Episodes

The UK Sub's Charlie Harper is a creative guy and just can't stop the flow. When he's not touring the world with one of the most iconic punk rock bands in history he's raising money for charity by...well...painting...errr...cats!    Now, many people may not think of cats as very punk but, let's b…

Charlie Harper is an absolute one-off. Back in the seventies this former hairdresser took the UK Subs from London’s punk clubs to Top of the Pops and whilst other punk veterans have become idols, Charlie has become an icon. Now over seventy, he’s still performing with the band, still throwing hi…

For 25 years, Alan Lancaster was bassist with one of the most successful rock bands of all time. A band he founded with school friend Francis Rossi and one which enjoyed multi-platinum album sales and stadium gigs. But an acrimonious split after Status Quo opened the stage at Live Aid in 1985 le…

As a young boy growing up listening to The Sex Pistols and The Damned, Steve Straughan could only dream of being a member of his favourite band the UK Subs, but fast forward a few decades and Steve found that dreams really do come true. Now the newest addition to one of the most respected bands …

In this second tale of a two-part series, I chat more to founding member of Motorhead and current Pink Fairy, Lucas Fox.  We chat about how Lucas cheated death and why he has no fear of the afterlife, how Warsaw Pakt paved the way for Jack White and ended up in the Guinness Book of Records, and …

When Enuff Z’Nuff finally did say enough’s enough to lead singer Donnie Vie, it looked like it was all over for the man who had spent 25 years crafting melodic power pop and rock songs for the band that had been the darlings of the critics with their debut release.  The band’s history has been p…

I call Paris and spend a very entertaining evening in the delightful company of Lucas Fox, co-founder of Motorhead, drummer with Warsaw Pakt and now member of Pink Fairies. He recounts lots of fascinating stories, divulges a few secrets and reveals all about some risky, as well as risqué, moments i…

In this show, I call France to chat with one of punk’s true originals. He’s the bassist who toured with Iggy Pop, played in Cheap & Nasty, has been a member of UK Subs on and off for over forty years and has recently released his first solo album, Your Disobedient Servant, with a who’s who of punk …

In this series of revealing interviews, journalist Cat tells tales about influential musicians who have been at the heart of the industry for many years and have moulded and inspired others to follow in their footsteps. Taking a friendly and informal approach, these fresh and relaxed conversatio…

Two-time World Superbike Champion and former MotoGP rider, James Toseland, admits that it’s a long was to the top if you want to rock ‘n’ roll but is enjoying every moment of his second career as a successful musician and songwriter. Collaborating with Little Angels legend Toby Jepson he has wri…

Ricky Warwick is the ‘lad’ from Northern Ireland who got to walk in his hero’s shoes, even though he refuses to admit he wears them. The now lead singer with Thin Lizzy, Ricky plays songs written by Phil Lynott and performs with Scott Gorham to bring them to life again. But, more than that, he i…

In 1977 when singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke signed to Elton John’s Rocket label, she couldn’t imagine that over 40 years later she would still be performing. Her biggest success came a couple of years later with album Welcome to the Cruise with her single Stay With Me Till Dawn reaching number 16 in…

Matthew Ferraro’s written, arranged and produced original music for Academy Award winning films like The Insider and The Incredibles, as well as Emmy Winning TV shows such as Futurama, Dune, and Olive the Other Reindeer. If that wasn’t enough, he also includes video games Spiderman and X-Men, BB…

When Suzi Quatro burst onto the music scene in 1973 there were almost no women in rock and certainly none who played bass, sang lead vocals and completely rocked. A trailblazer, she re-wrote the rule book for women in rock & roll and went on to sell more than 50 million records. Fast forward to …

With a career spanning over 40 years, Saxon have established themselves among Europe's greatest metal acts. Touring regularly, the band have sold more than 13 million albums worldwide counting eight UK Top 40 albums and numerous singles amongst them and have savoured success in Europe, Japan, and t…

Little did drummer John Coghlan know when that he joined Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster in the newly-formed band The Spectres back in 1962 his life was on a course for rock stardom. The addition of Rick Parfitt, a change of name and touring strategy later, chart-topping success beckoned for St…

In this show I’m joined by Sepp Osley, frontman and co-founder of progressive rock band Blurred Vision the week in which their second album Redemption is due to be launched. We chat about how the world has changed very little since Sepp and his family fled war-torn Iran in the 1980s, how the ban…

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Martin Simpson is hailed as the hardest working man in folk music and, after years of relentless touring, has welcomed a little breathing space imposed by recent events. Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s finest guitarists, Martin is a true vi…

Peggy Seeger is totally unique. A singer of traditional Anglo-American songs, she has carved a special niche for herself on both sides of the Atlantic and is considered to be one of the most influential folk singers of all time. Classically trained, Peggy plays no less than six musical instrumen…

This tale is about a true rock original. He’s a vocalist, bassist, a songwriter and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.  No other rock musician has carved such a distinctive style and contributed to the sound of progressive and hard rock. From his first band Trapeze in the late 60s through De…

My guest today really needs no introduction. She’s appeared in the 1978 film Jubilee, and Quadrophenia the following year. Her early hit singles included It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free, and by 1982 she had made two platinum-selling albums. And, after more than 40 years in the music busines…

With over 100 million albums, four Grammies, three Brits, an Ivor Novello Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, John Illsley has done it all.  Playing a pivotal role in the success of Dire Straits, John has been credited with the creation of the band’s original sound and is…

Once the biggest selling girl groups in the world, the Nolan Sisters performed in stadiums internationally, were the opening act for Frank Sinatra, sold over 30 million records and even won the Japanese equivalent of a Grammy.  It wasn’t all a bed of roses, though, as Anne, the eldest of the sib…

This tale is about one of the best rock-blues guitarist of his generation. It starts with a boyhood dream and ends with him playing alongside some of the rock greats of the last 40 years. Co-founder of Whitesnake, he counts many of the band’s hits amongst his song-writing repertoire and co-wrote…