Sending Signals

Geoff Downes has quite the musical CV. Shooting to fame with The Buggles, then joining Yes alongside Trevor Horn for their 1980 “Drama” album, he then had massive success alongside Yes member Steve Howe with the supergroup Asia. He rejoined Yes in 2011 where he remains to this day. Geoff joined me from his home in Wales for a career-spanning conversation discussing songs by The Buggles, Asia, and the epic Countermovement from the new Yes album “Aurora”.   Please forgive the sound quality on this interview. It’s perfectly listenable but not optimal.   Find me on Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

The Four Tops formed in Detroit in 1953, originally named The Four Aims. They’re a cornerstone of American pop music and helped propel the Motown label to international recognition. Although ostensibly a soul vocal group, I find the band interesting in how broad they were stylistically and in the variety of material they adopted. The current incarnation of The Four Tops are touring this year with The Temptations. They’re hitting the UK this summer, with a run that includes a date at the Royal Albert Hall.   I’m joined this episode by Lawrence Payton Jr. from the current line-up, the son of founding member Lawrence Payton who passed away in 1997.   Lawrence had a lot to say about growing up around his dad’s band, and why the Tops should still be on the road in 2026. He was great company.   Please leave a nice review or star rating with your podcast provider.   You can find me on Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

Charlie McCoy has an incredible musical CV to look back on. His relationship with Bob Dylan began when he was asked, at rather short notice, to join the session for “Desolation Row”. He went on to assemble the core band when Dylan decamped to Nashville to record his masterpiece “Blonde On Blonde”. He went on to play on “John Wesley Harding” and “Nashville Skyline” too.   Add to that, the many sessions he did for Elvis Presley, the work with Johnny Cash, and countless other sessions, you have a musical legacy few can match.   For 19 years he was music director for the Nashville TV show “Hee Haw”, and in 2022 he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.   At age 85 he shows little sign of slowing down, and I was delighted he agreed to join me for the show.   Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

The Twilight Sad are a Scottish indie rock band, currently consisting of Andy MacFarlane and frontman James Graham who joins me this episode to discuss their new album “It’s The Long Goodbye”. It’s an appropriate title, as the album documents the loss of James’ mother to a 9 year battle with dementia. On top of this James has been battling serious mental health challenges. It’s a heartbreaking record at times, but also cathartic and energetic.   I was really grateful for James’ candour and bravery really in talking to me about the background to this album. We also discussed life on the road with The Cure, who the band have spent a lot of time touring with over the years; Robert Smith appears on several tracks on this new album in fact.   “It’s The Long Goodbye” is out on March 27th on Mogwai’s Rock Action Records.   Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

This episode I am joined by two-time Academy Award nominee, film editor Pamela Martin. She edited the recent Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere”. The film was directed Scott Cooper, adapted from Warren Zanes’ book documenting the making of Springsteen’s stark classic “Nebraska”. Pam has worked on movies including King Richard, Little Miss Sunshine, Battle Of The Sexes, Free State Of Jones, Hitchcock, and many more. If you’re listening to this as a Springsteen fan I think you’ll find it fascinating, but even if you’re interested more broadly in film making, I think this is the first time I’ve had an editor on the show, so it was interesting for me to learn more about the parameters and responsibilities of the role, and Pamela was fantastic company and had so much to say. Her passion for her work really comes through. I hope you enjoy it. I certainly did. I also give a run-down of my favourite albums and events of the year. Find me on Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

In February 2025 at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, something incredible happened. Jason Narducy, alongside actor Michael Shannon, were out touring their R.E.M. tribute project, where they perform early albums in full, alongside deep cuts from the back catalogue, when all 4 original members of R.E.M joined them to perform a version of “Pretty Persuasion”. Over the past couple of years various configurations of band members had performed with them, but having all 4 at once was clearly a historic moment. Jason’s life in music has been quite something. Jason had a musical epiphany when, aged 8, his dad took him to see The Who movie “The Kids Are Alright”. He got an electric guitar aged 9, and by aged 10 he was playing in a punk band named Verboten. Tracey, was the oldest member of the band, aged 13, and just happened to be cousin of future Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. Dave would later cite Verboten as a major inspiration for him in pursuing music, and Jason appeared in Dave’s “Sonic Highways” series. Jason has gone on to perform with so many artists, but he’s been a mainstay of Bob Mould’s band since 2005, playing bass on 6 albums and touring with him. Jason also plays with bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate and Superchunk. He has his own musical project entitled Split Single, and plays intimate living room shows for fans. A few years ago he had the surreal experience of writing songs for a musical about his childhood band Verboten. As well as upcoming gigs with Bob Mould, Jason is heading back out on tour with Michael Shannon to perform R.E.M’s brilliant 4th album, “Life’s Rich Pageant”. It’s no surprise we had a lot to talk about. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast 

Always a pleasure to have Steve Howe on the podcast. The Yes guitarist joins me this time to discuss a couple of reissues from his solo back catalogue; “Natural Timbre” and “Portraits of Bob Dylan”. The former being an all acoustic record, and the latter being, as you may have inferred, a Dylan covers album. It was a nice excuse to talk about Dylan, and solo albums in general. I, of course, also take the opportunity to catch up on the things in the Yes camp, including their forthcoming tour playing the classic album “Fragile” in full. Enjoy. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

The past 3 decades have brought their share of ups and downs for Feeder. They’ve enjoyed 11 top ten albums, and various hit singles, but had to weather the tragic loss of drummer Jon Lee in January 2002. It was against this backdrop that frontman Grant Nicholas returned to studio alongside bassist Taka Hirose to produce Feeder’s most poignant and life-affirming album “Comfort In Sound”. The album is getting reissue this month, and they will be undertaking a UK tour, playing the album in full for the first time. It’s a rare look back for the band, who have released 4 new albums in the last decade including a double album “Black/Red” which came out last year. Grant was a guest on the podcast a few years back, and I’m really grateful he was willing to come back on. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Steve Rothery is a founding member of one of my all time favourite bands, Marillion. Despite various personnel changes in the early years of the band, Marillion have maintained a stable line-up for the past 36 years. One of the keys to their ongoing unity is surely their tolerance for band members to indulge in side-projects, and Rothery is about to release an album under the name Bioscope, in collaboration with current Tangerine Dream bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning. The album is called “Gento” and features Elbow drummer Alex Reeves behind the kit. I was pleased to welcome Steve back onto the podcast to discuss the new project, as well getting an update on the new Marillion album, and a chat about the 30th anniversary of one of their finest albums “Afraid Of Sunlight”. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

This summer sees the release of an expanded edition of Richard Hawley’s breakthrough masterpiece “Coles Corner” with an accompanying tour. Richard joins me for an epic chat about the making the record, his family history, his prodigious session work, the closing of the beloved Sheffield Leadmill, and working (remotely) with Hank Marvin. Enjoy. Find me on Instagram @sendingsignalspodcastVisit richardhawley.co.uk for tour dates and reissue information.