The Gig Stories Podcast

GSP16: Shell Zenner

 

What Shell Zenner doesn’t know about current bands and the UK music scene isn’t worth knowing - so it was a real treat to chat to her about how she got into radio, her early days of gig-going, and what she thinks makes a gig special.

She also throws a bunch of new bands our way which we are now in the process of checking out - and you can too, in the playlist and videos on our website: 

GSP15: Chris Hawkins

Chris Hawkins was there at the start of BBC 6 Music and 2022 will mark his twentieth year at the station. We talk Bowie, Sister Sledge, Transvision Vamp and a whole lot more...

GSP14: Nick Heyward

 

 

Our chat with Nick Heyward was a beautiful thing. Some amazing early gig memories (including a first gig which will be hard to beat), we also talke about Haircut 100, the music scene in the early 80s, songwriting, and much much more.

GSP13: Johnny Kalsi

Founder of the Dhol Foundation, Johnny Kalsi has played with Transglobal Underground, Afro Celt Sound System, Asian Dub Foundation and many many more.

We chat to him about festivals, touring, and THE UNIVERSE...

GSP12: Magic Mod

 

Ben Taylor, aka Magic Mod, is as much associated with music as he is with magic. He’s supported Paul Weller, The Libertines, Pete Doherty and Reverend & The Makers - and his Magic Mod Mondays over on Twitter have been a real treat over lockdowns.

In this episode we chat about, well, magic obviously, Madness, Weller, Bad Manners and bad reviews…

GSP11: Mat Fraser

 

 

Mat Fraser is an actor, writer, presenter, performance artist and drummer. In 2012 he drummed at the 2012 Paralympic Games closing ceremony with Coldplay and in the 80s and 90s he performed with several bands including Fear of Sex, The Reasonable Strollers, Joyride, The Grateful Dub and Living in Texas.

He’s just been nominated for a BAFTA for Crip Tales on BBC, and recently appeared in the huge BBC adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”.

We chat to Mat about his punk days, panto, performing with Coldplay - and we all geek out about drumming in general. 

GSP10: Sophie Williams

Sophie Williams is a music journalist currently writing for the NME. Chris and Alex talk to Sophie about mosh-pits, interviews, and of course, her beloved Arctic Monkeys.

GSP09: Gaz Whelan

Happy Mondays drummer Gaz Whelan joins us to chat about how the band got its name, an important early gig they almost didn't play, an encounter with a soul superstar and getting drunk under the table by some unlikely 1980s bands.

 

 

GSP08: Denis Lawson

 

Renowned actor, director and writer Denis Lawson is probably best known for his appearances in classic films such as Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero" and the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but he has years of experience in the West End as a musical theatre actor, nominated for Olivier Awards for "Pal Joey" (1980) and "Le Cage Aux Folles" (2009), and winning in 1983 for his performance in "Mr Cinders", 

He chats to us about his love of jazz, and Ronnie Scott's in particular, and about seeing some of the absolute legends of jazz, from Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, to Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan and Chick Corea.

And in an exciting development, Denis joined us for a second time to chat about musical theatre, seeing Rod Stewart with the Faces at The Roundhouse, and his somewhat unexpected choice of first post-lockdown gig.

GSP07: Rick Witter

Episode 7 is a chat with Shed Seven’s Rick Witter, where we talk about the bands he was in before the Sheds, about a failed publicity stunt in a supermarket car park, Shedcember, and the release of their recent live album “Another Night, Another Town”.