Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason meet a Scotsman, an Irishman, and a Frenchman for their journey to a tiny Breton, French town and reshape what a music scene can mean. We open the podcast in 90s Glasgow, where Chemical Underground helped a new wave of indie bands find their voice and their values. From cramped stages and borrowed gear to a label identity forged by conviction, the scene thrived on camaraderie, sharp taste, and the kind of local folklore that sticks—like loading out together after the last chord rings.

Then comes the leap. David, a young chef from Brittany with a burning love for music, invites the Glasgow crew to his rural hometown. One bus, a handful of fans, a chaotic ferry crossing, and a village square where cows outnumber people. It shouldn’t work. It did. Years later, filmmaker Niall retraces that journey, capturing a road movie that doubles as a time capsule and a mirror. Funding hurdles, music clearances, and the streaming-era squeeze haunt the edges, but what takes centre stage is trust: musicians, crew, and locals building something bigger than a gig.

Across Momo’s bar, impromptu sets, gear hiccups, and last-minute saves, the story becomes a study in how art survives. Alex Kapranos, Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Paul Savage of The Delgados, and more reflect on timing, luck, and the stubborn will to keep going. The film—Lost in France—shows how a village can feel like home, how a label can be a lifeline, and how friendships carry music further than any marketing plan. It’s funny, messy, and deeply human, with scenes you’ll retell and a spirit you’ll recognise if you’ve ever believed in DIY.

If you care about indie music history, Glasgow’s creative DNA, or the fragile magic of making something together, you’ll feel at home here. Press play, then tell a friend who still loves small rooms and big feelings. Subscribe, rate, and share your favourite Glasgow gig memory—we’ll read the best on a future show.

The movie - 'Lost in France' is available to stream on Tourism Cinema and on DVD from Amazon

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Ever wonder why some gigs tattoo themselves on your memory while others fade as the lights come up? We sit down with two lifelong friends and serial gig-goers to trace a fan’s journey from teenage awe at the Brighton Dome to the organised chaos of modern stadium shows. Their stories move fast: queuing for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court, discovering Rory Gallagher’s fire, and catching Deep Purple tearing up the Half Moon in Putney. Along the way, we weigh what really matters — rooms that sing, mixes that breathe, and the crowd energy that turns a setlist into a shared event.

The debate gets spicy where performance meets production. Stadiums bring scale, but do giant screens make you a spectator instead of a participant? From Oasis at Wembley to Coldplay’s LED spectacles, we unpack when visuals elevate and when they steal the show. Then a pivot to the pure: Bob Dylan’s phone-free theatre, where every phrase lands because there’s nothing else to look at. We talk queues, exits, and the odd miracle ticket, but keep coming back to sound — the tone, separation, and punch that made the Brighton Dome a revelation and Rush a byword for precision.

No fan’s tour is complete without guitar heroes. Jimmy Page for invention, Rory Gallagher for heart, Gary Moore for bite, David Gilmour for melody, Prince for the solo that still silences rooms. Thin Lizzy’s revolving door of players, Wishbone Ash’s harmonies, and the support acts that later exploded — Def Leppard under AC/DC, Bon Jovi under KISS — all feed a bigger question: why did so many bands from the 70s endure while newer acts struggle to jump from clubs to arenas? Fewer venues, different economics, and the vanishing art of earning a following onstage are part of the answer.

If you love live music — the sweat, the surge, the note that lifts a room — this conversation is a reminder of why we keep showing up. Hit follow, share it with a gig buddy, and tell us: which concert still lives rent-free in your head?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

A powerboat race, a broken fax, and a last‑minute visa scramble set the stage for a story about identity, reinvention, and the stubborn joy of playing loud.

In this espisode Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason 'sits down' with Uday Benegal—frontman of India’s pioneering rock band Indus Creed—to trace the band’s evolution from Rock Machine, the bold name change that reframed their destiny, and the craft behind blending tabla, sarangi, and bansuri into guitar-driven songs without falling into cliché.

The journey flows through sunburnt beach gigs in Dubai, bewildered crowds in the USSR, a UK Womad run, and openers with Europe, Bon Jovi, and Santana. Uday contrasts the tour cultures with insight—how Santana’s crew modeled true professionalism—and shares a delightfully messy onstage cameo with Slash in Bangalore.

Along the way, we explore the role MTV Asia played in easing a risky rebrand, the practical magic of backline and FOH, and the creative decision-making that kept identity authentic while broadening appeal for global audiences.

There’s a detour to New York, where disillusion with India’s shifting industry pushed Uday toward indie cinema and writing for the Village Voice, before a return home reignited the band with younger players and new energy. We go deep on recording Evolve in Mumbai and landing mix legend Tim Palmer through a thoughtful cold email—a field guide in how independent bands can reach world-class collaborators. Most of all, Uday reflects on the legacy he cherishes: helping shift India’s live circuit from cover-band defaults to original music as the standard. He also teases a gentler solo project produced by a rising young talent, proving reinvention never really ends.

If stories of music branding, cross-cultural production, and life on the road light you up, this one’s for you. Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves rock history with heart, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find us.

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason joins concert producer Jacek Slotala for a hands‑on journey taking us from Polish postcard singles to Pink Floyd’s sold‑out Moscow shows.

This fascinating, incredible story is told by the fixer who cracked Gosconcert and flew tours on army planes. We share how food, language, and nerve turned red tape into roaring crowds without a single lyric censored.

A postcard single pressed in 1960s Poland. A phone that never stops ringing. And a plan bold enough to fly a rock tour on a Soviet army plane. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how Western music crossed the Iron Curtain, from jam‑packed Leningrad halls to Pink Floyd lighting up Moscow without a single lyric censored.

We trace the path from Pagart, Poland's state monopoly, to the first real breakthrough: Wishbone Ash in Leningrad, chosen for taste and temperament. Food, not lights, became the make‑or‑break factor, so the team toured with a portable kitchen, UK‑trained Polish chefs, and pallets from West Berlin. Those breakfasts backstage did more for morale than any rider. Then came a bigger swing: assemble a new band, the Lost Empires, and barter shows for flight hours to reach Siberia. Gear lashed into an Antonov, crew in army seats, and a bucket with a lid for a loo—proof that ingenuity beats infrastructure when the music matters.

The Pink Floyd chapter is a masterclass in production under pressure. Fifty‑six trucks replaced by cargo jets, a customs bridge to win crucial hours, and a last‑minute hotel wipeout solved with roubles and relentless door‑knocking. When national mourning paused a show after a tragic explosion, the band added a makeup date at the end to keep faith with fans and still make Helsinki. Along the way we meet interpreters who could silence police, legendary road crew soldering mid‑tour, and the caterer who trained a generation. No propaganda, no grandstanding—just the quiet power of concerts to ease tension and make strangers sing the same chorus.

We also look at milestone tours that reset expectations: Procol Harum reopening Poland, Tina Turner building her Private Dancer comeback from bare floors, and how language, respect, and precision got Western acts invited back.

If you care about live music logistics, cultural diplomacy, or the sheer stubborn joy of making the impossible run on time, you’ll feel right at home here.

Press play, subscribe for more untold tour stories, and leave a review with the wildest backstage fix you’ve ever heard—what would you have done in that Moscow hotel scramble?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

The night rock and roll first grabbed Stan Urban wasn’t on a stage; it was in a cinema, watching Little Richard tear through Long Tall Sally. From that moment, a Dundee kid with two fingers on an old family piano set off on a six-decade run that takes us from church halls and converted radios to Chuck Berry’s stage, Led Zeppelin’s cocktail tab, and a viral train-station jam that made thousands miss their trains.

We sit with Stan to unpack the craft behind the chaos. He strips pianos to the frame, drops a podium mic inside, and turns boots and pedals into percussion. His left hand flips the groove—pink donk instead of donk pink—while his right hand leans ahead, stretching time until the room starts to shake. Along the way are stories that anchor an era: Jerry Lee Lewis returning his Yamaha CP with snapped strings, James Brown’s brisk handshake, and Robert Plant climbing stairs to sing Summertime Blues in a tiny Ibiza flat. Hamburg’s Star-Club brings long nights and hard lessons while Britain goes polite; East German television offers Saturday-night spectacle and the odd secret door; Denmark becomes home when touring turns into belonging.

This is a love letter to live music and the people who keep it honest. We talk writing rock and roll that isn’t pastiche, why “perfect” timing can drain feel, and how a pianist becomes a one-man rhythm section. There’s joy, grit, and plenty of laughter: Bahrain New Year’s Eve mayhem, a cannabis festival that forgot the piano, and the small, lonely minute before midnight when fireworks bloom outside and the crowd waits inside. If you care about rock and roll piano, Little Richard’s spark, Chuck Berry’s engine, Led Zeppelin lore, and the craft that makes a room move, you’ll feel right at home here.

Subscribe, share with a friend who loves real live music, and leave a review to tell us your favourite moment—we’ll feature the best replies next week.

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Step backstage with Phil Blizzard & Russell Mason in this the debut episode of It's Only Rock n Roll into the chaotic, exhilarating world of rock and roll touring. Special guests are industry veterans Jake Duncan and Steve Martin and together they pull back the curtain on nearly a century of combined experience managing tours for some of music's biggest legends.

From accidental beginnings to career-defining moments, these production wizards recount their journeys with refreshing honesty. Jake stumbled into the industry in 1972 after spontaneously offering to help the Bay City Rollers' crew, while Steve's passion for Nine Below Zero led him from devoted fan to trusted crew member. Both admit to "bluffing it" early on – learning technical skills through necessity rather than training, with Steve confessing to being "the worst guitar tech in the world" despite working with extraordinary musicians.

The conversation takes us through pivotal moments in rock history, including exclusive behind-the-scenes accounts of Live Aid in 1985. Steve provides a unique dual perspective, having worked both for Nick Kershaw and promoter Harvey Goldsmith during the iconic event. Their insights reveal how Queen strategically stole the show with their legendary performance, while Paul McCartney faced technical difficulties despite being the artist everyone backstage was most excited to see.

Perhaps most fascinating are their candid revelations about working with mercurial personalities. From Shirley Bassey's dressing room color requirements to Elton John's dramatic pre-show tantrums, these stories humanize the stars while highlighting the diplomatic skills required in tour management. One particularly amusing anecdote involves David Bowie being turned away from Japan's final UK show because the doorman didn't recognize him!

Whether you're a music industry professional, an aspiring tour manager, or simply a fan curious about what happens behind the scenes, this episode offers invaluable insight into the machinery that powers the magic of live music. Subscribe now and join us for more unfiltered conversations with the unsung heroes who've kept the show on the road for decades.

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Phil Blizzard & Rusell Mason introduce their new podcast exploring the world of rock and roll touring from the 1980s onwards

The two Co-hosts bring complementary perspectives – Russell from his years touring and promoting, Phil from interviewing countless music legends throughout his broadcasting career. Together, they're creating a relaxed, nostalgic journey through an industry populated by unforgettable characters (many known only by their colorful nicknames).

"It's Only Rock and Roll" goes beyond the spotlight to reveal the fascinating stories of the unsung heroes who made rock's greatest moments possible. From groundbreaking concerts like Pink Floyd in Moscow during Glasnost to Wham performing at the Great Wall of China, this podcast captures a special time in music history through authentic, unfiltered conversations.

Future episodes will feature tour managers, production crews, artist managers, record producers, and the legendary "liggers" (backstage gate-crashers) who defined an era. These are the people who witnessed it all – the near-disasters averted, the bizarre requests fulfilled, and the moments of brilliance that audiences never saw.

Subscribe now for your all-access pass to rock and roll history, told by those who were too busy making it happen to fully appreciate it at the time.

Available wherever you get your podcasts – because after all, it's only rock and roll... but we love it!

Listen to "It's Only Rock and Roll" on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube.

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com