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…
Maori? Did Someone Mention The Word Maori? Dealing With “Challenging” Talkback Callers – Newstalk ZB, 2012
Maori? Did someone mention the word Maori? Sometimes on talkback it feels a bit like that, none more-so than on Saturday morning’s show with the flare-up of the water rights issue. The topic is draining (average pun intended) for many reasons, but from a talkback point of view mainly because for some reason it gives…
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…
‘Gentlemen To Bed!’ The Funniest Scene From Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon’s ‘The Trip’
Last week I watched the Steve Coogan / Rob Brydon film The Trip and discovered what millions already know, that these two are amongst the funniest British comedians of their generation. More than that, they would have to both be amongst the brightest. How pretentious it is to say that The Trip is intelligent comedy…
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…
Why I Hate The Expression “PC”
Plaguing this country for at least the last decade has been the desire to describe everything we dislike as being “PC.” For a while it was “PC gone mad,” but now people can’t even be bothered saying that. Particularly in the land of talk-back radio and newspaper letters to the editor (not to mention nauseating…
Bee Gee Robin Gibb’s Sad, Beautiful Funeral
Barry Gibb laying a rose for brother Robin A few hours ago Bee Gee Robin Gibb was finally laid to rest with his funeral in Thame in Oxfordshire. The only surviving Gibb brother Barry spoke and spoke beautifully, his voice trembling with emotion. Barry talked of his brother’s “magnificent mind and beautiful heart,” who was…
