We have covered a lot of musical ground across the 30 odd Live Music & Me podcasts we have done so far. However, on this episode, our guest, the singer/songwriter and artist Peter Coyle ( The Lotus Eaters) covers more than most.
From a first gig that could have been Queen, Bush, Magazineor Ultravox (no, really) – to sharing the same stage as Bowie (but not at the same time), to being in a phone box next to Costello (who was also in a phone box), Peter brought his A-game throughout.
We also covered celebrities who can’t drive, bands with multiple drummers on stage at the same time, and carrying 15 books from the library with Pete Wylie (who also had 15 apparently!) Lastly, we also got ourfirst ‘ prog’ live album recommendation...
We always have great fun doing these, and this one was no different, and a big merci beaucoup! to Peter for taking the time to join us from the south of France.
Enjoy and stay safe.
NB. Peter continues to actively record and perform and has anew single coming out towards the end of September 2025. Full details on his Facebook page or at www.petercoyle.com
We love all of our podcast guests - however there are a couple of guests that we have been that little bit extra excited to chat to. The music writer/journalist Paolo Hewitt was on that list.
The first music biog we purchased in 1983 was A Beat Concerto ( The Jam) - written by Paolo, so we go back a long way. And so does Paolo as his gig memories confirmed. From a first gig at The Reading Festival in the rain in 1973, ( when he wished he was in Jamaica), to multiple teenage gigs at Guilford Civic Hall seeing the great & the good , to falling out with Springsteen, Paolo was on top form.
And of course, we couldn't help but chat a bit about his close connections to The Jam, Weller & Oasis ( including being the DJ at Knebworth 96) To top it all off, we got a couple of killer live albums recommendations ( one we were very pleased to get!) Our 45 minute chat flew by, and hope that the fun we had making it comes across when you give it a listen.
Thanks again for listening. Until next time, enjoy & stay safe.
Paolo is still very active - and you can catch up with him on YouTube @paolohewittmavericks and Facebook @paolohewitt1
For our latest episode of Live Music & Me, our guest was the Scottish singer/songwriter & musician Dean Owens.
Deans live music journey has been ‘ eclectic’ to say the least, and his gig list includes a first gig seeing a famous TV presenter and a second gig seeing an equally famous children’s TV group. We also managed to discuss margarine, and one of Dean’s band members getting police protection in the local hospital. No, really…
In between all that, we did manage to chat about some cracking gigs, including Simple Minds, The Waterboys & the SBSW Festival. AND,Dean gave us 2 great live album recommendations, one of which was new to us (and it’s a belter).
It was an hour in Dean’s company that flew by. Big thanks to Dean, and we are sure you will get lots of enjoyment from this one.
Until next time, enjoy, and stay safe.
PS If anyone knows a Julie Pentland from Edinburgh, can you let her know that Dean says hello :-)
After 6 months, and voting on over 350 songs, we came to our final podcast discussion on Scotland's 30 Greatest Songs. Our friends on Twitter/X had already decided that Nothing Ever Happens by Del Amitri was the No 1 song - our podcast panel had the chance to debate this, and indeed the full top 10 that was voted in. Suffice to say, they weren't in agreement! We also managed to chat about tin hats, Anchorman & punching Danny Wilson ( no, really). And, we also had an offer from Colin to sing at Donna's wedding ( and a quick song rendition from Colin too) More importantly, our panel & friends got the chance to put together an alternative Top 10 ( which in turn generated a new number 1) Its been so much fun doing this series, and big thanks to Caroline, Donna & Colin for helping us sign this one off.( and for putting up with a couple of Zoom gremlins) We did chat about possible topics for our next podcast series, however thats all for another day...Until next time, enjoy and stay safe.
The title of our podcast suggests that our guests will havesome sort of musical connection. However, it doesn’t preclude us from getting guests on from other genres that are keen to talk about their gig history!
Therefore, for this episode we were delighted to be joined bythe comedian & writer Jo Caulfield. We were pretty sure that Jo would talk with passion & humour about the concerts she has been to, and from the get-go trying to work out whether her first gig was at Rock City or De MontfordHall, we were right!
We got stories about seeking forgiveness for sneaking to agig in London whilst still in school ( from the Midlands!) , to seeing The Skids leading a mass TV Stars/Albert Tatlock singalong in a support slot, to her husband going to one of her bucket list gigs without her, Jo was on very good form. And, 28 podcasts in, we also got first time name checks for bothGeorge Melley & the Bluberry Hellbelly’s.
We have so much fun doing these podcasts, and it wasabsolute pleasure to have Jo on as a guest. Just don’t ask her about playing a stand up gig in Belfast….
Until next time, enjoy & stay safe.
It was all going so well. Voting Party's going great on X, lots of love in our virtual room, some amazing songs getting voted through to the Finals. And then....we get to the 2000-2025 nominated songs. In a word, carnage.
107 songs voted on, only 14 voted through. Lots of big hitters missing out, and recriminations aplenty amongst our music friends. It is with this backdrop that our latest podcast was recorded, with our resident BCP panel member Caroline Binnie & the ( award winning) writer Julie Rea tasked with steering our music boat into calmer waters. Did they succeed? In a word, no.
The panel did manage to vote 4 songs from the 2000-2025 'red' list back into the Finals ( all bangers too) - however, they also insisted that our ' max 2 songs per artist' remains a hard backstop. This in turn means that songs from four of our very favourite bands will have to be voted on again ( Julie & Caroline kindly gave us their suggestions)
However, we finished the chat on a high, by agreeing how we should get from our current position of having over 100 songs in the Finals, to arriving at our Final 30 ( and ultimately our overall No1). Whatever the final 30 looks like, you cant say we didn't have a go...
Until next time, enjoy & stay safe.
Our latest Live Music & Me guest was the singer/songwriter Xan Tyler. We were pretty sure that Xan would have some pretty good stories to share, and she did. From a first gig at Knebworth, to travelling to NYC for a first gig date, to missing Patti Smith playing at the Doune The Rabbit Hole festival, there was plenty going on.
Xan also got mentions for 2 gig venues we haven't had before ( the Panopticon Glasgow & the Byron Bay Blues Festival, Australia), and, more importantly, gave us the lowdown on how to get the best seats at Ronnie Scotts ( if you are female) Oh, and let's not forget the tribute band WhamDuran. No, really....We had great fun doing this one, hope you enjoy it too.
Stay safe
PS Her 'one live album to own' recommendation was so good, we purchased a copy.
Our guest for this episode of Live Music & Me was the very wonderful musician, arranger & author Helen O Hara - and 25 episodes in we are still pulling rabbits out the proverbial gig hat. For example, we're pretty sure Helen was the first guest to get Ozzy Osbourne, James Brown & a Commonwealth Games closing ceremony into her gig answers. And it was definitely the first time that we could tell our guest that they were the answer to one of the hosts gig questions ( first date with a partner). And, on top of all that, we also managed to forget to chat about the legend that is Nicky Hopkin ( who Helen recorded with) until AFTER the cameras stopped rolling!
Thankfully there was more than enough content to keep the conversation flowing - and of course it was lovely to get a couple of Dexys Midnight Runners anecdotes thrown in too from Helen ( loads more in her memoir What's She Like which is highly recommended). Helen was a delight to chat to, and we hope that comes across when you get the opportunity to watch/listen. Until next time. Enjoy, and stay safe.
For our first Live Music & Me podcast of 2025, we were joined by our good friend the Scottish singer, songwriter & musician JJ ‘Jinky” Gilmour. You go into the New Year full of plans to make the podcast lean and mean, focus on the music etc. However, before we even got to the first gig question, we had discussed the ageing process, the relative merits of the Old Firm and hot water bottles. No, really.As a long-standing member of The Silencers, we were sure that JJ would have a few stories to tell – and he did. From a first gig at the Glasgow Apollo that JJ remembered more for what was happening in the crowd (it wasn’t moshing), paying tribute to the legend that is Phil Lynott, and playing Blenheim Palace even although the promoter didn’t know who he was – JJ was on very good form. JJ also clarified how many Coatbridge tramps were in The Silencers (clue- it wasn’t 100%) – and mentioned U2 & Simple Minds a couple of times during the chat. And for the last question, one of them got the ‘one live album we should all own’ nomination from him (and it’s a belter). We tried for thick end of 6 months to make this one happen, and we hope you agree it was worth the effort. Enjoy and stay safe PS. JJ mentioned that he has had a couple of personal challenges during his career and has always been a big supporter of those organisations that offer Mental Health support. For anyone interested in this area, check out Music Minds Matter Charity https://www.musicmindsmatter.org.uk
We have reached the 1990s! For this episode on our quest to create a list of the 30 Greatest Scottish Songs ever- as well as our resident Bay City Poller Caroline Binnie, we were joined by our friends, the actor Colin McCredie & Station Manager for Cumbernauld FM Gerry Duffy. In addition to the panel re-stating how great the 1980s nominated songs are ( all 42 of them!) we had a proper discussion on both the songs that have been voted into from the 1990s list, and more important those that weren't! Thankfully, all 4 panelist used their jokers wisely, adding a quality song each back onto the list. We also got Gerry & Colin to give us their ' die on a hill' Top 10 Scottish song nomination, and ended the chat by sharing some Wham trivia that aged us all in real time... A mighty fine time was had by all, hope that comes across when you have a look/listen. As ever, enjoy & stay safe
When we recorded Episode 1 of this series, we mentioned inpassing that the 1980s looked like being a particularly challenging decade toagree a Top 30 on, and so it proved!
Episode 2 is pretty much taken up with chatting through the 1980s songs that did make the cut, those that didn’t, and those that did but then didn’t.
Confused? Join the club.
We also managed to adopt another couple of bands into our ‘Scottish’ family, although we remain unconvinced that even the bands themselves would agree!
As well as Brian & Caroline, we were also joined forthis episode by our special guest the writer, activist & mum Donna McLean, who was 10 minutes late joining us, due to a combination of all three of these priorities all landing on the same day as the podcast recording. No, really.
Oh, and of course Zoom wasn’t particularly happy to beworking over the festive season and made sure that our screen formatting wasn’t quite what we wanted it to be.
That Sony Award is feeling further away than ever….
Onwards and upwards
Enjoy, and stay safe
When we finished our last music podcast series that took us almost 18 months! (101 Greatest Albums), we had no plans to do another.
However, after some pub some chat with friends we concluded that, although there has been plenty of discussion on great Scottish albums, there has been very little on what a great Scottish songs list might look like.
So…..we asked our Twitter/X friends for song suggestions. And,5000 nominations later, we are now having a go at working through a quorum of them.
Episode 1 reflects all of the above, where we are joined by some of our resident podcast panel. It also covers off the online discussion we had about how you would define a ‘Scottish’ artist. On the basis that none of Big Country were born in Scotland, it’s not as easy as you think.
This series will take us a while to get through, however we can categorically assure you it WONT take us 18 months!
Number 1 priority at the moment – we give this new series a title it deserves….
Enjoy & stay safe.
Our guest on this episode of Live Music & Me is the songwriter, musician & singer David McCluskey. When your guests first gig is The Clash/Specials/Suicide - you know its going to be a good un... And it was. From a first winch pogoing at a punk gig, to being the only punks at a Captain Beefheart gig ( no, really) , to walking out on a Johnny Cash gig, David's gig memories were highly entertaining We also found out that, as well as being the backbeat of The Bluebells for over 40 years, David also played drums for another legendary Scottish indie band. Oh, and David threw in a Bunnymen Mac impersonation for good measure. It took us over 6 months to arrange this one, but you know what they say.... Big thanks to David - an absolute gentleman Enjoy & stay safe.
We ask a question about bucket gigs to all of our Live Music & Me guests when they join us. We also have a bucket list of guests we would like to get onto our podcast, and Martyn Ware ( Heaven 17, BEF) was on that list. As a musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer, Martyn has been in the music industry for over 40 years, and we were convinced he would be good company. He was. From his first gig anecdote that involved Marc Bolan and his satin pants, to visiting Neil Young’s beach home and checking out his fridge, to giving Clive Davis from Arista the cold shoulder, the stories just kept coming. We also had some wonderful gig recollections too, both those he was at and those he wasn’t ( including Live Aid). And to finish, live album recommendations that couldn’t be any more eclectic if they tried, and are right up there with the best. Every guest we get takes us back through their life using gigs as reference points, and we are very grateful to Martyn for being so open, honest and entertaining. Enjoy, and stay safe
After a few false starts – for this episode, we finally managed to get on as our guest the singer, songwriter, musician Grahame Skinner.
Grahame’s gig memories started on the 16th October 1978 ( Glasgow Apollo). We then weaved through numerous stories with a Stranglers connection, trying ( and failing) to become pals with the Bunnymen, and why Grahame, in his own words, was a ‘fanny’.
We also got recollections on walking back post gig from Balhama to Drumchapel ( about 6 hours) , Lou Reed getting an electric shock on stage in Belgium, and the reveal that Ian Curtis & Michael Stipe both took all their dance moves from Grahame. Oh, and 2 recommendations for a live album we should all own ( and they couldn’t be more different)
It took a while, however it was totally worth the wait. Big thanks to Grahame and check out the latest The Cowboy Mouth album when its lands. It will be a belter.
Enjoy, and stay safe. PS. Apols for the minor gremlins on the recording – it’s still well worth a watch/listen
Just when we were beginning to think that we might never give this series the send off it deserved......here is the 22nd ( and final) edition of our 100 Greatest Albums series. Episode 1 was actually in November 2022, at a time when we had just changed Prime Minister - and we end at a time when we have just saw another one off - which feels pretty good. Over the last few weeks we have been voting to create our final Top 10, in order, from the 101 Albums we previously selected. And we reveal on this episode what Lisa, John, George and some of our guests/friends have come up with. We are sure you won't be disappointed. We have has so much fun doing these podcasts - and MAYBE, we will do another podcast series later in the year. For now, sit back, enjoy the chat, and when you have the time, get the greatest Top 10 albums EVER on your turntable/streaming platform. It's the very least your ears deserve. Big thanks to out podcast guests for propping us up, and for our Twitter/X friends for the banter... See you on the other side Brian, Lisa, George & John x PS. And of course, thanks to Metallica for being so bad that they gave us our podcast name :-)
When we are trying to get some of our favourite people on as guests, it’s always a challenge to get diaries to align! However, when the guest is the legend that is Fay Fife ( Rezillos, Revillos, The Countess Of Fife) and she tells us she has a spare 30 minutes – we were up for making that happen.
And it goes without saying that Fay didn’t disappoint. From her first gigs as a cinema attendant watching the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in Dunfermline, to watching the Cramps at CBGBs in the late 1970s, to travelling to Manchester to see James Brown, Fay used our time together to good effect.
We also nearly namechecked Cheryl Cole ( but didn’t), discussed the genius of Prince, and talked about some of the fantastic performers that Fay is still hoping to see on her extended bucket list.
Oh, and Fay also mentioned the time she walked over 40 miles back from a gig from Glasgow to Edinburgh. No, really…
Lastly, we also got a couple of killer live album recommendations to get our ears around.
We covered all the bases, and a few more, and still came in under our 30 minutes diary window.
Many thanks for Fay for taking the time to join us – and if you haven’t already, do check out The Countess Of Fife. They are very special indeed.
Enjoy & stay safe
Our latest Live Music & Me guest was the journalist, DJ and radio presenter Jim Gellatly, who was kind enough to give us an hour from his busy schedule. Jim could remember what his first 2 gigs were ( but not in which order). Tbf, they were both belters. He also regaled us with the time he patched a Bon Jovi gig to go and see Take That ( good decision!) , having a ticket to see Nirvana but not seeing them, and also being offered £800 for his U2 ticket ( and Jason Donavan was in that chat somewhere too). Oh, and also the small matter of moshing at The Sex Pistols gig for all of one song - AND being the first guest to mention the Anti Nowhere League. We guessed Jim would be good company - and we weren't wrong. Thanks Jim - top man. PS Shout out to Stephen Cameron from Into Creative for the super cool backdrop screen image.
We have now recorded around 20 episodes of Live Music & Me, and every one of them has been very enjoyable. However, we were extra excited for this one, as our guest was the musician and singer/songwriter Robert Howard ( we have been Blow Monkeys fans for a long time) It was also the first time we had attempted a pan European podcast with a time difference ( Robert lives in Spain now) ,and thankfully the technology passed the test ( and the time difference) We never know where the guests will take us with their musical memories. Robert took us from Kings Lynn, Norfolk to Sydney, Australia with his first answer! ( If you want a good trivia question, ask a friend what Jethro Tull & Marc Bolan have in common) We also found out that Robert actually wanted The Blow Monkeys to be like The Birthday Party, that you are never too old to say no to a guest gig pass from a good friend ( Mr Weller), and that Robert thinks there is more than one live album we should all own a copy of.... And, if you stick to your beliefs and values by making a political statement on the stage at Wembley Stadium you will upset a lot of Rod Stewart fans ( and Paula Yates too !) We are really pleased with this one - our 30 minute chat flew in. Big thanks to Robert, both for the podcast chat and for The Blow Monkeys giving us 40 years of great music.
Although we love having guests from some of our favourite bands on the Live Music & Me podcast, its extra special when we welcome an actor as a guest. And, even more so, when the actor is the Scottish legend Colin McCredie.
Colin is well known for his acting prowess - however, from an early age, music has been an integral part of his world. Therefore, the discussion we had on his gig memories was full of cracking bands that he saw, and some brilliant stories connected to them.
From a first gig seeing Hipsway in their prime at the cultural metropolis that is Perth City Hall in 1987, to being pleasantly surprised at how good Paul MacCartney was in Glasgow, to sneaking in under-age to see Texas at Fat Sams Dundee, ( we think we were at the same concert!) - Colin was in very fine form .
He was also the first guest that managed to give the same answer to 3 different questions ( a gig that he had a ticket to but missed, gig he travelled the furthest to see, and one Live Album we should all own a copy of!) - and also the first guest to reference the same band for a bucket gig in the past he missed, and one that he still hopes to go to!
And to top all that, Colin also managed to somehow secure a ticket to the opening launch night at King Tuts in Glasgow in 1990!
It was an absolute pleasure to host this podcast with Colin, and hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it! Enjoy, and stay safe
