Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3NS
The new film Bohemian Rhapsody is already the highest grossing music biographical film ever. Undoubtedly the performances and production of the film play a part, but we would say this is largely a reflection of their continued popularity. 36 million monthly listeners on Spotify can’t be wrong, and a recent analysis of their sales and streaming popularity shows they are top tier, well ahead of bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and U2. We look forward to revisiting the hits, some deep cuts and live versions this week.
With a name that must frustrate spell-checkers everywhere, Lynyrd Skynyrd have achieved recognition for bringing “Southern Rock” to the forefront in the early 1970s. Their hard rocking image was backed by the songwriting talents of leader Ronnie Van Zant. They formed in high school, their name being a mockery of teacher Leonard Skinner (who didn’t like long hair). They played live for a few years without much success before they were spotted by producer Al Kooper who produced their first album Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. “Free Bird” off that album was a big success. Dedicated to Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers (who had died in a motorbike crash in 1971) the song became legendary through radio airplay. Their second album (Second Helping, 1974) went multi-platinum and featured the 70s standard “Sweet Home Alabama”.
The Fleet Foxes are an ‘indie folk’ band from Seattle, USA. Their first big impression was with their 2008 EP Sun Giant. Since then they’ve gained a great reputation building a body of beautiful melodic folk. To celebrate the recent release of their box set First Collection 2006-2009 we’ll be enjoying great music from across their musical career.
The Eagles have certainly had their share of compilations over the year. Recently they released a big box set of all their studio albums, three live disks and a collection of single cuts and b-sides. It seems a good excuse to enjoy revisiting the band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1971 the band went on to release six albums in the 1970s, spawning five number one singles, six Grammy’s and five number one albums. After breakup in 1979 (saying they would only perform together again if “hell froze over”) they got back together for 1994’s ‘Hell Freeze’s Over’ tour, which yielded a number one live album and video.
Born in 1951, John began performing in the mid 1970s, however his manager insisted he use the name Johnny Cougar, believing the German name Mellencamp was too hard to market. Following albums grew in popularity but his breakthrough came in 1982 with American Fool (featuring “Hurts so Good” and “Jack & Diane”), after which he was allowed to use his own name. Mellencamp’s brand of heartland rock went on to generate 22 Top 40 singles and 13 Grammy Award nominations.
One of the biggest touring rock and roll bands in the US during the 1970s, you don’t really hear much from this band now, apart from their ubiquitous single “Centrefold”. Peter Wolf led a tough bar band who were hugely popular live but struggled to win in the singles chart. Often good songs like “Give It To Me” didn’t quite turn out to be as strong in the studio as they were live.
Florence + The Machine formed in 2007, featuring Florence Welch on lead vocals, with Isabella “Machine” Summers and other collaborators. Archetypal Indie rock, Florence’s belting vocals are an outstanding feature. This week we’ll enjoy music from their initial 2009 album Lungs, Ceremonials (2011) and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015). Their most recent album High As Hope from a couple of months ago is still in rotation and was an Album of the Week a couple of months ago. A very consistent band with a great repertoire already.
Most of us probably know Chris de Burgh solely for his smash hit “Lady In Red”. This hit the top ten in at least nineteen countries in 1986 and has been a staple of Adult Contemporary radio and ‘Love Song’ compilations ever since. “Don’t Pay The Ferryman” from 1983 saw him make his first foray into the Top 40 in the UK and USA, yet Chris had been plying his trade since he signed his first recording contract in 1974, gaining exposure supporting Supertramp on tour. Intriguingly his 1970s albums were pretty successful in Europe and South America, but he failed to make much progress in the UK and USA. He was actually born in Argentina to a British Dad and Irish Mum, and lived in a variety of countries before settling in Ireland. He is described as an ‘art rocker’ who occasionally writes some pop material. We think you’ll enjoy listening to a selection of his quality music this week, from through his career.
British acts started getting some exposure in the US in 1962, with three acts including “Telstar” by The Tornados reaching No 1 on the Hot 100. The term really belongs to the era beginning in late 1963 when disk jockeys began playing “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles. This spawned a massive craze known as Beatlemania, surfed by other British acts including The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Searchers and Zombies. We’ll enjoy a range of great songs from this era this week in our “Spotlight Artist” slot.
Phil Collins is a giant of popular music. Deeply uncool to some,