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Really Interesting WomenThe PodcastEpisode 149 Myf WarhurstMyf Warhurst is a beloved Australian broadcaster, television presenter, journalist, writer, and podcaster whose career has spanned nearly three decades. Known for her warmth, wit, and extensive knowledge of music and pop culture, she has become, I'm prepared to make the call, a household name. She started her career as a journalist for music publications which led to a gig on Triple J radio and then Triple M, which led to her being a team captain on the cult tv show Spicks and Specks. She is a host on Eurovision and was the narrator on Rocky Horror Show – I mean, the list is not only incredible...it's almost endless. In particular we chatted about another cult show she's been an integral part of, Bluey. And the words that keep cropping up when describing Myf Warhurst? Authentic and relatable. And those things have gained her a lot of fans over the decades. And I reckon those qualities might have started developing themselves in Myf a long time ago, because she grew up in regional Victoria and that had a profound impact on her and shaped her career. Amongst other things, it instilled in her a deep appreciation for music, community, and storytelling that would become the foundation of her very successful work in Australian media. Whether you're a long-time fan or just discovering her, Myf Warhurst's story is great and really worth listening to. She's learnt a lot on her journey in an industry which is not always known for the longevity of its participants. Myf is an exception. And when you hear our conversation, you'll understand why. Head to my bio for the link to our podcast conversation. Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history. Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friendshttps://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849
Akmal Saleh is a stand-up comedian, actor, voice over artist, author and writer. He's done it all - appeared in movies, sketch, TV appearances, radio, talk show host and is a published author. Akmal is one of Australia's most respected, successful and accomplished comics. Lightning quick and a master of unscripted comedy gold, Akmal has an incredible ability to deal with hot topics in an hilarious and slightly offensive way. Don't miss this avalanche of laughs that's going to hit the Comedy Festival. He is currently touring in Australia, so check out his shows, links in episode notes. As Seen on Thank God You're Here, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Just For Laughs, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, Rove, Spicks and Specks, Good News Week and was even a script consultant for Superwog. We chat about his love of comedy, opening for $tripper$, his doco, bad gigs, regrets and radio, cab driver to stand up, perspective, dodgy tax accountants, learnings from I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, almost being sued, Marty Sheargold, comedy safety nets plenty more! Check Akmal out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akmalcomedy/ Website: https://www.akmal.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAkmal Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AkmalComedy Egyptian Doco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFjVbmbX3KM&t=1215s Comedy tickets: https://alist.com.au/tours/akmal/ Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Life-Akmal-Saleh-ebook/dp/B004T6E1YC ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
Joel Creasey is one of Australia's most-popular, acclaimed, and charmingly controversial stand-up comedians, television and radio presenters as well as an actor and writer. Embarking on his stand-up career at just 15-years-old, Joel harnessed his outrageous wit, sass and unrivalled storytelling abilities to cement himself as Australia's undisputed ‘Crown Prince of Comedy' and one of the most sought-after and hottest comedians in the world. Every year Joel's live show audiences grow, as punters in-the-know flock for an hour of no-holds-barred belly laughs. Joel has cemented his reputation for slicing, dicing and smashing through pop culture – and himself – with unflinching candour and brutal home truths. He cuts through celebrity spin to tell you how it is with charm, irreverence and the ultimate payoff of epic laughs. Stand-up Joel embarked on his first solo tour aged 19, earning himself a Best Newcomer nomination at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He has since sold out tours of Australia, the UK, Asia and the USA. In 2013 Joel was hand-picked to support Joan Rivers on her US tour, the legendary rivers Joan going on to say: “He is a f*cking star!”. Recent tours include Poser (2017), Blonde Bombshell (2018), Drink, Slay, Repeat (2019) and Messy Bitch (2020-22). He is currently touring his new show around Australia ‘THANKS FOR BEING HERE'. A hilariously unfiltered hour of unflinching candour and brutal home truths. Tickets on sale now! (links below). Streaming Joel's Netflix's Comedians of the World stand-up special ‘Thirsty' was launched globally to rave reviews, and a second broadcast stand-up special, ‘Fame Whore,' filmed at the iconic Sydney Opera House, airs on Amazon Prime worldwide. Joel joined some of Australia's top comedians on Amazon's Prime, outrageous social experiment hosted by Rebel Wilson, ‘LOL: Last One Laughing' Radio Joel made the huge leap into radio in 2020, joining Australia's number one national drive show on Nova. ‘Kate, Tim & Joel' airs weekdays across the country from 3.00pm-6.00pm. TV Joel's list of TV credits is vast and varied, from his coveted role as co-host of SBS's ‘Eurovision Song Contest' alongside Myf Warhurst, to the raw and highly acclaimed comedy ABC documentary, Gaycrashers, via dating show Take Me Out, and hosting roles on SBS' coverage of Sydney Mardi Gras and the Royal Wedding in 2018. He is a familiar face on The Project, The Great Debate, Comedy Up Late, 20 to 1, Have You Been Paying Attention, Talkin' About Your Generation, Spicks and Specks, The Big Music Quiz, Studio Ten, A League of Their Own, Dirty Laundry, How Not to Behave and It's a Date, and many more. Acting In 2017, Joel made his acting debut in Channel 10's new Comedy Drama ‘Sisters' alongside a stellar cast including Magda Szubanski, Lucy Durack and Catherine McClements, and in 2018 he made his soap debut on Neighbours. Joel entered the world of theatre in 2020, performing the role of George in ‘The Boy, George,' a hilarious one-man play he co-wrote and co-produced with Richard Carroll. Writing Joel penned his first memoir, Simon & Schuster-published ‘THIRSTY: Confessions of a Fame Whore', which he dedicated to the late Joan Rivers. Like Joel, Thirsty is acerbically funny, and full of his most personal, hilarious, joyous, heartbreaking, outrageous, ridiculous and scandalous stories. Awards A self-described shameless ‘fame whore', Joel is an Australian entertainment staple, Joel won GQ Comedian of the Year in 2016, Best Presenter at the 2017 LGBTI Awards, and was selected as one of Cosmopolitan's top 50 influential LGBTQI voices in their inaugural Rainbow List. Good stuff Joel won a legion of fans when he appeared in the first Australian season of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of here, raising funds for his charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in 2015. In 2017, Joel was selected as ambassador for Skyy Vodka's #CheerstoEquality campaign. We chat about his love of aviation, ‘my weird obsession', anxiety, new shows across Australia, ambition, drive & saying yes, authenticity and being yourself, fame, moving to radio, comparing + plenty more! Check Joel out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelcreasey Tour dates / Australian shows: https://www.livenation.com.au/joel-creasey-tickets-adp1111513 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joelcreasey/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joelcreasey Twitter / X : https://x.com/joelcreasey ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
We take a trip down memory lane with Gina as she takes us behind the scenes of her famous ‘Spicks & Specks’ episode. Plus, we meet Gina & Matty’s Fresh Start winners Bronwyn & T – and trust us when we say you need the tissues for this one!Listen via the Star Player app.Follow us @ginaandmatty on Instagram and Facebook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Comedian Dave O’Neil known from Spicks and Specks and Fisk, calls in for a laugh and to talk about his upcoming Perth Fringe show ‘Sucked In!’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
David Hobson is an Australian tenor, composer and performer. He is Australian Royalty in the music space and is one of Australia's best known operatic and recording artists. He has sung many roles for Opera Australia and in both state and international opera companies, including his award-winning performances of Rodolfo (La Boheme) and the title role in Orphee. Other roles include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Cosi fan Tutte), Count Almaviva (The Barber of Saville), Nadir (Pearl Fishers), Lindoro (L'Italiana in Algeri), Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance), The Architect in the world premiere of The Eighth Wonder, Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), the title role in Candide, Danilo (The Merry Widow) and Aristaeus/Pluto (Orpheus in the Underworld). In the world of music theatre, David has played the role of Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Buddy in Sondheim's Follies and Nicky Arnstein in Funny Girl. Special engagements include appearing with the San Francisco Opera in the world premiere of Dangerous Liaison, a performance in the Great Hall, Canberra for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Schubert's Winterreise for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and singing the national anthem at the AFL Grand Final. He has performed his own show at the Sydney Opera House and at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and toured nationally with Lisa McCune, Marina Prior, Yvonne Kenney and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. He is also well known from his appearances on Carols in the Domain, Carols by Candlelight, Spicks and Specks, It Takes Two, Dancing with the Stars and as a presenter on the Foxtel arts channel, STUDIO. He has recorded numerous albums with many reaching No 1 chart status. David has also won awards including Operatic Performer of the Year, the Sydney Critics Circle Award, The Age Performing Arts Award for Best Performer in Opera and an Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award. In 2023, David performed around Australia in a 60 city concert tour of The 2 of Us, with Marina Prior. David recently toured around Australia with comedian Colin Lane in their show, In Tails. We chat about saying no, collaboration, falling into his work, physicality behind opera, doing comedy with Colin Lane, his voice and looking after it, gratitude, rejection, generosity of spirit, fork in the road moments plus plenty more. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check David out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidhobbo/ Website: https://www.davidhobson.net.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidhobsontenor/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcLFneHVu5PDu46YBlGOecw In Tails with David Hobson and Colin Lane: https://www.davidhobsonandcolinlane.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1IjPdzVCaGhebzQzGMlfAv?si=bMPD1SLYRQOKnEU0i-YhHg&nd=1&dlsi=b6fb61e4d69542c3 ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
Des Bishop! Comedian! Author! Polyglot! Delight! Des is a super funny comic and here is the proof in the form of nice things that have been said about him and it: “Funny, erudite and effortlessly delivered.” - The Scotsman “Charismatic, sincere, eloquent and always seeking the angle.”- Chortle “Fast paced and clever. A sure-fire winner.” - The Sunday Age, Melbourne Des Bishop's new comedy special, Of All People, is an hour of original stand-up and a culmination of years of experience on stage all over including in Queens, Ireland, and China. Bishop crafts high-energy stories and jokes, bringing the audience on a wildly entertaining ride through tales of his international travels and the gap between his looks and attitude. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. Des's material often focuses on cultural differences he noticed being a transplant into Irish Society from Queens, NY at a young age. He always incorporates a lot of material about language. He is likely the only comic many of us will see doing some of the set in Mandarin and some in Irish, which he learned so he could do comedy while living in China and Ireland. He spent 1 year in China to learn Mandarin and 1 year in Ireland to learn Irish, and he's done 60 minutes of comedy in both languages. And he remains an international presence, with a home and massive career in Ireland, and a life in the United States. Of All People is the third hour from Des Bishop. You can see the special as of Oct 22, 2024, on the 800 Pound Gorilla Media YouTube channel and comedy hub. About Des Bishop: Now a massive star in Ireland, native New Yorker Des Bishop moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive comic observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. He came to Irish fame with TV shows, The Des Bishop Work Experience (2004), where he lived on minimum wage working different jobs in Ireland, Joy In The Hood, where he taught stand-up comedy in disadvantaged areas of four major Irish cities, and In The Name Of The Fada (2008, winner of the IFTA Best TV Series Award) about when he decided to learn Irish from scratch and perform a 60-minute stand-up comedy routine in the Irish language. In 2010, Des wrote his most personal show called My Dad Was Nearly James Bond, inspired by his father, Mike who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Bishop won an Irish Book Of The Year Award for his memoir of the same name, and brought a solo show version to the Edinburgh Fringe to widespread acclaim and five-star reviews. In 2013, Bishop went to Beijing, China to learn Mandarin. He is now fluent and the show about his experience, Breaking China was another major hit series with another acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Des has appeared on many live stand-up shows including Edinburgh Comedy Festival Live (BBC), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and Australia's Spicks and Specks (ABC). He was also the star of HBO's A Comic's Climb, his Aspen Comedy Festival debut in 2005. He has released five best selling stand-up DVDs and his new digital special, Of All People comes out Oct 22, 2024 on 800 Pound Gorilla Media after his specials One Day You'll Understand (RTE 2018) and Made in China (Universal 2015). About this podcast: You can listen to it! AND this is only the first HALF of my conversation with Des. For the second half, subscribe via Apple Podcasts OR merely head on over here to Patreon! Thanks and love, all!
Des Bishop is a stand up comedian, podcaster, writer and author. His new comedy special, ‘Of All People' Is now out on 800 Pound Gorilla Media (links below) . Of All People is an hour of original stand-up and a culmination of years of experience on stage all over including in Queens, Ireland, and China. Bishop crafts high-energy stories and jokes, bringing the audience on a wildly entertaining ride through tales of his international travels and the gap between his looks and attitude. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. Now a massive star in Ireland, native New Yorker, Des moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. He first came to prominence with his extraordinary TV series The Des Bishop Work Experience (2004), where he lived on minimum wage in a series of different jobs in Ireland. Mixing this documentary footage with stand-up, the series became one of the most talked-about of the year, and propelled Des into national stardom. In 2006, he embarked on his second critically acclaimed TV series, Joy In The Hood, where he taught stand-up comedy in disadvantaged areas in four major Irish cities. Another hugely successful live tour followed including invitations to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia. In 2007/8 Des embarked on his most ambitious and challenging TV programme to date: he decided to learn Irish from scratch and perform a 60 minute stand-up comedy routine in the Irish language. Over the course of 12 months, he lived with a family in the West Of Ireland honing his craft and in March 2008, the first episode of In The Name Of The Fada was broadcast. In The Name Of The Fada has prompted a radical re-think about how to teach Irish in schools and it unsurprisingly won the Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for Best Television Series later that year. In 2010, Des put together his most personal show to date called My Dad Was Nearly James Bond. Inspired by his father, Mike who was diagnosed with terminal cancer; Des documented the remarkable life of an actor and model who gave up the glamour for a steady job in a department store when his three sons were born. Des also wrote a memoir by the same name, which was short-listed for an Irish Book Of The Year Award. The My Dad Was Nearly James Bond live show previewed in Melbourne, before opening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to widespread acclaim and five star reviews including Brian Logan of The Guardian who called it “a coup de théâtre…compelling…like diamonds, this show is forever”. The show toured extensively both nationally and internationally in 2010/11 including The Barrow Street Theatre in New York. In 2013 Des travelled to Beijing, China to learn Mandarin and he has been living there for the past 18 months. He is now fluent and the show, Breaking China was another major hit for broadcaster RTE in 2014 and he also made a half hour radio documentary about the rise of Stand Up in China for the BBC World Service called “Stand up for China”. His live show again opened at the Edinburgh Festival where he played to over 5,000 people and included an invitation to perform at the Soho Theatre in London and a return to Barrow Street in New York. Des has appeared on many live stand up shows including Edinburgh Comedy Festival Live (BBC), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and Australian music themed quiz show Spicks and Specks (ABC). He was also the star of HBO's “A Comic's Climb” about his debut at the Aspen Comedy festival in 2005. In total, Des has released five bestselling stand-up DVDs: Des Bishop Live at Vicar Street (2004); Des Bishop Live (2005); Des Bishop – Fitting In (2006); Des Bishop – Tongues (2007); and Desfunctional (2009). His special, “Made in China” was released by Universal Pictures in November 2015. His special One Day You'll Understand was released in November 2018 on the RTE Player. The openness and honesty of his presenting style combined with his restless imagination and perceptive comic observations make Des Bishop a must-see for fans of unique, insightful and provocative comedy. We chat about his new comedy special, moving in his teens to boarding school in Ireland, grief and loss of his father, ‘crazy' reviews, imposter syndrome, becoming the parent to your parents, rehab, addiction in his teens, finding his voice, plus plenty more. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Des out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desbishop Website / tour dates: https://www.desbishop.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desbishop Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Desbishopcomedy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desbishop5 Comedy special (newer one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdlYHOmSpaM&t=675s&pp=ygUKZGVzIGJpc2hvcA%3D%3D ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
Part B of September 1966 brings us to the point where “Spicks and Specks” enters the charts. It is a turning point, not just for The Bee Gees but for Australian Music as well. Few groups were afforded the opportunity of releasing 12 (45 singles) before making it close to the top of the charts. This episode also brings us a couple of ‘lost' Garage classics. With the help of the Pop Archives site, we untangle the fascinating back-stories of a couple of tunes that appear in this episode. We also attempt to untangle the use of the word “Sect” in many, many rock group titles. Oh, and there's a Seekers' song, which actually reached the Top 40 that I've never heard before. Enjoy the episode!
PLATFORM 81 Unconventional Pathways - Hosted by Ella Searle Episode 4 - Andy Matthews - Writer, Comedian, Teacher, Engineer: One Career, May Hats (Part 2) I am excited to introduce Andy Matthews with you all, a true creative with an unconventional career journey! Starting with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Andy's path quickly shifted to teaching and then into the world of screenwriting. His creative versatility has seen him work on Australia's biggest TV shows, including Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, Spicks and Specks, The Checkout, and The Pop Test. Andy is also the co-creator of the comic Gustav & Henri Space Time Cake, a writer for WTFAQ, and the host of the Two in the Think Tank podcast. With over 12 years of experience, he's written for top shows and brings his trademark humour and creativity to everything he touches. A graduate of AWARD School (Top 10), Andy thrives in collaborative environments and believes in the power of shared ideas. In this episode, we dive into Andy's fascinating journey and explore how his diverse career—from engineering to comedy—has shaped his success in TV, radio, and beyond.
PLATFORM 81 Unconventional Pathways – Hosted by Ella Searle Episode 3 – Andy Matthews – Writer, Comedian, Teacher, Engineer - One Career, May Hats (Part 1) I am excited to introduce Andy Matthews with you all, a true creative with an unconventional career journey! Starting with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Andy's path quickly shifted to teaching and then into the world of screenwriting. His creative versatility has seen him work on Australia's biggest TV shows, including Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, Spicks and Specks, The Checkout, and The Pop Test. Andy is also the co-creator of the comic Gustav & Henri Space Time Cake, a writer for WTFAQ, and the host of the Two in the Think Tank podcast. With over 12 years of experience, he's written for top shows and brings his trademark humour and creativity to everything he touches. A graduate of AWARD School (Top 10), Andy thrives in collaborative environments and believes in the power of shared ideas. In this episode, we dive into Andy's fascinating journey and explore how his diverse career—from engineering to comedy—has shaped his success in TV, radio, and beyond.
Myf and Zan are back to bring some light into your week, and Polly Jean Harvey is gonna help. Did you hear that Myf has the Prime Minister on her Spicks and Specks team this weekend too? She'll give you all the goss.Meanwhile Zan is punishing anyone who'll listen to watch The English Teacher - while also realising it's creator is also TJ Mack. It's a classic Gen X discovery of TikTok virality, a year too late.And a piece on "treat culture" and why giving yourself a fancy smoothie or mani/pedi is the new vacation, has us intrigued. If internet chat is too much this week, look up. It's Aussie Bird Count week and a reminder to get your head outta your phone.We're banging on about the Menendez Brothers series on Netflix 'Monsters', and a fascinating exploration into groupthink with the podcast Hysterical.Liam Payne: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-17/liam-payne-death-one-direction/104483622PJ Harvey tour: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/music-news/pj-harvey-announces-2025-australian-tour-dates-tickets/104473330Spicks and Specks: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/spicks-and-specksCountdown 50: https://www.abc.net.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/celebrating-countdown-50-years-on-abc/104483236Brian Jordan Alvarez: https://www.instagram.com/brianjordanalvarez/?hl=enTJ Mack: https://www.tiktok.com/@brianjordanalvarez/video/7277315001944247594?lang=enThe English Teacher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfvKrsaZrEADisclaimer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so6XoqZgbVMTreat culture: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/16/we-live-in-a-treat-culture-and-gen-z-is-splurging-on-snacksBird Count: https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/Monsters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcXg28iAiLMHysterical podcast: https://wondery.com/shows/hysterical/Bang Back to us: bangon.podcast@abc.net.auBang On is an ABC podcast, produced by Double J. It is recorded on the lands of the Gadigal and Wurundjeri peoples. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.
Follow Heath at https://www.instagram.com/heathfranklinschopper/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn4-B2sR5jY06PLYxI8MZ7w Guest: Heath Franklin Heath is an Australian comedic performer, improviser, and writer. Heath has appeared on The Ronnie Johns Half Hour sketch comedy show, ABC TV's Spicks and Specks, Working Dog's Thank God You're Here.
Dave O'Neill is coming to Tamworth and performing at the Capitol Theatre on Thurday night as part of his touring show, "Overweight Lightweight". JB caught up with Dave to find out about retro softdrinks, the "interesting" crowd he had for his last show in Tamworth, and some of the secrets from behind the scenes of Spicks and Specks..!
Coming up today:We talk Meshel on Spicks and Specks We talk toilet wall paper Your Secrets including a stinky prawnSHARE YOUR SECRETS HERE!Join our CWBR Patreon for LIVE STREAMS Jon our CWBR Facebook Group Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Got a question? Text us here and we'll respond next ep! Mow. We love having double guests, and it's fair to say these 2 are some very loveable gentleman...! Brothers and bandmates Oli & Louis Leimbach are Lime Cordiale, the favourite children of the Australian music industry. They've got a new album & a 15th year anniversary book that is in the works, they came fresh from the Spicks and Specks set to chat with us on hallowed ground... RSEA Park, home of the Mighty Saints & our boy Stocks of course. These guys are supporters. Supporting each other, supporting others in the industry and they said some very lovely things to each other at the end which was just lovely.Thanks so much to the guys for joining us, thanks to Rhiannon Cook - we bloody love you! Enjoy!MoW.
Adam Hills has lived an extraordinary life. From getting his start in stand up comedy to beaming out to millions on The Last Leg and Spicks and Specks. He's been awarded an MBE and even been immortalised on an Australian postage stamp. When he's not on stage and screen, Adam is out on the field playing disability rugby, or smashing a tennis ball. He has a boundless energy and passion for living life.On Spicks and Specks each episode, he asks his panellists to share stories. But no one ever asks him for his, and Adam Hills has stories. It's why I asked him to Take 5. As the beloved music quiz show returns to ABC and ABC iview, we're taking a wander through Adam's Hall of Fame. Settle in for laughs, tears, and a lot of valid name dropping from an absolute legend.The Flaming Lips - 'Do You Realize??'Little Shop Of Horrors [Soundtrack] - 'Suddenly, Seymour'Dan Sultan - 'Nyul Nyul Girl'Bobby McFerrin - 'Don't Worry Be Happy'Elbow - 'One Day Like This'
The Big Breakfast with Marto & Margaux - 104.5 Triple M Brisbane
Dan Anstey has been busy putting together a shout-out ot Marto, who's been living the bachelor life with his wife, Cath, away! Plus, Adam Hills joins us to talk Spicks and Specks. And, The Lions' Harris Andrews on their must-win match this weekendSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Producer Suzy had an incident last weekend where she accidentally burned off her eyebrows so Clairsy & Lisa opened the phones to ask how did you set your hair on fire. Clairsy & Lisa had a chat with comedian Adam Hills as the new series of Spicks and Specks returns on Sunday Night. In The Shaw Report, Alec Baldwin's family are set to star is a reality TV show, Cillian Murphy has officially confirmed he is about to start filming the Peaky Blinders movie and Snoop Dogg is selling off some interesting memorabilia. Lisa has all the details. The Fremantle Dockers have a bye this weekend, so Clairsy & Lisa asked midfielder Hayden Young what he's up to in his week off plus they chatted about the team's huge win against Melbourne last weekend. Clairsy & Lisa paid tribute to the late football legend John Todd who we lost yesterday at the age of 86. Judith Lucy is coming back to town with Kaz Cooke for Kaz & Jude's Menopausal Night Out, she told Clairsy & Lisa all about the show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Spicks & Specks is returning to Sunday nights so Clairsy & Lisa had a chat to long time host of the show, Comedian Adam Hills.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The United Kingdom will go to the polls for a general election on Thursday July 4. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party currently holds 345 seats in the parliament to Labour's 206 with minor parties making up the balance of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. Polls have Labour's Keir Starmer well in front and bookies have Labour at unbackable odds. So what are the key election issues, and what can we expect in the lead-up to the election. In this episode of The Briefing, we're joined by Adam Hills from the ABC's Spicks and Specks, who is based in Britain, to find out everything you need to know about the UK elections on July 4. Headlines: Minimum wages to increase by 3.75 per cent Bill Shorten under fire over speech writers wages Matildas defeat China 2-0 Alex de Minaur into the French Open quarter-final Follow The Briefing:Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Quan els Bee Gees van deixar, encara adolescents, el seu cau australi
Quan els Bee Gees van deixar, encara adolescents, el seu cau australi
Colin Lane is a comedian, actor & host. He is best known as Lano from Lano and Woodley, Australia's most beloved comedy duo. In almost 20 years together Lano & Woodley won the coveted Perrier Award for best show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, starred in their own television series and toured sold-out shows across the country. They said ‘Goodbye' in 2006 with a national tour that took in 34 markets and sold more than 150,000 tickets. In 2018, the duo reprised their roles as Lano & Woodley for FLY, with a sold-out national tour of 85,000 ticket sales and winning the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival ‘People's Choice Award'. Colin has appeared in Don's Party for the Melbourne Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company, made many TV appearances including guest panellist on the UK favourite QI, alongside Stephen Fry and Alan Davies – most recently on the new-look, Sandi Toksvig version of the hugely popular show. 2016 has seen Colin working with Red Stitch under director Nadia Tass in a new Hannie Rayson play Extinction, and the musical comedy whodunit, Curtains, under Roger Hodgman for The Production Company. He has made numerous TV appearances on Good News Week, Spicks and Specks, Welcher & Welcher, Thank God You're Here, Neighbours, All Star Family Feud, Show Me the Movie!, The Circle and hosted Ready Steady Cook (2011-2013). His new show 'In Tails' is on sale now. In Tails with David Hobson - where a comedian and an opera singers worlds collide. We chat about his many hobbies, feeling comfortable in your own skin, collaboration, splitting up with a long-term collaborator (Frank Woodley), imposter syndrome, cancelled shows, change of view of success, his new shows, plus plenty more! The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Colin out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialcolinlane/ Website / tickets: https://www.davidhobsonandcolinlane.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialcolinlane https://www.facebook.com/davidhobsonandcolinlane X/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheColinLane ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Felicity out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felicityward/ Website: https://www.felicityward.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/felicityward X/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/felicityward Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@felicityjward ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
Felicity Ward is a multi-award-winning comedian, actor and writer. She has toured her award-winning, sell-out shows worldwide, winning the hearts of audiences and critics everywhere she performs. She is coming home to Australia for her first national tour in more than five years! So, before you see her as the new ‘David Brent' in the Aussie remake of The Office this year, Felicity is returning to her first love – stand-up comedy – in her first tour since being nominated for the biggest award in live comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. Felicity has appeared on Spicks and Specks, The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, Good News Week, Talking About Your Generation, Thank God You're Here, The Librarians, The Project and Ronny Chieng: International Student along with multiple appearances on The MICF Oxfam Gala and MICF Comedy All Stars. Felicity has also appeared in Wakefield, The Inbetweeners Movie 2 and Any Questions For Ben? She has been a regular face on many other international TV shows including Russell Howard's Good News (UK), Alan Davies' As Yet Untitled (UK), The John Bishop Show (UK), Mock the Week (UK), Gotham Comedy (US), Make You Laugh Out Loud (UK), Sam Delaney's News Thing (UK) and Access All Areas (CAN). She also has her very own Amazon Prime stand-up comedy special and as heard on 'The Guilty Feminist'. Her new show, 'I'm Exhausting!' Is now out! We chat about her unique outlook on life and start to stand up, auditioning and getting on The Office (Aus), nerves & panic attacks, almost quitting, UK vs AUS, her fork in the road moment, life changing helpers, having fun, her new shows, plus plenty more! The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Felicity out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felicityward/ Website: https://www.felicityward.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/felicityward X/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/felicityward Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@felicityjward ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
On this episode of Gavin Wood's Countdown podcast, Gavin catches up with Australian saxophonist, television personality and radio presenter – Wilbur Wilde. Perhaps best known for his work as part of the house band on “Hey Hey It's Saturday!” Wilbur Wilde rose to prominence with the bands Ol' 55 and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. Wilbur has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Skyhooks, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Split Enz, Roy Orbison, Cold Chisel, Joe Cocker, Dire Straits, the Angels, Dragon, James Reyne and Jimmy Barnes. Wilbur has made numerous other TV appearances throughout his career on shows including The Flying Doctors, The Paul Hogan Show, Blankety Blanks, Sale of the Century, MTV, Getaway, Postcards, Prisoner, Spicks and Specks, and commercials for the Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency. His CV also boasts a string of movie credits including Trojan Warrior, Mad Max, The Coolangatta Gold, City of the Damned, Jenny Kissed Me, Dead End Drive-In, and Cool Change, as well as over 750 performances with The New Rocky Horror Show. Wilbur has also presented on an array of radio stations, including Gold 104.3, Vega 91.5, 3UZ, 3XY, and 3MP.
The wonderful Myf Warhurst joins the show today to chat all about Spicks and Specks returning to our screens in 2024. Plus her and Yvie chat all about their experience with perimenopause and the struggles they've had to find good practitioners to help them as well as why they feel it's so important to educate younger women on it. And she also shares the real life impact her new show 'Meet the Neighbours' has, where families from different cultural backgrounds move to a small country town. Lastly, why she thinks it's so important to still have older women in the entertainment industry and on our TV screens. LINKS Yvie Jones @yvie_jones Myf Warhurst @myfwarhurst Nova Podcasts Instagram @novapodcastsofficial Don't forget you can ask us a question anytime by emailing twogirls@novaentertainment.com.au CREDITSHost: Yvie Jones Guest: Myf Warhurst Executive Producer: Rachael Hart Editor: Adrian Walton Supervising Producer: Ricardo Bardon Show Artwork By: @ellymalone Find more great podcasts like this at novapodcasts.com.au Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we recorded this podcast, Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past and present. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bit of news - FISK is coming back, and so is Spicks and Specks Feature Act: What are the kids eating? MrBeast Feastables Later - Nerds Gummy Clusters Blind Tests Dave's BBQ chips Kitty's Ripples chips Kitty's Lays chips Bloody Love Liquorice Black Night Liquorice medley, from NZ Darrell Lea Raspberry Liquorice Allsorts Facebook Group for The Junkees is here - so many great photos! Support the podcasts you listen to, subscribe on Lenny.fm About The Junkees on Nearly.com.au Big shout out to Audio Technica - The Junkees use Audio Technica AT-BP40 microphones. Sounding good! Follow Kitty! Instagram / Facebook / YouTube Follow Dave! Twitter / Facebook Tell a friend about the show or leave a review wherever you can. Get in touch with a suggestion for Dave and Kitty - hi@nearly.com.auMore about the show: https://www.nearly.com.au/the-junkees-dave-and-kitty/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Adam Hills is a household name across the English-speaking world — an Australian comedy legend, satirist, radio host and TV personality (Spicks and Specks, Adam Hills Tonight and The Last Leg). But as a lifelong tennis player and fan, Adam is advocating for a little-known format of the sport called Para-Standing Tennis. He joined Jon Hoevenaars on The AO Show to discuss how it all came about.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sad news broke this week of the passing of beloved comedian Cal Wilson, after a short illness fighting an unexpected and aggressive cancer. Cal, who was only 53, had a long and colourful career in Australian entertainment. Over the last 20 years she was a core character across the Australian stand-up comedy circuit, as well as a feature on many iconic TV shows, such as the original Thank God Your Here, Spicks and Specks and Good News Week. On this extra episode of The Briefing, Madeline Palmer speaks with artist Andrea Huelin, who painted the 2023 Archibald Packing Room Prize for her portrait of Cal Wilson, 'Clown Jewels'. Andrea shares her experience of painting the portrait, what she hopes the portrait meant to Cal, and what she hopes it will mean for her legacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Doesn't everyone Keep their show runsheet notes in Freeform? Not all three of us do, it would seem! Can Andrew take the harsh criticism of his desk by Martin? Apparently, there is improv role-playing in this episode. Who doesn't like a good discussion around bubble tea and pressure washers? False Start 00:00:00 Spider-Man Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_%282018_video_game%29)
On today's episode, we speak to broadcaster Myf Warhurst about her eclectic career in radio and TV, including the music knowledge that made her both a Eurovision commentator and a Spicks and Specs favorite, as well as her current stage role playing the narrator in a new production of the Rocky Horror Show. Not to mention a recurring gig on the animated global hit Bluey. Hosting the conversation - from being a foster parent and her documentary about menopause - is Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's episode, we speak to broadcaster Myf Warhurst about her eclectic career in radio and TV, including the music knowledge that made her both a Eurovision commentator and a Spicks and Specs favorite, as well as her current stage role playing the narrator in a new production of the Rocky Horror Show. Not to mention a recurring gig on the animated global hit Bluey. Hosting the conversation - from being a foster parent and her documentary about menopause - is Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's episode, we speak to broadcaster Myf Warhurst about her eclectic career in radio and TV, including the music knowledge that made her both a Eurovision commentator and a Spicks and Specs favorite, as well as her current stage role playing the narrator in a new production of the Rocky Horror Show. Not to mention a recurring gig on the animated global hit Bluey. Hosting the conversation - from being a foster parent and her documentary about menopause - is Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Too much has happened since Dave O'Neil recorded this episode of Another 10 Questions back in the peak pandemic days of November, 2021. The point of Another 10 Questions was to invite guests back onto the pod as a catch up or check in. And since Dave was on the very first episode of this podcast back in 2015, there was a lot to talk about. Most listeners will be familiar with Dave's work on Spicks and Specks, Agony, Randling, The Nugget, and more recently, great cameos in Utopia and Fisk. He was also the head writer on Totally Full Frontal, and with the screenwriter, Mark O'Toole, he wrote the feature films Take Away and You and Your Stupid Mate.Catch Dave's new Melbourne Comedy Festival show Overweight Lightweight at Morris House from March 29 to April 9. Tickets here. Get full access to The Kicker at thekicker.substack.com/subscribe
In this birthday satsang, Swamiji begins by reading a few paragraphs from his book Happy for No Good Reason for a special surprise. An excerpt from an old Spicks and Specks episode where singer Jimmy Barnes sang these passages was shown. Swamiji then shared from the teachings of the great sage Baba Muktananda. He read a passage from one of Baba's satsang books, which are a collection of questions and answers with Baba. Swamiji talked about how the teachings were particularly relevant to his sadhana at the time. This podcast was recorded live at The Ashram in Mount Eliza on the 11th of March, 2023. Watch the full satsang program with Swamiji and Devi Ma at The Ashram with a weekly subscription to The Ashram Online! This subscription will give you access to a library of over 100 hours of Swamiji's talks, meditation and chanting programs, hatha yoga classes and more. Click here to learn more.
Cal Wilson is a stand-up comedian, writer, actor, author and TV and radio host. She moved from New Zealand to Australian shores in 2003 and has gone on to become one of Australia's most popular comedians. She is a favourite on television shows such as ABC's Spicks and Specks and Good News Week, as well as Thank God You're Here, Hughesy, We Have A Problem, Have You Been Paying Attention? Skithouse, Rove Live, The Glasshouse and the 2022 premiere series of Would I Lie To You? Australia, all on Network Ten. Amongst taking our screens and stages by storm, Cal landed a dream job of hers – an ensemble cast member in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia alongside some of the country's brightest improvisers. In 2018, she was invited by Netflix to the Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal to record a Netflix Original Comedy Special which was released globally in early 2019. That same year Cal become a very serious children's author, penning two books called “George and the Great Bum Stampede,” and “George and the Great Brain Swappery.” A gifted storyteller & writer, Cal was invited to join the writing team for the 2022 BAFTA Awards ceremony, as well as having previously written on the series Mean Mums and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. She is the Melbourne live show host of the worldwide smash-hit storytelling podcast The Moth and in July this year she once again joined comedy phenomenon podcast The Guilty Feminist on tour around her native country, New Zealand. Despite an aversion to the great outdoors, Cal bravely joined the cast of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022 which saw her take on all the usual hair-raising challenges and biblical amount of bugs the series has to offer. Unprecedented times called for unprecedented adventures and at the very least some good material. Taking a swift move away from creepy crawlies and into all things cake – Cal has just been announced as a brand new host of The Great Australian Bake Off which will air on Foxtel in 2023. Cal also has some shows out, in particular if you're in Melbourne check her out at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival! We chat about Cal's daily reddit routine, her obsession with cats, improv and stand up comedy, collaboration and connection, her unique philosophy and mindset, supporting others, perseverance and resilience. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Cal out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calbowilson/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@calbowilson Token Artist Website: https://token.com.au/artist/cal-wilson/ Shows before the MICF: https://comedy.com.au/tour/cal-wilson-supposably/ ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan
It's 1966, a revolutionary year for the commercial music landscape, which has dramatically changed since the Gibb family arrived in Australia. The new studio space and endless time spent there allows the Bee Gees to let loose and produce a vast and eclectic amount of material over the course of this year. Maurice has his first compositions and collaborates with Nat Kipner, Robin also debuts his solo compositions and develops his unique style, and Barry continues to adapt to his musical surroundings. Stuart and Cristiano go through the first half of 1966, detailing the Bee Gees' second studio album ‘Spicks and Specks', as well as a collection of additional material. Find us on Instagram and Facebook @wordsbeegeespodcast, and on Twitter @wordsbeegeespod. Email us: wordsbeegeespodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With a CV including Spicks and Specks, the Eurovision Song Contest, Triple J, ABC Radio, Playschool and the animated global hit Bluey, Myf Warhurst has been a staple of Australian radio and TV for over twenty years. For the Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling series, Warhurst took to the stage with her Bang On co-host Zan Rowe for a captivating conversation about music, memory and her new memoir, Time of My Life. Join Myf Warhurst as she shares funny, fabulous and sometimes fraught tales of her journey from a music lover growing up in regional Victoria, to a much-loved presence on airwaves across the country. This Melbourne City Reads event was generously supported by George and Rosa Morstyn. This event was part of the Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program – supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership. Featured music is Electric Eyes by Sarah, The Illstrumentalist.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Adam Hills talks to Hame about everything from the art of negotiating with kids who won't stay in bed, to his subconscious fears of becoming a father. He shares stories from his own childhood that only now, as a dad, are beginning to make sense, and he & Hame discuss the amazing power of telling your kids you are sorry and that you stuffed up. Adam Hills has been a mainstay of Australian and UK entertainment for, well… ages. He hosts The Last Leg on Channel 4 in the UK and has recently rebooted his beloved ABC music quiz show Spicks and Specks, which over the years Hamish has appeared on numerous times (and on each occasion performed horribly). Hillsy has been an amazing advocate for kids charities and disability awareness and was honoured with an MBE in 2022 (does that make him Sir Hillsy?) He is married to singer and actress Ali McGregor and together they have 2 daughters. Get in touch at howotherdadsdad.com (thanks for all the wonderful feedback after Ep 1 - we really appreciate it) Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Gerry Connolly is an accomplished Australian actor, comic and musician on stage, in cabaret, film and television. For half the reign of Queen Elizabeth 2, he rendered Her Majesty in a celebrated and vivid portrayal across many stages and platforms. This turn began life at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in revue, and along with his rendition of Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen, quickly became the basis of stage shows such as Men and Women of Australia, I CONnolly, Gerrymander Joh, Pianomaniac and Gerry Connolly: Alone or with Others? Gerry is widely acclaimed across Australia as a comic of tremendous skill and observation, enjoying enormous success at the Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Comedy Festivals, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2012 he brought his own brand of comic and classic taste to the Richard Tognetti Festival Maribor, in Slovenia. His theatre credits include Wuthering Heights (shake & stir), The Marriage of Figaro (QTC), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (MTC), Once in a Lifetime (STC), Cyrano de Bergerac (MTC), Little Murders (MTC), A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy (Melbourne Comedy Festival), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (GFO), Anything Goes (Opera Australia/GFO), Sydney Opera House: The Eighth Wonder (Opera Australia), The Pirates of Penzance (Essgee), Fledermaus (Opera Queensland), Summer Rain (STC), Urinetown (MTC) and Tomfoolery (MTC). Gerry's television credits include Gerry Connolly Show (ABC), Fast Forward (Channel 7), Kath & Kim (Channel 7), Spicks ‘n Specks (ABC), Dead Gorgeous (ABC), Mystery of a Hansom Cab (ABC), A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy (Channel 7) and various Current Affairs and panel programs, including Celebrity Roasts for Bert Newton, Molly Meldrum and Brian Henderson. Gerry is presently on stage as Mr Paravicini in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. The production kicks off a national tour at the Theatre Royal in Sydney … and celebrates the 70th anniversary of the iconic thriller. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au
Join Jewish Comedians Rachel Creeger & Philip Simon for their comedy podcast, a chat show about all things Jewish, produced by Russell Balkind. This week's guest is Australian cabaret artist and comedian, Reuben Kaye, recorded in front of a live audience at Assembly Festival as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. We were in "The Box", which is a shipping container, on a baking hot day, with an emergency fan on and one door ajar so that everyone made it through to the end of the show without passing out! As a result there are a few audio issues, but also simply great stories from a brilliantly funny and generous guest. Follow them on social media, follow US on social media and don't forget to let us know what you think about the show.Subscribe to our Patreon: @JewTalkinFacebook: @JewTalkinTwitter: @JewTalkinInstagram: @JewTalkinLots more fantastic episodes waiting to be released every Friday morning, so don't forget to subscribe and leave us a 5* review - it really helps other people find the show. Go on… it's what your mother would want!--------------------------------------------------------------------- REUBEN KAYEWebsite: https://www.reubenkaye.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reubenkayeofficial/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReubenKayeTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reubenkayeMulti-award winning, Australian comedian, singer and writer Reuben Kaye is loud, politically active, queer, and what happens when you tell your children they can be anything. After racking up millions of views across Tiktok, Youtube & Instagram plus appearances on Spicks and Specks, The Melbourne International Comedy Fest Galas (ABC), Celebrity Letters & Numbers (SBS) and in the UK, Channel 4 & BBC's You're Fired, Kaye is now the danger man to watch on the scene. Backed by his band The Close Contacts, Reuben's unmissable live shows have sold out in Australia, London and Europe, gleefully proving that he is the much needed, Swarovski studded revolt against the ever narrowing views of an increasingly conservative world and he's done it all while looking fabulous! Get bonus content on the Jew Talkin' To Me? Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This morning comedian Adam Hills joined Fitzy and Wippa on the phone to discuss the new season of Spicks and Specks… but conversation somehow turned to what he's been Googling on his laptop. Catch the new series of Spicks and Specks Sunday's at 7.40pm on ABC TV and ABC iviewSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week's episode looks at “All You Need is Love”, the Our World TV special, and the career of the Beatles from April 1966 through August 1967. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a thirteen-minute bonus episode available, on "Rain" by the Beatles. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ NB for the first few hours this was up, there was a slight editing glitch. If you downloaded the old version and don't want to redownload the whole thing, just look in the transcript for "Other than fixing John's two flubbed" for the text of the two missing paragraphs. Errata I say "Come Together" was a B-side, but the single was actually a double A-side. Also, I say the Lennon interview by Maureen Cleave appeared in Detroit magazine. That's what my source (Steve Turner's book) says, but someone on Twitter says that rather than Detroit magazine it was the Detroit Free Press. Also at one point I say "the videos for 'Paperback Writer' and 'Penny Lane'". I meant to say "Rain" rather than "Penny Lane" there. Resources No Mixcloud this week due to the number of songs by the Beatles. I have read literally dozens of books on the Beatles, and used bits of information from many of them. All my Beatles episodes refer to: The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, All The Songs: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon, And The Band Begins To Play: The Definitive Guide To The Songs of The Beatles by Steve Lambley, The Beatles By Ear by Kevin Moore, Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald, and The Beatles Anthology. For this episode, I also referred to Last Interview by David Sheff, a longform interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from shortly before Lennon's death; Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, an authorised biography of Paul McCartney; and Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey. Particularly useful this time was Steve Turner's book Beatles '66. I also used Turner's The Beatles: The Stories Behind the Songs 1967-1970. Johnny Rogan's Starmakers and Svengalis had some information on Epstein I hadn't seen anywhere else. Some information about the "Bigger than Jesus" scandal comes from Ward, B. (2012). “The ‘C' is for Christ”: Arthur Unger, Datebook Magazine and the Beatles. Popular Music and Society, 35(4), 541-560. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2011.608978 Information on Robert Stigwood comes from Mr Showbiz by Stephen Dando-Collins. And the quote at the end from Simon Napier-Bell is from You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, which is more entertaining than it is accurate, but is very entertaining. Sadly the only way to get the single mix of "All You Need is Love" is on this ludicrously-expensive out-of-print box set, but the stereo mix is easily available on Magical Mystery Tour. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick note before I start the episode -- this episode deals, in part, with the deaths of three gay men -- one by murder, one by suicide, and one by an accidental overdose, all linked at least in part to societal homophobia. I will try to deal with this as tactfully as I can, but anyone who's upset by those things might want to read the transcript instead of listening to the episode. This is also a very, very, *very* long episode -- this is likely to be the longest episode I *ever* do of this podcast, so settle in. We're going to be here a while. I obviously don't know how long it's going to be while I'm still recording, but based on the word count of my script, probably in the region of three hours. You have been warned. In 1967 the actor Patrick McGoohan was tired. He had been working on the hit series Danger Man for many years -- Danger Man had originally run from 1960 through 1962, then had taken a break, and had come back, retooled, with longer episodes in 1964. That longer series was a big hit, both in the UK and in the US, where it was retitled Secret Agent and had a new theme tune written by PF Sloan and Steve Barri and recorded by Johnny Rivers: [Excerpt: Johnny Rivers, "Secret Agent Man"] But McGoohan was tired of playing John Drake, the agent, and announced he was going to quit the series. Instead, with the help of George Markstein, Danger Man's script editor, he created a totally new series, in which McGoohan would star, and which McGoohan would also write and direct key episodes of. This new series, The Prisoner, featured a spy who is only ever given the name Number Six, and who many fans -- though not McGoohan himself -- took to be the same character as John Drake. Number Six resigns from his job as a secret agent, and is kidnapped and taken to a place known only as The Village -- the series was filmed in Portmeirion, an unusual-looking town in Gwynnedd, in North Wales -- which is full of other ex-agents. There he is interrogated to try to find out why he has quit his job. It's never made clear whether the interrogators are his old employers or their enemies, and there's a certain suggestion that maybe there is no real distinction between the two sides, that they're both running the Village together. He spends the entire series trying to escape, but refuses to explain himself -- and there's some debate among viewers as to whether it's implied or not that part of the reason he doesn't explain himself is that he knows his interrogators wouldn't understand why he quit: [Excerpt: The Prisoner intro, from episode Once Upon a Time, ] Certainly that explanation would fit in with McGoohan's own personality. According to McGoohan, the final episode of The Prisoner was, at the time, the most watched TV show ever broadcast in the UK, as people tuned in to find out the identity of Number One, the person behind the Village, and to see if Number Six would break free. I don't think that's actually the case, but it's what McGoohan always claimed, and it was certainly a very popular series. I won't spoil the ending for those of you who haven't watched it -- it's a remarkable series -- but ultimately the series seems to decide that such questions don't matter and that even asking them is missing the point. It's a work that's open to multiple interpretations, and is left deliberately ambiguous, but one of the messages many people have taken away from it is that not only are we trapped by a society that oppresses us, we're also trapped by our own identities. You can run from the trap that society has placed you in, from other people's interpretations of your life, your work, and your motives, but you ultimately can't run from yourself, and any time you try to break out of a prison, you'll find yourself trapped in another prison of your own making. The most horrifying implication of the episode is that possibly even death itself won't be a release, and you will spend all eternity trying to escape from an identity you're trapped in. Viewers became so outraged, according to McGoohan, that he had to go into hiding for an extended period, and while his later claims that he never worked in Britain again are an exaggeration, it is true that for the remainder of his life he concentrated on doing work in the US instead, where he hadn't created such anger. That final episode of The Prisoner was also the only one to use a piece of contemporary pop music, in two crucial scenes: [Excerpt: The Prisoner, "Fall Out", "All You Need is Love"] Back in October 2020, we started what I thought would be a year-long look at the period from late 1962 through early 1967, but which has turned out for reasons beyond my control to take more like twenty months, with a song which was one of the last of the big pre-Beatles pop hits, though we looked at it after their first single, "Telstar" by the Tornadoes: [Excerpt: The Tornadoes, "Telstar"] There were many reasons for choosing that as one of the bookends for this fifty-episode chunk of the podcast -- you'll see many connections between that episode and this one if you listen to them back-to-back -- but among them was that it's a song inspired by the launch of the first ever communications satellite, and a sign of how the world was going to become smaller as the sixties went on. Of course, to start with communications satellites didn't do much in that regard -- they were expensive to use, and had limited bandwidth, and were only available during limited time windows, but symbolically they meant that for the first time ever, people could see and hear events thousands of miles away as they were happening. It's not a coincidence that Britain and France signed the agreement to develop Concorde, the first supersonic airliner, a month after the first Beatles single and four months after the Telstar satellite was launched. The world was becoming ever more interconnected -- people were travelling faster and further, getting news from other countries quicker, and there was more cultural conversation – and misunderstanding – between countries thousands of miles apart. The Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan, the man who also coined the phrase “the medium is the message”, thought that this ever-faster connection would fundamentally change basic modes of thought in the Western world. McLuhan thought that technology made possible whole new modes of thought, and that just as the printing press had, in his view, caused Western liberalism and individualism, so these new electronic media would cause the rise of a new collective mode of thought. In 1962, the year of Concorde, Telstar, and “Love Me Do”, McLuhan wrote a book called The Gutenberg Galaxy, in which he said: “Instead of tending towards a vast Alexandrian library the world has become a computer, an electronic brain, exactly as an infantile piece of science fiction. And as our senses have gone outside us, Big Brother goes inside. So, unless aware of this dynamic, we shall at once move into a phase of panic terrors, exactly befitting a small world of tribal drums, total interdependence, and superimposed co-existence.… Terror is the normal state of any oral society, for in it everything affects everything all the time.…” He coined the term “the Global Village” to describe this new collectivism. The story we've seen over the last fifty episodes is one of a sort of cultural ping-pong between the USA and the UK, with innovations in American music inspiring British musicians, who in turn inspired American ones, whether that being the Beatles covering the Isley Brothers or the Rolling Stones doing a Bobby Womack song, or Paul Simon and Bob Dylan coming over to the UK and learning folk songs and guitar techniques from Martin Carthy. And increasingly we're going to see those influences spread to other countries, and influences coming *from* other countries. We've already seen one Jamaican artist, and the influence of Indian music has become very apparent. While the focus of this series is going to remain principally in the British Isles and North America, rock music was and is a worldwide phenomenon, and that's going to become increasingly a part of the story. And so in this episode we're going to look at a live performance -- well, mostly live -- that was seen by hundreds of millions of people all over the world as it happened, thanks to the magic of satellites: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "All You Need is Love"] When we left the Beatles, they had just finished recording "Tomorrow Never Knows", the most experimental track they had recorded up to that date, and if not the most experimental thing they *ever* recorded certainly in the top handful. But "Tomorrow Never Knows" was only the first track they recorded in the sessions for what would become arguably their greatest album, and certainly the one that currently has the most respect from critics. It's interesting to note that that album could have been very, very, different. When we think of Revolver now, we think of the innovative production of George Martin, and of Geoff Emerick and Ken Townshend's inventive ideas for pushing the sound of the equipment in Abbey Road studios, but until very late in the day the album was going to be recorded in the Stax studios in Memphis, with Steve Cropper producing -- whether George Martin would have been involved or not is something we don't even know. In 1965, the Rolling Stones had, as we've seen, started making records in the US, recording in LA and at the Chess studios in Chicago, and the Yardbirds had also been doing the same thing. Mick Jagger had become a convert to the idea of using American studios and working with American musicians, and he had constantly been telling Paul McCartney that the Beatles should do the same. Indeed, they'd put some feelers out in 1965 about the possibility of the group making an album with Holland, Dozier, and Holland in Detroit. Quite how this would have worked is hard to figure out -- Holland, Dozier, and Holland's skills were as songwriters, and in their work with a particular set of musicians -- so it's unsurprising that came to nothing. But recording at Stax was a different matter. While Steve Cropper was a great songwriter in his own right, he was also adept at getting great sounds on covers of other people's material -- like on Otis Blue, the album he produced for Otis Redding in late 1965, which doesn't include a single Cropper original: [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "Satisfaction"] And the Beatles were very influenced by the records Stax were putting out, often namechecking Wilson Pickett in particular, and during the Rubber Soul sessions they had recorded a "Green Onions" soundalike track, imaginatively titled "12-Bar Original": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "12-Bar Original"] The idea of the group recording at Stax got far enough that they were actually booked in for two weeks starting the ninth of April, and there was even an offer from Elvis to let them stay at Graceland while they recorded, but then a couple of weeks earlier, the news leaked to the press, and Brian Epstein cancelled the booking. According to Cropper, Epstein talked about recording at the Atlantic studios in New York with him instead, but nothing went any further. It's hard to imagine what a Stax-based Beatles album would have been like, but even though it might have been a great album, it certainly wouldn't have been the Revolver we've come to know. Revolver is an unusual album in many ways, and one of the ways it's most distinct from the earlier Beatles albums is the dominance of keyboards. Both Lennon and McCartney had often written at the piano as well as the guitar -- McCartney more so than Lennon, but both had done so regularly -- but up to this point it had been normal for them to arrange the songs for guitars rather than keyboards, no matter how they'd started out. There had been the odd track where one of them, usually Lennon, would play a simple keyboard part, songs like "I'm Down" or "We Can Work it Out", but even those had been guitar records first and foremost. But on Revolver, that changed dramatically. There seems to have been a complex web of cause and effect here. Paul was becoming increasingly interested in moving his basslines away from simple walking basslines and root notes and the other staples of rock and roll basslines up to this point. As the sixties progressed, rock basslines were becoming ever more complex, and Tyler Mahan Coe has made a good case that this is largely down to innovations in production pioneered by Owen Bradley, and McCartney was certainly aware of Bradley's work -- he was a fan of Brenda Lee, who Bradley produced, for example. But the two influences that McCartney has mentioned most often in this regard are the busy, jazz-influenced, basslines that James Jamerson was playing at Motown: [Excerpt: The Four Tops, "It's the Same Old Song"] And the basslines that Brian Wilson was writing for various Wrecking Crew bassists to play for the Beach Boys: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)"] Just to be clear, McCartney didn't hear that particular track until partway through the recording of Revolver, when Bruce Johnston visited the UK and brought with him an advance copy of Pet Sounds, but Pet Sounds influenced the later part of Revolver's recording, and Wilson had already started his experiments in that direction with the group's 1965 work. It's much easier to write a song with this kind of bassline, one that's integral to the composition, on the piano than it is to write it on a guitar, as you can work out the bassline with your left hand while working out the chords and melody with your right, so the habit that McCartney had already developed of writing on the piano made this easier. But also, starting with the recording of "Paperback Writer", McCartney switched his style of working in the studio. Where up to this point it had been normal for him to play bass as part of the recording of the basic track, playing with the other Beatles, he now started to take advantage of multitracking to overdub his bass later, so he could spend extra time getting the bassline exactly right. McCartney lived closer to Abbey Road than the other three Beatles, and so could more easily get there early or stay late and tweak his parts. But if McCartney wasn't playing bass while the guitars and drums were being recorded, that meant he could play something else, and so increasingly he would play piano during the recording of the basic track. And that in turn would mean that there wouldn't always *be* a need for guitars on the track, because the harmonic support they would provide would be provided by the piano instead. This, as much as anything else, is the reason that Revolver sounds so radically different to any other Beatles album. Up to this point, with *very* rare exceptions like "Yesterday", every Beatles record, more or less, featured all four of the Beatles playing instruments. Now John and George weren't playing on "Good Day Sunshine" or "For No One", John wasn't playing on "Here, There, and Everywhere", "Eleanor Rigby" features no guitars or drums at all, and George's "Love You To" only features himself, plus a little tambourine from Ringo (Paul recorded a part for that one, but it doesn't seem to appear on the finished track). Of the three songwriting Beatles, the only one who at this point was consistently requiring the instrumental contributions of all the other band members was John, and even he did without Paul on "She Said, She Said", which by all accounts features either John or George on bass, after Paul had a rare bout of unprofessionalism and left the studio. Revolver is still an album made by a group -- and most of those tracks that don't feature John or George instrumentally still feature them vocally -- it's still a collaborative work in all the best ways. But it's no longer an album made by four people playing together in the same room at the same time. After starting work on "Tomorrow Never Knows", the next track they started work on was Paul's "Got to Get You Into My Life", but as it would turn out they would work on that song throughout most of the sessions for the album -- in a sign of how the group would increasingly work from this point on, Paul's song was subject to multiple re-recordings and tweakings in the studio, as he tinkered to try to make it perfect. The first recording to be completed for the album, though, was almost as much of a departure in its own way as "Tomorrow Never Knows" had been. George's song "Love You To" shows just how inspired he was by the music of Ravi Shankar, and how devoted he was to Indian music. While a few months earlier he had just about managed to pick out a simple melody on the sitar for "Norwegian Wood", by this point he was comfortable enough with Indian classical music that I've seen many, many sources claim that an outside session player is playing sitar on the track, though Anil Bhagwat, the tabla player on the track, always insisted that it was entirely Harrison's playing: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] There is a *lot* of debate as to whether it's George playing on the track, and I feel a little uncomfortable making a definitive statement in either direction. On the one hand I find it hard to believe that Harrison got that good that quickly on an unfamiliar instrument, when we know he wasn't a naturally facile musician. All the stories we have about his work in the studio suggest that he had to work very hard on his guitar solos, and that he would frequently fluff them. As a technical guitarist, Harrison was only mediocre -- his value lay in his inventiveness, not in technical ability -- and he had been playing guitar for over a decade, but sitar only a few months. There's also some session documentation suggesting that an unknown sitar player was hired. On the other hand there's the testimony of Anil Bhagwat that Harrison played the part himself, and he has been very firm on the subject, saying "If you go on the Internet there are a lot of questions asked about "Love You To". They say 'It's not George playing the sitar'. I can tell you here and now -- 100 percent it was George on sitar throughout. There were no other musicians involved. It was just me and him." And several people who are more knowledgeable than myself about the instrument have suggested that the sitar part on the track is played the way that a rock guitarist would play rather than the way someone with more knowledge of Indian classical music would play -- there's a blues feeling to some of the bends that apparently no genuine Indian classical musician would naturally do. I would suggest that the best explanation is that there's a professional sitar player trying to replicate a part that Harrison had previously demonstrated, while Harrison was in turn trying his best to replicate the sound of Ravi Shankar's work. Certainly the instrumental section sounds far more fluent, and far more stylistically correct, than one would expect: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] Where previous attempts at what got called "raga-rock" had taken a couple of surface features of Indian music -- some form of a drone, perhaps a modal scale -- and had generally used a guitar made to sound a little bit like a sitar, or had a sitar playing normal rock riffs, Harrison's song seems to be a genuine attempt to hybridise Indian ragas and rock music, combining the instrumentation, modes, and rhythmic complexity of someone like Ravi Shankar with lyrics that are seemingly inspired by Bob Dylan and a fairly conventional pop song structure (and a tiny bit of fuzz guitar). It's a record that could only be made by someone who properly understood both the Indian music he's emulating and the conventions of the Western pop song, and understood how those conventions could work together. Indeed, one thing I've rarely seen pointed out is how cleverly the album is sequenced, so that "Love You To" is followed by possibly the most conventional song on Revolver, "Here, There, and Everywhere", which was recorded towards the end of the sessions. Both songs share a distinctive feature not shared by the rest of the album, so the two songs can sound more of a pair than they otherwise would, retrospectively making "Love You To" seem more conventional than it is and "Here, There, and Everywhere" more unconventional -- both have as an introduction a separate piece of music that states some of the melodic themes of the rest of the song but isn't repeated later. In the case of "Love You To" it's the free-tempo bit at the beginning, characteristic of a lot of Indian music: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] While in the case of "Here, There, and Everywhere" it's the part that mimics an older style of songwriting, a separate intro of the type that would have been called a verse when written by the Gershwins or Cole Porter, but of course in the intervening decades "verse" had come to mean something else, so we now no longer have a specific term for this kind of intro -- but as you can hear, it's doing very much the same thing as that "Love You To" intro: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Here, There, and Everywhere"] In the same day as the group completed "Love You To", overdubbing George's vocal and Ringo's tambourine, they also started work on a song that would show off a lot of the new techniques they had been working on in very different ways. Paul's "Paperback Writer" could indeed be seen as part of a loose trilogy with "Love You To" and "Tomorrow Never Knows", one song by each of the group's three songwriters exploring the idea of a song that's almost all on one chord. Both "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Love You To" are based on a drone with occasional hints towards moving to one other chord. In the case of "Paperback Writer", the entire song stays on a single chord until the title -- it's on a G7 throughout until the first use of the word "writer", when it quickly goes to a C for two bars. I'm afraid I'm going to have to sing to show you how little the chords actually change, because the riff disguises this lack of movement somewhat, but the melody is also far more horizontal than most of McCartney's, so this shouldn't sound too painful, I hope: [demonstrates] This is essentially the exact same thing that both "Love You To" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" do, and all three have very similarly structured rising and falling modal melodies. There's also a bit of "Paperback Writer" that seems to tie directly into "Love You To", but also points to a possible very non-Indian inspiration for part of "Love You To". The Beach Boys' single "Sloop John B" was released in the UK a couple of days after the sessions for "Paperback Writer" and "Love You To", but it had been released in the US a month before, and the Beatles all got copies of every record in the American top thirty shipped to them. McCartney and Harrison have specifically pointed to it as an influence on "Paperback Writer". "Sloop John B" has a section where all the instruments drop out and we're left with just the group's vocal harmonies: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Sloop John B"] And that seems to have been the inspiration behind the similar moment at a similar point in "Paperback Writer", which is used in place of a middle eight and also used for the song's intro: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] Which is very close to what Harrison does at the end of each verse of "Love You To", where the instruments drop out for him to sing a long melismatic syllable before coming back in: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love You To"] Essentially, other than "Got to Get You Into My Life", which is an outlier and should not be counted, the first three songs attempted during the Revolver sessions are variations on a common theme, and it's a sign that no matter how different the results might sound, the Beatles really were very much a group at this point, and were sharing ideas among themselves and developing those ideas in similar ways. "Paperback Writer" disguises what it's doing somewhat by having such a strong riff. Lennon referred to "Paperback Writer" as "son of 'Day Tripper'", and in terms of the Beatles' singles it's actually their third iteration of this riff idea, which they originally got from Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step": [Excerpt: Bobby Parker, "Watch Your Step"] Which became the inspiration for "I Feel Fine": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Feel Fine"] Which they varied for "Day Tripper": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Day Tripper"] And which then in turn got varied for "Paperback Writer": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] As well as compositional ideas, there are sonic ideas shared between "Paperback Writer", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and "Love You To", and which would be shared by the rest of the tracks the Beatles recorded in the first half of 1966. Since Geoff Emerick had become the group's principal engineer, they'd started paying more attention to how to get a fuller sound, and so Emerick had miced the tabla on "Love You To" much more closely than anyone would normally mic an instrument from classical music, creating a deep, thudding sound, and similarly he had changed the way they recorded the drums on "Tomorrow Never Knows", again giving a much fuller sound. But the group also wanted the kind of big bass sounds they'd loved on records coming out of America -- sounds that no British studio was getting, largely because it was believed that if you cut too loud a bass sound into a record it would make the needle jump out of the groove. The new engineering team of Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott, though, thought that it was likely you could keep the needle in the groove if you had a smoother frequency response. You could do that if you used a microphone with a larger diaphragm to record the bass, but how could you do that? Inspiration finally struck -- loudspeakers are actually the same thing as microphones wired the other way round, so if you wired up a loudspeaker as if it were a microphone you could get a *really big* speaker, place it in front of the bass amp, and get a much stronger bass sound. The experiment wasn't a total success -- the sound they got had to be processed quite extensively to get rid of room noise, and then compressed in order to further prevent the needle-jumping issue, and so it's a muddier, less defined, tone than they would have liked, but one thing that can't be denied is that "Paperback Writer"'s bass sound is much, much, louder than on any previous Beatles record: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] Almost every track the group recorded during the Revolver sessions involved all sorts of studio innovations, though rarely anything as truly revolutionary as the artificial double-tracking they'd used on "Tomorrow Never Knows", and which also appeared on "Paperback Writer" -- indeed, as "Paperback Writer" was released several months before Revolver, it became the first record released to use the technique. I could easily devote a good ten minutes to every track on Revolver, and to "Paperback Writer"s B-side, "Rain", but this is already shaping up to be an extraordinarily long episode and there's a lot of material to get through, so I'll break my usual pattern of devoting a Patreon bonus episode to something relatively obscure, and this week's bonus will be on "Rain" itself. "Paperback Writer", though, deserved the attention here even though it was not one of the group's more successful singles -- it did go to number one, but it didn't hit number one in the UK charts straight away, being kept off the top by "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra for the first week: [Excerpt: Frank Sinatra, "Strangers in the Night"] Coincidentally, "Strangers in the Night" was co-written by Bert Kaempfert, the German musician who had produced the group's very first recording sessions with Tony Sheridan back in 1961. On the group's German tour in 1966 they met up with Kaempfert again, and John greeted him by singing the first couple of lines of the Sinatra record. The single was the lowest-selling Beatles single in the UK since "Love Me Do". In the US it only made number one for two non-consecutive weeks, with "Strangers in the Night" knocking it off for a week in between. Now, by literally any other band's standards, that's still a massive hit, and it was the Beatles' tenth UK number one in a row (or ninth, depending on which chart you use for "Please Please Me"), but it's a sign that the group were moving out of the first phase of total unequivocal dominance of the charts. It was a turning point in a lot of other ways as well. Up to this point, while the group had been experimenting with different lyrical subjects on album tracks, every single had lyrics about romantic relationships -- with the possible exception of "Help!", which was about Lennon's emotional state but written in such a way that it could be heard as a plea to a lover. But in the case of "Paperback Writer", McCartney was inspired by his Aunt Mill asking him "Why do you write songs about love all the time? Can you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?" His response was to think "All right, Aunt Mill, I'll show you", and to come up with a lyric that was very much in the style of the social satires that bands like the Kinks were releasing at the time. People often miss the humour in the lyric for "Paperback Writer", but there's a huge amount of comedy in lyrics about someone writing to a publisher saying they'd written a book based on someone else's book, and one can only imagine the feeling of weary recognition in slush-pile readers throughout the world as they heard the enthusiastic "It's a thousand pages, give or take a few, I'll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer..." From this point on, the group wouldn't release a single that was unambiguously about a romantic relationship until "The Ballad of John and Yoko", the last single released while the band were still together. "Paperback Writer" also saw the Beatles for the first time making a promotional film -- what we would now call a rock video -- rather than make personal appearances on TV shows. The film was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who the group would work with again in 1969, and shows Paul with a chipped front tooth -- he'd been in an accident while riding mopeds with his friend Tara Browne a few months earlier, and hadn't yet got round to having the tooth capped. When he did, the change in his teeth was one of the many bits of evidence used by conspiracy theorists to prove that the real Paul McCartney was dead and replaced by a lookalike. It also marks a change in who the most prominent Beatle on the group's A-sides was. Up to this point, Paul had had one solo lead on an A-side -- "Can't Buy Me Love" -- and everything else had been either a song with multiple vocalists like "Day Tripper" or "Love Me Do", or a song with a clear John lead like "Ticket to Ride" or "I Feel Fine". In the rest of their career, counting "Paperback Writer", the group would release nine new singles that hadn't already been included on an album. Of those nine singles, one was a double A-side with one John song and one Paul song, two had John songs on the A-side, and the other six were Paul. Where up to this point John had been "lead Beatle", for the rest of the sixties, Paul would be the group's driving force. Oddly, Paul got rather defensive about the record when asked about it in interviews after it failed to go straight to the top, saying "It's not our best single by any means, but we're very satisfied with it". But especially in its original mono mix it actually packs a powerful punch: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Paperback Writer"] When the "Paperback Writer" single was released, an unusual image was used in the advertising -- a photo of the Beatles dressed in butchers' smocks, covered in blood, with chunks of meat and the dismembered body parts of baby dolls lying around on them. The image was meant as part of a triptych parodying religious art -- the photo on the left was to be an image showing the four Beatles connected to a woman by an umbilical cord made of sausages, the middle panel was meant to be this image, but with halos added over the Beatles' heads, and the panel on the right was George hammering a nail into John's head, symbolising both crucifixion and that the group were real, physical, people, not just images to be worshipped -- these weren't imaginary nails, and they weren't imaginary people. The photographer Robert Whittaker later said: “I did a photograph of the Beatles covered in raw meat, dolls and false teeth. Putting meat, dolls and false teeth with The Beatles is essentially part of the same thing, the breakdown of what is regarded as normal. The actual conception for what I still call “Somnambulant Adventure” was Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. He comes across people worshipping a golden calf. All over the world I'd watched people worshiping like idols, like gods, four Beatles. To me they were just stock standard normal people. But this emotion that fans poured on them made me wonder where Christianity was heading.” The image wasn't that controversial in the UK, when it was used to advertise "Paperback Writer", but in the US it was initially used for the cover of an album, Yesterday... And Today, which was made up of a few tracks that had been left off the US versions of the Rubber Soul and Help! albums, plus both sides of the "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" single, and three rough mixes of songs that had been recorded for Revolver -- "Doctor Robert", "And Your Bird Can Sing", and "I'm Only Sleeping", which was the song that sounded most different from the mixes that were finally released: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I'm Only Sleeping (Yesterday... and Today mix)"] Those three songs were all Lennon songs, which had the unfortunate effect that when the US version of Revolver was brought out later in the year, only two of the songs on the album were by Lennon, with six by McCartney and three by Harrison. Some have suggested that this was the motivation for the use of the butcher image on the cover of Yesterday... And Today -- saying it was the Beatles' protest against Capitol "butchering" their albums -- but in truth it was just that Capitol's art director chose the cover because he liked the image. Alan Livingston, the president of Capitol was not so sure, and called Brian Epstein to ask if the group would be OK with them using a different image. Epstein checked with John Lennon, but Lennon liked the image and so Epstein told Livingston the group insisted on them using that cover. Even though for the album cover the bloodstains on the butchers' smocks were airbrushed out, after Capitol had pressed up a million copies of the mono version of the album and two hundred thousand copies of the stereo version, and they'd sent out sixty thousand promo copies, they discovered that no record shops would stock the album with that cover. It cost Capitol more than two hundred thousand dollars to recall the album and replace the cover with a new one -- though while many of the covers were destroyed, others had the new cover, with a more acceptable photo of the group, pasted over them, and people have later carefully steamed off the sticker to reveal the original. This would not be the last time in 1966 that something that was intended as a statement on religion and the way people viewed the Beatles would cause the group trouble in America. In the middle of the recording sessions for Revolver, the group also made what turned out to be their last ever UK live performance in front of a paying audience. The group had played the NME Poll-Winners' Party every year since 1963, and they were always shows that featured all the biggest acts in the country at the time -- the 1966 show featured, as well as the Beatles and a bunch of smaller acts, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Seekers, the Small Faces, the Walker Brothers, and Dusty Springfield. Unfortunately, while these events were always filmed for TV broadcast, the Beatles' performance on the first of May wasn't filmed. There are various stories about what happened, but the crux appears to be a disagreement between Andrew Oldham and Brian Epstein, sparked by John Lennon. When the Beatles got to the show, they were upset to discover that they had to wait around before going on stage -- normally, the awards would all be presented at the end, after all the performances, but the Rolling Stones had asked that the Beatles not follow them directly, so after the Stones finished their set, there would be a break for the awards to be given out, and then the Beatles would play their set, in front of an audience that had been bored by twenty-five minutes of awards ceremony, rather than one that had been excited by all the bands that came before them. John Lennon was annoyed, and insisted that the Beatles were going to go on straight after the Rolling Stones -- he seems to have taken this as some sort of power play by the Stones and to have got his hackles up about it. He told Epstein to deal with the people from the NME. But the NME people said that they had a contract with Andrew Oldham, and they weren't going to break it. Oldham refused to change the terms of the contract. Lennon said that he wasn't going to go on stage if they didn't directly follow the Stones. Maurice Kinn, the publisher of the NME, told Epstein that he wasn't going to break the contract with Oldham, and that if the Beatles didn't appear on stage, he would get Jimmy Savile, who was compering the show, to go out on stage and tell the ten thousand fans in the audience that the Beatles were backstage refusing to appear. He would then sue NEMS for breach of contract *and* NEMS would be liable for any damage caused by the rioting that was sure to happen. Lennon screamed a lot of abuse at Kinn, and told him the group would never play one of their events again, but the group did go on stage -- but because they hadn't yet signed the agreement to allow their performance to be filmed, they refused to allow it to be recorded. Apparently Andrew Oldham took all this as a sign that Epstein was starting to lose control of the group. Also during May 1966 there were visits from musicians from other countries, continuing the cultural exchange that was increasingly influencing the Beatles' art. Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys came over to promote the group's new LP, Pet Sounds, which had been largely the work of Brian Wilson, who had retired from touring to concentrate on working in the studio. Johnston played the record for John and Paul, who listened to it twice, all the way through, in silence, in Johnston's hotel room: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows"] According to Johnston, after they'd listened through the album twice, they went over to a piano and started whispering to each other, picking out chords. Certainly the influence of Pet Sounds is very noticeable on songs like "Here, There, and Everywhere", written and recorded a few weeks after this meeting: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Here, There, and Everywhere"] That track, and the last track recorded for the album, "She Said She Said" were unusual in one very important respect -- they were recorded while the Beatles were no longer under contract to EMI Records. Their contract expired on the fifth of June, 1966, and they finished Revolver without it having been renewed -- it would be several months before their new contract was signed, and it's rather lucky for music lovers that Brian Epstein was the kind of manager who considered personal relationships and basic honour and decency more important than the legal niceties, unlike any other managers of the era, otherwise we would not have Revolver in the form we know it today. After the meeting with Johnston, but before the recording of those last couple of Revolver tracks, the Beatles also met up again with Bob Dylan, who was on a UK tour with a new, loud, band he was working with called The Hawks. While the Beatles and Dylan all admired each other, there was by this point a lot of wariness on both sides, especially between Lennon and Dylan, both of them very similar personality types and neither wanting to let their guard down around the other or appear unhip. There's a famous half-hour-long film sequence of Lennon and Dylan sharing a taxi, which is a fascinating, excruciating, example of two insecure but arrogant men both trying desperately to impress the other but also equally desperate not to let the other know that they want to impress them: [Excerpt: Dylan and Lennon taxi ride] The day that was filmed, Lennon and Harrison also went to see Dylan play at the Royal Albert Hall. This tour had been controversial, because Dylan's band were loud and raucous, and Dylan's fans in the UK still thought of him as a folk musician. At one gig, earlier on the tour, an audience member had famously yelled out "Judas!" -- (just on the tiny chance that any of my listeners don't know that, Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus to the authorities, leading to his crucifixion) -- and that show was for many years bootlegged as the "Royal Albert Hall" show, though in fact it was recorded at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. One of the *actual* Royal Albert Hall shows was released a few years ago -- the one the night before Lennon and Harrison saw Dylan: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone", Royal Albert Hall 1966] The show Lennon and Harrison saw would be Dylan's last for many years. Shortly after returning to the US, Dylan was in a motorbike accident, the details of which are still mysterious, and which some fans claim was faked altogether. The accident caused him to cancel all the concert dates he had booked, and devote himself to working in the studio for several years just like Brian Wilson. And from even further afield than America, Ravi Shankar came over to Britain, to work with his friend the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, on a duet album, West Meets East, that was an example in the classical world of the same kind of international cross-fertilisation that was happening in the pop world: [Excerpt: Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar, "Prabhati (based on Raga Gunkali)"] While he was in the UK, Shankar also performed at the Royal Festival Hall, and George Harrison went to the show. He'd seen Shankar live the year before, but this time he met up with him afterwards, and later said "He was the first person that impressed me in a way that was beyond just being a famous celebrity. Ravi was my link to the Vedic world. Ravi plugged me into the whole of reality. Elvis impressed me when I was a kid, and impressed me when I met him, but you couldn't later on go round to him and say 'Elvis, what's happening with the universe?'" After completing recording and mixing the as-yet-unnamed album, which had been by far the longest recording process of their career, and which still nearly sixty years later regularly tops polls of the best album of all time, the Beatles took a well-earned break. For a whole two days, at which point they flew off to Germany to do a three-day tour, on their way to Japan, where they were booked to play five shows at the Budokan. Unfortunately for the group, while they had no idea of this when they were booked to do the shows, many in Japan saw the Budokan as sacred ground, and they were the first ever Western group to play there. This led to numerous death threats and loud protests from far-right activists offended at the Beatles defiling their religious and nationalistic sensibilities. As a result, the police were on high alert -- so high that there were three thousand police in the audience for the shows, in a venue which only held ten thousand audience members. That's according to Mark Lewisohn's Complete Beatles Chronicle, though I have to say that the rather blurry footage of the audience in the video of those shows doesn't seem to show anything like those numbers. But frankly I'll take Lewisohn's word over that footage, as he's not someone to put out incorrect information. The threats to the group also meant that they had to be kept in their hotel rooms at all times except when actually performing, though they did make attempts to get out. At the press conference for the Tokyo shows, the group were also asked publicly for the first time their views on the war in Vietnam, and John replied "Well, we think about it every day, and we don't agree with it and we think that it's wrong. That's how much interest we take. That's all we can do about it... and say that we don't like it". I say they were asked publicly for the first time, because George had been asked about it for a series of interviews Maureen Cleave had done with the group a couple of months earlier, as we'll see in a bit, but nobody was paying attention to those interviews. Brian Epstein was upset that the question had gone to John. He had hoped that the inevitable Vietnam question would go to Paul, who he thought might be a bit more tactful. The last thing he needed was John Lennon saying something that would upset the Americans before their tour there a few weeks later. Luckily, people in America seemed to have better things to do than pay attention to John Lennon's opinions. The support acts for the Japanese shows included several of the biggest names in Japanese rock music -- or "group sounds" as the genre was called there, Japanese people having realised that trying to say the phrase "rock and roll" would open them up to ridicule given that it had both "r" and "l" sounds in the phrase. The man who had coined the term "group sounds", Jackey Yoshikawa, was there with his group the Blue Comets, as was Isao Bito, who did a rather good cover version of Cliff Richard's "Dynamite": [Excerpt: Isao Bito, "Dynamite"] Bito, the Blue Comets, and the other two support acts, Yuya Uchida and the Blue Jeans, all got together to perform a specially written song, "Welcome Beatles": [Excerpt: "Welcome Beatles" ] But while the Japanese audience were enthusiastic, they were much less vocal about their enthusiasm than the audiences the Beatles were used to playing for. The group were used, of course, to playing in front of hordes of screaming teenagers who could not hear a single note, but because of the fear that a far-right terrorist would assassinate one of the group members, the police had imposed very, very, strict rules on the audience. Nobody in the audience was allowed to get out of their seat for any reason, and the police would clamp down very firmly on anyone who was too demonstrative. Because of that, the group could actually hear themselves, and they sounded sloppy as hell, especially on the newer material. Not that there was much of that. The only song they did from the Revolver sessions was "Paperback Writer", the new single, and while they did do a couple of tracks from Rubber Soul, those were under-rehearsed. As John said at the start of this tour, "I can't play any of Rubber Soul, it's so unrehearsed. The only time I played any of the numbers on it was when I recorded it. I forget about songs. They're only valid for a certain time." That's certainly borne out by the sound of their performances of Rubber Soul material at the Budokan: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "If I Needed Someone (live at the Budokan)"] It was while they were in Japan as well that they finally came up with the title for their new album. They'd been thinking of all sorts of ideas, like Abracadabra and Magic Circle, and tossing names around with increasing desperation for several days -- at one point they seem to have just started riffing on other groups' albums, and seem to have apparently seriously thought about naming the record in parodic tribute to their favourite artists -- suggestions included The Beatles On Safari, after the Beach Boys' Surfin' Safari (and possibly with a nod to their recent Pet Sounds album cover with animals, too), The Freewheelin' Beatles, after Dylan's second album, and my favourite, Ringo's suggestion After Geography, for the Rolling Stones' Aftermath. But eventually Paul came up with Revolver -- like Rubber Soul, a pun, in this case because the record itself revolves when on a turntable. Then it was off to the Philippines, and if the group thought Japan had been stressful, they had no idea what was coming. The trouble started in the Philippines from the moment they stepped off the plane, when they were bundled into a car without Neil Aspinall or Brian Epstein, and without their luggage, which was sent to customs. This was a problem in itself -- the group had got used to essentially being treated like diplomats, and to having their baggage let through customs without being searched, and so they'd started freely carrying various illicit substances with them. This would obviously be a problem -- but as it turned out, this was just to get a "customs charge" paid by Brian Epstein. But during their initial press conference the group were worried, given the hostility they'd faced from officialdom, that they were going to be arrested during the conference itself. They were asked what they would tell the Rolling Stones, who were going to be visiting the Philippines shortly after, and Lennon just said "We'll warn them". They also asked "is there a war on in the Philippines? Why is everybody armed?" At this time, the Philippines had a new leader, Ferdinand Marcos -- who is not to be confused with his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, also known as Bongbong Marcos, who just became President-Elect there last month. Marcos Sr was a dictatorial kleptocrat, one of the worst leaders of the latter half of the twentieth century, but that wasn't evident yet. He'd been elected only a few months earlier, and had presented himself as a Kennedy-like figure -- a young man who was also a war hero. He'd recently switched parties from the Liberal party to the right-wing Nacionalista Party, but wasn't yet being thought of as the monstrous dictator he later became. The person organising the Philippines shows had been ordered to get the Beatles to visit Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos at 11AM on the day of the show, but for some reason had instead put on their itinerary just the *suggestion* that the group should meet the Marcoses, and had put the time down as 3PM, and the Beatles chose to ignore that suggestion -- they'd refused to do that kind of government-official meet-and-greet ever since an incident in 1964 at the British Embassy in Washington where someone had cut off a bit of Ringo's hair. A military escort turned up at the group's hotel in the morning, to take them for their meeting. The group were all still in their rooms, and Brian Epstein was still eating breakfast and refused to disturb them, saying "Go back and tell the generals we're not coming." The group gave their performances as scheduled, but meanwhile there was outrage at the way the Beatles had refused to meet the Marcos family, who had brought hundreds of children -- friends of their own children, and relatives of top officials -- to a party to meet the group. Brian Epstein went on TV and tried to smooth things over, but the broadcast was interrupted by static and his message didn't get through to anyone. The next day, the group's security was taken away, as were the cars to take them to the airport. When they got to the airport, the escalators were turned off and the group were beaten up at the arrangement of the airport manager, who said in 1984 "I beat up the Beatles. I really thumped them. First I socked Epstein and he went down... then I socked Lennon and Ringo in the face. I was kicking them. They were pleading like frightened chickens. That's what happens when you insult the First Lady." Even on the plane there were further problems -- Brian Epstein and the group's road manager Mal Evans were both made to get off the plane to sort out supposed financial discrepancies, which led to them worrying that they were going to be arrested or worse -- Evans told the group to tell his wife he loved her as he left the plane. But eventually, they were able to leave, and after a brief layover in India -- which Ringo later said was the first time he felt he'd been somewhere truly foreign, as opposed to places like Germany or the USA which felt basically like home -- they got back to England: [Excerpt: "Ordinary passenger!"] When asked what they were going to do next, George replied “We're going to have a couple of weeks to recuperate before we go and get beaten up by the Americans,” The story of the "we're bigger than Jesus" controversy is one of the most widely misreported events in the lives of the Beatles, which is saying a great deal. One book that I've encountered, and one book only, Steve Turner's Beatles '66, tells the story of what actually happened, and even that book seems to miss some emphases. I've pieced what follows together from Turner's book and from an academic journal article I found which has some more detail. As far as I can tell, every single other book on the Beatles released up to this point bases their account of the story on an inaccurate press statement put out by Brian Epstein, not on the truth. Here's the story as it's generally told. John Lennon gave an interview to his friend, Maureen Cleave of the Evening Standard, during which he made some comments about how it was depressing that Christianity was losing relevance in the eyes of the public, and that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus, speaking casually because he was talking to a friend. That story was run in the Evening Standard more-or-less unnoticed, but then an American teen magazine picked up on the line about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus, reprinted chunks of the interview out of context and without the Beatles' knowledge or permission, as a way to stir up controversy, and there was an outcry, with people burning Beatles records and death threats from the Ku Klux Klan. That's... not exactly what happened. The first thing that you need to understand to know what happened is that Datebook wasn't a typical teen magazine. It *looked* just like a typical teen magazine, certainly, and much of its content was the kind of thing that you would get in Tiger Beat or any of the other magazines aimed at teenage girls -- the September 1966 issue was full of articles like "Life with the Walker Brothers... by their Road Manager", and interviews with the Dave Clark Five -- but it also had a long history of publishing material that was intended to make its readers think about social issues of the time, particularly Civil Rights. Arthur Unger, the magazine's editor and publisher, was a gay man in an interracial relationship, and while the subject of homosexuality was too taboo in the late fifties and sixties for him to have his magazine cover that, he did regularly include articles decrying segregation and calling for the girls reading the magazine to do their part on a personal level to stamp out racism. Datebook had regularly contained articles like one from 1963 talking about how segregation wasn't just a problem in the South, saying "If we are so ‘integrated' why must men in my own city of Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, picket city hall because they are discriminated against when it comes to getting a job? And how come I am still unable to take my dark- complexioned friends to the same roller skating rink or swimming pool that I attend?” One of the writers for the magazine later said “We were much more than an entertainment magazine . . . . We tried to get kids involved in social issues . . . . It was a well-received magazine, recommended by libraries and schools, but during the Civil Rights period we did get pulled off a lot of stands in the South because of our views on integration” Art Unger, the editor and publisher, wasn't the only one pushing this liberal, integrationist, agenda. The managing editor at the time, Danny Fields, was another gay man who wanted to push the magazine even further than Unger, and who would later go on to manage the Stooges and the Ramones, being credited by some as being the single most important figure in punk rock's development, and being immortalised by the Ramones in their song "Danny Says": [Excerpt: The Ramones, "Danny Says"] So this was not a normal teen magazine, and that's certainly shown by the cover of the September 1966 issue, which as well as talking about the interviews with John Lennon and Paul McCartney inside, also advertised articles on Timothy Leary advising people to turn on, tune in, and drop out; an editorial about how interracial dating must be the next step after desegregation of schools, and a piece on "the ten adults you dig/hate the most" -- apparently the adult most teens dug in 1966 was Jackie Kennedy, the most hated was Barry Goldwater, and President Johnson, Billy Graham, and Martin Luther King appeared in the top ten on both lists. Now, in the early part of the year Maureen Cleave had done a whole series of articles on the Beatles -- double-page spreads on each band member, plus Brian Epstein, visiting them in their own homes (apart from Paul, who she met at a restaurant) and discussing their daily lives, their thoughts, and portraying them as rounded individuals. These articles are actually fascinating, because of something that everyone who met the Beatles in this period pointed out. When interviewed separately, all of them came across as thoughtful individuals, with their own opinions about all sorts of subjects, and their own tastes and senses of humour. But when two or more of them were together -- especially when John and Paul were interviewed together, but even in social situations, they would immediately revert to flip in-jokes and riffing on each other's statements, never revealing anything about themselves as individuals, but just going into Beatle mode -- simultaneously preserving the band's image, closing off outsiders, *and* making sure they didn't do or say anything that would get them mocked by the others. Cleave, as someone who actually took them all seriously, managed to get some very revealing information about all of them. In the article on Ringo, which is the most superficial -- one gets the impression that Cleave found him rather difficult to talk to when compared to the other, more verbally facile, band members -- she talked about how he had a lot of Wild West and military memorabilia, how he was a devoted family man and also devoted to his friends -- he had moved to the suburbs to be close to John and George, who already lived there. The most revealing quote about Ringo's personality was him saying "Of course that's the great thing about being married -- you have a house to sit in and company all the time. And you can still go to clubs, a bonus for being married. I love being a family man." While she looked at the other Beatles' tastes in literature in detail, she'd noted that the only books Ringo owned that weren't just for show were a few science fiction paperbacks, but that as he said "I'm not thick, it's just that I'm not educated. People can use words and I won't know what they mean. I say 'me' instead of 'my'." Ringo also didn't have a drum kit at home, saying he only played when he was on stage or in the studio, and that you couldn't practice on your own, you needed to play with other people. In the article on George, she talked about how he was learning the sitar, and how he was thinking that it might be a good idea to go to India to study the sitar with Ravi Shankar for six months. She also talks about how during the interview, he played the guitar pretty much constantly, playing everything from songs from "Hello Dolly" to pieces by Bach to "the Trumpet Voluntary", by which she presumably means Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March": [Excerpt: Jeremiah Clarke, "Prince of Denmark's March"] George was also the most outspoken on the subjects of politics, religion, and society, linking the ongoing war in Vietnam with the UK's reverence for the Second World War, saying "I think about it every day and it's wrong. Anything to do with war is wrong. They're all wrapped up in their Nelsons and their Churchills and their Montys -- always talking about war heroes. Look at All Our Yesterdays [a show on ITV that showed twenty-five-year-old newsreels] -- how we killed a few more Huns here and there. Makes me sick. They're the sort who are leaning on their walking sticks and telling us a few years in the army would do us good." He also had very strong words to say about religion, saying "I think religion falls flat on its face. All this 'love thy neighbour' but none of them are doing it. How can anybody get into the position of being Pope and accept all the glory and the money and the Mercedes-Benz and that? I could never be Pope until I'd sold my rich gates and my posh hat. I couldn't sit there with all that money on me and believe I was religious. Why can't we bring all this out in the open? Why is there all this stuff about blasphemy? If Christianity's as good as they say it is, it should stand up to a bit of discussion." Harrison also comes across as a very private person, saying "People keep saying, ‘We made you what you are,' well, I made Mr. Hovis what he is and I don't go round crawling over his gates and smashing up the wall round his house." (Hovis is a British company that makes bread and wholegrain flour). But more than anything else he comes across as an instinctive anti-authoritarian, being angry at bullying teachers, Popes, and Prime Ministers. McCartney's profile has him as the most self-consciously arty -- he talks about the plays of Alfred Jarry and the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio: [Excerpt: Luciano Berio, "Momenti (for magnetic tape)"] Though he was very worried that he might be sounding a little too pretentious, saying “I don't want to sound like Jonathan Miller going on" --
Here we goooooooo! The Bee Gee's, from Spicks and Specks all the way up to Omega Man. The brothers Gibb with some guest stars like lil brother baby Andy, Kenny Rogers and Canada's Celine Dion. We're talkin Ma$e, Aaron Neville tulpa's in the WCW wrestling world, Leonard Nimoy having a conversation with a laser disc player, Punky Brewster and her dog Brandon, walking vaginas and so much more totally on topic stuff. Songs used: Punky brewster theme, Magnet - The landlords daughter, Lonnie Donegan - Rock island line, Klaatu - Calling occupants of interplanetary craft, Candlebox - far behind, David Bowie - Sell me a coat/ the laughing gnome, The flying burrito brothers - to love somebody, Aaron Neville - Don't know much, Pentangle - Hunting song, Al Dos Band - Love Jones coming down, Donna Mcghee - It ain't no big thing, Amii Stewart - Paradise bird, Vince Lawrence - Thorns, Jesse Saunders - On and on, Van Halen - Jump, George Burns - fixing a hole, Steve Martin - Maxwells silver hammer, Alice cooper - because, Andy Gibb - Shadow Dancing, KC & the sunshine band/ White zombie - I'm your boogeyman, Barbara Streisand - What kind of fool?, Leonard Nimoy - The ballad of Bilbo Baggins, Andy Gibb - I can''t help it, The Bunbury's - We're the Bunburys, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - Islands in the stream, Celine dion - Immortality/ It's all comign back to me now. Bee Gee's: Spicks and specks, New York mining disaster 1941, Massachusetts, I started a joke, Saved by the Bell (Robin), Jive Talkin, Nights on Broadway, You should be dancin', Night fever, Israel, All this makin' love, Subway, In my own time, More than a woman, Every Christian lion hearted man, Sacred trust, Harry Braff, Omega man #Musicpocast #musichistorypodcast
I'm not sure whether you've ever tried Improv before. But today's guest shares what are probably some of life's greatest lessons she learnt from the improv stage - say yes, figure it out along the way, and the art of working with others - all in the name of chasing the laughs. I'm Ali Hill and welcome to Stand Out Life a podcast dedicated to living boldly amongst the busyness. Comedian Cal Wilson came across the Tasman from Christchurch in 2003 and has gone on to become one of our most popular comedians. Her work has seen her on our fav TV shows such as Spicks and Specks, Good News Week, Thank God You're Here, and more recently Would I Lie To You? Have You Been Paying Attention? and Hughesy We Have a Problem. Despite an aversion to the great outdoors, Cal bravely joined the cast of I'm A Celebrity,,,Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022 which saw her take on all the usual hair-raising challenges and biblical amount of bugs the series has to offer. Unprecedented times called for unprecedented adventures and at the very least some good material. A gifted storyteller & writer, Cal was invited to join the writing team for the 2022 BAFTA Awards ceremony Cal continues her national touring and is returning for her 8th year as the Melbourne live show host of the worldwide smash-hit storytelling podcast The Moth. You can see Cal perform her brand new show I've Gone To A Lot Of Trouble at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2022, and then taking this show on the road to Brisbane. Filled with insights around kindness, generosity, saying yes this is a conversation you'll enjoy. Soak up the wisdom - because you know she went to a lot of trouble - Cal Wilson. @calbowilson Melb Comedy Festival: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2022/shows/i-ve-gone-to-a-lot-of-trouble
There are many reasons Australia loves, broadcaster, writer, host, actress and national treasure, MYF WARHURST. It could be her love for Dolly Parton, the fun she has commentating at the Eurovision Song Contest, the fact that she is a voice artist on BLUEY – or maybe it's her long standing role as team captain on SPICKS and SPECKS which still remains one of this countries most loved TV shows?Hard to tell what WE love the most about her but what we do know is that Myf has done it all and from her start as Merrick and Rosso's entertainment reporter on JJJ in 2000 and whether on TV, radio or live, the “MYF Effect” entertains, informs and inspires all those who listen to this icon of Aussie Pop Culture. The question remains, Would Luke and Ben dare ask Myf any Rock Trivia ? Or worse, would they try and sing?
Giants, this is episode #84 – today's guest is an Australian Comedian, Writer, TV and movie Actor – and Dancing With The Stars Australia – 2020 winner. Winning the mirrorball trophy and $50,000 for her charity, the Safe Steps Family Violence and Support Centre. She is in fact the first Comedian I've interviewed on the show. And has brought so much joy and laughter to millions of households. She won the Best Supporting Actress at the AACTA awards (The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) for her role as Dolly Faraday in the acclaimed ABC1 drama ‘The Beautiful Lie'. She's also starred in the award-winning TV series ‘Laid', Logie Award winning drama ‘Offspring' and in all five seasons of Working Dog's show ‘Utopia', for which she won another AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy in 2015. Comedy audiences would also know her from her appearances on Spicks and Specks, The Project and is a regular on the hilarious show; ‘Have You Been Paying Attention?' one of my favourites. Internationally, she's been a guest on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Chelsea Lately and The Rob Brydon Show. In 2016 she also co-created, co-wrote and starred in the smash hit comedy Rosehaven with Luke McGregor, for which she won the 2017 award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy at the AACTAs, has been nominated twice for Most Popular Actress at the Logies, as well as two nominations for her writing at the AWGIEs (Australian Writers Guild). Season five of Rosehaven by the way, is out now – definitely give it a watch, it is brilliant. Some of the topics we spoke about include: How she grew up, including her big break Her creative writing process How she manages the different hats (on and off the stage) And very candidly and vulnerably, shares some of her experiences with anxiety, depression and all things mental health and wellness from her vantage point.. So if you're someone that's interested in unpacking the journey of a high-performing, multi-faceted creative professional, in a way that might help you forge your own creative identity – and want to listen to something both funny and real, then this episode is for you. Now a quick note, if we aren't connected yet on Instagram, I invite you to follow me on my handle @TheGiantThinker as I share daily posts and stories on helping decision-makers, business owners and leaders get unstuck lightning fast through human-centred design methodologies, creative strategies and personal experiences. Send me a DM I'd love to hear from you! You can find me on my handle @TheGiantThinker. Alright, on with the show. I present to you … the quick-witted, courageous and insanely talented ... Celia Pacquola! More on Celia can be found via the links below: https://www.instagram.com/celia_pacquola https://twitter.com/celiapacquola Celia on IMDB Subscribe to The Giant Thinkers Podcast on iTunes. Want to know the most productive tool that has helped me accelerate my progress? It's the Five-Minute Journal; the simplest, most effective thing you can do everyday to be happier. It's a physical journal that gives you a positive quote, followed by three questions you answer in the morning and two questions to answer in the evening before bed. It basically anchors your mind in a positively focused, intentional and grateful mindset, in less than 5 minutes a day. Grab yours here: GiantThinkers.com/fiveminutejournal
Rob Mills is a born entertainer. A popular Australian Singer, Presenter, Actor, MC and media personality who has carved himself out a successful career spanning over 15 years with many high profile credits to his name. For the last decade or so, his impressive credentials in musical theatre include the highly successful Broadway blockbuster Wicked and played over 500 shows in Melbourne and Sydney, receiving rave reviews and establishing him as one of Australia's favourite leading men. His credits include playing title role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Sam in Ghost, Danny in a national tour of Grease, Legally Blonde - Warner, The Last Five Years - Jamie, Into the Woods - Cinderella's Prince and Hair - Claude (2007). He has featured in a myriad of shows, pre-recorded and live, including The Masked Singer - Behind The Scenes, Celebrity Apprentice, The Project, Studio 10, Today, Sunrise, Dancing With The Stars, Spicks and Specks, Postcards, Carols By Candlelight, What's Up Down Under, Have You Been Paying Attention and has television acting credits include Neighbours, Winners & Losers, Underbelly – Razor. In this episode, we delve into finding out about the person behind the persona whom people think they know and we get deep, hearing that his first taste of being thrust into the limelight on Australian Idol in 2003, he actually contemplated suicide. Speaking out and sharing that “it was the worst, I freaked out,” and post-show life allowed him to realise he didn't actually “want” any of the aspects that came alongside fame. Surrounding himself with a strong support network, he went on to carve out a successful career in the industry and went on to utilise his very platform as an advocate and ambassador for many organisations spreading the word on Mental Health. To find out more information on Rob, simply head to his socials @robmillsymills or his official website at: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.robmills.net.au%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1ICOxgTCwHpx4MVSdq7z0Q0hwcyn8DoAxgDDytFHE2NhFgO1oO2ECwxGw&h=AT0FXJO0VOqW8n12qrSt-gMrQxLPt2Bcwd6sr0Ey4cTAaXDeTQ0i6UAFoMljjbAEi1GnyLpcUhz2hVOiKye234r4aLyeCwppqYfG4MMOV2BcDuD9jd1z0VBeOWBdtzKjlrNoKRhRnxcvDn-Riqj4x3Lm (https://www.robmills.net.au/) To find out more information about the Imperfectly Perfect Campaign, our Global Efforts and how you can get involved, simply head to our official website at: https://www.imperfectlyperfectcampaign.org/?fbclid=IwAR0QkUXjry1ugAdBHOHk156ZEhkPiKWm0qLs-6OgcaihtJ55s4PNVNajAgk (https://www.imperfectlyperfectcampaign.org/) *The Imperfectly Perfect Campaign is creating awareness and not a substitute for professional advice. Our episodes do touch on topics around Mental Health Struggles and Suicide. Should you need help, please refer to your nearest crisis numbers. For the United States of America; 911 for all emergencies, alternatively the national suicide hotline on 1.800.273.8255 (TALK) For Australia; 000 for all emergencies, alternatively call Life Line Australia on 13 11 14 *The Imperfectly Perfect Campaign is creating awareness and not a substitute for professional advice. Our episodes do touch on topics around Mental Health Struggles and Suicide. Should you need help, please refer to your nearest crisis numbers. For the United States of America; 911 for all emergencies, alternatively the national suicide hotline on 1.800.273.8255 (TALK) For Australia; 000 for all emergencies, alternatively call Life Line Australia on 13 11 14 Big thank you to our voice-over: Mike Christensen (thevoicemonkey.com)
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