My guest today is dear friend and an ex-colleague, Derrick Mc Court.

Derrick and I first met in 2001 when he joined Microsoft in Ireland. Our paths crossed many times and in many ways over the years and it has always been a pleasure to spend time with him.

Today he is General Manager of the Customer Success Unit in Microsoft UK and sits on the UK Board. A quick look at his LinkedIn Profile will show the considerable skills he has but for me the most significant thing is that in amongst all the corporate madness he has managed to remain impressively grounded and that comes across in our chat.

Derrick has three passions which are key to him keeping his feet on the ground the first of which is his family. He was born in 1969 and grew up in Belfast during ‘The Troubles’ which he reflects on in a typically thoughtful and moving way. For the past 15 years home has been in Edinburgh where he lives with his wife and their two boys Conner and Joe. His eldest boy Jamie got married last week and his daughter Lucy lives in London and works in I.T.

The second passion, as you will hear is music and at festivals like Download that is shared with Connor and Joe.

His final passion is running, and he is well on the way to completing the ‘Big 6’ Marathons and getting his ‘Six Star Finisher Medal’. Music and Playlists are clearly an important part of his running regime hence the title of the episode.

Derrick’s song selections are:

70’s I’ve Got A Feeling The Beatles

80’s Alive And Kicking Simple Minds

90’s Paranoid Android Radiohead

00’s I Predict A Riot Kaiser Chiefs

10’s X-Ray Visons Clutch

20’s Mr. Motivator Idles

Enjoy 😊

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

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My guest in this episode is Lynn Asher ( www.lynnasher.com ) who was introduced to Music Talks by a recent guest Paul Webb (Ep 92).

Lynn is a native of Portland Maine but she had a childhood dream to move to California. It took some time to fulfil her dream but this year Lynn celebrates 30 years living in California and her musical career spans a similar timescale.

Despite being a ‘late bloomer’ Lynn has performed and recorded with many big names in the music business including:

· Big Brother & The Holding Company

· Jerry Harrison - Talking Heads,

· Bob Weir- Grateful Dead

· Narada Michael Walden - Producer - Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand. Drummer for Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, & Journey.

Lynn writes her own original material, one of which is the song choice for the 2000’s and was also the assistant to Tracy Chapman for a time. As you will hear at the start of the episode there was also a live appearance with a big musical hero of mine ……

In 2009, Lynn became a vocal coach and it has become a real passion, particularly working with young singers, one of which provides her song choice for the 2020’s (www.annaharrell.net )

Lynn’s story is a great musical journey but there is also a personal journey and adversity to be dealt with. In Lynn’s case this was dealing with Breast Cancer on three occasions, and I hope you find her insight into how she thought and dealt with that as inspirational as I did.

Lynn’s song choices are.

60’s - Hey Jude - The Beatles

70’s - You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees

80’s - You Can Sleep While I Drive - Melissa Etheridge

90’s - Why - Annie Lennox

00’s - Now That You’re Gone - Lynn Asher

10’s - Freedom - (From ‘Django Unchained’)

20’s - Night Light - Anna Harrell

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Claire Sanderson who was introduced to the show by an early guest and now a dear friend, Ian Braisby.

Claire was born and grew up in Cornwall with her parents and two elder brothers. She describes her childhood as being ‘surrounded by all types of music’ and that breadth is reflected in her song choices and the much longer list she sent to me. Her song choices are:

80’s I Should Be So Lucky Kylie Minogue

90’s I’ll Do Anything For Love (But I Wont Do That) Meat Loaf

00’s Song For The Road David Ford

10’s F**kin’ Perfect Pink

20’s I’ll See You In My Dreams Bruce Springsteen

At 18 Claire moved to Cardiff to study Music at the University and has had the good sense to stay in the city ever since. By day she is a Civil Servant, but flexible working enables her to follow her passion for music as a serious amateur musician who plays in an orchestra and sings in a choir. She also recently started doing on-line talks about music which you can find at

https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/?categories=music

Music has been a constant in Claire’s life, and it has provided both comfort and joy. But she also talks very openly about the challenges she faced in studying and playing at the highest level and there are great lessons for all of us in that story.

A recent convert to the delights of Bruce Frederick Springsteen the episode closes with a poignant song choice from his most recent album ‘Letter To You’ and a Music Talks first where we play two versions of the same song !

Enjoy 😊

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Mark Dempsey who comes to Music Talks via my dear friend Jesse Jackson at the great Podcast ‘SetLustingBruce’.

Like all Springsteen fans Mark is passionate about Bruce’s music but the joy of this episode is how much passion Mark has for all his song choices. If any of them are new to you I’m certain you will be seeking them out after having heard Mark talk about them and they are great choices:

70’s - Three Steps To Heaven Showaddywaddy

80’s - Dancing In The Dark Bruce Springsteen

90’s - Polaroids Shawn Colvin

00’s - Stuck Between Stations The Hold Steady

10’s - The Ceiling The Wild Feathers

20’s - No Mercy Nils Lofgren

Bristol born and bred Mark celebrated his 50th birthday at the end of 2023 and so doing Music Talks was a good opportunity to look back and reflect. He has lived most of his life in the South West of England but for five years between 2011 and 2016 he and his wife Catherine lived in Toronto.

With the same passion and enthusiasm he shows for music, Mark talks us through the delight of moving from ‘sleepy Wiltshire’ to the most multicultural and multiracial city in the world. As you would expect that experience also informs his song choice for the 2010's.

In 94 episodes of Music Talks there have been many great stories, but Mark’s closing story in ‘Final Thoughts’ is one of my absolute favourites. It’s also where the title of the episode comes from but that’s all im going to say ……….

Enjoy 😊

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This time of year isn’t just the season of goodwill it’s also the season of “Best Of” lists and it’s part of the musical year that I love.

It’s always good to know that things you like are also enjoyed by others but the real joy for me is gaining new insight into albums I’ve enjoyed or discovering albums that I have missed.

My hope is that this episode will do some of that for you.

As in previous years I am joined by my Podcast pal Steven Routledge and we both talk through our Top 10 albums and play a short clip from each of them.

In this Part 2 we each count down from 5 to 1 and reveal our ‘Album of the Year '

‘Chapter Markers’ contains full details of songs/artists/albums and there is a summary list below. You can also use 'Chapter markers ' to play individual choices if you wish.

Steven's Album Choices:
5 – ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ - Teenage Fanclub

4 – ‘Rat Saw God’ - Wednesday

3 – ‘The Ballad of Darren’ - Blur

2 – ‘It All Began With Loneliness’ - The Anchoret

1 – Roll Up A” Song - Gonzalez Smith

My Album Choices:
5 – ‘IDES’ - King Creosote

4 – ‘Joy’All’ -Jenny Lewis

3 – ‘Strays’ - Margo Price

2 – The Great White Sea Eagle - James Yorkston/Nina Persson/ The Second Hand Orchestra

1 – ‘The Candle and the Flame’ - Robert Forster

Please do let me know what you think of these choices and particularly if there is new music you like. You can do that by emailing me at musictalkspod@outlook.com , I really look forward to hearing from you.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and lets hope 2024 is another great year for music.

Music Talks will be back with the first episode of the New Year on Thursday February 1st, 2024.

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This time of year isn’t just the season of goodwill it’s also the season of “Best Of” lists and it’s part of the musical year that I love.

It’s always good to know that things you like are also enjoyed by others but the real joy for me is gaining new insight into albums I’ve enjoyed or discovering albums that I have missed.

My hope is that this episode will do some of that for you.

As in previous years I am joined by my Podcast pal Steven Routledge and we both talk through our Top 10 albums and play a short clip from each of them.

In this part we count down from 10 to 5 and in Part 2 (released on 28/12/23) we go from 5 to 1.

'Chapter Markers' contains full details of songs/artists/albums and there is a summary list below. You can also use 'Chapter markers ' to play individual choices if you wish.

Steven's Album Choices:
10 - 'Stone' by BARONESS
9 - 'In Between Thoughts ...A New World' by Rodrigo y Gabriela
8 - 'The Storm Rages On by James McKeiver & The Starry Sky Band
7 - 'Bird Machine' by Sparklehorse
6 - 'Oromet' by Oromet

My Album Choices:
10 - 'Black Bay' by Silver Moth
9 - 'Folded Landscapes' by Erland Cooper & the Scottish Ensemble
8 - 'My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross' by Anohni & The Johnsons
7 - 'First Two Pages of Frankenstein' by The National
6 - 'Every Acre' by H.C. McEntire

Please do let me know what you think of these choices and particularly if there is new music you like. You can do that by emailing me at musictalkspod@outlook.com , I really look forward to hearing from you.

Have a great Christmas and here’s to 2024 being another great year for music.

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is award winning author and playwright Gabriel Bergmoser.

Gabriel is one of my youngest guests at 32 but, as you will hear, he has packed a lot into those years and he describes himself as ‘crime author, playwright, podcaster, actor, dog lover and massive Springsteen fan’.

He was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was a few months old and that has been home over since. He now lives in Melbourne but does a great job of painting a picture of what growing up in rural Australia was like for a creative, non-sporty boy who was an aggressively average student (his phrase not mine!)

A visit to the cinema to see ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ lit his creative spark and it has stayed with him ever since. A quick glance at his Wiki page (Gabriel Bergmoser - Wikipedia) will show how prodigious and successful he has been over the past 10 years.

Highlights include winning the Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award in 2015 and four years later signing a two-book deal with Harper Collins. The first of the books was ‘The Hunted’ which was a worldwide success and resulted in a book deal with Faber in the UK and a subsequent film deal.

Despite all that success Gabriel is clear eyed about the reality of being a creative in 2023 and the fact that there will always be ups and downs whoever you are. Similarly, he delivers a strong message about hard work and application being more important than talent and the need at times to ‘Just Do It’.

As you would expect he tells a great story around each of his song selection which were:

90’s Kiss Me Sixpence None the Richer

00’s Mr. Brightside The Killers

10’s Unbelievers Vampire Weekend

20’s Dorothea Taylor Swift

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Paul Webb who comes to the show via an introduction from a previous guest Nick Sheppard (Ep.53) – Many thanks Nick.

Paul is a self-confessed ‘Music Talks Junkie’ and I love the fact that he listens to the episodes on his journey to and from Fly Fishing. Originally from the UK he’s lived in the U.S for over 30 years and now has the joy of living in Bend, Oregon which I am very jealous of having had a couple of delightful holidays there and at one point we seriously considered retiring there.

Music is a clear passion for Paul, both listening but also playing guitar. He describes himself disparagingly as ‘a hack’ but I hardly think that’s fair particularly given he’s a left hander who plays right-handed. His musical passion is complemented by several others including:

· Family – his wife Talley and their two children Ellis & Dylan.

· Climbing – Paul shares several fun, inspirational stories about climbing as well as one about climbing the Royal Arches in Yosemite and almost not making it down.

· Cycling – with three friends he did The Race Across America, which is 3200 miles in 7 days. This was the inspiration for one of his song choices and the title of the episode.

He also shares openly and movingly about the challenges his son Ellis faced with addiction and how he came very close to death. I’m delighted to say that Ellis is now well into his recovery and in Paul’s own words is thriving.

Paul finishes his song selections with a performance of an original song by himself and his younger child Dylan. There’s a great story behind it and the performance is just exquisite.

Paul’s song selections are:

60’s - Moon River Audrey Hepburn
70’s - Carillon Sky
80’s - Love Is A Stranger Eurythmics
90’s - Signe Eric Clapton
00’s - Fix You Coldplay
10’s - Catch & Release (Deepend Remix) Matt Summers
20’s - Made It Out of Clay Dylan Webb

If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com

Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .