I’ve just got home from four nights in Melbourne and in between a reunion with a dozen of the best Aussies I’ve ever met, taking in Derby Day at Flemington, playing (and losing) tennis with a long-time rival and catching up with my sister and brother-in-law, I found time to read Rod Stewart’s brand new…
Category: Music
Barry Gibb & Spirituality: One Of His Most Emotional, Revealing Interviews
One of the most beautiful albums in the Gibb cannon, 1981’s Living Eyes. Two days on and the feedback from Barry Gibb’s interview on Sunday evening’s episode of The Two has been overwhelming. That said, it’s fair to say that after all previous interviews I’ve done with Barry stretching back to 2005 (this is interview #5), the response…
The Greatest Album The Band Never Recorded – Bee Gee Barry Gibb Joins ‘The Two’.
This Sunday evening’s episode of The Two (Newstalk ZB, 9pm-midnight) features my biggest hero as our special guest. Barry Gibb is the last man standing; the only surviving Gibb brother; a man who has experienced success so astonishing as to make him the second most successful pop songwriter in history after Paul McCartney (according to…
How To Win Over People Ignorant About The Bee Gees
The good news: Barry Gibb has included a concert in Napier, New Zealand on February 23rd as part of his Mythology world tour. The bad news: Idiots still have access to the internet. I know I shouldn’t get defensive about online nonsense written about the Gibbs, but every now and then it’s fun to engage…
Barry Gibb’s First Solo Tour – The Time The Bee Gees Did Simon & Garfunkel Better Than Simon & Garfunkel
With advance tickets to Barry Gibb’s first solo concert tour (Australia, February next year) having just gone on sale, I couldn’t not draw attention (yet again) to one of the lesser known treasures in the Gibb catalogue. The Mythology tour will be tinged with sadness with Barry coming to terms with the fact he is…
John Mayer’s Song For Getting Older – ‘Born And Raised’
Yesterday it was my birthday – number 31 – and somebody who has become a dear friend in the short space of less than a year helped make it a very memorable one. Pam Corkery, my co-host on Newstalk ZB’s The Two (Friday and Sunday evenings from 8pm), organised me a succession of gifts –…
President Obama’s Lost Theme Song – The Pointer Sisters Funk Classic ‘Yes We Can’
It’s election season (which is almost a permanent state of mind in the USA) and I’ve just rediscovered a Pointer Sisters song which somehow wasn’t Barack Obama’s theme tune four years ago. With wife Michelle delivering a powerful speech yesterday at the DNC and Bill Clinton knocking it out of the park today with a…
The Perils Of Discussing Gay Marriage In Talkbackland & The Rod Stewart Song That Saved The Night
The last two nights on talkback were undoubtedly the most challenging of my career. For those outside of New Zealand, a bill on gay marriage passed its first reading in parliament by a vote of 80 to 40. I tried to encourage nuanced thought on the topic, but when it’s an issue as emotive as…
Why Aren’t The Commodores In The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame?
At the moment I’m indulging in one of my favourite past-times which is listening to old Commodores albums. For those who don’t know, Ronald LaPread was the bassist in the Commodores from 1969 until his departure from the band in 1986 when he fell in love with an Iranian / Kiwi and moved to New…
Barry Gibb At The Grand Ole Opry – An Emotional ‘How Can You Mend A Broken Heart’
Barry Gibb at the Grand Ole Opry Barry Gibb: “He brought me through the darkness and I’m smiling.” After much speculation about what three songs Barry Gibb would perform in his debut appearance at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, he showed what has always been the case with his writing: that a great song is a…
Barry Gibb At The Grand Ole Opry – The Top 10 Bee Gees Country Songs
A few hours ago the last surviving Bee Gee, Barry Gibb, walked off the the most hallowed stage in country music, the Grand Ole Opry. He performed three songs alongside country star Ricky Skaggs and received a standing ovation. As far as late career moves go, this is a home-run for Gibb. No other A-list…
The Meaning Of Don Henley’s ‘The End Of The Innocence’
On last night’s episode of The Two (myself and Pam Corkery, Newstalk ZB, Sundays 9pm-midnight) we ended the show with Don Henley’s melancholy masterpiece, The End Of The Innocence. The reason being was Henley’s 65th birthday and the fact it has always being my favourite of his solo works, but there’s also something about The…
