The Strange Brew - artist stories behind the greatest music ever recorded

Billy Sherwood discusses the upcoming YES UK tour featuring the complete Fragile album. He traces his path from drummer to bassist, learning the instrument by playing along to YES records, and development in groups Lodgic and World Trade. Sherwood details his first collaboration with Chris Squire in 1989, writing ‘The More We Live – Let Go,’ and his refusal to become YES’s lead singer during the Union era. The conversation centres on Squire’s final weeks, and Squire making Sherwood promise to stay with YES and keep the band moving forward. He also reflects on his extensive tribute album work, and YES’s current recording process for albums The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. Further information yesworld.com billysherwood.com Billy Sherwood podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Steve Howe (2025), Steve Howe (2023), Steve Howe (2019), Bill Bruford, Alan White, Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, Tony Kaye, Rick Wakeman, Chester Thompson, Colin Moulding – part 2 This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Billy Sherwood – YES appeared first on The Strange Brew .

The guitar player who helped define pub rock in the 1970s is still making records. Brinsley Schwarz’s latest album, Shouting at the Moon, asks the same question that runs through much of his recent work: why can’t we get it together before it’s too late? The podcast then moves back to when his eponymous band became accidental pioneers of a movement they never quite intended to lead. There’s the infamous 1970 trip to New York’s Fillmore East that went spectacularly wrong, the moment Van Morrison left him “completely dumbstruck”, and the five years that followed when the band decided to simply get good. Between stories about Dave Edmunds’ backhanded compliments and 45-minute versions of ‘Niki Hoeky’, Schwarz reveals a musician who found his sound early and never saw much reason to abandon it. He remembers Bob Andrews with genuine affection and admits he didn’t write much during the Brinsleys because Nick Lowe was better at it. Further information Brinsley Schwarz – Shouting At The Moon Brinsley Schwarz podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Graham Parker, Mark Wirtz, Pub rock and the birth of new wave, Bruce Thomas – Elvis Costello and The Attractions This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Brinsley Schwarz appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Across Big Big Train’s shifting line-ups, Greg Spawton’s songs connect the earliest records to their latest album, Woodcut. Greg selects eight tracks from Big Big Train’s catalogue that help tell their story; songs about Winchester Cathedral’s medieval foundations, record-breaking steam locomotives, and stories plucked from newspaper headlines, transforming historical curiosities into explorations of human endeavour. Further information bigbigtrain.com Greg Spawton podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Bruce Soord – The Pineapple Thief, Roine Stolt – The Flower Kings, Steve Hackett on Genesis Revisited and Hackett Highlights, Tony Banks, Steve Howe This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Greg Spawton – Big Big Train appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Mike Garson traces his extraordinary creative relationship with David Bowie from the Ziggy Stardust era through to his final live dates. Garson reflects on how his classical and jazz background allowed him to follow Bowie’s restless stylistic shifts, and how reinvention sat at the heart of their collaboration. Along the way, he revisits key moments including working on Aladdin Sane, Young Americans, The Buddha of Suburbia, Outside, Heathen and Toy, plus stories of Mick Ronson and the Bowie Band alumni. Further information Dublin Bowie Festival 2026 – 24 February to 1 March mikegarson.com Mike Garson podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Gerry Leonard, Mark Plati, Earl Slick, Carlos Alomar, Kevin Armstrong, Tony Fox Sales, Ken Scott, Woody Woodmansey, John Cambridge, John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Mike Garson remembers David Bowie appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Ric Sanders, the fiddle player who has been an integral part of Fairport Convention for 40 years, takes us on a journey through his extraordinary musical life. From his early days discovering electric violin, to his simultaneous membership in both Soft Machine and the Albion Band, Sanders’ career reads like a who’s who of British jazz-fusion and folk-rock. Speaking with characteristic warmth, Sanders discusses the upcoming Fairport Spring 2026 UK Tour and provides insights into life on the road. Beyond Fairport, Sanders reveals the rich tapestry of collaborations that have shaped his musical journey: moments following Indian violin legend L. Shankar on stage, late-night jam sessions with Nigel Kennedy in Malvern pubs, and the influence of Ashley Hutchings. He also discusses his ongoing projects, from the Ric Sanders Trio to his recent work with Rosalie Cunningham. While Ric considers himself “a very lucky little fellow” it’s clear that luck has been matched by extraordinary talent and a passion for making music. Further information Fairport Convention Spring Tour 2026 Ric Sanders podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Ashley Hutchings, Rosalie Cunningham, Gordon Giltrap, Dave Mattacks, Chris Leslie, Simon Nicol (2023), Dave Pegg This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Ric Sanders – Fairport Convention appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Steve Berlin revisits Los Angeles during its most volatile creative period, the late 1970s and early 1980s, when rent was $170 a month and sewage regularly seeped into the Cathay de Grande, the basement club where Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs held their Monday night residency. Berlin recalls producing and playing on their newly reissued album Pigus Drinkus Maximus and joining Los Lobos after they’d spent years developing east of the LA River, completely off the west side scene’s radar. He also addresses the Graceland controversy head-on: Paul Simon’s failure to credit Los Lobos for writing the music to ‘All Around the World or The Myth of Fingerprints.’ Berlin also discusses his work with REM, producing Faith No More, and offers a moving tribute to Mavericks frontman Raul Malo. Further information Pigus Drunkus Maximus Steve Berlin podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Steve Wynn – The Dream Syndicate, Matt Piucci – Rain Parade, John Cowsill and Vicki Peterson, Harold Bronson – founder of Rhino Records This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Gods Walking the Earth: Steve Berlin Remembers the LA Music Scene That Made Los Lobos and Top Jimmy appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Vox, lead vocalist of Chameleons, discusses the group’s successful reformation and their latest album Arctic Moon. The conversation explores the Chameleons’ origins in Manchester’s late 1970s post-punk scene, their breakthrough John Peel session, and challenging relationships with CBS Records and producer Steve Lillywhite. Vox reflects on their early years and the tensions that led to the band’s original dissolution. Throughout, the conversation highlights the Chameleons’ status as one of the most influential guitar bands of the 1980s, whose atmospheric sound has cemented their legacy as Manchester’s most underrated musical export. Further information chameleonsband.com Chameleons podcast tracks Podcasts also available: Steve Diggle – Buzzcocks, David Gedge – The Wedding Present, Peter Perrett – The Only Ones, Andy Gill – Gang of Four, Barry Adamson – Magazine This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Vox – Chameleons appeared first on The Strange Brew .

Damon Minchella, founding bassist and songwriter of Ocean Colour Scene, and longtime collaborator with Paul Weller and Richard Ashcroft, talks about his time in music. Damon reflects on a remarkable career spanning Britpop’s rise, creative battles with major labels, his friendship with Oasis, and performing with The Who for Live 8 and Paul McCartney for War Child. He also discusses his autobiography You’d Look Good on a Donkey, the realities behind Ocean Colour Scene’s success, and how a life-changing injury led him into academia while continuing to tour at the highest level. Further information Damon Minchella: You’d Look Good On A Donkey: Britpop, Basslines & Bad(Ish) Decisions Podcasts also available: Steve Cradock, Stephen Street, Billy Bragg, Lynval Golding, Bruce Foxton This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post Damon Minchella – Ocean Colour Scene appeared first on The Strange Brew .

In 1968, a group of Luton apprentices started creating a rock opera. Chris Stokes and his band Genesis (not that Genesis) conceived a concept album with baroque piano arrangements and experimental passages, then packed it away and got on with their day jobs. For over 50 years, this album and other material spanning a decade, existed only on deteriorating tape and acetates. Chris recorded with various lineups from the mid-1960s including The Mantis Set, Genesis, and Sunday Painter, mostly at home on a Revox tape machine; self-financed, largely improvised, never properly released. Then Dimorphodons from Hand of Glory Records bought a battered Hohner keyboard on eBay for £10, heard a sample track, and discovered a treasure trove of lost British psychedelia. Chris and Dimorphodons share highlights from this incredible archive, with the bulk of these tracks heard in public for the first time. Further information handofglory.co.uk A Story By The Genesis The Genesis – podcast tracks Podcasts also available: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967, A Kaleidoscope Of Sounds Psychedelic & Freakbeat Masterpieces, Arthur Brown, Hawkwind’s Days of the Underground, Pete Brown – Cream/Jack Bruce This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post The Genesis That Time Forgot: Unearthed British Psychedelia appeared first on The Strange Brew .

James Warren joins us to talk through a life in songs, from the playful invention of Stackridge to the studio-bound success of The Korgis. James reflects on writing Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime, why its acoustic reworking finally restored a lost verse, and how choices around touring shaped the band’s fate. Along the way he discusses working with George Martin, later reformations, and highlights from recent Korgis releases. Further information thekorgis.com James Warren podcast tracks Podcasts also available: James Warren (2017), Chris Difford, Gordon Haskell, Steve Harley, Karl Wallinger This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Google apps and all usual platforms If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi The post James Warren – Stackridge, The Korgis appeared first on The Strange Brew .