RMN Podcast
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May 9, 2021
Episode 33: Lou Bega RMN Podcast
David Lubega (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage nameLou Bega, is a German recording artist. His 1999 song "Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached Number 1 in many European countries and was nominated for a Grammy Award. Bega added his own words to the song and sampled the original version extensively. Bega's musical signature consists of combining musical elements of the 1940s and 1950s with modern beats and grooves. Bega was born on 13 April 1975 in Munich, Southern Germany, to a Sicilian mother and a Ugandan father.[1] His father Charles went to Germany in 1972 to study biology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.[2] Until age six, Bega spent most of his time with his mother Nicole in Italy. Then they lived permanently in Munich, where Bega attended German primary school. As a teenager he traveled to Miami, Florida, where he found the inspiration for his hit single "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)".[1] Bega also lived in Uganda for six months.[failed verification][3] Currently, he lives in Berlin, Germany. Bega started his musical career as a rapper.[citation needed] At the age of 13, he founded a hip hop group with two other boys. It would be two years before Bega and his friends' first CD would be released in 1990.[2] While living in Miami, he discovered Latin music. After returning to Munich, Bega met his then manager, Goar Biesenkamp, as well as music producers "Frank Lio" (Achim Kleist) and "Donald Fact" (Wolfgang von Webenau) (Syndicate Musicproduction), with whom he developed the concept for the song "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)". Bega signed a recording contract to the label, Lautstark.[4] Lou Bega (1999) His first single "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" became a worldwide hit in 1999, charting at No. 1 in most European countries, including Germany, UK, France, and No. 3 in the United States.[5][6][7][8] In France, "Mambo No. 5" spent twenty weeks at No. 1.[7] It was also used by the British television broadcaster Channel 4 for their coverage of test match cricket between 1999 and 2005.[9] On 19 July 1999, Bega released his debut album A Little Bit of Mambo, which peaked at No. 3 both in Bega's native Germany and the U.S.[8][10] While it charted moderately in the UK, peaking at only No. 50, it reached No. 1 in Austria, Canada, Finland, Hungary, and Switzerland. The second single, "I Got a Girl" charted well, entering the Top 10 in some European countries, including France, Finland and Belgium. The third single, "Tricky, Tricky", achieved No. 18 on the Canadian charts and No. 74 on the U.S. Billboard charts. In France, Bega did well also with his single "Mambo Mambo", which reached No. 11 on the French charts. Bega's second studio album Ladies and Gentlemen was released on 28 May 2001. The album failed to experience success similar to its predecessor in Bega's native market or internationally. It peaked at No. 54 in Germany,and No. 23 on Switzerland's album chart. The album produced two singles, "Just a Gigolo" and "Gentleman", both of which charted moderately. Bega released his third studio album Lounatic on 10 May 2005, which failed to enter the charts. On 21 May 2010, Bega released his fourth album titled Free Again, which also did not find much success on the charts. It only charted in Switzerland peaking at No. 7 Bega's fifth studio album A Little Bit of 80's was released on 28 June 2013, in Germany on Ariola (Sony Music).[18] In this album, Bega again covered classic international hits including "Smooth Operator" (1984)" by Sade, "I'm So Excited" (1982) by The Pointer Sisters, "Vamos a la playa" (1983) by Righeira, "Red Red Wine" (1968) by Neil Diamond and "Karma Chameleon" (1983) by Culture Club. Bega's first single off his fifth album, however, was "Give It Up" which was released in Germany on 14 June 2013.[19] The song peaked at No. 6 in Germany. In 2019, Bega released "Scatman & Hatman", his first release since 2013. The track uses vocal samples from the 1994 single "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" by John Paul Larkin, better known as Scatman John. Shortly after the track's release, he told Jason Lipshitz of Billboard that he was inspired to create the track by the fact that Larkin died in the same year that "Mambo No. 5" was released, adding, We found out how much [John and I] had in common. The guy died of a brain tumor in 1999 — my own father died of a similar brain tumor in 1999 as well, just four weeks before the mambo came out. And then of course, there’s the suits, and the mustaches, and the retro style. Bega has appeared on stage for royals as well as international corporations. Bega was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Ally McBeal, MAD TV, The Martin Short Show, Motown Live, Jenny Jones, Queen Latifah, Access Hollywood, and others. Bega was also the only artist to be asked to sing the same song twice on Germany's headlining show Wetten, dass..?. On New Year's Eve 2007, he performed in Poland. He has been the MC at the American Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, the Billboard Radio Awards and at the Love Parade in Berlin. He also performed live on television on the Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2015. In July 2016, Bega performed as a special guest in several of André Rieu's famous Maastricht concerts.
May 9, 2021
Episode 32: Mark Picchiotti RMN Podcast
Mark Picchiotti is an American DJ, producer, remixer and songwriter based out of Chicago, Illinois. As a remixer and producer, Picchiotti has amassed 24 number one singles on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and he has remixed such artists as Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Daft Punk, The Killers, AC/DC, Florence and The Machine, Amy Grant, Foster The People, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Sia, Sybil, Enriqué Iglesias, and Mary J. Blige. In 2002, he produced and co-wrote the Kylie Minogue single “Give It To Me” for her 8x-Platinum album Fever. Picchiotti was also voted one of the 40 most influential remixers of all time by UK publication Blues & Soul Magazine.His DJ residencies at nightclubs in his hometown of Chicago have included Shelter, Smartbar, Berlin, Crobar, and Medusa’s; as well as UK nightclubs Ministry of Sound (London) and Hard Times (Leeds).He continues to travel the globe performing at notable clubs such as Pacha (Portugal) and El Divino (Ibiza). He has also headlined the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival and DJed its infamous daytime after-party Laneway. Mark Picchiotti owns and operates the imprint Blueplate Records, home to his own acts Basstoy, Sandstorm, Fondue, and Streetlife.Picchiotti is also a member of several dance music duos: The Absolute, Nightman, and Doctorz, MD.Mark Picchiotti’s music has been described as house, gospel house, soulful house, and progressive house.Additionally, Billboard Magazine says of Mark’s music, “His ear for soulful rhythm is matched by a knack for sweet pop melody construction.”[9] In the 1990s, his work with Suzanne Palmer, “There Will Come A Day” and the follow-up single “I Believe”, earned Picchiotti the mantle “Godfather of Gospel House” by music journalists Mark Picchiotti first rose to prominence in 1991 when he produced fellow Chicago artist LaTour’s eponymous debut album, spawning the controversial Top 40 hit single “People Are Still Having Sex”. This song would become Picchiotti’s first production to reach #1 on Billboard Dance, and it was used by American figure skater Tonya Harding in her program at the 1992 Winter Olympics.[12] LaTour’s album also featured “Blue”, a song used in the iconic film Basic Instinct (starring Sharon Stone). In 1994, using the alias Streetlife, Picchiotti first collaborated with gospel house singer Dana Divine on the song “Love Breakdown”, released on Tribal America Records. As a result of that successful pairing, Dana was featured on one of Mark’s biggest productions, “Runnin’” by Basstoy. The single reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart, #1 on the UK Club chart, and #3 on Billboard Dance Club Songs. Dana was again featured on the follow-up single “Turn It Up”, which also saw worldwide success, reaching #1 on Billboard Dance, #1 on the UK’s Upfront Music Chart, and #1 on the DMC World Music Chart, and securing a spot as Billboard’s #3 club song of the year. In 1995, Mark Picchiotti began working with Craig Snider and acclaimed dance music vocalist Suzanne Palmer, spawning “There Will Come A Day” and “I Believe” under the name The Absolute.Regarding their collaboration, Palmer recounts, “As I did more performing, I began to sing commercials for radio and TV, and I came to the attention of Mark Picchiotti, a house music producer from Chicago and his music collaborator, Craig Snider, a jingle writer and producer.” She continues, “That’s how I got my break in dance music. In 1997, Picchiotti DJed the release party for Janet Jackon’s album Velvet Rope at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA. That same year, Mark started his own dance music record label, Blueplate Records, on which numerous Billboard-charting and critically-acclaimed projects have been released. Notable signings to Blueplate include: Bebe Zahara Benet (the season one winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race) • Kylie Minogue • Basstoy (whose songs "Magic" and "Turn It Up" reached #1 on Billboard, among other charting hits) • Alec Sun Drae • Sybil[26] • Ralphi Rosario (whose tracks “Everybody Shake It” and “C’mon Get Funky” reached #1 and #2 on Billboard, respectively) • Eric Kupper & Peyton • Blueplate Allstars • Deep Influence • Sandstorm • Mark’s own gospel act The Absolute featuring dance diva Suzanne Palmer 1998 marked the beginning of Mark’s affiliation with Strictly Rhythm, an iconic American dance record label, with a production and distribution deal for physical CDs and vinyl. He also began working with the UK-based duo Lighthouse Family. After having gained the band’s respect with his remix of their track “Raincloud”, Mark was asked to work with the band on their following album.Subsequently, he was asked to DJ the Lighthouse Family world tour wrap party in Newcastle, England. In 1999, Mark was approached by Parlophone/EMI to produce a track for UK-based pop singer Kylie Minogue on her then-upcoming album Light Years. As a result, Picchiotti produced the 2000 club hit “Butterfly” (#14 on Billboard Dance), and he negotiated a deal which allowed him to commission an accompanying remix EP and release it under his Blueplate imprint as a limited run. His work with Minogue continued, and he produced and co-wrote the single “Give It To Me” for her 8x-Platinum album Fever, released in 2002. He also remixed Kylie’s 2008 single “All I See” and her 2013 single “Skirt”. In 2004, while continuing to balance his roles as a DJ and remixer, Mark signed the Leeds-based act Jersey St. and produced their single “Love Will be Our Guide”,released on Defected Records. In 2009, Picchiotti accepted the request to be the official DJ for reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race Winner’s Tour, sponsored by Absolut Vodka.[1][23] Mark signed season one winner Bebe Zahara Benet and produced three of her singles; “I’m The Sh*t”, “Cameroon”, and “Dirty Drums”, all of which were Blueplate releases. Mark toured with the show again following its second season. The same year, Mark formed a joint venture with the renowned record label Strictly Rhythm, establishing a 50/50 partnership called Blueplate Global. 2009 was also the year that Picchiotti collaborated with UK artist Alec Sun Drae to produce the single “Feel Like Singin’”, a Blueplate Global release. The two continued their collaboration in 2010 when Mark produced the single “Let The Music Guide You”. Later, Mark produced Matt Zarley’s LP Change Begins With Me, which won Outmusic Awards’ Album of the Year in 2012. The title track won Outmusic Awards’ Single of the Year and Rightout TV’s Best Song So Far that same year. Commercially, it was an international success; the release spent four weeks at #1 on Eurochart, and two songs from the album, “WTF” and “Trust Me”, charted on Billboard Dance. In 2013, Mark continued to remix releases from high-profile artists, including the Daft Punk single “Get Lucky” and Enriqué Iglasias’ “Turn The Night Up”, both reaching #1 on Billboard Dance. In 2014, Mark produced the dance version of Amy Grant’s “Better Than A Hallelujah”, which was released as a single and was also featured on her album In Motion: The Remixes. Most recently, Picchiotti made a deal with Defected Records for several of his back-catalog titles; his 1998 track “Pump The Boogie” was included as the title track on their Glitterbox compilation of the same name. 2020 was a banner year for Picchiotti. He produced a remix for “Pump The Boogie”, which was released on Glitterbox/Defected, and he collaborated with vocalist Kenyata White to produce the disco single “Love is the Message” (released on Quantize Recordings). In addition, he worked with artist Javi Star (also known as Weezy, the coach of the Phoenix Suns Solar Squad) and his brother, Amani Jae, producing the R&B-influenced track “I Got You”, which was released on the storied Studio 54. Marking his 25-year-long collaborative relationship with dance diva Suzanne Palmer, Mark also produced the disco single “Love Reaction”, a Nervous Records release.
May 9, 2021
Episode 31: Rowetta RMN Podcast
Rowetta Idah (Born in Manchester), also known as Rowetta or Rowetta Satchell, is a British singer. She is best known for her work with the Happy Mondays, recording and touring with the band from 1990 and recently reforming with the original lineup. Her 1989 track "Reach Out" has been sampled by Steve Angello, Laidback Luke and Todd Terry Rowetta was born to an English mother of Jewish origin and a Nigerian father, politician George Idah, who left the family when she was three. She realised her singing ability after winning a talent competition at the age of twelve. She attended Bury Grammar School, and after completing her secondary education worked as a professional singer. In 1987, Rowetta released two singles with the Vanilla Sound Corps. She also lent her voice to Inner City songs.[1] During this time, she released two songs: "Back Where We Belong" and "Passion". In 1988 she collaborated with Dynasty of 2 on the single "Stop This Thing". She worked as a backing singer on numerous albums including Simply Red's 1991 album Stars. Rowetta is the voice on the renowned 1989 track "Reach Out" with Sweet Mercy. The track has been sampled by many, including Laidback Luke, Slam, Steve Angello and Todd Terry, and was remixed and re-released in 2008. In 1990 Rowetta joined the Happy Mondays. She featured on their single "Step On" which charted at number 5. This was followed by two albums, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and Yes Please!, and three world tours. The group split and reformed a few times, but decided to split for good in 2000. After the break-up of The Happy Mondays, she did not return to the music business immediately, although she did play herself in the Michael Winterbottom film 24 Hour Party People, which depicted the band's most successful years The X Factor Rowetta re-entered the spotlight in 2004 when she auditioned for a place in the finals of The X Factor. After impressing the judges with her rendition of Lady Marmalade, she was placed in the over-25 category, which was mentored by Simon Cowell, who described her as "Amazing, but barking bloody mad". Her soulful, powerful voice proved to be a hit with audiences, although she was criticised for competing as an established singer against amateurs. The producers defended her, stating that the show was open to anybody. Her performances on the show earned her rave reviews and she made the quarter-final and was the last woman in the competition, never having to compete in a sing-off. Post X Factor In 2005, Rowetta released an album on Gut Records. In November 2005 and 2006, She appeared on the BBC's Children in Need appeal, singing live with the BBC Orchestra in 2005, and on Celebrity Scissorhands in 2006. She provided vocals for the Cornershop single "Wop The Groove" in 2006. In 2006, Rowetta had a cameo as herself in Footballer's Wives:Extra Time.[6] A year later, she made her musical theatre debut at the Palace Theatre, Manchester in The Best of Broadway, alongside Suranne Jones, and appeared at the IndigO2 with Marti Webb, Stephen Gately and Maria Friedman in Christmas on Broadway. Rowetta also spent August 2007 presenting the show The Terry & Ro Show on Gaydio with Terry Longden,[7] and also became the station imaging on community station Salford City Radio. In addition, she toured Japan, where she has a huge fanbase.[8] She also appeared on a Reality TV Special of The Weakest Link where she was voted off by the audience in the seventh round. According to a 2008 BBC 6 Music interview with Peter Hook, Rowetta recorded vocals for a track on the debut album by his new band Freebass. A new version of "Reach Out" featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts. Rowetta also presents her own radio show on Saturdays at 4 pm on Gaydio 88.4FM and co-presents the Manchester United fanzine show Red Wednesday on BBC Radio Manchester. She starred in a nationwide tour of 'The Songs of Sister Act' with Sheila Ferguson. A new version of “Reach Out” featuring Rowetta and mixed by Mobin Master spent Christmas 2008 and the first part of 2009 at number 1 in the Beatport Charts. Rowetta toured the UK with the London Community Gospel Choir in a new version of 'The Songs of Sister Act'. In 2010, Rowetta appeared with Peter Hook and the Light, for many dates of Hook's Unknown Pleasures tour and has collaborated with Tom Stephan (Superchumbo) and J Nitti on new dance tracks. In 2010, Rowetta appeared in the Pop Goes the '80s UK theatre tour. In 2011, Rowetta recorded with Peter Hook and the Light, Mirror People and the Kino Club. In 2014, Rowetta appeared on stage at Party in the Park's Poole. On 18 May 2015, she performed with the Light for their 35th anniversary of the death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. In 2015, Rowetta toured again with the Happy Mondays for their 25-year anniversary of the album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches.
May 9, 2021
Episode 30: Haddaway RMN Podcast
Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1965. His mother was a nurse and his father was a marine biologist.[4] His parents separated in the early 1970s and Haddaway first lived with his father in Europe and then with his mother in the USA. He was raised in Chicago and moved to the Washington metropolitan area at the age of 9. He listened to Louis Armstrong, which encouraged him to learn how to play trumpet at the age of 14.] He attended Meade Senior High School in Fort Meade, Maryland, where he was a member of the marching band.[6] This eventually resulted in him forming his first group, which he called Chances He enrolled in medical school, but dropped out the same year due to lack of excitement Haddaway moved to Cologne, West Germany, in 1987 where he mostly worked in bars. Later, he formed his own company, Energy, which was involved in organizing fashion shows. In 1992, Haddaway was signed by German label Coconut Records. His debut single, "What Is Love", rapidly became popular in Europe, reaching number 2 in Germany and the United Kingdom.[2] In Germany, the single sold 900,000 copies.[2] In the United Kingdom, it received a music recording certification of Gold for shipment of 400,000 units.[7] It later reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100[8] and was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 units.[2] By the beginning of 1994, worldwide sales of "What Is Love" reached 2.6 million.[2] His second single, "Life", reached number 2 in Germany, number 6 in the United Kingdom, and number 41 in the USA, and its worldwide sales reached 1.5 million by 1994.[2] The follow-up singles "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" also reached the Top 10 in Europe and established him as a successful Eurodance artist. His first LP, The Album (also known as Haddaway in the USA), was a multi-million seller which reached Platinum status in Germany for shipments of 500,000,[9] and Gold in the UK and in France for shipments of 100,000.[7][10] In 1995, he released his second album, The Drive, which included the UK top 20 hit "Fly Away", as well as "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name". "What Is Love" enjoyed a resurgence in popularity as the theme music for the Butabi brothers (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan) on Saturday Night Live[11] and the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.[12] The albums Let's Do It Now (1998) and My Face (2001; re-released as Love Makes) all failed to chart. Haddaway appeared on the television show Comeback – Die große Chance in Germany in 2004. He appeared on the UK version of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version. This exposure led to him scoring a moderate chart hit in Germany with the ballad "Spaceman" from his next album, Pop Splits. In 2008, "What Is Love" was featured in a commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX that aired during Super Bowl XLII which parodied the leitmotif and included several stars including LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, and Busta Rhymes, but Haddaway himself did not appear in the ad. In 2008, Haddaway teamed up with Eurodance star Dr. Alban for the single "I Love the 90's".[14] In 2009, "What Is Love" re-entered charts after German DJ Klaas remixed it. The track resurfaced again in 2010 when it sampled heavily in Eminem's single "No Love" featuring Lil Wayne. In 2012, Haddaway released the single "Up and Up" with the Mad Stuntman, which was a top 20 dance hit in the USA. In 2011, he said that most of his performances are in "the east", in places such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, or Siberia.
May 9, 2021
Episode 29: Shed Seven RMN Podcast
Richard James "Rick" Witter (born 23 November 1972 in Stockport, Cheshire) is a singer, songwriter in the York-based band Shed Seven. Shed Seven are an English alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. One of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene of the 1990s, they continue to write, record and release music over thirty years later. They originally comprised singer Rick Witter, guitarist/keyboardist Joe Johnson, bassist Tom Gladwin and drummer Alan Leach. Johnson was later replaced by Paul Banks. They belonged to the post-Smiths wave of British musicians such as The Sundays and Marion, with a sound relying heavily on complex guitar arpeggios often in a minor key, and wailing vocals. At the height of their popularity between 1994 and 1999 they had fifteen Top 40 singles and four Top 20 albums in the UK. The band officially broke up in 2003, but reformed for a greatest hits tour in July 2007. Shed Seven continued to play shows around Britain periodically until releasing a new studio album in 2017 with the announcement of Shed Seven formed in 1990 from the ashes of Brockley Haven, a band featuring frontman Rick Witter, guitarist and songwriter Paul Banks, bassist Tom Gladwin, Magnus Thompson and John Leach, brother of Alan Leach. Both Witter and Banks had also previously played together in a band named ENAM, performing to German exchange students in Banks's front room. Prior to signing a six-album deal with Polydor Records in October 1993, guitarist Joe Johnson left the line-up and was replaced by Paul Banks. The band twice entered the local Fibbers/Evening Press Battle of the Bands competition, twice failing to win, whilst in September 1993, still unsigned, they were voted the third best live act at London's Inner City Festival. The initial press attention enjoyed by the band came as a result of the positive reviews of their live shows, coupled with complimentary comparisons to The Smiths. In March 1994, an article by Dave Simpson of Melody Maker, charting the aspirations of "the UK's brightest hopes", stated that; "...Shed Seven's beautifully posed, epic music is different. Not so much New Wave of New Wave as post-Smiths, they're taking the insular bedsit angst of Morrissey's early music and subverting it with a brash and insensitive sexual narcissism." Their debut single, the double A-side "Mark"/"Casino Girl"—labelled by NME as "spirited 'Barbarism Begins at Home' skirl" – was released on 7 March 1994 to considerable acclaim from some sections of the music press,but failed to make the UK Top 40. The follow-up single, "Dolphin", a song co-written with former member Johnson during Banks' two-year absence from the band's line-up,was released on 13 June 1994 peaking at number 28[2] with first week sales reaching 15,000,leading to Shed Seven's first Top of the Pops appearance on 23 June 1994.Despite their third single release, "Speakeasy", entering the UK charts at number 24 and giving them their biggest hit to date,the first negative press reviews began to emerge. Writing for the UK music magazine NME in August 1994, John Mulvey believed that it represented "[f]our clumsy blokes trying to come over all sensuous, fragile and complex."—"Speakeasy" was later to be re-written as an advertising jingle in 1999, for the mobile phone company The Link,with Witter later admitting regret at his re-recording and re-wording of the original. As a result, the song was omitted from Shed Seven setlists for a number of years, only making its live comeback as a stripped-down acoustic version on their "farewell" tour in December 2003. In September 1994, the band released their debut album, Change Giver, entering the UK album chart at number 16[2] and giving the group their first Gold disc.[5] Despite it spending just two weeks in the chart, the "critically underrated debut album",[10] which NME declared "an attempted stab in the face of their critics",[10] gave the band three UK Top 40 singles.[2] As well as enjoying popularity in both the UK and Australia, Shed Seven also found an audience in Thailand, where they managed to beat Take That to the Christmas number 1 spot with their fourth single release, "Ocean Pie". The following April, "Where Have You Been Tonight?", the first record to emerge from the band's collaboration with their new producer, Chris Sheldon,[5] was issued as their fifth single, peaking at number 23[5] and continuing the band's chart-placing run. Although the single was "rush released" with the intention of it being followed by a swiftly recorded second album,the band failed to capitalize on the song's success as it became Shed Seven's one and only release throughout 1995. With five UK Top 40 entries in 1996, Shed Seven had more hit singles than any other act that year,the high point coming with the release of their seventh single, "Going For Gold", which entered the UK chart at number 8 on 17 March and remains their biggest chart hit to date. A sold-out thirteen-date Autumn tour followed, including their debut at the York Barbican Centre. The definitive band line-up released 3 studio albums - Change Giver (1994), A Maximum High (1996) and Let It Ride (1998) - along with a greatest hits compilation, Going For Gold (1999). The release of the latter was forced upon the band by their record company, Polydor, after Let It Ride failed to match the album sales of its predecessor, which sold 250,000 copies in Britain alone.Despite the band's reservations about issuing such a compilation so soon in their career, the album went on to sell 130,000 copies and featured brand new material in "Disco Down" and "High Hopes", both intended to be issued as singles. "Disco Down" went on to become the last Banks-era hit for the band, peaking at number 13,whilst "High Hopes" was sidelined by Polydor in favour of a proposed re-release of the previous single, "Going For Gold". However, the band refused to comply, leading to Shed Seven and Polydor Records parting company in late 1999; The Greatest Hits wasn't our idea - we felt it was a few years too early - but agreed to do it on the understanding that we would release two new singles from the album. 'Disco Down' did really well and we were all prepared to follow it up with 'High Hopes', the video script was approved and it was ready to go to radio, when some higher authority decided it would be a better idea to re-release 'Going For Gold' instead. We put our foot down and said 'no way, we are not going to rip off our fans with old material'. In fact, most people at the label thought it was an awful idea.
May 9, 2021
Episode 28: Angie Brown RMN Podcast
Angie Brown (born 13 June 1963) is a British singer and songwriter from Brixton, South London. She is a co-artist on the BPI Certified Silver hit single "I'm Gonna Get You" (1992) by Bizarre Inc and performed on a number of recordings with them as lead vocalist including the single "Took My Love" (1993) released by the record label Vinyl Solution. Brown performs in the bridge and chorus of the BPI 2 x Platinum Certified hit "Return of the Mack" by UK artist Mark Morrison[5] and sings the role of the girlfriend. Model Susana Agrippa mimes to Brown's vocals in the music video. As of August 2020 it has attracted in excess of 110,000,000 streams on YouTube. Brown co-wrote and performed the single "Disco Heaven" with Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.[8] She performed vocals on the album Don't Mind If I Do by Culture Club in 1999. Brown has also performed backing vocals for Grace Jones, Beverley Knight, Mark Morrison, The Rolling Stones,[10] The Dirty Strangers, The Happy Mondays, Kate Bush, Chaka Khan, Heaven 17, Neneh Cherry, Lisa Stansfield,[9] Mola Mola, The Stereophonics and Fat Boy Slim. In 2014, she appeared on an episode of the third series of The Voice UK, singing a live cover version "I'm Gonna Get You". In 2014 Brown was approached by British/Canadian DJ Kissy Sell Out, co-writing and singing on the San City Record/Vicious Vinyl and Carrillo Music release called "Deeper In Love".[22] Brown's vocals are featured throughout "The Mack" by Swedish DJ Nevada, Mark Morrison and Fetty Wap. Nevada's version features the original vocals of Mark Morrison and Angie Brown, and additional vocals from American rapper Fetty Wap. The song was written by Morrison, William Maxwell, Pyramids in Paris, and Jonathan White. It was released to digital download through Straightforward Music, Nourishing Music, and Capitol Records on 23 September 2016. This song has since received commercial successful reaching 2 x Platinum Certified in Australia, Gold Certified in the US and New Zealand, and Silver in the United Kingdom, while making chart appearances in many other countries. 2020s Angie Brown collaborated with DJ Dougal and Ollie Jacobs on a track released on London based record label Champion Records.
May 9, 2021
Episode 26: D:Ream RMN Podcast (Part 1)
D:Ream is an Irish/English pop rock and dance group. They had a UK No. 1 hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994 as well as eight more top 40 hits.[1] They released three albums, two of which reached the UK top five.[1] The group had an all-male line-up which varied in number, but mainly centred on lead singer Peter Cunnah. The live band included keyboard player Brian Cox, who is now a professor of physics and a television presenter; although Cunnah, as the only official member, normally played keyboards (along with all other instruments) on studio recordings. D:Ream first came to prominence with the euphoric single "U R the Best Thing" in the summer of 1992, an anthemic piano-house tune which did not chart but thanks to a Sasha remix was Pete Tong's Essential Tune of 1992. "Things Can Only Get Better", released in the spring of 1993, gave the group their first chart success. "U R The Best Thing" was eventually re-released in April 1993 and gave the group their second chart hit. The band were nominated for Best Dance act in the MTV Europe music awards in 1994 and for Best Single in the Brit Awards in 1995. The band's first album, D:Ream on Volume 1, which was promoted for almost two years, produced seven singles ("Star" and "I Like It" came on a joint release as a double A-side). It was the track "Things Can Only Get Better" that gave them UK success and international fame. After they supported Take That on their tour, "Things Can Only Get Better" topped the UK Singles Chart, in early 1994.[1] Originally released in early 1993, when the track reached No. 24 in the UK,[1] it was later adopted by the Labour Party as their theme for the 1997 UK General Election, and consequently released for the third time; this time reaching No. 19 on the UK chart.[1] Between 1992 and 1997, the band released two studio albums, (D:Ream on Volume 1 and World), ten different singles (two of which were released three times), and an official greatest hits album, (The Best of D:Ream). The group's record label released their first compilation, The Best of D:Ream, in 1997 instead of their third studio album, which remains unreleased. In 2006, a second collection was released, for The Platinum Collection series. When D:Ream broke through into the charts, the band's main touring line-up consisted of core member Peter Cunnah (vocalist, songwriter), Al Mackenzie (musician), and Cian McCarthy. Other main performers included physicist Brian Cox who played keyboards for several years while studying for his physics PhD degree, Derek Chai on bass, and drummer Mark Roberts. The group also used a number of guest vocalists – such as T.J. Davis, who is featured as co-lead vocalist on "The Power (Of All the Love in the World)", one of the singles taken from their second album, as well as providing backing vocals on many other songs. In 2008 D:Ream reformed after a chance meeting by Cunnah and Mackenzie. They recorded a new album released in 2011 on their own label User Records and their single, "All Things to All Men" was released on 7 September 2009. They also planned concert dates to follow.[2] Meanwhile, Brian Cox became a physics professor and science broadcaster and is currently working on the Large Hadron Collider project.[3] In late 2010 he announced that he was to provide some keyboard work for the new album, but would not be re-joining the band full-time.[4] As part of their 2012 commitments, the band played main support to Wheatus at the LeeStock Music Festival in Sudbury, Suffolk.
May 9, 2021
Episode 25: 808 State RMN Podcast
808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester,[3] taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut album, Newbuild, in September 1988.[3] The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Martin Price was the owner of a record shop, Eastern Bloc, and was also the founder of the independent record label, Creed.[3] Customers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson joined with Price to form a hip hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. Soon after, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording the debut Newbuild in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time. Newbuild was released on Price's own record label. In an interview with Mojo magazine in 2005, Graham Massey explained that the album was recorded over the course of a winter weekend in January 1988 at Spirit Studios, Manchester. The album was named after a Bolton housing co-operative. The record was re-released in 2005 on Aphex Twin's Rephlex Records. Aphex Twin was a huge fan of the record: "It was the next step after Chicago acid, and as much as I loved that, I could relate much better to 808 State. It seemed colder and more human at the same time."[5] Around the same time, the band also recorded an acid house version of New Order's "Blue Monday". A favourite at The Haçienda's Hot Night, the recording was believed lost until Autechre's Sean Booth asked Massey to dig through his archive of old material. The record was released in 2004 by Rephlex Records. "We didn’t put a lot of thought into it but maybe that’s its charm," said Massey at the time.[6] Massey was also a member of the band Aqua in the early 1990s, along with the violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School. The band's song "Pacific State" was released as a single, peaking at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.[3] Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy Called Gerald. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted DJs Andrew Barker and Darren Partington, known as the Spinmasters, and recorded the EP, Quadrastate in July 1989.[3] Ninety was released in December 1989. MC Tunes worked with the band on the 1990 album, The North at Its Heights. The album was a moderate success, reaching number 26 in the UK Albums Chart,[7] and also saw a European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles, "The Only Rhyme That Bites" – featuring a sample of "The Big Country" performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic – (UK number 10), "Tunes Splits the Atom" (UK number 18) and "Primary Rhyming" (UK number 67).[3] The first two issues credited MC Tunes versus 808 State, whilst the latter was simply MC Tunes.[7] Tunes later returned in 1996 to work with on a new track, "Pump", taken from 808 State's album Thermo Kings. 808 State's next album was released in 1991, Ex:el, which featured the vocals of Bernard Sumner and Björk. The songs included "In Yer Face" (UK #9), "Cubik" (UK #10) and "Lift" (UK #38).[3] In October 1991, Price left the group to perform solo production work, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text. The remaining members released a fourth album called Gorgeous, and after that, did some remix work for David Bowie, Soundgarden, and other performers, before returning with the album entitled Don Solaris in 1996. It featured contributions from James Dean Bradfield, who sung vocals on "Lopez", which reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart.[3] This song was remixed by Brian Eno. In 1997, they had remixed the Mansun track "Skin Up, Pin Up" for the Spawn soundtrack. The song "Bond" featured vocals by Mike Doughty from the band Soul Coughing and "Azura" featured Lou Rhodes from Lamb. They released a greatest hits compilation album, 808:88:98 in 1998. In 2000, Newbuild was re-released. Some of the band's work, particularly in the albums Ex:el and Gorgeous show their new wave influences by sampling or featuring new wave icons such as Bernard Sumner on the song "Spanish Heart" and Ian McCulloch on "Moses". The song "Contrique" samples the bassline to Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and "10 X 10" is a gospel-house track built on the foundation of The Jam's "Start!".[8] In 2003, they released Outpost Transmission which featured guest collaborations from the Alabama 3 and Guy Garvey from Elbow. In May 2008, the re-issue of the album Quadrastate completed a trilogy of pre-ZTT releases on CD for the first time. The band is still active, touring and performing DJ sets. Partington left the band after being jailed for 18 months in January 2015 for dealing heroin and crack cocaine.[9] He continues to DJ regularly and is lead singer with new Manchester band 'Big Unit', a rock band with acid house underpinnings. In April 2018 the remaining members announced a brand new live show for a 30th Anniversary Tour to take place in November/December. The show will feature new versions of tracks from their 30-year history and totally new material from their forthcoming sixth studio album. Partington and Barker presented the 808 State Radio Show, first on Sunset 102 from 1989 to 1993, and later on Kiss 102 from 1994 to 1997. In 2012 they reinvented the program as the 808 State Webio Show for a number of months on Mike Joyce's internet based BeatWolf Radio. In 1990, 808 State composed the theme tune to the Channel 4 television programme, The Word.[12] 808 State and its various members have recorded under a variety of pseudonyms. An early EP, containing the tracks "Mssage-a-Rama" and "Sex Mechanic", was released under the name Lounge Jays. These tracks have since been re-released by Rephlex Records on the Prebuild LP. Another early EP, Wax on the Melt, was released under the name Hit Squad Mcr. This is the only release on which all five members of the group (Massey, Price, Simpson, Barker, and Partington) contributed simultaneously. Massey released the solo album Subtracks under the name Massonix on Skam Records. He is a member of Biting Tongues, an experimental jazz rock group once signed to Factory Records. He also created the big band project called Massey's Toolshed Allstars (eventually shortened to Toolshed). Under the pseudonym Professor Vernon World, Massey as drummer/producer with the ladies combo organ quartet The Sisters of Transistors released an album, and is also a member of Sun Ra homage The Part-Time Heliocentric Cosmo Drama After School Club. Price released a couple of EPs under the name Switzerland. He also managed the band Kaliphz (later known as Kaleef) who had a hit with a hip-hop cover version of The Stranglers "Golden Brown". Barker has produced a small number of tracks under the names Atlas and Benaco. Partington has recorded under the name Jeep. 808 State's style has been labeled as techno and house, and the band are regarded as "a pioneer of the acid house sound".[10] The band's album, Newbuild, was influential in the development of the Madchester and baggy scenes.
May 9, 2021
Episode 23: Musical Youth RMN Podcast (Part 1)
Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their successful 1982 single "Pass the Dutchie", which became a No. 1 hit around the world. The band recorded two studio albums, and released a number of successful singles throughout 1982 and 1983, including a collaboration with Donna Summer in "Unconditional Love". Musical Youth earned a Grammy Award nomination before disbanding in 1985 after a series of personal problems. The band returned in 2001 as a duo. The group was formed in 1979 when the fathers of Kelvin and Michael Grant and Frederick (known as Junior) and Patrick Waite put together a band featuring their sons. The latter pair's father, Frederick Waite Sr., had been a member of the Jamaican reggae group The Techniques. Frederick sang lead with Junior at the start of Musical Youth's career. Although schoolboys, the group managed to secure gigs at different Birmingham pubs and released a double single in 1981, including songs "Generals" and "Political", on a local label, (021 Records, named after the then-Birmingham area code.) An appearance on BBC Radio 1 John Peel's evening show brought further attention to the group, and they were signed to MCA Records. By that time, founding member Frederick Waite Jr. had backed down to be replaced by Dennis Seaton as lead singer. In September 1982, the group issued one of the fastest-selling singles of the year, "Pass the Dutchie" (based on the Mighty Diamonds' "Pass the Koutchie"; a song about passing a pipe used to smoke cannabis). The title had been subtly altered to feature the patois "dutchie", referring to a type of pot used for cooking. This idea was reinforced throughout the political and economic overtones of the song about extreme poverty and Musical Youth asking the question "How does it feel when ya got no food?". The record went to number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1982. It went on to sell over four million copies, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. A Top 10 placing also followed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Their debut album The Youth of Today was certified gold in the UK, while the follow-up single, "Youth of Today", reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart and "Never Gonna Give You Up", released early in 1983, climbed to UK number 6.[1] Minor successes with "Heartbreaker" and "Tell Me Why" were succeeded by a collaboration with Donna Summer on the UK Top 20 hit, "Unconditional Love".[3] The group also took part in her 1983 TV special A Hot Summer Night with Donna.[4] Their second album, Different Style!, was released in 1983 and showcased more R&B-influenced repertoire to make the band more accessible in the North America, but flopped on both British and American market. A revival of Desmond Dekker's "007" saw them back in the Top 30, but after one final hit with "Sixteen", their commercial success ended. The band received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards of 1984. With their careers going downhill, the band members became embroiled in legal, financial and personal problems.[5][6] In 1985, Dennis Seaton left the band, leading to its dissolution. The Grant brothers remained involved in the music industry; Seaton released a solo album in 1989 before going on to form his own band, XMY. Plans for a reunion of Musical Youth were halted when Patrick Waite, who had gone on to a career of juvenile crime, died in Birmingham in February 1993.[7] Only 24 years old, he collapsed from a hereditary heart condition. A compilation album, Anthology, was released in 1994, followed by Maximum Volume: The Best of Musical Youth in 1995. Dennis Seaton performing in Austria in 2005 Now reduced to a duo, Michael Grant and Dennis Seaton reformed Musical Youth in 2001, and planned a tour, which was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks.[8] In 2003, Musical Youth finally performed as part of the Here and Now tour, an annual series of nostalgia concerts featuring performances by musicians of the 1980s.[9][10] A compilation album was released in 2004, 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection. In 2005, the band performed at the Wiesen festival in Austria. In 2009, they released a cover of Boney M.'s "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord", followed by Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" in 2013. Their album When Reggae Was King was scheduled for release in 2016, then early 2017, but has yet to materialize.[11] They performed tracks from it at Camper Calling Festival at Ragley Hall on 27 August 2017. In 2018, Kelvin Grant recorded and released a solo album, Defend Dem, in the United States.[12] In 2019 Dennis Seaton performed at Hale Barns carnival in Cheshire.
May 9, 2021
Episode 22: Horse RMN Podcast (Part 2)
HORSE is an iconic and utterly unique singer/songwriter, her voice described as 'a finely honed instrument', together with 'breathtaking stagecraft'. Her music is both moving and uplifting, the audience are totally absorbed whenever she performs. With a successful career expanding over three decades, she has opened and toured with various international artists, including Tina Turner, BB King, Bryan Ferry, Burt Bacarach. One of her best known songs Careful, was covered by Will Young. Her first record deal was with EMI/Capitol circa 1990. To date, she has released nine albums including The Same Sky and God's Home Movie. God's Home Movie on the MCA/Universal label. Her current album HOME was released on her own label Randan Records. In addition to writing and performing, Horse also presents The iain Anderson show at various times. Horse’s unparalleled live performances showcase, not only her vocal range and the unique texture and tone that is virtually missing from today’s music, but also her relationship to her fans.
May 9, 2021
Episode 2: Precious Wilson RMN Podcast (Part 1)
Precious Wilson started out as a backing singer for the all-male group Eruption. The group enjoyed their first minor success when they won a talent competition in 1975, and then went on to record the song "Let Me Take You Back in Time". Shortly after, the lead singer left the group, and Precious Wilson stepped forward to front the band.[1] The group then relocated to Germany in 1976, and the following year in 1977, while on the road touring in Germany, Eruption was introduced to German producer Frank Farian who booked them to work with Boney M as their backing band, and as their support act on Boney M's first European tour. Frank Farian then went on to sign them to Boney M.'s label, Hansa Records, Farian released the single "Party Party" but it was their disco cover version of Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain" from their first album which broke big, giving them a UK No. 5 hit and a US No. 18 hit. After a second album and another hit single with Neil Sedaka's "One Way Ticket" (UK #9), Precious Wilson left the group to pursue her solo career Wilson's debut single as a solo artist was a cover version of Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", released in August 1979. Produced by Frank Farian and set to a funky disco-beat, the single reached No. 45 in the Dutch charts.[2] The song was also included in Boney M's fourth album Oceans of Fantasy[3] which also yielded a guest performance by Wilson on the opening track "Let It All Be Music". She co-wrote several tracks, including the title song of her debut album We Are on the Race Track, also produced by Farian, was completed during 1980 on Hansa Records. It was released in October, heralded by the single "Cry to Me" which Wilson performed on TV, backed by the band that she created called Sky Train. The single reached number 3 in Switzerland.[4] The album's second single, "We Are on the Race Track", reached No. 11 in Switzerland in early 1981. In October 1981, she released a cover version of "I Need You" which peaked at No. 6 in Switzerland where her popularity was lingering. In Germany, it reached No. 39. In the summer of 1982, the electro-pop track "I Don't Know" was released, followed by her second album All Coloured in Love. The album was released with a different track selection in the UK, Italy and France under the name Red Light followed by several different single releases in the various territories. Hot on the heels of the then Aerobic craze and Farian's success with the album Aerobic Fitness Dancing, the theme song "Let's Move Aerobic (Move Your Body)" was rush-released with Wilson's vocals in March 1983. Her third album Funky Fingers, consisting of two side-long medleys of soul standards, was released in December 1983. In 1985, she signed with Jive Records and teamed up with multiple producer teams for the album, including American songwriter, Monte Moir, a musician and songwriter, best known as a member of The Time. The following year Wilson released several singles; "I'll Be Your Friend" (a U.S. Top 40 R&B hit), the theme song from the Michael Douglas movie The Jewel of the Nile (the sequel to the movie Romancing The Stone), and "Nice Girls Don't Last" ("Love Can't Wait" in the U.S.). In 1986, she contributed to the charity album titled The Anti-Heroin project: It's a live-in world, singing among others on the title track as well as on "Waiting in the Dark" and a song called "Something Better" with Kim Wilde and Darryl Pandy.[5] A dance cover of Jerry Butler's "Only the Strong Survive" in 1987, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.[1] Precious has toured the former USSR on the invitation of the Soviet Cultural Ministry. The 55 date concert tour was arranged in six Soviet Republics, performing to full capacity audiences at each venue. She was the first black UK based female artiste to have undertaken such an extensive tour in the then USSR in 1988. As well as having the talent for a variety of television and stage work she astounded theatre land with the hit musical Blues in the Night.[citation needed] Other performances include shows in Monte Carlo, numerous concert tours in both Eastern Europe including the Kremlin, and continental Europe. She has participated in a Royal Variety Show in the presence of HRH Queen Elizabeth of the UK, and a member of the Saudi royal family. Over the years she has made guest appearances and associated studio productions with artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, James Brown, Boney M, Michael Bolton, Little Richard and she also recorded along with Sir Cliff Richard on The Kendrick Collection by Graham Kendrick. After another of her co-written songs, was the single "I May Be Right 4U" in 1990. She achieved two small hit singles in the early 1990s with a cover of Sheila and B. Devotion's "Spacer" (a hit single in France, 1992) and a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (a UK No. 19 hit single with techno group Messiah, 1992). Since then, Wilson has been touring extensively internationally, and also frequently tours as Eruption featuring Precious Wilson. Precious Wilson appeared on Channel 4, First Dates (6 June 2017). In 2018, Wilson was one of 12 co-authors of a book titled Mission Critical Messengers: How To Deliver A Difference.
May 9, 2021
Episode 19: Sam Brown RMN Podcast
Samantha Brown (born 7 October 1964)[1] is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and record producer. Brown is a ukulele player and was a blue-eyed soul and jazz singer. She came to prominence in the late 1980s as a solo artist, releasing six singles that entered the UK Singles Chart during the 1980s and 1990s. Her solo singles, sometimes dealing with lost love included "Stop!", "This Feeling", "Can I Get a Witness", "Kissing Gate", "With a Little Love" and "Just Good Friends". She worked as a session backing vocalist, working with artists such as Gary Moore, George Harrison, Small Faces, Spandau Ballet, Adam Ant, Jon Lord (of Deep Purple), Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour), The Firm, Dodgy and Nick Cave. Brown released her debut album Stop! in 1988. Since then, she has released five studio albums, one EP and three compilation albums, as well as three albums as part of the group Homespun, but lost her singing voice in 2007. Brown signed a recording contract with A&M in 1986.[1] Her most successful song with A&M was "Stop!", released as a single in 1988. She issued an album of the same name that same year.[1] Other singles taken from the album included "Walking Back to Me", "This Feeling" and her cover version of "Can I Get a Witness". The album Stop! has sold over two and a half million copies worldwide,[2] doing particularly well in the UK and Australia. Brown's second studio album, April Moon (1990), included two hit singles, "Kissing Gate" and "With a Little Love".[1] Three further singles were released from the album: "Mindworks", "Once in Your Life" and "As One". She also played the ukulele. Brown's third studio album, 43 Minutes..., was made around the same time that her mother was dying from breast cancer.[2] A&M, Brown's record label at the time, were not satisfied with the album and wanted some potential hit singles recorded and added to the track listing.[2] Brown, unwilling to compromise and after a protracted legal battle, bought back the master recordings of the album and released them in 1992 on her own label Pod Music, a year after the death of her mother.[2] Few copies were initially released, although it was re-issued in 2004. Brown provided backing vocals for Pink Floyd on their fourteenth studio album, The Division Bell, released in 1994 and accompanied them on their tour to promote the release.[2] Her involvement was documented on the following year's Pink Floyd release, Pulse, in which she sang backing vocals and was the first lead vocalist on the song "The Great Gig in the Sky". In 1995, she had a minor chart hit with a duet with fellow singer-songwriter Fish, entitled "Just Good Friends". In 1997, Brown returned with her fourth studio album Box, released via the independent record label Demon Music Group. Tracks on this album included "Embrace the Darkness", "Whisper" and "I Forgive You" which was co-written with Maria McKee. McKee's version of the song originally appeared on her second album, You Gotta Sin to Get Saved. In 2000, her fifth studio album ReBoot was released via another independent label, Mud Hut, and the single "In Light of All That's Gone Before." In 2003, Brown formed the band Homespun with Dave Rotheray,[1] releasing three albums. Brown also released several solo recordings in this period, including an EP, Ukulele and Voice.[1] In 2004, Jon Lord released Beyond the Notes, for which she wrote almost all the lyrics.[3] In late 2006, she undertook an extensive UK tour as special guest of her father, Joe Brown. The shows also included appearances by her brother, Pete Brown. In 2007, seven years after her last album, Brown released Of the Moment. She also returned to the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart in October 2007, when "Valentine Moon" was included on Jools Holland's hit album Best of Friends. That same year she lost her singing voice, and for as yet unknown reasons has not been able to sing since. In an interview from 2013 she explained that "I can't get vocal cord closure and achieve the proper pitch simultaneously. It feels like there are some muscles that aren't working." After a cyst was found on her vocal cords, she had the cyst successfully removed, but problems with her voice persisted, leaving her unable to hold a note.[4] Brown currently runs the International Ukulele Club of Sonning Common, the North London Ukulele Collective and the People's Ukulele Brigade (PUB).[5] Brown is also a patron of Tech Music Schools in London, made up of Vocaltech, Guitar-X, Keyboardtech and Drumtech.
May 9, 2021
Episode 12: Sly Dunbar (Sly & Robbie) RMN Podcast
Lowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) Drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called The Yardbrooms. His first appearance on a recording was on the Dave and Ansell Collins album Double Barrel. Dunbar joined a band Ansell Collins called Skin, Flesh and Bones. Speaking on his influences, Sly explains “My mentor was the drummer for The Skatalites, Lloyd Knibb. And I used to listen a lot to the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly from The Wailers Band, Winston Bennett, Paul Douglas, Mikey Boo. I respect all these drummers and have learnt a lot from them. From them, I listened and created my own style. They played some things I copied, other things I recreated. In 1972, Dunbar met and became friends with Robbie Shakespeare, who was then bass guitarist for the Hippy Boys. Shakespeare recommended Dunbar to Bunny Lee as a possible session drummer for the Aggrovators. Dunbar and Shakespeare decided to continue performing together. They worked with Peter Tosh and his band until 1981, recording five albums. Dunbar noted about the Mighty Diamonds' song "Right Time": "When that tune first come out, because of that double tap on the rim nobody believe it was me on the drums, they thought it was some sort of sound effect we was using. Then when it go to number 1 and stay there, everybody started trying for that style and it soon become established."[3] According to The Independent, the entire album Right Time was "revolutionary", the breakthrough album of "masters of groove and propulsion" Dunbar and Shakespeare, with "Sly's radical drumming matching the singers' insurrectionary lyrics blow-for-blow." Dunbar and Shakespeare formed their Taxi Records label in 1980. It has seen releases from many international successful artists, including Black Uhuru, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Ini Kamoze, Beenie Man and Red Dragon. Dunbar played for the Aggrovators for Bunny Lee, the Upsetters for Lee Perry, the Revolutionaries for Joseph Hoo Kim, and recorded for Barry O'Hare in the 1990s. Dunbar plays drums on several noteworthy tracks produced by Lee Perry including "Night Doctor", Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves", and Bob Marley's "Punky Reggae Party" 12" track (although the track was produced by Perry, Dunbar's drum track was actually recorded at Joe Gibbs Duhaney Park studio). Sly and Robbie also played on Bob Dylan's albums Infidels and Empire Burlesque (using recordings from the Infidels sessions). Other sessions include their appearance on three Grace Jones albums, and work with Herbie Hancock, Joe Cocker, Serge Gainsbourg and the Rolling Stones. In 2008, Sly Dunbar collaborated with Larry McDonald, the Jamaican percussionist, on his debut album Drumquestra. Dunbar appeared in the 2011 documentary “Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals” which was featured on BBC and described as “The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica”. In 1979, Brian Eno remarked of Sly Dunbar: " (...) So when you buy a reggae record, there's a 90 percent chance the drummer is Sly Dunbar. You get the impression that Sly Dunbar is chained to a studio seat somewhere in Jamaica, but in fact what happens is that his drum tracks are so interesting, they get used again and again. Collaborations With Grace Jones Warm Leatherette (Island Records, 1980) Nightclubbing (Island Records, 1981) Living My Life (Island Records, 1982) Hurricane (PIAS Recordings, 2008) With Joan Armatrading Walk Under Ladders (A&M Records, 1981) With Peter Tosh Equal Rights (EMI, 1977) Bush Doctor (EMI, 1978) Mystic Man (EMI, 1979) Wanted Dread & Alive (Capitol Records, 1981) Mama Africa (EMI, 1983) With Joe Cocker Sheffield Steel (Island Records, 1982) With Gary Barlow Sing (Decca Records, 2012) With Bob Dylan Infidels (Columbia Records, 1983) Empire Burlesque (Columbia Records, 1985) Down in the Groove (Columbia Records, 1988) With Carly Simon Hello Big Man (Warner Bros. Records, 1983) With Mick Jagger She's the Boss (Columbia Records, 1985) With Yoko Ono Starpeace (PolyGram Records, 1985) With Jackson Browne World in Motion (Elektra Records, 1989) With Nona Hendryx Nona (RCA Records, 1983) With Garland Jeffreys Wildlife Dictionary (RCA Records, 1997) With Sinéad O'Connor Throw Down Your Arms (Chocolate and Vanilla, 2005)
May 9, 2021
Episode 13: Sydney Youngblood RMN Podcast
Sydney Ford (born December 2, 1960), better known as Sydney Youngblood, is an American singer, actor and composer, who had several successful dance hits during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ford was born in Texas in December 1960. From an early age he loved singing. He won a competition aged six in his hometown where his grandmother called him ‘youngblood’ for his ‘vibrancy’ to perform. He played in a number of bands but at age twenty, he was drafted into the US army and served in Germany for five years. Ford returned home and returned to music straight away, only this time seeking fame and fortune as a solo artist. Signed to Virgin Records, his first release was a cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", which made a short appearance in the lower section of the UK Singles Chart in 1988. Youngblood had two top 40 hits in the UK and Europe in 1988 and 1989, "Sit and Wait" and his debut "If Only I Could", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.[1] The song uses the bassline and drumbeat from the Raze track "Break 4 Love". In the US, the song "I'd Rather Go Blind" (originally sung by Etta James) enjoyed heavy rotation on the dance scene and made the top 10 on the Billboard Dance chart. "Sit and Wait" reached number 16 in the UK in December 1989.[2] Youngblood continued his success with the album Feeling Free, which also contained his earlier single, "Ain't No Sunshine". In 2018, Youngblood participated in the 12th season of the German reality show I'm a Star – Get Me Out of Here! on RTL Television.
May 9, 2021
Episode 18: The McBroom Sisters RMN Podcast
Durga McBroom is an American singer, songwriter and actress who has performed vocals for Pink Floyd, and is a member of the house music band Blue Pearl, best known for their hit single "Naked in the Rain". After working as an actress, dancer and singer in the United States, she and her sister Lorelei McBroom worked with Pink Floyd as backing vocalists. They went on to have a long stint with them, being the only backing vocalists to appear consistently on all of their shows starting from the November 1987 concert at Omni Arena of A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour up to the final concert of The Division Bell Tour in October 1994. She also performed on their appearance at the 1990 Knebworth festival and has provided vocals for the Pink Floyd live albums Delicate Sound of Thunder, and Pulse, and the Pink Floyd studio albums The Division Bell, and The Endless River, as well as David Gilmour's 2001 solo tour. Around 1989, McBroom formed the band Blue Pearl with record producer Youth, singing, playing some keyboards and co-writing all of their material. As part of Blue Pearl, she had several hit songs in the early 1990s, including "Naked in the Rain" (UK #4 in July 1990), ”Little Brother" (UK #31 in October 1990), and a cover version of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", all taken from the album Naked, released in 1990 on the Big Life label. Subsequent singles included "(Can You) Feel the Passion" (UK #14 in January 1992). She provided backing vocals to the song "Don't Wait That Long" featured on the James album Seven released in 1992. She also sang a duet on "Mother Dawn" with Billy Idol for his Cyberpunk album, a self-penned song that was originally released as a Blue Pearl single. In addition, she sang backing vocals on several other songs on Cyberpunk, including a featured performance on "Heroin". In addition to her music career, McBroom performed as an actress in the movies Flashdance , The Rosebud Beach Hotel, the episode "Lullabye" of the TV show Hunter (with Gary Sinise), and several other less notable appearances. She also appears in many videos, including "California Girls", "Yankee Rose" and "Just A Gigolo" for David Lee Roth; "Would I Lie To You" for Eurythmics; "Day In, Day Out" for David Bowie and "When I Think Of You" for Janet Jackson. In April 2010, she started to work with the Argentinian band "The End Pink Floyd" show in Buenos Aires, including some appearances with Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. In October 2011, the sisters joined together to sing "The Great Gig in the Sky" in Anaheim, California with the Australian Pink Floyd Show. 2017 saw her reunite with Gary Wallis, Scott Page, and Claudia Fontaine in several Italian shows. She tours the world singing with various bands (Shpongle Live / May 3–4, 2019). She also recorded a second Blue Pearl album with Youth. February 2020 saw her return to the big screen in the controversial film “Sammy-Gate”, premiering in the Netherlands at IFFR (Rotterdam). She and her sister Lorelei are also featured on Steve Hackett's latest album At the Edge of Light, being featured on the chart-topping single “Underground Railroad”. A single written with Graziano Regoli and Vittorio De Scalzi (New Trolls)called “American Big Top” came out in June 2020 on Supa Qween Records, a fiery protest song reflective of the times. Another album, “Black Floyd”, was recorded with her sister Lorelei (co-produced by Dave Kerzner), and released in July 2020 as The McBroom Sisters. It includes some cover songs as well as original material. Pink Floyd (the Godfathers of Psychedelia) gave Lorelei her first exposure to the road on their "Momentary Lapse of Reason "and "Delicate Sound of Thunder" tours. She followed that by touring with the Rolling Stones, also being featured in their first ever IMAX film “Rolling Stones at the Max”. The Stones and Floyd gave Lorelei the chance to be both operatic and bluesy, featuring her in duet with Mick Jagger on "Gimmie Shelter" and on "The Great Gig In The Sky" with Pink Floyd. She also appeared in Pink Floyd’s original music videos for “The Dogs of War”, “On The Turning Away” and also in the “Pink Floyd Live in Venice” TV broadcast.
May 9, 2021
Episode 11: Watt Nicoll (Motivational) RMN Podcast
Watt Nicoll Motivational In 1997, Watt Nicoll was evaluated by his peer group as the top motivational speaker in the world at the ITC Conference in Reno Nevada. Since then he’s improved! Quite simply, Watt excites people with the realisation that they can shake off mediocrity and live up to their potential. It’s a high-energy message, delivered on a frequency that connects with people at any stage of life. With his own brand of persistence and determination, Watt has developed a process of self-education and self-awareness that has distinguished him as a world-class resource for the development of human potential. Think of the most famous sports men and women in the world; think football, golf, motor racing; think of the world of celebrity and big name pop stars; think multinational corporations.
May 9, 2021
Episode 10: Watt Nicoll RMN Podcast
Watt Nicoll was part of the Sixties Scottish Folk Revival and is first to admit he was much more of a story teller and song writer than a vocalist. He recorded twelve albums of his own songs for the Transatlantic label and penned material for others i.e. Hamish Imlach, Corries etc. He hosted his own TV series 'FOLK AFORE US' for Grampian TV and 'Sounds of Scotland' for BBC Radio. Just about the time the BigYin went into comedy - Watt went into Motivation and was declared the Best Motivator in the World in Reno Nevada in 1997(www.wattnicoll.com for that story). At 85 he is now Watt Nicoll writing and singing again with a bag of new stories and experiences but the same old sense of humour. He absolutely loves when he gets a mixed audience of "wrinklies" and young people because he doesn't think the kids fully realise how much fun there is in a good sing along and the 'auld hieds' have a kind of a duty to demonstrate the experience and get these young people involved, and hopefully get them writing songs of their times and - even better - singing them!
May 9, 2021
Episode 20: Cappella RMN Podcast
Cappella is an Italian Eurodance music group formed in 1987 by producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. The act went through a number of line-up changes over the years but was most successful in the early 1990s when it was fronted by British performers Kelly Overett and Rodney Bishop. Their biggest hit was "U Got 2 Let the Music", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1993. The name Cappella was first used in 1987. In the beginning, they were a Hi-NRG influenced house act with producer Gianfranco Bortolotti of Media Records leading the group,[1] with significant contributions from fellow producers Stefano Lanzini, Diego Leoni and Pieradis Rossini. In 1988, the act debuted on the UK Singles Chart with the song "Bauhaus (Push the Beat)", and the following year with "Helyom Halib" which peaked at number 11.[1] At the time, the act was fronted by model Ettore Foresti. Three years later, Cappella scored another UK top 30 hit with "Take Me Away", which sampled Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation" – the same track that had been sampled on the number 1 hit "Ride On Time" by fellow Italian house act Black Box in 1989.[1] It was not until 1993 when Cappella really began to gain momentum. "U Got 2 Know" was based on the distinctive riff of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Happy House"; Cappella was later sued by Siouxsie and the Banshees for failure to pay publishing royalties and lost.[2] Vocalist Anna Ross and rapper MC Fixx It (Ricardo Overman) were chosen by Gianfranco for live performances. The song reached number 6 in the UK.[1] Afterwards, two permanent members were drafted in to front the act: rapper Rodney Bishop from London and ex-SL2 dancer Kelly Overett from Ipswich.[1] "U Got 2 Let the Music" (which sampled Alphaville's "Sounds Like a Melody") was released in October 1993 and climbed to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] held off from the top spot only by Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)". "U Got 2 Know" would later be remade and updated by Tomcraft in 2013. Further hits followed: "Move On Baby" reached number 7 in February 1994, "U & Me" peaked at number 10 in June, and "Move It Up" ended the U Got 2 Know album project with a number 16 hit in October.[1] Shortly after this, Overett was fired from the group. It later emerged that she had not actually performed on any of the records – though this should have been obvious to anyone who had seen her performing "Move On Baby" live on Top of the Pops[3] and during a telecast of M6's Dance Machine concert in 1994 in which she did perform "U & Me" live despite a playback in the background.[4][5] As for the real voices that were actually used, "U Got 2 Know" included Xaviera Gold's vocals from "You Used To Hold Me", "U Got 2 Let the Music" sampled a vocal from JM Silk's track "Let The Music Take Control", and the vocals for "U & Me" were sampled from a song by Vicki Shepard. "Move On Baby" and "Don't Be Proud" were sung by a session singer Eileina Dennis. The hit "Move It Up" was also sung by a session singer now known to be Jackie Rawe. Rap vocals were later confirmed to be performed by former member MC Fixx It. Overett later established a singing career by releasing a single called "Follow Your Heart" in 1995 under the name "Kelly O", although it was her only solo single. In May 1995, Cappella returned with new vocalist Allison Jordan, who had previously scored a club hit with "Boy From New York City". Rodney Bishop was also replaced by Patrick Osborne, but returned to the group before long. Before Bishop returned to Cappella, he released two solo singles under the name 'Bishop' titled "Addicted" and "Lift Me Up". The comeback single "Tell Me the Way" reached number 17 in the UK in September 1995 and was followed by the album War In Heaven, which featured contributions from Mauro Picotto. According to rumors, War in Heaven was almost completely recorded before Overett and Bishop were fired. The rumors were later confirmed to be true, as most of the lead vocals on the album were done by Zeeteah Massiah, however Jordan did provide lead vocals on a few tracks on the album. On February 25, 1998, Cappella released their fourth eponymously titled album. The album was supported by three singles, titled "Be My Baby", "U Tore My World Apart", and "Throwin' Away". It is now known that the lead vocals on the album were performed by British vocalist Beverley Skeete, who had also worked with Anticappella, another one of Bortolotti's projects. The rap vocals were performed by Italian producer and remixer Tiziano Pagani. After the singles charted less than expected, the band decided to go on tour and promote the new album in Japan later in the same year. Once their Japanese tour was finished, Bishop left the group, and Cappella continued as a solo act with just Jordan for a brief time. Cappella released the single "U R the Power of Love" in September 1998, and shortly afterwards, Jordan left the group, leaving Cappella in the void, and resorting to releasing remixes of previous hits. In 2004, the act – now once again faceless, released a brand new track called "Angel" which failed to spark the German or Italian charts. A greatest hits CD/DVD was released in August 2005. In 2013, the band returned with the original producer Gianfranco Bortolotti and new members, a married couple: Lis Birks as a vocalist and Marcus Birks as a rapper.[6][7] The couple used to perform under the name of The Cameleonz.
May 9, 2021
Episode 16: Dr. Alban RMN Podcast
Alban Uzoma Nwapa (born 26 August 1957), better known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian-Swedish recording artist and producer with his own record label, Dr. Records.[1] His music can best be described as Eurodance/hip-hop reggae in a dancehall style.[1] He has sold an estimated 16 million records worldwide and is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit "It's My Life", from the album One Love. Alban was born Alban Uzoma Nwapa into a middle-class family of 10 children in Oguta, Imo state, Nigeria. He is Igbo. Education He got his secondary education at Christ The King College and spent most of his youth in his hometown of Oguta. At age 23, he traveled to Sweden to study dentistry.[1] To finance his studies, Dr. Alban became a DJ at the Stockholm club Alphabet Street.[1] Very quickly, his name became widely known, especially since he often sang to the records he put on turntables. DJ René Hedemyr discovered him. Alban finished his studies and even opened his own dentistry practice, keeping his DJ-ing as a lucrative sideline. Denniz Pop and achieving success: 1990s In 1990, he met Denniz Pop from the SweMix label and, together with Denniz and rap artist Leila K, released his first record Hello Afrika. At this point, he took the stage name Dr. Alban, a nod to his dental studies. His debut album included hits like "Hello Afrika" and "No Coke", both of which ended up being million-selling singles.[1] The album itself was quite successful and earned him gold certification awards in numerous markets including Germany (for sales of over 250,000 units), Austria (25,000), and Switzerland (25,000).[5][6][7] One year later, this success was surpassed by his second album One Love. The album included European hit singles such as "It's My Life" (which was used as background music for a Tampax advert) and "Sing Hallelujah". The single "It's My Life" reached No.1 in Israel, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany, and No.2 in Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.[8][9][10] The song "It's My Life" went platinum in Germany (for sales of over 500,000 units), in the Netherlands (75,000), and it sold over two million copies overall in Europe.[1][11][12] The album in turn reached the top of the album chart in Austria and entered the top five in Switzerland, also reaching No.6 in Germany.[13][14] It went gold in Germany (for sales of over 250,000 units) and platinum both in Austria and Switzerland (both 50,000).[6][15][16] Alban's third album Look Who's Talking!, released in 1994, hit the top 10 in numerous markets including Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.[14][17] The album was the first to earn Alban a gold certification award in his home country of Sweden for sales of over 50,000 units.[18] Dr. Alban founded his own record label Dr. Records, whereon he released his 1996 album Born in Africa. The album was unable to match the success of his previous releases. It only reached No.12 in Finland, while it peaked at No.37 in Switzerland and Sweden, No.52 in Germany, and No.41 in Austria.[14][19] The single "Born in Africa" went to number 1 in Finland. In 1997, Alban released the compilation album The Very Best of 1990–1997, which only charted in Austria, Sweden, and Germany. The same year, the artist also released the studio album Believe, which peaked at No.27 in Sweden, No.30 in Finland, and No.41 in Austria.[20] In late 1998, Dr. Alban released a single with German-based artist Sash!, entitled "Colour the World", which experienced moderate chart success in Europe Decline and return to music: 2000s In 2000, Alban released the single "What Do I Do", which charted only in Sweden at No.43; it spent only two weeks on the charts there.[22] The album Prescription was a flop as it failed to chart anywhere. In 2007, after years of absence from the music scene, Dr. Alban released the studio album Back to Basics. It was sold on the internet only through Dr. Alban's official website. In Russia however, both the physical CDs and cassettes were released. Later activities: 2010s–present In 2010, Alban collaborated once again with Sash! to produce a remake of "Hello Afrika", "Hello South Afrika", dedicated to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was followed by a single consisting of 16 remixes.[23] On 15 February 2014 at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Dr. Alban teamed up with Jessica Folcker in the third heat of Melodifestivalen 2014, performing last with the song "Around the World", to win the right to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2015, he released the single "Hurricane", which failed to enter the European charts. In May 2020, Alban released the song "Hello Sverige" (in Swedish) to encourage the population of Sweden to respect social distancing measures put in place to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic. The next month, he released an English version titled "Hello Nations". The song is another remake of his classic hit "Hello Afrika". In June 2020, Alban released the single "Drama", also in Swedish, in collaboration with singer Folkhemmet. The song talks about Alban's long-running acrimonious relationship with Swedish tabloid journalists.
May 9, 2021
Episode 5: George McCrae RMN Podcast
George Warren McCrae, Jr. (born October 19, 1944)[1][2] is an American soul and disco singer, most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". McCrae was the second of nine children, born in West Palm Beach, Florida.[2] He formed his own singing group, the Jivin' Jets, before joining the United States Navy in 1963.[3] He married Gwen McCrae (née Mosley) in 1963.[4] Four years later, he reformed the group, with his wife Gwen joining the line-up, but soon afterwards they decided to work as a duo, recording for Henry Stone's Alston record label. Gwen then won a solo contract, with George acting as her manager as well as doing some singing on sessions and in clubs in Palm Beach.[5][6] He was about to return to college to study law enforcement, when Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band invited him to sing the lyrics for a song that they had recorded for the band, but could not reach the high notes that were required for the song. The original intention was that Gwen, his wife, should record it, but she was late for the session and George recorded alone.[5][6] It suited his high-pitched voice to the extent that the song, "Rock Your Baby", became one of the first hits of the disco era in 1974, selling an estimated eleven million copies worldwide,[7] topping the charts in the U.S. and the UK. The song was so successful that Rolling Stone magazine voted it the No. 1 song of the year in 1974. McCrae received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocalist the following year. Two further single releases, "I Can't Leave You Alone" and "It's Been So Long" also reached the UK Singles Chart Top 10.[8][9] He recorded several further albums for TK, including George McCrae (1975) and Diamond Touch (1976), and also continued to record with, and manage, his wife until their divorce in 1976.[6] They had two daughters together, Sophia and Leah.[11][12] While he continued to record albums including We Did It! and his second self-titled album George McCrae (both 1978), his commercial popularity slipped as the decade progressed. He married a second time, moved to Canada, and entered a period of semi-retirement, leaving TK at the end of the 1970s. With his second wife, he had another daughter, Jennifer McCray. He returned with the album One Step Closer to Love in 1984, the title track from which entered the charts in Britain, Canada and Holland. In 1988, he had a daughter, Marcella, with his then-girlfriend, Rosanna Molignini. He moved to the village Munstergeleen in the Netherlands and remarried again, to Dutch model Yvonne Bergsma, in 1989.[16] They have a son, Shaka. His later albums found some success in Europe, and he continued to perform regularly there. By the 2000s, he shared his time between homes in Florida, Aruba, and the Netherlands. In 2016 George McCrae released a new concept album called LOVE that was produced by the Dutch producer / composer Roger Heijster. The album was recorded without sequencing using only vintage instruments. Leah and Sophia McCrae, George's two daughters from his first marriage to Gwen McCrae, provide the backing vocals for this album. The album was album of the week in Germany and the single "Sexy Woman" was # 1 in Mallorca. George keeps on performing live and in December 2017 George performed at the BBC Hootenanny show with Jools Holland.
May 9, 2021
Episode 21: Horse RMN Podcast (Part 1)
Horse McDonald (born Sheena Mary McDonald, 22 November 1958) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She is noted mainly for her rich, sonorous voice,[1] and The Scotsman referred to her as "One of Scotland's all-time great vocalists, also possessed of a keen songwriting intelligence" McDonald was born on 22 November 1958 in Newport on Tay, Fife, Scotland. In the 1980s, she toured with Tina Turner and BB King.[2] To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut album The Same Sky, Horse and her band played the entire album on a tour of the United Kingdom in October and November 2010. In 2011, McDonald performed a duet with Heather Peace, on a song they wrote together, Beechwood avenue. McDonald toured in March 2011, playing an acoustic set with the full band. These concerts featured "exclusive previews of several new songs from the upcoming ninth album, as well as Horse standards and rare B sides".[3] She was also slated to appear in the soundtrack of the [needs update] UK independent film, About Her.[4] McDonald appeared on the 2012 charity single 'It Does Get Better' created by The L Project. The single benefitted LGBT charities and was written in response to the suicide of LGBT teenagers.[5][6] She performed a one-off show at the Barrowland, Glasgow 2 March 2013 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of God's Home Movie and the release of her ninth studio album HOME. In January 2013 she married her long-term partner, Alanna, in the town of Lanark, Scotland, where she lived as a teenager.
May 9, 2021
Episode 9: Jill Jones RMN Podcast
Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Jones performed as backing vocalist on a number of Teena Marie's Motown albums in the early 80s and also co-wrote the songs "Young Girl In Love" from Lady T (1980) and "The Ballad of Cradle Rob and Me" from It Must Be Magic (1981). She met Prince in 1980 at age 18, when Teena Marie was the opening act during his Dirty Mind tour.[1] Prince loved her voice, encouraged her to sing, and stayed in touch with Jones.[2] She became a backup vocalist for Prince when he invited her to the Sunset Sound recording studios in 1982, to sing backing vocals for several tracks on the album 1999.[2] She was credited under just her initials J.J. She also was featured in music videos for the songs "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", as well as extended rarely aired music video for "Automatic", and then joined the tour for 1999 to sing backing vocals with the Prince side-project Vanity 6.[2] After the tour, she moved to Minneapolis and became Prince's on-and-off again girlfriend.[3][4] She had a bit part as a waitress in the film Purple Rain (1984),[2] and had an appearance in the sequel Graffiti Bridge (1990), where she takes off an undergarment to end a conflicting scene with Prince. Her debut album was the self-titled Jill Jones (1987), released on Prince's Paisley Park Records. Prince was credited as a co-writer with Jones, but wrote all of the songs himself.[2] Lead single "Mia Bocca" became a top 10 hit in Italy in July 1987, peaking at #6.[5] Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics, but was not a commercial success. As of 2007, the album has been out of print for many years. Jill recorded numerous demo tracks in London in the late 1980s, including the tracks "Deep Kiss", "Unattainable Love", "Long Time", "Red", "White Dogs" & "Tango", among others. In 1989, she contributed a song ("The Ground You Walk On") to the soundtrack for the film Earth Girls Are Easy. Several demos were recorded for a second album on Paisley Park, and a video was filmed for the track "Boom Boom", but an album never surfaced. In 1993, she released the dance single "Bald" on Flying Records. Jones also did backing vocals for Apollonia 6 and recorded the Prince-written single "G-Spot". She also sang lead vocals on Japanese artist Ryuichi Sakamoto's single "You Do Me" from his 1990 album Beauty, and contributed a version of Blondie's "Call Me" to a Giorgio Moroder tribute album. In addition, Jones wrote and co-produced the song "The Great Pretender" for Lisa Lisa. She was also lead vocalist for the band Baby Mother, who recorded an album in 1995 for London Records, which remains unreleased. In 1996, she toured performing co-lead vocals as part of Chic with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards before his death, and can be heard on the 1999 Chic release "Live at the Budokan". The Prince song "She's Always in My Hair", a B-side to the single "Raspberry Beret" (1985), was written about Jones. Though Prince aided in the production of her first album, there was no input from Prince on the second one, which was more pop-rock oriented. From 2001 to the present, Jones has been performing acoustic rock as well as producing edgy and modern dance tracks. She is also featured in the unreleased Vanity 6 song "Vibrator". In this song, she does a skit in a department store where Vanity goes to get batteries for her vibrator. Prince is also in the skit. Jill provided vocals on a cover version of Carly Simon's "Why" on Ronny Jordan's album A Brighter Day in 2000 as well as contributing a cover version of Blondie's "Call Me" to a Giorgio Moroder tribute album. This was subsequently issued as a single with various remixes, including ones by Todd Terry and Mantronix. With the help of former Paisley Park photographer and close friend David Honl, Jones released a second album entitled Two in 2001, with instrumentalist Chris Bruce. Jones performed lead vocals on 2004's album, The Grand Royals featuring Jill Jones – Wasted. A collaboration with Dance outfit Funky Junction resulted in the single "Someone to Jump Up", which has appeared on various Hed Kandi compilation releases. In 2008, Jill Jones joined a performance in New York by Jeremy Gloff, coming up on stage to sing with Jeremy's cover of her song "So Much in Love"[6] On April 28, 2009, Jones released "Living for the Weekend" on the "Peace Bisquit" label. Although Wasted and Two are out of print, both albums can be found on the iTunes Store, along with "Living for the Weekend". 2014 saw the release of the single "This Is How It Feels" with Italian techno act Get Far. In August 2015, Jill made the track "Forbidden Love" available via Soundcloud. This track is from her dance album, released in February 2016 via Peace Bisquit. Jill also featured in the Feature Films Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge.
May 9, 2021
Episode 6: Marty Friedman RMN Podcast
Martin Adam Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American musician, known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well as his 13 solo albums and tours. Friedman has resided in Tokyo, Japan since 2003, where he has appeared on over 700 Japanese television programs such as Rock Fujiyama, Hebimeta-san, Kouhaku uta gassen[2] and Jukebox English.[3] He has released albums with several record labels, including Avex Trax, Universal, EMI, Prosthetic, and Shrapnel Records. When Cacophony disbanded in 1989, Friedman auditioned for the thrash metal band Megadeth after a tip from his friend Bob Nalbandian. Friedman officially joined Megadeth in February 1990.[7] Friedman's audition can be seen on the Megadeth DVD Arsenal of Megadeth. The first album he recorded with them was Rust in Peace which was released on September 24, 1990.[8] Rust in Peace was certified platinum by the RIAA in 1994 and was nominated for the Best Metal Performance Grammy at the 33rd Grammy Awards.[8][9] Friedman further developed his style of playing exotic scale solos from the Cacophony era, and integrated it into the music of Megadeth. In July 1992, Megadeth released Countdown to Extinction, which was a more commercial album, aimed at a wider audience, and sold double platinum.[8] Friedman played on Megadeth's further releases Youthanasia (1994), Cryptic Writings (1997), and Risk (1999). After a total of five studio albums with Megadeth, in December 1999 Friedman announced his departure from Megadeth.[7] His last show with them was on January 14, 2000. Friedman later stated that he got tired of "holding the flag" for traditional metal and felt that he could not evolve as a musician.[10] In an interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com in March 2007, Friedman claimed that he wanted Megadeth to move towards a more aggressive sound and that he'd rather have been playing straight pop music than the pop-influenced metal Megadeth was playing at the time.[11] During Friedman's time in the band, they sold over ten million albums worldwide.[12] During his time in Megadeth, Friedman released three solo albums between 1992 and 1996, which featured Megadeth bandmate Nick Menza on drums. Friedman appeared on the Tourniquet albums Where Moth and Rust Destroy (2003) and Antiseptic Bloodbath (2012), and Tourniquet drummer Ted Kirkpatrick's solo album Onward to Freedom In 2009, Friedman collaborated with Ema Gelotte and Tinna Karlsdotter from "All Ends" as the lead guitarist for the song "With Me" which was featured in the game, Sonic and the Black Knight. In 2010, Friedman launched a record label under Avex Group, called Gokukara Records.[13] In February 2010, during C. J. Ramone's Japan tour, he made a guest appearance on guitar for "California Sun", a cover song previously released by The Ramones on their 1977 album, Leave Home. In 2011, Friedman collaborated with Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z, providing guitar for their song "Mōretsu Uchū Kōkyōkyoku Dai 7 Gakushō "Mugen no Ai"", which would become a hit in 2012.[14][15] In 2011, Friedman also worked with Ayanocozey Show to make the song SAMURAI STRONG STYLE, theme of the Tokusatsu movie Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max[16] The catchphrase for the movie is "In Winter 2011, Movie War Will Evolve" (2011年冬、MOVIE大戦が〈進化〉する, Nisenjūichinen Fuyu, Mūbī Taisen ga Shinka Suru).[17] Friedman and Ayanocozey had previously worked together when they joined the Japanese promotional super-group FANTA, releasing the 2010 single "Fantastic Love". Friedman stood for the "F" in FANTA, Ayanocozey stood for the first "A", and the other members of the group made up the other letters. Friedman recorded with Daniel Tompkins of Tesseract in Tompkins' band Skyharbor's debut album, Blinding White Noise. At the end of 2012, a full album containing heavy metal covers of Momoiro Clover Z's songs was also released by a band named "Metal Clone X". Although band members remained anonymous, Friedman was cited as label producer and arranger.[18] In 2013, Friedman released his first library of guitar loops on LoopArtists. Friedman recorded collections of clean-tone, high gain lead and rhythm guitar loops that are intended for use in a production and remix environment.[19] Friedman has been doing concert tours for the Bravely Default original soundtrack in 2013 as well as the Budokan concert tours among others. In combination with these tours he has also released his new album Inferno in 2014 which he is now touring across Europe going to places such as Norway, Poland, Netherlands and Germany. In 2014, Friedman collaborated again with Momoiro Clover Z, providing the guitar track for their single "Moon Pride". The song was also used as the opening theme music for the television series Sailor Moon Crystal, which premiered in July that year.[20] In 2018, he collaborated with MAN WITH A MISSION's Jean-Ken Johnny, KenKen, and Kōji Fujimoto for the song "The Perfect World" which was used as main theme for Netflix Original anime series B: The Beginning.
May 9, 2021
Episode 17: Mary Wilson RMN Podcast
Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021)[1] was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of The Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history,[2] as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles,[a] ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other two original members Florence Ballard (in 1967) and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the trio disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. Continuing a successful career as a concert performer in Las Vegas, Wilson also worked in activism, fighting to pass Truth in Music Advertising bills and donating to various charities. Wilson was inducted along with Ross and Ballard (as members of the Supremes) Early life Mary Wilson was born March 6, 1944, to Sam, a butcher, and Johnnie Mae Wilson in Greenville, Mississippi.[3] She was the eldest of three children including a brother, Roosevelt, and a sister, Cathy.[3] The Wilsons moved to Chicago, part of the Great Migration in which her father joined many African Americans seeking work in the North,[4] but at age three, Mary Wilson was taken in by her aunt Ivory "I.V." and uncle John L. Pippin in Detroit.[5] Her parents eventually separated and Wilson’s mother and siblings later joined them in Detroit, though by then Wilson had come to believe I.V. was her real mother.[3] To make ends meet, Wilson's mother worked as a domestic worker.[citation needed] Wilson and her family had settled in the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, a housing project in Detroit[6] where Wilson first met Florence Ballard.[3] The duo became friends while singing in their school's talent show.[citation needed] In 1959, Ballard asked Wilson to audition for Milton Jenkins, who was forming a sister group to his male vocal trio,[citation needed] the Primes (two members of which were later in The Temptations).[3] Wilson was soon accepted into the group known as The Primettes, with Diana Ross and Betty McGlown, who lived in the same housing project with Wilson and Ballard.[3] In this period, Wilson also met Aretha, Erma and Carolyn Franklin, daughters of the pastor at her local Baptist church. Wilson graduated from Detroit's Northeastern High School in January 1962. The Supremes: 1959–1977 Main article: The Supremes Wilson (middle) performing with the Supremes The Primettes signed to Motown Records in 1961, changing the group's name to The Supremes. In between that period, McGlown left to get married and was replaced by Barbara Martin. In 1962, the group was reduced to a trio after Martin's departure. The Supremes scored their first hit in 1963 with the song, "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", and reached No. 1 on the pop charts for the first time with the hit, "Where Did Our Love Go", becoming their first of 12 No. 1 singles. (Though Wilson sang background on all of their hits before 1967, it was later revealed that Motown used in-house background singers, The Andantes, for the hits "Love Child" and "Someday We'll Be Together"). By 1964, the group had become international superstars. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy changed the name of the group to Diana Ross & The Supremes[7] and, after a period of tension, Florence Ballard was removed from the Supremes that July. Cindy Birdsong was chosen to take her place. The new lineup continued to record hit singles, although several stalled outside the top 20 chart range. Ross left the group in early 1970, and at her farewell performance Jean Terrell was introduced as the replacement for Ross. According to Wilson in her memoirs, Berry Gordy told Wilson that he thought of having Syreeta Wright join the group in a last-minute change, after Terrell had already been introduced as lead singer, to which Wilson refused. With Terrell, the Supremes recorded seven top-40 hit singles in a three-year period. One "River Deep/Mountain High" was a collaboration with the Four Tops. Other recodings by the trio which charted include; "Up the Ladder to the Roof", "Stoned Love", "Nathan Jones", and "Floy Joy". Of these releases, only "Stoned Love" reached a No. 1 status (R&B Chart). Unlike the latter years with Ross, however, all but one of the hits, "Automatically Sunshine", succeeded in reaching the top 20 charts, with two breaking into the top 10. During this period, Wilson contributed lead or co-lead vocals to several Supremes songs, including the hits "Floy Joy" and "Automatically Sunshine", and the title track of the 1971 album Touch. 1970 Motown advertisement in Billboard for the single "Stoned Love" and the album New Ways but Love Stays. In 1972, Cindy Birdsong left the group following marriage and pregnancy and was replaced by Lynda Lawrence. The group's popularity and place on record charts dropped significantly. For the first time in a decade, two singles in a row failed to break into the top 40, including the Stevie Wonder penned-and-produced "Bad Weather". Discouraged, Jean Terrell and Lynda Lawrence both departed in late 1973. Scherrie Payne was recruited from a group called The Glass House. They were signed to the Invictus label, owned by the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting-production team (who composed 10 of the Supremes No. 1 1960s singles). Cindy Birdsong also returned. Beginning with this lineup change, Wilson began doing almost half of the group's lead vocal duties, as she was considered the group's main attraction and reason for continuing. In 1975, Wilson sang lead on the Top 10 disco hit "Early Morning Love". In 1976, the group scored its final hit single with "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking", written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland Group and included on the H-D-H produced album High Energy. Birdsong again departed, just before the album's release, and was replaced by the group's final official member, Susaye Greene, whose voice was dubbed over two songs. High Energy produced a flurry of positive reviews and sales, but a follow-up H-D-H effort in 1977 failed to ignite much interest. In late 1977, Wilson left The Supremes, following a farewell performance at London's Drury Lane Theatre. After Payne and Greene unsuccessfully lobbied to get a replacement for Wilson, the Supremes officially disbanded. Solo career: 1979–2021 Wilson became involved in a protracted legal battle with Motown over management of the Supremes. After an out-of-court settlement, Wilson signed with Motown for solo work, releasing a disco-heavy self-titled album in 1979. A single from the album, "Red Hot", had a modest showing of No. 90 on the pop charts. Midway through production of a second solo album in 1980, Motown dropped her from its roster. Throughout the mid-1980s, Wilson focused on performances in musical theater productions, including Beehive, Dancing in the Streets, and Supreme Soul. Wilson found major success once more with her memoir: Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme in 1986. The book remained on the national best-seller list for months and established a sales record for the genre. The book focused on the early career of the Supremes and its success during the 1960s. Four years later, in 1990, Wilson released her second memoir: Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together, also a best seller, which focused on the Supremes in the 1970s. In between this period, Wilson became a frequent guest on several television programs and talk shows and began regularly performing in Las Vegas casinos and resorts. Wilson then recorded a cover version of "Ooh Child" for the Motorcity label in 1990. A year later, she signed with CEO Records and released the album, Walk the Line, in 1992. The label filed for bankruptcy the day after its national release. Wilson maintained that she was deceived about the financial status of the label. The available copies of the album quickly sold out, however, and Wilson continued her success as a concert performer. Wilson fought two court cases with former employees over usage of the Supremes name; Supremes' replacement singers Lynda Lawrence and Scherrie Payne and a former backing vocalist from her 1980s concert work, Kaaren Ragland. In both cases the courts found for the employees.[8] This prompted Wilson to take a high-profile role in lobbying for "Truth in Music" legislation, which prohibits usage of musical acts names, unless an original member of the group is in the act or the group is properly licensed by the last person to hold right of title to the name. Her efforts succeeded in more than 28 U.S. states. In 1995, Wilson released a song, ".U", for Contract Recording Company. A year later, Wilson released the song, "Turn Around" for Da Bridge Records. In late 1999, a proposal to unite all former living Supremes for a summer 2000 tour, was negotiated by Ross and SFX. After securing SFX's interest, Ross had the promoter contact the other former members, refusing to directly negotiate with the other members, in order to spare any hurt feelings among the women. Talks and plans for the tour were well underway before Wilson was contacted by Ross in December 1999. Wilson, upset she had been contacted so late, wanted to speak with Ross directly before beginning negotiations. Ross felt they should speak after negotiations took place. Following Ross' initial contact, she removed herself from the negotiations leaving them between the women, their representatives, and the promoters. Both Wilson and Ross knew that the real heart of The Supremes was the trio that included the very creator of the group, Florence Ballard. Despite the hard knowledge of show business realities, without Ballard negotiations could only be half-hearted in such a return to the groups past formulations. Still, pushing on, TNA/SFX initially offered Wilson $1 million. Birdsong was reported to have been offered less than $1 million. Wilson and Birdsong were also informed they would not have any creative input into the show. Wilson rejected the initial offer feeling she, Ross, and Birdsong should be paid equally and have equal input into the show. Promoters increased Wilson's offer up to $2 million after the initial rejection. Ross then agreed to offer Wilson another $2 million from her personal finances added to the $2 million TNA/SFX proposed for a total of $4 million. Wilson and Birdsong's request for creative input into the show was again rejected. Ross stipulated that all of the other artists' fees were guaranteed, meaning that they'd receive the full amount of their contracts, regardless of how many performances actually took place. Wilson erroneously stated publicly that Ross was to receive between $15 to $20 million. Ross, as the tour's co-producer, was receiving $500,000 per night from TNA/SFX to cover the tour's expenses. When the expenses exceeded the allotment, Ross covered the overages. Wilson's final offer of $4 million and Birdsong's offer of $1 million came with a deadline of early 2000 (in order to begin production of the sets, costume fittings, hiring of staff, etc., and an on-schedule commencement of the tour). Wilson did accept the final offer, but her acceptance was rejected by TNA/SFX citing "the train has left the station." The promoter ceased negotiations with Wilson and Birdsong. Without Wilson or Birdsong, Ross began to question whether to continue to stage the tour. Berry Gordy Jr. had called TNA/SFX during the negotiation process requesting that Wilson and Birdsong receive better pay and have creative input into the show. Ross contacted Gordy for advice about the tour and he reportedly told her to continue "if it's something she'd have fun doing;" however, he warned her about continuing without Wilson and Birdsong. Ross decided to continue. The tour, Return to Love, instead went forward with former 1970s Supremes Scherrie Payne and Lynda Lawrence (Susaye Green and Jean Terrell refused to participate because the promoter requested that they audition for the tour, as they had not heard the women sing in over 20 years), but, was canceled mid-tour due low ticket sales (despite selling out New York City's Madison Square Garden ), following complaints of high ticket prices in a down touring market, a spate of high scrutiny by some members of the public, and press regarding the absence of some performers (i.e. Wilson and Birdsong), and the dispute between versions of events. That year, Wilson released an updated version of her autobiographies as a single combined book.[9] That same year, an album, I Am Changing, was released by Mary Wilson Enterprises, produced through her and her then-management, Duryea Entertainment. In 2001, Wilson starred in the national tour of Leader of the Pack – The Ellie Greenwich Story. A year later, Wilson was appointed by Secretary of State Colin Powell as a "culture-connect ambassador" for the U.S. State Department, appearing at international events arranged by that agency. In 2006, a live concert DVD, Mary Wilson Live at the Sands, was released. Four years later, another DVD, Mary Wilson: Live from San Francisco... Up Close, was released. During this period, Wilson became a musical activist, having been part of the Truth in Music Bill, a law proposed to stop impostor groups performing under the names of the 1950s and 1960s rock and roll groups, including Motown groups The Marvelettes and The Supremes. The law was passed in 27 states. Wilson also toured and lectured internationally, as well as across the United States, speaking to multiple groups worldwide. Her lecture series, "Dare to Dream", focuses on reaching goals and triumph over adversity. Wilson's charity work included the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the American Cancer Society, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, the Easter Seals Foundation, UNICEF, The NAACP, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the All-Star Network, and Figure Skaters of Harlem, a youth organization devoted to helping children towards entering the Olympics. Most recently, Wilson became the Mine Action spokesperson for the Humpty Dumpty Institute.[10] Wilson at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2019 In April 2008, Wilson made a special appearance on 20/20 to participate in a social experiment involving pedestrians reacting to a young woman singing "Stop! In the Name of Love" with intentional amateurishness. Wilson approached the woman and gave her constructive criticism toward her style, in contrast to the pedestrians whose reactions were positive, yet dishonest. On March 5, 2009, she made a special appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show, which ended in a special performance with her, O'Grady, and Graham Norton. Wilson created the "Mary Wilson/Supremes Gown Collection", and had the collection tour in an exhibition of the Supremes' stage wear. The collection has been on exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio and on May 12, 2008, commenced its UK tour, starting at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. More than 50 sets of gowns are shown in rotation, starting with early formal wear from the early 1960s, and including famous gowns worn on television specials and nightclub appearances by the group in the 1960s and 1970s.[11] Wilson released two singles on iTunes, "Life's Been Good To Me" and "Darling Mother (Johnnie Mae)", in 2011 and 2013, respectively. In 2015, Wilson released a new single, "Time To Move On", produced by Sweet Feet Music; the song reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Dance charts history, peaking at No. 17 as of December 26.[12] At 36 years and seven weeks, Mary Wilson holds the record for the longest gap between hits in the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart as "Red Hot" debuted on October 6, 1979[13] and "Time To Move On" debuted on November 21, 2015. In 2016, an Indiegogo campaign was launched to help raise $35,000 to fund a gay-themed romantic comedy movie, "Please Don't Eat the Pansies". The cast includes actor/writer Ronnie Kerr, Andrew Lauer, singer/actor Tom Goss, and Wilson.[14] On August 15, 2019, Wilson published her fourth book, Supreme Glamour with co-author Mark Bego, dedicated to the history of the Supremes and their fashion with a detailed section dedicated to the Supremes gowns in her collection. That same month, she was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars.[15] Wilson and her professional partner Brandon Armstrong were the first couple to be eliminated from the competition on September 23, 2019.
May 9, 2021
Episode 1: Michael Franzese RMN Podcast
Michael Franzese (born May 27, 1951) is an American former New York mobster and caporegime of the Colombo crime family, and son of former underboss John "Sonny" Franzese. Franzese was enrolled in a pre-med program at Hofstra University, but dropped out to make money for his family after his father was sentenced to 50 years in prison for bank robbery in 1967. He eventually helped implement a scheme to defraud the federal government out of gasoline taxes in the early 1980s. By the age of 35, in 1986, Fortune Magazine listed Franzese as number 18 on its list of the "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses". Franzese had claimed that at the height of his career, he generated up to $8 million per week. In 1986, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges, released in 1989, rearrested in 1991 for a parole violation, and ultimately released in 1994. Soon after, he retired to California and is now a motivational speaker and writer.
May 9, 2021
Episode 7: Monte Moir RMN Podcast
Monte Moir is the original and current keyboardist for The Time, as well as a songwriter and producer for Janet Jackson, Alexander O'Neal, Gladys Knight, as well as the duo Deja (Curt Jones & Starleana Young). He is also credited for working with Prince, Vanity 6, Deniece Williams, Thelma Houston, Steven Dante, Lolly Pop, Precious Wilson and various other artists. Some of his greatest writing successes were writing the first side of Alexander O'Neal's solo debut – including "If You Were Here Tonight" and "The Pleasure Principle'[1] by Janet Jackson. Patti Austin and Thelma Houston are other notable artists he wrote classics for as part of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's 'The Secret'. Monte is something of a cult writing figure in the world of soulful music. "In My Life" by Ruby Turner as well as Steven Dante's "It's Only Love" are key examples of his songwriting. He left The Time soon after Jam and Lewis were released by Prince, following conflicting writing interests with The SOS Band and failing to make a concert. However, he rejoined The Time for their Pandemonium album and Prince's final film Graffiti Bridge, in the late 1980s when the original Time members reunited. Monte Moir continues to produce his own material, play keyboards for an amended version of the band and to produce for various artists. He most recently surfaced on the 59th Annual Grammy Awards with The Time, and was credited on Rihanna's 2016 Grammy nominated track "Work".
May 9, 2021
Episode 8: Paul Oakenfold RMN Podcast
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963),[3] formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer and trance DJ. He is a three-time Grammy Award and two-time World Music Awards nominee. He was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World twice in 1998 and 1999 by DJ Magazine. Oakenfold has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Massive Attack, The Cure, New Order, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses and Michael Jackson. In 1987, Oakenfold travelled to the island of Ibiza for a week to celebrate his birthday. Trevor Fung, Nicky Holloway, Ian Saint Paul, Danny Rampling and Johnny Walker accompanied him. Oakenfold convinced the owner of a venue in England to host an "Ibiza Reunion" party after-hours. He had previously made an attempt, but it failed as the crowd was not prepared for the acid house style until 1987 when the party was successful. After that, the night became a classic and became one of the UK's major acid house nights, known as Spectrum at Heaven in Charing Cross. The party was best known for the "Theatre of Madness", as more than 1,500 people were present on Monday nights, until it went down; with the financial issues it changed its name to the "Land of Oz". Artists like Alex Paterson DJ'd in the VIP chillout area known as the "White Room", which gave Oakenfold more free time, and then he began producing music under the alias "Electra" in 1988.[10] Members included Nick Divaris, John "Johnny" Rocca and Micky. As they continued releasing only four singles as the Balearic beat band Electra, in Full Frequency Range Recordings (FFRR Records) founded and run by Radio 1's Pete Tong, the duo created a new alias under the name Perfecto. Also in 1988 he decided to create a place where new artists could develop their careers. At that moment, Perfecto Records was born. He collaborated with his friend Steve Osborne on various projects. In 1990, he worked with Terry Farley, Andrew Weatherall and Osborne on two remixes for Happy Mondays. The remixes of "Rave On" and "Hallelujah" were released on the Madchester Rave On EP, as well as "Step On", a covered version adapted from John Kongos' 1971 hit "He's Gonna Step On You". The song reached the Top 5 position in the UK. He was invited as a guest DJ to Spike Island, a gig with The Stone Roses. Pleased with the last single, the Happy Mondays gave Oakenfold and Osborne the opportunity to produce their third studio album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. The album entered the UK charts at #1 with pre-sales of 150,000. The album was named NME's "1990 Album of The Year", and both Oakenfold and Osborne won the 1991 Brit Award for "Best Producer"
May 9, 2021
Episode 14: Paul Peterson RMN Podcast (Part 1)
Paul Joseph Peterson (born October 18, 1964), also known as St. Paul Peterson, is a singer and musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Peterson was the youngest son in a musical family. He was discovered by Prince in 1983 and groomed to replace Monte Moir as keyboardist of R&B band The Time. Peterson gained exposure when the band appeared in the hit movie Purple Rain. When The Time broke up in 1984, Prince gathered the remnants to form The Family, with Peterson as lead singer. The group's tenure was brief, performing live only once (at First Avenue, where Purple Rain was filmed). Peterson left to pursue a solo career, releasing his eponymous debut album in 1987. Peterson released two singles, "Intimacy" and "Rich Man" from the album, as well as a video for the latter one. Prince wrote a song about Peterson's early departure from The Family called "Dream Factory", which was later released on 1998's Crystal Ball compilation. Peterson released two solo albums in the 1990s on Atlantic Records and a live recording with the group the Minneapolis All-Stars. His last solo album, Everything, was released in 2004. Peterson is also a session musician and has backed up many acts in concert. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Peterson toured as a member of the Steve Miller Band. He has also toured with Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs, Donny Osmond, David Sanborn, Oleta Adams and most recently Peter Frampton. In 1990, he released a song, "Every Heart Needs a Home", on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Soundtrack. From 1998 to 2000, he was the bassist in the house band on the Donny & Marie TV program. He was the Program Chair for the Audio and Recording arts at Minneapolis Media Institute until leaving in June 2016 to tour with Peter Frampton as a bass player. Peterson produced two songs and co-produced two more songs on Oleta Adams' 2009 album, Let's Stay Here. He also played on the album, which was released April 21, 2009. In June 2011, Peterson and three other members of The Family reunited as fDeluxe and released a record called Gaslight in September 2011. Since then, fDeluxe has released RELIT, and most recently "AM Static," a collection of covers done in the classic fDeluxe style. In 2017, St. Paul rekindled his band St. Paul and the Minneapolis Funk All Stars, toured in Australia in 2018 playing 2 shows at the Sydney Opera House with the show titled "Nothing Compares 2 Prince." He's also played concerts for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Minnesota Vikings and in 2019 played the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. In 2019, St. Paul started releasing new music under his own name again. His first, "You Got 2 Love" in January and 'Minne Forget Me Not" in July. Peterson is married and has two children, and resides in the Minneapolis area. Peterson's daughter Taylor (under the name Jeanne Taylor), released her debut EP "Jeanne" on November 12, 2016 Paul also sung the famous version of Nothing Compares 2 u as the Family's version was the one the world heard first.
