Sending Signals

It’s a busy one. My guests this episode are Sunderland’s David and Peter Brewis, known collectively as Field Music, and Walter Schreifels of New York post-hardcore rockers Rival Schools.   You may remember David Brewis from Field Music has been on the podcast before. I’ve been a fan of the band since 2007’s magnificent “Tones Of Town” album. Depending on how you count it, “Limits Of Language” is t...

So, actually quite a personal episode for me this week. When I was 16 years old I started a media GNVQ at a local college, and during the first year there was a week allocated for work experience, so around June 2000 I spent a week working at Uncut magazine. My babysitter for that week was Michael Bonner, who in 2018 officially became the magazine’s editor, after founder Allen Jones stepped down....

Phil Manzanera has had a remarkable life. Best known as the lead guitarist in Roxy Music, he’s also worked as a writer, producer and/or performer with the likes of David Gilmour, Steve Winwood, Nico, Brian Eno and many more. He’s just released a mammoth box set of his solo work which dates back to 1975’s “Diamond Head” album.   The box, entitled “50 Years Of Music”, comes at a time of reflection f...

Released on the 9th June 1978, “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds” went on to sell an estimated 15 million copies. As you likely know, the album features an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi story, narrated by actor Richard Burton set to music, with vocal performances from the likes of David Essex, Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott, Chris Thompson, and Julie Covington.   A sin...

The last time Genesis keyboard player extraordinaire Tony Banks came on the show was a few years ago, and we discussed a box set of his solo albums. Since then there has been a final Genesis tour, “The Last Domino?”, which I got to see the opening and closing nights of, and Tony now has a new boxset compiling his three classical albums “7”, “6”, and “5”.   The first half of the interview we take a...

Gemma Hayes is a singer-songwriter from Ireland, and after a 10 year gap she is about to release her 7th album “Blind Faith” and, spoiler alert, it’s really, really good.   We discuss the album’s long gestation, balancing motherhood and creativity, and I was also keen to dig into her debut album, the Dave Friedman produced “Night On My Side” from 2002, which made such a deep impression on me as a...

Steve Howe is a guitarist best known for his work with Yes, who of course are a cornerstone of progressive rock. The albums “Close To The Edge”, “Fragile”, and “The Yes Album” are essential listening, as far as I’m concerned.   Steve had a period of time out of Yes in the 80s and early 90s but had success with another band, Asia, before rejoining Yes and sticking with them up to the present day. L...

What to say about REM? It might actually be hard for teenagers today, or even 20-somethings, to appreciate how big R.E.M. were in the 90s. For a while, even when they were reinventing themselves, or tackling themes not especially conducive to pop hits, they just seemed to keep getting bigger. They signed the most expensive record deal in history in 1996. They are one of the biggest selling bands o...

Steve Wynn is a founding member of The Dream Syndicate, a key band in the so-called Paisley Underground scene of the early 1980’s. Their debut album “The Days Of Wine And Roses” was recorded in three overnight sessions and released in 1982. It’s one of the great indie-rock touchstones and a phenomenal debut. The band had high-profile support slots with the likes of U2 and REM, but the rest of the...

Paul Carrack is a singer, songwriter, and musician, and he’s heading out on tour in celebration of the 50th anniversary of classic song “How Long”, a hit he had with his band Ace.   Paul has had an incredibly varied career since then. He was a member of Squeeze replacing Jools Holland on keyboards, and playing on their much-loved album “East Side Story”, even providing lead vocals for one of the b...

Bill Oakley, along with his best friend and writing partner Josh Weinstein, wrote various episodes of The Simpsons during it’s glory days including “Marge Gets A Job”, “Bart vs Australia”, and the legendary 2-part season-straddling “Who Shot Mr Burns”, and they were appointed executive producers and showrunners for the 7th and 8th seasons of the show, where they continued to push the envelope of w...

It’s been five years! Yes, it’s 5th anniversary extravaganza episode of Sending Signals!   I’m delighted that Dan Wilson agreed to come back on for a catch-up. He’s one of my favourite ever guests on the show and he didn’t disappoint. We talk about his recent Grammy win, the role of embarrassment in songwriter, as well as the story behind the Semisonic classic “Singing In My Sleep”. Chris has writ...

Would you like some toast?   Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast X: @signalspodcast

Putting last week behind us, this was genuinely one of my favourite conversations I’ve had for the show.   Like many, I was first aware of Isobel as member of Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian. I found her such a compelling figure. She looked like she had stepped out of a French new wave movie. She was a cello player in an indie rock band. And when she sang, she had this enigmatic, whisper-q...

Chris Difford is having a very busy year. There’s a new Squeeze album in the works, they are supporting Heart on their forthcoming arena tour, and there’s also the matter of an enormous UK tour in hour of Squeeze’s 50th anniversary. Chris also hosts the podcast “I Never Thought It Would Happen” which is currently on Season 4. Seems like a good time to have a chat, right?   Instagram: @sendingsigna...

Roll up! Roll up! This episode I’m joined from across the Atlantic by singer-songwriter Jade Bird, who has just released a new EP, “Burn The Hard Drive”, which chronicles the breakdown of her relationship and engagement to a former bandmate.   It’s the first significant release from Jade since 2021’s very excellent “Different Kinds Of Light” album.   We take a deep dive into her creative process a...

Phillip Ingram is one of the founding members of Motown band Switch who formed in late 1976, and after a chance encounter, were championed by Jermaine Jackson. Motown chief Berry Gordy heard the band’s tape and signed them to his subsidiary Gordy label.   Switch were a a consistent presence on the R’n’B charts in the last 1970s.   Switch sort of imploded in the early 80s, although one member tried...

It seems like a good time to take a deep dive into Best Picture nominee, and more importantly, my favourite film of 2023, “Past Lives”. This episode I’m joined by the film’s Assistant Director Ben Kahn to discuss his personal impact on the film, creating the remarkable chemistry between the cast, evoking an older digital landscape, and the profound effect the movie is having on people.   Hope you...

This Friday, March 1st Bruce Hornsby releases a new album in collaboration with chamber ensemble yMusic. The record is entitled “Deep Sea Vents”. It straddles the line between contemporary songwriting and modern classical, and the album has an aquatic theme with all the songs dealing with the ocean, or at least water in some way. The album is emblematic of much of Hornsby’s career in that it veers...

Welcome. My guest this episode is artist and photographer Lynn Goldsmith.   Her career as a photographer has brought her into the orbit of rock n roll legends like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and notably Bruce Springsteen with whom she had a romantic relationship in the 70s as he was still working his way up, with his blistering live shows, and the relentlessly determined creat...

I’m listening! Hopefully you are too, as this week is incredibly fun. I’m joined by “Frasier” writer and consulting producer Bob Daily.   Bob was on the writing staff for several seasons of the original run of “Frasier” and he’s back on board for the new revival series out now on Paramount+. If you’re at all interested in how TV shows like this get made, you’re going to find this fascinating. We d...

Hey. It’s a special one this week. Juliana Hatfield is a singer-songwriter based in Massachusetts. She was a member of the Lemonheads in the early 90s, as well as bands like Blake Babies in the late 80s and Some Girls in the early 00s. She’s made albums with Matthew Caws from Nada Surf and Paul Westerberg from The Replacements. She’s also released around 20 albums under her own name, sometimes as...

This week I’m joined by drummer Chester Thompson. Chester is perhaps best known for his live work with Genesis and Phil Collins, but he has also worked with Frank Zappa, Weather Report, The Bee Gees, and The Pointer Sisters. He has a new jazz album out called “Wake-Up Call” and he joins me from Nashville to discuss it’s “genesis” (see what I did there?). Anyway, Chester schools me in the ways of j...

Breathe deep the gathering gloom. This episode I welcome back John Lodge of The Moody Blues to the show!   John has recently released his re-working of The Moody Blues 1967 opus “Days Of Future Passed”. I think it’s fair to wonder whether it’s a good idea when artist take on projects like this, and I want to ask John about the possible disconnect between fan expectations and artist perspectives. I...

Waddup? I’m joined this episode by Jonathan Higgs from the excellent Everything Everything. The band are from Manchester and formed in 2007. They’ve so far released 6 albums, 2 of which were nominated for the Mercury Music Award. They’ve also had 5 Ivor Novello nominations.   Their most recent album 2022s “Raw Data Feel” saw the band experiment with the use of AI to create the album artwork as wel...