoons keyboardist (and Broadway music director) Rob Preuss!  Rob is a New Wave geek who was not only in the middle of the explosion of n...

In our Season 9 premiere, we feature a couple of amazing interviews with Paul McCartney.  First up, from 1976, Paul tells Canadian broadcast legend Roger Ashby about his creative process, his influences and the long shadow of The Beatles.  And from 1980, Macca describes how he ended up playing the bass originally, the inspiration for making “Sgt Pepper” and the tensions in creating The White Album...

We are just a matter of days away from the start of Season 9 of Famous Lost Words.  We predict it will be one of our best seasons yet, because we are FINALLY going to release our New Wave episodes! Almost a full year after we first promised, we will feature the likes of Human League, Devo, XTC, Blondie, The Spoons, Duran Duran, Pretenders, Simple Minds, Soft Cell, Howard Jones and many more.  And...

This is a special tribute edition of Famous Lost Words as we honour the life and music of Robbie Robertson. Today, we go back in the archives for some excellent interview clips with Robbie – first from the early ‘70s when he was still in The Band – and then to 1998 as he talks about his solo work.           Robertson talks about hooking up with Bob Dylan in the mid ‘60s and also the creation of “T...

Today, we’re digging deep into the Famous Lost Words archives as we remember Tina Turner.              First up is a series of interview clips with Tina from the early ‘70s as she recalls the early days of her career – from the moment that she first jumped up on stage to her years with Ike Turner and her work with Phil Spector.  She talks about her performing style and why she didn’t much care for...

In this special tribute edition, we remember the life and career of Gordon Lightfoot.  In this episode, we have interview clips from over the years.  It's a rich treasure trove of highlights in which you'll get to know Lightfoot very well.  His thoughtfulness, his love of songwriting, his regrets, his ambition and his sense of humour.   We'll feature a 2006 interview with musician Robbie Lane, in...

            We’re finishing off season 8 with a real banger!  First up is one of the best interviews from the archives – a 2007 chat with Mike Reno of Loverboy. Mike is a gifted storyteller as he explains the origins of the band’s name, why a legacy band creates new music, and why they were embraced by MTV immediately.             Mike also talks about their late bassist Scott Smith, who was decla...