Rockonteurs with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy take a quick break from the US tour with Saucerful of Secrets to chat to a member of the SODS (society of distinguished songwriters) – it’s Mike Batt. Mike is a singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. In this episode, he discusses working with Art Garfunkel, Elkie Brookes, a variety of acclaimed orchestras and of course, The Womb...

This week on Rockonteurs we meet the total tour de force that is Noddy Holder. Slade were one of the UK’s most successful bands of the 1970s with a string of unforgettable hits. In this episode he chats to Guy and Gary about those ‘crazee’ days that included driving a young Robert Plant around, his love of Little Richard, inventing part of the stage runway that all the major acts of toda...

This week Guy and Gary are joined by Julian Lennon for a fascinating and wide-ranging music conversation. Julian released his new album ‘Jude’ earlier this month and talks about the making of his first record in over 10 years. He also discusses his love for AC/DC, the weight of responsibility of the Lennon name and his reaction to watching Get Back for the first time. It’s a powerful and unmissabl...

This week Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt return with series 3 of Rockonteurs. Joining us this week is Ian Broudie from The Lightning Seeds. We chat about football anthems, Ian’s early days producing The Fall and Echo and the Bunnymen and the success of his own band from the late 80’s onwards with hit records like ‘Pure’, ‘Lucky You’ and ‘The Life of Riley’. The Lightning Seeds return with a brand new alb...

This week, it’s the final episode of the series and Guy and Gary chat to Kasabian founder and now frontman Serge Pizzorno. Serge chats to us about his influences, his style and the bands return with the new album ‘The Alchemist’s Euphoria’ – out on August 5th. It’s the first album without their former lead singer and sees Serge stepping up to take over. In this open a...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy meet producer, composer, artist and Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award winner Nitin Sawhney. Nitin discusses his diverse career that includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Sting, Jeff Beck and Anoushka Shankar to name a few. He also shares a story on his meeting with Nelson Mandela and how the recent Pink Floyd track ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ – which...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy chat to one of Guy’s pals, the superb Sheryl Crow. Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Sheryl has sold over 50 million albums and won 9 Grammy Awards since her 1993 debut album ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’. In this powerful episode, she talks openly about her career, the struggle to make it in a male-dominated industry and the darker side of the...

This week on Rockonteurs we talk to a legend in the music PR business – someone whose job it is to steer and guide some of the biggest artists in the world – and Barbara Charone has been doing it longer and better than most. She is fun, fabulous, fearless and trusted by the likes of Madonna, The Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder and Keith Richards. She has a new book out that documents her...

This week Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt chat to producer extraordinaire William Orbit about his career and his new record 'The Painter'. It's his first brand new album in over 8 years and is out in August. In an open and candid conversation they also discuss how art saved him, the dark secrets of recording bass, working with Blur on their '13' album and, of course, Madonna...oh and gangster squirrels. R...

Youth, the long-standing bassist for Killing Joke discusses his long and varied career with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt on the latest episode of Rockonteurs. Ranging from his work with The Verve, Crowded House, Pink Floyd, Blue Pearl... oh and Paul McCartney. He also talks about hanging out with John Lydon after the Sex Pistols break-up and tells the amazing story of recording in the Great Pyramid in...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy are in Sofia as their European tour with Nick Mason continues. But they still find time to speak to the brilliant Bernard Butler. A career as long and as eclectic is hard to find and in this fascinating conversation we discuss shared influences, his time in Suede, the stunning hit single ‘Yes’ with David McAlmont, his inner drive to move on and find new music...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt continue their tour with Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets but still find time to talk to legendary record producer Ken Scott. Ken produced Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Jeff Beck, The Beatles and David Bowie to name but a few. He co-produced Ziggy Stardust, which this month celebrates its 50th anniversary, so expect a tale or 2 from t...

This week on Rockonteurs Gary and Guy are in Latvia and chat to another artist who is also on tour himself! We welcome the multi-million selling Bryan Adams to the podcast. Currently working his way around the UK on his latest tour supporting his recent album ‘So Happy It Hurts’. We chat about the recording of this record during lockdown, the making of ‘Reckless’, the global hits of ‘Wak...

This week Gary and Guy continue their travels on tour with Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets but still find time to record a brand new episode. Chatting to the debonair drummer Bill Bruford about his career recording and performing for King Crimson, Yes and Genesis. He’s a master of his craft and his work can be enjoyed on a new definitive boxset called ‘Making a Song and Dance: A Complete Career...

This week Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt welcome a true Mod legend to the show. How many people can say they’ve been in one great band let alone three! Well, Kenney Jones can! Drummer for The Small Faces, Faces and The Who, Kenney shares some excellent stories from the early days of being a mod, meeting Steve Mariott, rock and roll shenanigans with Rod and Ronnie and then getting the call to join The Who...

This week on Rockonteurs join Gary and Guy as they continue their UK tour and still manage to find time to catch up with the great Neil Finn on the line from New Zealand! It’s a globetrotting episode this week. Neil is a truly gifted singer and songwriter who takes us through his career from Split Enz to Crowded House and even his recent foray into Fleetwood Mac. Crowded House kick off t...

This week Gary and Guy take a moment out from their tour with Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets to chat to Grammy Award winning composer David Arnold. In a fascinating conversation that goes from composing 5 Bond scores to meeting John Barry, getting George Martin’s support through to working with David McAlmont and recording ‘Play Dead’ with Bjork. Rockonteurs is produced by Ben Jones and Ian Cal...

It’s a special Rockonteurs on the Road this week. Joining Guy and Gary backstage as the Saucerful of Secrets tour continues around the UK is the boss, Nick Mason. This is a must listen for any fan of Pink Floyd as we deep dive into the stories around those ground breaking tours, the recording and playing of Echoes and how the new record ‘Hey, Hey Rise Up’ was recorded and released in a v...

This week on Rockonteurs, Guy and Gary are joined by record executive, singer, songwriter and lead vocalist with Gentle Giant, Derek Shulman. In a hugely fascinating conversation that ranges from signing bands like Bon Jovi to fronting his group to helping working with Queen, Marc Bolan, Bowie and Tony Visconti, this is a deep dive into the business with some great musicians all sha...

This week on Rockonteurs we welcome Jim Kerr from Simple Minds. Chatting to Gary and Guy about his incredible career and those decade defining hits! Settle in for some fascinating musical conversation. This is the very reason we make this show, to hear the stories behind the music we all love! Rockonteurs is produced by Ben Jones and Ian Callaghan for Gimme Sugar Productions Hosted on Acast. See a...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy are joined by Rick Astley. Rick is a renaissance man, having started his career in the 80’s when he was discovered by the pop powerhouse team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. That gave us the hugely successful, decade defining hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and many more. But Rick turned his back on music in the 90’s until fairly re...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt chat to Mike Campbell. Mike was a long-time member of Tom Petty’s band ‘The Heartbreakers’ and co-wrote many of their hits. He also has a well-established and successful track record writing and recording with Don Henley, having co-written The Boys of Summer and ‘Heart of The Matter’. He is also currently part of the touring band for...

This week on Rockonteurs we welcome Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon to the podcast. There is so much to enjoy from this episode including Simon’s passion for new music, his origins with Duran Duran, touring with David Bowie, jostling for chart supremacy with a certain Spandau Ballet and the game-changing music video revolution… This is a joy to listen to! Rockonteurs is produce...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt chat to the charming Justin Hayward. Justin is the singer and songwriter with the Moody Blues and has written some truly stunning records over the years. He is a multiple Ivor Novello award winner and with the Moody Blues has sold over 70 million albums. In this episode, he talks about auditioning for Marty Wilde, joining the Moody B...

This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy chat to singer, songwriter, musician and poet Labi Siffre. In a timely and moving conversation, Labi chats openly about his career, his loves and his losses. He’s written some incredible songs and many have been covered or sampled from a range of artists that include Madness and Eminem. Rockonteurs is produced by Ben Jones and Ian Callagha...