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Join us on the Voices Of Russ Ballard with our very special guest, the voice of Tower Of Power and Santana, Ray Greene.
Ray talks about his graduation from the Berkeley School of Music, playing alongside Aretha Franklin, Rick James, The Isley Brothers and of course, Tower Of Power. Some great music along the way too. Look out for Part Two coming soon…..
(this episode was recorded just before the passing of the great Quincy Jones. RIP)
“You give 100% every time you go that stage”
Ray Greene
“The music business has been phenomenal for me, especially the last 10
/15 years of my life”
Ray Greene
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The final episode with special guest Paul Shortino features a live chat between him and his friend from the “Rock Meets Classic” tour of Germany, Russ Ballard himself.
A fascinating insight into their views on the music scene today and how technology is shaping the industry, together with hilarious stories guaranteed to make you smile. Oh and a couple of surprises along the way….don’t miss it!
“Russ, I love you like a brother from another….”
Paul Shortino
“Paul, I feel the same way…..”
Russ Ballard
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Manglende episoder?
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The second part of Ian’s chat with Paul Shortino in which he gives us a fascinating insight to his landmark appearance at Hear N’Aid (America’s rock equivalent to Band Aid), as well as detailing the close association with his mentor, Ronnie James Dio. Apart from Paul’s infectious personality, enjoy more good music and commentary from his solo career and numerous collaborations including Carmine Appice’s band, King Kobra.
“That has changed recently. Russ Ballard gave me chills every night on Rock Meets Classic when I heard him sing “You Can Do Magic”. It has have to be his version, no one else’s version of song. “
Paul Shortino’s response when asked “what is your favourite song of all time?”
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Sven is taking a break from the show so Ian kicks off a new series chatting to the legendary Paul Shortino from his home in Las Vegas.
Part 1 features Paul’s climb to stardom from a young age, his role as “Duke Fame” in the movie “This is Spinal Tap”, Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot and much more. He also talks passionately about his recent tour of Germany on “Rock Meets Classic” and his affinity with Russ Ballard and all the other performing artists on that stage.
“I’m sure Russ Ballard could have written a hit song for me!”
Paul Shortino
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Welcome to the landmark edition of The Voices of Russ Ballard Podcast…..this is the 25th edition since we launched in the summer of 2020.
Part Two of Ian and Sven’s conversation with Mike Moran concentrates on his collaboration with the one and only Freddie Mercury and there are some legendary stories to hear.
Discover how Mike takes Freddie to his local Garden Centre, Freddie tells Mike to keep playing that “Flashy Sh*t” on the keyboards, Mike becomes the only non Queen member to co write a song on a Queen Album and of course, Mike and Freddie create a new musical genre…..all this and more, it’s a must listen!
“They could have given Rami a smaller set of false teeth”
Mike Moran on Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the Bohemian Rhapsody movie
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In Part Two of this Voices Podcast with Ian and Sven, the conversation with Bob Bradbury is concluded and they discuss (amongst other things) the gradual demise of Glam Rock in 1977. Bob also tells us about other projects in his fascinating career including The Boomtown Rats, Glam Rock Allstars and solo projects.
“In 1977 we started getting punk and that killed it”
Bob Bradbury on the demise of Glam Rock during the late 1970’s -
The Voices of Russ Ballard Podcast ends the year with a bumper Christmas Eve edition featuring the legendary and multi talented Francie Conway. Francie tells of his excitement working with Russ, Chris White, and Argent and how his big break came along out of nowhere. Links and stories relating to Queen, Alistair Campbell, Henry McCullough (Wings and Joe Cocker), Noddy Holder, Chris Rea and more are all here….we also play some great music from Francie’s career including his brand new single “Christmas Night”.
“I learnt my songwriting skills from the best,…..Chris White and Russ Ballard”
Francie Conway
“People say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, suddenly I was going to record with them…”
Francie Conway on being in a recording studio (for the first time) with Russ, Chris White, Bob Henrit, Jim Rodford, and John Verity -
Ian and Sven conclude their conversation with Graham Bonnet from his home in LA and we hear from Beth Ami Heavenstone too.
“No”
Graham Bonnet when asked if he does anything special to keep his unbelievable voice in shape.
“It’s just pure fluke, maybe one day it will just go but I don’t think it will happen anytime soon. My voice is me. This is what I do.”
Graham Bonnet when asked about the potential longevity of his voice.
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Ian and Sven are proud to share their conversation with a member of rock royalty, Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Alcatrazz and many more). Graham has recorded many Russ Ballard songs over the years and they are all featured here. Hear many great stories from his Rainbow days including the late, great Cozy Powell and Ritchie Blackmore himself.
“Cozy would say “Here comes the F…. Bank Manager”
Graham Bonnet describing how Cozy Powell greeted him at breakfast on tour with Rainbow
“Don Airey came up to me and said, do you know we are the only two in this band who have got hair”
A hair raising story from Graham Bonnet…..
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Ian and Sven start 2024 with a very special guest who has one of the most versatile and powerful voices in rock, Robert Hart.
He has worked with or alongside, the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Sly Stone, The Jacksons, Bad Company, Zak Starkey, Vince Gill, Chic, Kenney Jones, Manfred Mann, Russ Ballard….need I go on? Have a listen to Robert discussing an incredible career in music and also talking about his new album, “Circus Life”.
Manfred Mann in conversation with Robert Hart
“Don’t think of me as your boss, think of me as a friend who can fire you”
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Join Ian and Sven for a one off Voices of Russ Ballard special featuring the legendary drummer Bob Henrit (Kinks, Argent, Unit 4 Plus 2, Adam Faith and the Roulettes).
Bob talks about his new project “Borough Beats” which is a local exhibition celebrating many of the talented musicians who grew up in the Borough of Broxbourne including Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The Roulettes, Russ Ballard and of course, Bob himself.The exhibition runs until June 2024.
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Ian and Sven present the final episode of their conversation with Mike Moran. We discuss the diversity of Mike’s brilliant career, his friendship with George Harrison (including singing backing vocals with three of The Beatles on a recording session), the day the Pythons asked for money, Ozzy Osbourne and so much more.
“George and I got on well and stayed friends until he died.”
Mike on George Harrison
“Here I am, in between George Harrison and Paul McCartney singing backing vocals with George Martin looking at us through the glass. If anybody had told me…….”
Mike talking about how he did a lot of work with George Harrison
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Welcome back to the Voices of Russ Ballard for another fascinating interview this time with the incredibly talented Mike Moran whose expertise spans so many different musical genres.In Part One we learn about his journey from the Royal College of Music (starting the same day as Rick Wakeman) to playing with 70's Rock bands and much more. Oh and that Eurovision song too…..“Reluctantly, I became an England International”Mike Moran talking about his appearance on Eurovision “I quite like being called a Professor”Mike Moran on his achievement of being Professor of Jazz Piano at The Royal College of Music
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The Voices of Russ Ballard Podcast is back and in this episode Ian and Sven talk to the frontman of the band Fugitive who have been established for over 30 years. Michael Angel tells the story of how a “legend” offered his help which culminated in two tracks written and produced by Russ Ballard. These songs are from the new album “Nobody Gets Out Alive” (released on 26th May) which is exclusively showcased here. Also listen to their fascinating story ranging from being homeless and sleeping in a van to working with a musician who has been responsible for over 100m record sales.
“I ended up homeless and living in a van” -Mike Angel
“Russ is so good at making you feel at ease” -Mike Angel on Russ Ballard -
Ian and Sven present the last of our three Podcasts with very special guest Leo Sayer and we are joined by Russ Ballard himself for a long awaited catch up with Leo.
The boys talk about Russ’s musical contributions on “Silverbird” and his production of “Another Year” for Leo as well as both providing fascinating anecdotes from their multi million selling recording careers.
To date the duo have unfortunately never written any songs together but following this Podcast, that might be about to change…..
"I wanted to write songs with Leo in 1976"
Russ Ballard on Leo Sayer
“Great talking to Russ again, he’s a wonderful man”
Leo Sayer on Russ Ballard
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Ian and Sven follow up their highly acclaimed Podcast featuring Leo Sayer with part 2 of the chat which focuses on some amazing stories, told the only way Leo can.
These include how he became (after falling 25 feet off the stage), the last person to speak to Elvis before the King passed. Expect also to hear about sitting in British Airways First Class where he and Mohammed Ali became close friends and how Leo taught him and other famous boxers, how to to sing…..
We also discuss his latest releases “Selfie” and “Northern Songs” as well some fun “desert island” questions.
Elvis Presley (to Leo Sayer)
“This is Elvis Aaron Presley and you Make Me Feel Like Dancing “
Muhammad Ali (to Leo Sayer)
“I love you Leo”
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We have an outstanding start to 2023 thanks to an extra special guest on the Voices of Russ Ballard Podcast with Ian and Sven, the one and only Leo Sayer who just celebrated 50 years in the music business.
This is part 1 of two Podcasts with Leo himself before we feature a fascinating conversation with Leo and Russ in the final episode.
We start here with the early years and many of Leo’s hits are featured, as well as recollections of his first taste of fame thanks to Roger Daltrey recording his songs. Hear Leo describe his career in detail playing with amazing musicians in LA (Steve Lukather, Larry Carlton, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, Leland Sklar, David Paich and Tom Scott to name but a few) when he was at his peak as a household name and “TV personality”. And with Leo there are always some great stories to tell.
The Podcast finishes with a Voices of Russ Ballard exclusive……is it true that Toto asked Leo to be their lead singer even before their first album was released?
Join us and find out!
Roger Daltrey (talking about Leo Sayer) “You wait until you hear this guy, he’s a better singer than me….”
Leo Sayer (on Russ Ballard) “He not only plays guitar but also mind-blowing piano. He’s very wise and very cool”
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Ian and Sven return in conversation with a 70s Glam Rock ICON who is part of Russ’s rich history and also recorded on of his most popular songs “New York Groove” (covered by Ace Frehley for Kiss amongst others).
Bob Bradbury fronted the band Hello! for many years and all their singles are featured/discussed here together with much more during Part One.
“David Bowie was doing “Starman” …he looked amazing……we had a chat and he gave me some fantastic tips on how to act in front of the camera”
Bob Bradbury on David Bowie and himself on Top Of The Pops in the early 70s -
The Podcast is back after a short break following Russ’s successful UK tour in early 2022 and his guest appearance at the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire supporting Rick Wakeman.
Ian and Sven speak with David and The Duchess from “Space Elevator”, the band that were set to support Russ on his German tour that was cancelled two days before commencement thanks to Covid.
Hear tracks from the excellent new Space Elevator album “Persona Non Grata” as well as soundbites from their previous two releases and enjoy an insight into how these talented musicians made their journey to becoming professional musicians.
“How do people make a living as a musician if they’re not in Queen or something?"
David Young when contemplating his decision to become a professional musician.
“We are not just going to take over the world, we want to get beyond the world’s atmosphere and go up in a Space Elevator…..we just wanted to be larger then life I guess”
The Duchess tells us about choosing the name for the band. -
Ian and Sven complete their conversation with Steve Rodford with a Podcast dedicated to the life of his father, Jim Rodford. This coincides with the publication of a book about his life called “Jim Rodford Sideman, The Jim Rodford Story”.
Enjoy some brilliant anecdotes along the way as well as an exciting exclusive…..Steve reveals a lost track he recently found by the GB Blues Company featuring the Argent rhythm section (Jim and Bob Henrit) and the Mike Cotton Sound Horn Section. It’s called “ No Place” and you can hear it here for the first time anywhere in the world.
“I’d like to think that Dad was a big part of bringing rock and roll back to the Kinks” - Steve Rodford speaking about Jim Rodford.
“It”s What I do” - Jim Rodford on himself playing live gigs.
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