Sending Signals

Wendy James is tied up with some of my earlier memories of music. She fronted the band Transvision Vamp, who were hard to ignore in the late 80s. Songs like “I Want Your Love” and “Baby I Don’t Care” were pretty big hits over here. Transvision Vamp split in the early 90s and since then Wendy has persuaded various solo projects. Interestingly her first solo album “Now Ain’t The Time For Your Tears” was written by Elvis Costello, sometimes alongside Caitlin O’Riordan from the Pogues. These days Wendy is basically a cottage industry, self releasing albums and embracing direct engagement with her fanbase. She recently released an album entitled “The Shape Of History” and you’ll hear clips from that throughout our conversation.

Pat Arnold has had quite a life. Born in 1946 she grew up in LA, and was in an abusive marriage with two kids while still a teenager. In 1965 she got a chance to audition for Ike and Tina Turner’s band as an “Ikette”. She got the gig and left her children in the care of her parents. This eventually took her to London where she fell into the orbit of The Rolling Stones, and she decided to stay behind there to establish herself as a solo artist, signing to Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s label Immediate Records, home of the Small Faces, members of whom ended up writing songs for her and backing her on some of her recordings. She also toured with them, and is the backing vocalist on Itchycoo Park and Tin Soldier, two of their biggest hits. She had hits under her own name too, including her recordings of Angel Of The Morning and The First Cut Is The Deepest. She also recorded with Rod Stewart. In the 70s she appeared on recordings by the likes of Nick Drake, Graham Nash, and Nils Lofgren. She toured with Eric Clapton and recorded with Barry Gibb although most of these recordings remained unreleased for decades. She sadly lost a daughter in a car accident in the mid-70s, and along with not being able to further her career as a solo artist, she seems to view this as somewhat of a lost decade. As well as being cast in Starlight Express, the 80s saw her work with Steel Pulse, The Beatmasters and Roger Waters, as well appearing on Peter Gabriel’s smash hit Sledgehammer. She first came into my orbit in the late 90s through her collaboration with Ocean Colour Scene, and the early 2000s saw her tour extensively with Roger Waters. In recent years she finally completed the album she started with Barry Gibb and Eric Clapton decades earlier, as well as a brand new studio album recorded and produced by former podcast guest Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller fame. She has a new career spanning box set entitled “Soul Survivor - A Life In Song” and I had a fantastic time talking to Pat about her life and career. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Nadia Reid is a singer-songwriter born and raised in New Zealand, before recently relocating to Manchester. She’s just released her fourth album “Enter Now Brightness”. We take a deep dive into the album, and our conversation ends up encompassing motherhood, relocation, generational trauma, faith; it goes to some deep places. I really hope you enjoy it. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

You know how every now and then, an album comes along that just gets into your bones, and it’s hard to describe just how grateful you are it exists? (If you don’t know that feeling, I’m sorry, but keep searching for it). Tamara Lindeman working as The Weather Station has make two such records I feel that way about; 2019’s “Ignorance” and 2025’s “Humanhood”, released on January 17th. “Humanhood” is a brave, striking and beautiful piece of work that just keeps on giving back, the more you mine it. It’s not designed for casual listening; the level of nuance involved, the little interludes between songs, and it’s lyrical themes of self-identity in crisis, set against grander concerns about the environment and the post-truth era we find ourselves in, deserve your full attention. It’s the sort of album where a different moment or detail might hit your each time you go back to it. It can’t imagine it being topped this year. Our conversation takes in everything from depersonalisation disorder and OCD, to taking photos of the sky, unrealistic roles for teenagers and in movies, Canadian rock-band Our Lady Peace, and quietly making the greatest album of 2025. Let me know what you think on Instagram @sendingsignalspodcast

I first heard The National 17 years ago this month I think, and I fell in love instantly. They’ve continued to be one of my favourite bands, and it’s been great to see them ascend to new heights of popularity and pursue interesting creative directions in the band and outside. Guitarist Aaron Dessner is now a key producer and co-writer for the likes of Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams. His twin brother Bryce Dessner is a composer whose orchestral and chamber compositions have been commissioned by the LA Philharmonic, Edinburgh International Festival and Kronos Quartet amongst others, and he’s collaborated with the likes of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens and many more. Frontman Matt Berninger has become one of the most compelling rock frontman of the 21st century with his often darkly funny, self-deprecating lyrics, and gangly, physical stage presence. Drummer Bryan Devendorf is one of the most distinctive drummers operating in rock today. Which leaves my guest this episode, bassist Scott Devendorf. I feel like Scott is the member of the band I knew least about. Obviously I’ve seen him onstage many times anchoring the band, but I was intrigued to see how the interview would go, and was pleased to discover Scott was excellent company. The National have just released a new live album entitled “Rome” which was recorded this past June in, well Rome obviously. It does a pretty good job of capturing the catharsis and sometimes chaos of a National show. I thought it was an interesting decision to focus on one particular show rather than compile tracks from across the tour. I was curious how they would handle the situations where Matt goes walkabout with the microphone, climbing into the crowd and getting mobbed with fans singing their heads off. Scott had a lot to say about these decisions, and about The National as a live act in general. He was really generous with his time. I only found out this interview was happening less than 24 hours before it took place, so it was quite a whirlwind getting it prepped and organised. I again had some technical issues so I’ve mostly just used the zoom feed but it sounds fine. To have The National represented on the podcast really means a lot. This will be the last episode of the year, and what a way to go out.

It’s a busy one. My guests this episode are Sunderland’s David and Peter Brewis, known collectively as Field Music, and Walter Schreifels of New York post-hardcore rockers Rival Schools. You may remember David Brewis from Field Music has been on the podcast before. I’ve been a fan of the band since 2007’s magnificent “Tones Of Town” album. Depending on how you count it, “Limits Of Language” is their 9th, 10th, or 11th studio album, in addition to numerous side projects and offshoots. However you count it, “Limits Of Language” is a very fine album, and as usual, deserves a much wider audience than they tend to get, despite a bizarre and wonderful endorsement from Prince on his Twitter feed in 2015. It was lovely to have both Brewis brothers together on the show. Rival Schools are a New York part-time supergroup made up members of 80s and 90s hardcore bands, not a scene I’m into really, but the band’s two albums, 2001’s “United By Fate” and 2011’s “Pedals” are really melodic and accessible, even for more of an indie-rock kid like me. The band are celebrating their 25th anniversary and have been reissuing their back catalogue on vinyl. Walter caught up me from a room on tour in Minneapolis, and I was impressed with the thoughtfulness and depth of some of his answers. Enjoy! Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

So, actually quite a personal episode for me this week. When I was 16 years old I started a media GNVQ at a local college, and during the first year there was a week allocated for work experience, so around June 2000 I spent a week working at Uncut magazine. My babysitter for that week was Michael Bonner, who in 2018 officially became the magazine’s editor, after founder Allen Jones stepped down. I hadn’t spoken to Michael since that week 24 years ago, so I was very curious to speak with him about what was such a formative experience for me, but probably a very average week in the office for him. I’ve also spent many years subscribed to Uncut magazine, and I thought it would be an interesting idea for an episode, to explore the making of a major music magazine. Michael was very generous with his time and we had good fun catching up. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Phil Manzanera has had a remarkable life. Best known as the lead guitarist in Roxy Music, he’s also worked as a writer, producer and/or performer with the likes of David Gilmour, Steve Winwood, Nico, Brian Eno and many more. He’s just released a mammoth box set of his solo work which dates back to 1975’s “Diamond Head” album. The box, entitled “50 Years Of Music”, comes at a time of reflection for Manzanera. He recently released a memoir, in which he detailed his childhood in Cuba at the time of Batista’s overthrow in 1959, and his suspicion that his Dad, who ostensibly worked for BOAC airlines, was actually a spy. Manzanera lived in different parts of the Americas as a child and later went to boarding school at Dulwich College in London. Phil went on to explore his Latin American roots in his music, and another bizarre twist occurred in 2011 when Kanye West and Jay-Z sampled a guitar part from his 1978 “K-Scope” album for their track “No Church In The Wild”. Manzanera has claimed this one sample earned him more money than his entire time in Roxy Music. Anyway, I was sure Phil would have great stories to share and I hope you enjoy our conversation. Visit Manzanera.com for more information on the box set.Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Released on the 9th June 1978, “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds” went on to sell an estimated 15 million copies. As you likely know, the album features an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi story, narrated by actor Richard Burton set to music, with vocal performances from the likes of David Essex, Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott, Chris Thompson, and Julie Covington. A single, “Forever Autumn”, reached number 5 on the UK singles chart, and has become an enduring classic. In 2006, the album was brought to life as a touring stage show. It’s has had several revival tours since, including a London West End run in 2016. Jeff Wayne is picking up the baton again for the 2025 arena tour featuring Max George and Maisie Smith. Jeff Wayne was born in 1943 and wrote around 3000 advertising jingles which appeared on TV in the 1970s, as well as various television themes. He’s also been a professional tennis player. He joined me from his home studio in Hertfordshire for our chat. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

The last time Genesis keyboard player extraordinaire Tony Banks came on the show was a few years ago, and we discussed a box set of his solo albums. Since then there has been a final Genesis tour, “The Last Domino?”, which I got to see the opening and closing nights of, and Tony now has a new boxset compiling his three classical albums “7”, “6”, and “5”. The first half of the interview we take a deep dive into that process which I hope you’ll find interesting. Creating classical music isn’t something we’ve really explored on the podcast before. In the second half of the interview Tony shares details of an upcoming boxset of “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”, and he also confirms details of a reissue of their 60’s debut album “From Genesis To Revelation”, which in the past has been ignored from official Genesis reissue campaigns. We talk about how he feels he is perceived by Genesis fans, and whether he’s tempted to emulate the very successful touring approach of former Genesis bandmate Steve Hackett, who incidentally he also clarifies his feeling about during our chat. I think this conversation is quite something. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think. Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcastX: @signalspodcast