Music Stories with Tony Lloyd

So good to catch up again with Pete from D-Ream, sadly Al MacKenzie was stuck in an airport somewhere and couldn't make it in time but I'm sure we will get him again in the future! Of course I had to start off by asking him about the ex Prime Minister's resignation speech in the rain when someone played 'Things will only Get Better' from the end of Downing Street! We chat...

Fabulous to chat to Dave from The Cathodes about his past, it turns out we have a bit in common making keyboards! The Cathodes have a great new single out ' Bye, Bye Love' and Dave tells me how it came about, I play a bit for you and you will hear that it's a great track! Dave has some surprising advice for fellow musicians, and he tells be about his record label too. Find out all a...

I interview the multi talented Georgina at Sonic Studios in London about her career and projects so far. She has some great advice for other performers, I am sure we will see and hear much more from Georgina in the future! The video version of this interview can be seen at Backstagetony.tv here: https://www.youtube.com/@backstagetonytv/videos Her music and more can be found here: www.georginawhite...

I talk to Arlene who was in her kitchen, complete with a fabulous Jukebox and Mirror Ball!  She worked as cabin crew for 25 years before realising her talent as a singer songwriter. What she has achieved since the change is astounding, recording in Nashville, working and collaborating with the best, professional musicians, and more.  Singing mainly country songs ( Nashville is a clue) Arlene has r...

A pleasure to chat to Denise Marsa who is an award winning singer songwriter and has been producing music for decades. She has so much experience in the music industry and of course I ask her what advice she has for people starting out or trying to survive in the music world, she has lot's of great advice!  Denise was the female singer on Dean Friedman's hit song 'Lucky Stars'...

Louis and I hit it off straight away and we had lots of fun making this episode! His legendary father was huge in the jazz / swing / dance world ( he was the guy who sang 'I just Wanna Be Like You' as King Louis in the film The Jungle Book!) and Louis Junior is following in his footsteps!  Louis tells me how he grew up in a musical family, his mother taught him to play drums - and now he...

I chat to Luke one of the brothers ( with Joel ) from the multi award winning 'For King & Country' ( listen to the list of awards!) about their inspirational family story from nothing to success. Their single 'Unsung Hero' from the album of the same name is beautiful and for the first time on Music Stories I play the whole track!  They have also released a fabulous film of...

Son of Bee Gee Maurice Gibb, Nick is a very accomplished music producer and singer, songwriter and it was a pleasure to catch up with him again ( listen to episode 10 ). He has released a new song 'Better Way' to raise funds and awareness for the fast disappearing Amazon Rain Forest and other areas and I play a bit for you, it's very good! We talk about people's attitude to suc...

It was fantastic to catch up with Gareth again, he tells me briefly what he's been up to in the last 12 months, including performing with Bonnie Raitt !  His new album 'Welcome to the House of I Don't Know' is out now and he tells me the meaning behind the title.  Gareth's single from the album 'Go Down Swinging' is brilliant and I play a bit to give you a taste,...

Just 22 years old Allegra was signed when she was only 14 but listen to her music which is incredible and very mature. Her new single ' Love You Right Back' is out now and she explains the inspiration behind the song. I play a bit for you, turn it up! We discuss social media pros and cons in the music world and she has excellent advice for others too. I remember to ask the hairbrush ques...

Here's a man who knows the music business! Roger and his north London Ska and Punk band have been going for 45 years now and they still write great fun songs and perform regularly. I delve into Roger's past and find out how he started in music, he has plenty of really great advice for musicians, and a great story about Hank Marvin too! The False Dot's new release is ' We All Lo...

Ok lets go back to 1977 and the opening sequence to James Bond - The Spy Who Loved me. "What's wrong james ? "Something came up!" "But I need you!" "So does England!" Susie was the 'Log Cabin Girl' with Roger Moore in the Bond movie and she has had an amazing acting career filming with people such as David Niven and Silvester Stalone and many other...

I'm struggling to do justice to Annie's description here as she has achieved so much! A fully professional singer and voice coach Annie has worked with just about everybody in the business. Here's just a few people for you: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, (and many other orchestras) George Michael, The Bee Gees, Robbie Williams, Beyonce, Elton John, Kylie, Lionel Richie, Annie Len...

It was a great pleasure to chat to the in demand and successful musician singer songwriter John Carr! John's amazingly distinctive voice has meant he has been in constant demand to work with other artists, and he writes and produces his own material too. His version of The Association's 'Never My Love' is as I put it "better than the original" (sorry!) but I play a bi...

Incredibly popular Eloise has been on tour supporting Anastacia and is about to tour with Rebecca Ferguson. Her new album 'Glasshouse' and the title single from it is out now and it's brilliant! I play a bit of Glasshouse for you to hear, and Eloise tells me how it came about on a writing trip a couple of years ago. It was fascinating to hear her reason for writing and her message o...

Great fun to talk to the amazing Lyra who has a great new single out 'Queen' and I play a little bit for you to sample. The numbers we discuss that she has achieved on social media and downloads and streams are incredible and we chat about those and being 'Shazamed!' a lot! She is honest enough to tell me what inspired in her personal life to write 'Queen' .  Lyra has...

Always a pleasure to interview Nadia again ( see Episode 102) From Northern Ireland and with a career going from strength to strength, Nadia has released another fantastic single 'Catch Me If You Can'. She tells me how the song came about ( and I play a bit for you , should it be my theme song?)  I ask her about nerves when on stage and she has some really good advice for anyone who perf...

Some great stories from Gary Moat of rock band Burnt Out Wreck, including about playing Wembley Stadium and Ozzy Osbourne ! Gary tells me about how he rehearsed playing the drums years ago, sending vibrations to the neighbours across the street! He was part of the eighties rock band Heavy Pettin (no G)! I play a bit of the bands single ' Stand And Fight' and he tells me what influenced h...

Max was in Las Vegas when we spoke about her career, she tells me how it all started for her and how she has 150 million views / downloads!  Max has only been a professional singer songwriter for 7 years and has had amazing success, I play a bit of her latest single 'Keep You Waiting' and you will understand why she is so successful.  I ask her what the inspiration was behind the song, y...

Emma has had an incredible career already and to look at her you would struggle to believe that as she looks so youthful!  She's opened on stage for amazing artists singing her own music for people like The Feeling, Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Take That! She tells me what that was like. One of her songs has had 3.5 million plays on Spotify so she's obviously doing something right!  About to...

Warning ! This interview has SO MANY stories and advice you wouldn't believe it ! Bobby tells me his amazing story from when he was in the US Navy and how he got into performing his music, way before he discovered he was soul icon Jackie Wilson's son. I play a short piece of Jackie Wilson's Higher & Higher for you, and then some of his new single ' Lonely Teardrops' wh...

A pleasure to talk to Tom who has released a new single ' Keep Calling' (March 2024) and I play a bit in the interview, it's great! We talk about how he started busking on the streets of Oxford and what it was like, and about touring and the technology involved now in the music business. Tom has great advice for fellow musicians too. His music and tour dates can be found at www.tomw...

A great interview with the very talented Nathalie Miranda who gives a lot of valuable advice to other musicians during the course of our chat. Nathalie explains her policy of creating different styles of songs (which she does very well) and I play a bit of her excellent track 'Back to Life' to give you an idea of her professionalism and talent.  It would seem she is psychic too as she gu...

I really got on well with award winning Vince, we ended up talking about tech so much before the interview we nearly ran out of time ! Vince has a harrowing personal story to tell and I ask him if his experience has inspired his music. He has appeared on the BBC's 'The Voice' and I ask him about meeting Tom Jones and what he gained from the show too. I also ask him if he practices p...

John's single 'Carolina California is a brilliant rock song about a relationship breakdown, he explains all about it and I play a clip from the single.  John is described on his website as 'Unconventional, Unexpected and a little Unravelled' which is really cool and accurately reflects his life and music. He gives me an explanation!  Extremely talented he plays all the instrume...