USA For Africa. It’s 35 years today since USA For Africa’s We Are The World was recorded. The perennially cool Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) was part of the all-star chorus and I remember him telling me that one of his defining memories of that day was bumping into Michael Jackson in the bathroom. For the…
Tag: Michael Jackson
Barry Gibb: ‘You’re living in the now and you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’ – Our Extended 2009 Interview
Bee Gees with their Saturday Night Fever Album Of The Year Grammy, 1979. Barry Gibb once told me this was up there with the favourite interviews he’s ever done. Well Barry, it’s fair to say the feeling is mutual, though more to the point, the gratitude and the pleasure is mine. To mark the…
Coast Soul Turns 1! Celebrating 50 Years Of The Greatest Soul & R&B
My soul and R&B iHeartRadio station and Coast FM radio show, Coast Soul, turned one last week. To celebrate, all the featured artists were the greatest of the great – think Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, the Temptations, Diana Ross, the Commodores, Aretha Franklin etc. One of the joys of creating this station is the balance between…
How The Bee Gees Always Had The Best Opening Lines – 50yrs Since New York Mining Disaster 1941 Launched Them To Fame
It was 50 years ago yesterday that the Bee Gees first official international single, New York Mining Disaster 1941, was released. Spicks & Specks before it had been a hit in New Zealand, Australia and in the Netherlands too, but it was New York Mining Disaster 1941 in April 1967 that launched the brothers Gibb to instant…
‘We’d have the most fun’ – Barry Gibb Explains His Friendship With Michael Jackson
Maurice Gibb, MJ, BarryGibb, Robin Gibb – circa 1985. If Michael Jackson was still alive August 29th would’ve been his 57th birthday. That seems reason enough for me to remind fans of the personal and creative friendship that Michael shared with Bee Gee Barry Gibb. Over the years they always spoke very warmly of each…
Funk Bass Pioneer Louis Johnson Dead, Aged 60
Louis Johnson. It’s been a tough few weeks for fans of classic soul and R&B with the deaths of Ben E. King, then Hot Chocolate’s Errol Brown, followed by blues giant B.B. King and now Brothers Johnson bassist Louis Johnson. Johnson has died at the age of 60 and he leaves this world widely regarded…
Barry Gibb on friendships with Michael Jackson, Chris Martin & Olivia Newton-John – our extended 2009 London interview
Bee Gees with their Saturday Night Fever Album Of The Year Grammy, 1979. Celebrating the Bee Gees Lifetime Achievement Grammy from earlier this month, I thought it might be nice to provide a transcription of highlights from one of my interviews with Barry Gibb over the years. Add to that the news that Barry will…
Remembering ‘We Are The World’ – When Lindsey Buckingham Bumped Into Michael Jackson In The Bathroom
USA For Africa. It’s 30 years today since USA For Africa’s We Are The World was recorded. The perennially cool Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) was part of the all-star chorus and I remember him telling me that one of his defining memories of that day was bumping into Michael Jackson in the bathroom. For the…
Diana Ross Turns 70 – 3 Of Her Best Superstar-Written Songs
For Diana Ross who turned 70 today, here are three of her biggest hits. For a full tribute to her towering role in 20th Century popular music, click here to link to a piece in the British paper The Telegraph written to mark her 70th. But for now, I want to focus on just three…
Paul Simon Concert Review, Auckland 2013 – The Michael Jackson Song He May’ve Inspired
Paul Simon. Dare I say it, last night’s Paul Simon Vector Arena concert in Auckland was even better than Simon and Garfunkel’s show at the same venue in 2009. That concert was more rooted in glorious nostalgia, never more emblematic than when the lights silhouetted the two “old friends” and despite it being 40 years…
Barry Gibb & Michael Jackson – The Completed, Full Length Duet ‘All In Your Name’.
The Bee Gees with Michael Jackson in the mid 80s. Well, it is finally here in its entirety. All In Your Name, a nearly 10 year old duet between Barry Gibb and Michael Jackson is now complete and presented to the world on the second anniversary of Michael’s death. Barry had fed fans a couple…
Michael Jackson’s Secret Duet With Barry Gibb Finally Revealed – ‘All In Your Name’
For years there has been talk amongst fans of Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees of several unreleased collaborations between these two giants of pop. I can even remember an interview back in the late 90s where the Gibbs were talking about recording an entire album with Michael with Babyface producing. While the album never…