The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast

Stewart Copeland is so much more than the drummer from The Police. Over the decades he's been in numerous bands, scored films and tv series, written operas, performed with orchestras and engaged folks on his speaking tours. He's lived around the world and toured it as well, while being part of some of the most memorable songs and videos in the early MTV era. As The Wolf and Action Jackson are (gro...

When we first interviewed Metal Blade Records CEO/Founder Brian Slagel, one of the true godfathers of heavy metal, he told us about his first ever concert - KISS on the Alive! Tour in 1976. Talk about a high bar to live up to for rock n roll live production!?! Who would he find that can deliver such a live performance? The answer is Iron Maiden, the heavy metal pioneers that Brian has witnessed li...

Jay Schellen has been with Yes for almost a decade though he didn't become the full-time drummer until the passing of Alan White after 50 years in the band in 2022. As Yes are taking their Fragile Tour to the UK this April (and we covered the tour on episode 263, beware of setlist spoilers), we sat down with Jay to learn more about his long career, journey to Yes and the band's future. Jay grew up...

By 1986, Metallica's assault on the music establishment and eardrums was in full force. Their previous album, Ride The Lightning, had caught the attention of Elektra Records who signed them to an 8 record deal. Though they refused to make videos, weren't on MTV and didn't really release singles, the band gained fans anywhere they played live and through an underground tape trading community. They...

By 1986, Ozzy Osbourne already had the reputation as the Mad Man of Metal. Since his departure from Black Sabbath, he'd created a whole new act that was very successful thanks to his wife and manager Sharon (Arden) Osbourne and the talented musicians she got to play & record with him. After a string of multi-platinum solo records in the US, you'd figure that Ozzy was on top of the world and ready...

Jay Buchanan’s first solo album since joining Rival Sons, Weapons of Beauty, is now available! We spoke to Jay about writing the record in the desert, how he conjured up these incredibly personal stories and being a part of Ozzy’s last performance in Birmingham in July, 2025. Hear our entire conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Lsy6jb7a8IndqQbD3J0Im?si=LPUHAasCR9aOxtLQ76doLA Learn...

During The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour, Peter Gabriel informed his Genesis bandmates that he would be leaving once his touring duties were fulfilled. While this was disappointing to the band, some members of the press heralded it as the end of Genesis. However, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett could all contribute to the songwriting as could their wily drummer, Phil Collins. So th...

The Wolf & Action Jackson were so pleased that Oliver Wakeman agreed to come on First Concert Memories to talk about the first time he saw his father Rick, Rock N Roll Hall of Famer and longtime keyboardist in Yes, on a large arena stage. Though he'd seen Rick play with his solo band many times at theaters as he grew up, he never saw Rick in Yes until the Union Tour in 1991. So when Jon Anderson b...

After their debut album, The Firm, hit gold in the US in 1985, fans figured that Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers would tour to support it and not only play songs off the album but also include hits from their back catalogs. While expecting reworked Led Zeppelin and Bad Company songs, they instead got songs from Paul Rodgers 1983 solo album Cut Loose and Jimmy's Death Wish II soundtrack. Then, Jimmy's...

The Church are a bit of an enigma in the rock world. Though best known for their breakout 1988 song Under The Milky Way off of Starfish. Prior to that they'd had an unexpected Australian anthem in An Unguarded Moment. But they didn't want to be a pop band - they saw themselves as members of the new psychedelic movement. So the cover of Heyday (released in Australia late 1985 but in the US January...

Jay Buchanan once led his own band before he became the lead singer of the grammy nominated, globe-trotting Rival Sons. So it was always assumed by everyone in the band that Jay would also release solo material while fronting the hard rockin' band. But becoming one of the biggest touring rock acts on the planet and recording 9 records doesn't leave much time for anything else. So Jay sequestered h...

Styx had achieved great highs in the 1970s. Albums like The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight and Cornerstone had all gone multi-platinum in the US thanks to hard riffs from James JY Young and Tommy Shaw and the heartfelt lyrics and vocals of Dennis DeYoung. But by 1980, tensions in the band lead to the dismissal of DeYoung for his insistence on his songs and concepts be at the forefront of the band...

To kick off 2026 with a bang, we welcomed back music writer Amy Linden of Immaletyoufinish Podcast to share with all you lovely people her tale of seeing and interviewing Amy Winehouse right as she broke in the US. While Frank had been a sensation overseas, it was her new album Back To Black which would take her to dizzying heights of stardom and create an image of a hard-partying girl from North...

To start our second look back on 2025, we want to thank everyone who listens to our show and interacts with us to share your love of rock music. We've entered our 6th year and want to show appreciation for all of you who choose to share your rock n roll journey with us. It inspires us to keep our curiosity alive and learn more about the music we love. So thank you all. To wrap up the year we had t...

What a year 2025 has been! We want to take the opportunity to thank all of our loyal listeners and all the new ones who've found us this year. In a year of milestones we celebrated our 250th episode in September and then wrapped up our 5th year of the show in November. Our love of rock music is stronger than ever and we're so happy we get to share it with like-minded rock fans from around the glob...

The 1980s were an incredible time for pop and rock music. Thanks to technology and MTV, many genres enjoyed great success throughout the decade. But movies enjoyed quite a heyday as well with blockbusters that created huge stars and studios started to realize that catering to teens and young adults could help you gain viewers. But when music and movies were put together the right way, the outcome...

Yes has been around for more than 55 years. They've made some of the world's best progressive rock music and even had some success on the pop charts. While The Wolf was living in London, he got to see Yes at Royal Albert Hall on the Close to the Edge 50 Tour which was a special night. It was there that he truly came to appreciate the talents of Jon Davison, the lead singer who is very close in age...

The Wolf and Action Jackson were too young and too straight to get into 70s heartthrobs The Bay City Rollers. The Scottish boys were plastered all over every teen magazine throughout the 70s to the delight of screaming pre-teen girls all over the world. One of those fans was Holly Cantos, the co-host of What Difference Does It Make? Podcast where they talk about the amazing music of the 1980s and...

The Wolf & Action Jackson will admit they aren't the world's biggest Beatles fans. Though we appreciate their influence to help create the music we love through generations, we generally don't gravitate towards their albums. However, in researching Rubber Soul as it turns 60 on December 3, we gained new appreciation and respect for the Lads from Liverpool. They had grown up quite a bit in the last...

Queen found themselves in trouble in late 1975. They had a terrible management contract they were desperate to get out of, they'd had to cancel a tour which was only booked to recoup money and they had spent over 40,000 pounds (equal to over $600,000 today) at seven different studios trying to make their 4th album, A Night At The Opera. If it wasn't a success the band might have folded up. But tha...

When The Wolf saw that Jason Bonham was bringing his Led Zeppelin Evening to town he was interested but a little skeptical. Though John Bonham's oldest child is now a grandfather himself with four decades of experience, I didn't know what kind of show it would be. Turns out not only has Jason assembled an incredible band that can truly do justice to Led Zeppelin classics but Jason gives us a glimp...

Every metalhead knows Motorhead for their all out attack playing style with raunchy lyrics that bounces you from one three minute bludgeoning to the next. When Lemmy Kilmister (gravely vocals and lead bass), "Fast" Eddie Clark (lead guitar), and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor recorded Ace of Spades in 1980, the band were hot. 1979 saw the release of Overkill and Bomber, two beloved classics in their...

On a very special First Concert Memories we welcome two extraordinary guests to not only tell us all about a series of concerts from 50 years ago but for an upcoming show that will celebrate a very special tour in music history. The enchanting Scarlet Rivera, a world renowned violinist who toured with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in the 1970s's and played the haunting violin on Hurricane, is...

1982 saw supergroup Asia reach the top of the charts with their self-titled debut which would go onto be the #1 selling album in the US that year. Smash hit Heat of the Moment hit #1 on the rock charts and so Geffen pushed them back into the studio for 1983's follow up Alpha which went platinum. To take advantage of this momentum, Geffen Records put together Asia in Asia in late 1983 - the first s...

By 1985, Simple Minds were coming off a #1 album in the UK with Sparkle in the Rain and sales from all around the world. But it only went to #64 in the US and they needed something to spark greater interest across the pond. When Don't You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club Soundtrack hit #1 in May 1985, a song they originally resisted, they had that spark and built on that success with memora...