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
Fleetwood Mac are a massive group with a huge body of work. This week we’re going to focus in on a particular aspect – Stevie Nicks’ vocals with the group. Nicks joined the group in late 1974. After several personnel changes Mick Fleetwood had invited Lindsey Buckingham to join the group – he agreed on condition that his then girlfriend Stevie could as well. The rest as they say is history – the ensuing album Fleetwood Mac broke the band through to mainstream success and sold over 5 million copies. We’ll enjoy some of the big hits such as “Rhiannon” but also some great album tracks such as “Storms” and “That’s Alright” this week.
With a changing lineup, The Byrds evolved through the late sixties, always remaining true to a core folk rock sensibility. Formed in 1964 by Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, Jim (known as Roger McGuinn from 1967) was the only constant in the lineup through to the end in 1973. Their first album Mr Tambourine Man combined folk influences with the sound of the British Invasion, and the title track was one of my favourite songs when I was young (played on classic hits radio frequently). They evolved however, pioneering psychedelic rock sounds then country rock. This week we’ll enjoy tracks from right through their varied career.
Ben Howard is a talented British indie artist. Hard to categorise, we loved his recent album Noonday Dream and decided to feature his work this week. We’ll explore Noonday Dream as well as tracks from his debut album Every Kingdom, EP The Burgh Island and 2014’s I Forget Where We Were.
Hailing from Detroit, Bob Seger achieved his first nationwide hit with “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” in 1968. He went on to enjoy a string of hits in the 1970s, forming the Silver Bullet Band in 1974.
The Eurythmics were an inescapable force in 1980s pop. A duo consisting of vocalist Annie Lennox and musician Dave Stewart, both contributing their songwriting talents. After a less than happy experience in the band “The Tourists” they decided to become a duo in the early 1980s in a hotel in Wagga Wagga, Australia of all places. Their second album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) was a massive smash hit and led to a decade of success. Annie Lennox subsequently released outstanding solo music while Dave Stewart has been an in-demand producer (although they’ve rejoined for a couple of projects since.
UB40 came together in 1978 in Birmingham, the eight band members beginning performing in 1979. From the beginning they played popular reggae songs, and got their break when the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde saw them playing at a pub and offered them the opportunity to play as her backing band. Astonishingly their first single reached no. 4 on the UK charts. We’ll play a few tracks this week from their first album Signing Off.
As a 15 year old he joined the Spencer Davis Group, his talent on the keyboard and amazing vocals resulting in two big hit singles (Gimme Some Lovin’, I’m A Man). At 19 he formed the band Traffic, and worked with Eric Clapton in Blind Faith. The 80s saw another era for his talent to flower in slick pop tracks off albums like Back In the High Life. We look forward to sampling his varied output over four decades through the week.
A band so melodic and talented they attracted the great Beatles producer George Martin to work with them, America exemplified early 1970s smooth breezy sounds. Meeting as Air Force personnel in London, the band released their self titled first album in 1971. After its re-release in 1972 with smash hit “Horse With No Name” added this album hit number 1 in the US and was a worldwide phenomenon.
Music writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine who wrote many of the articles in the influential All Music Guide (my musical bible in the 1990s) said “What the Beatles were to the ’60s, Led Zeppelin were to the ’70s: a band so successful and innovative they wound up creating the prism through which their entire epoch was seen.” A few words can’t really sum up the legacy of this band, one who surround themselves with influences ranging from blues and folk-rock to psychedelia. Although they might have been the greatest of heavy rock musicians, much of their output transcended that genre. We’ll let the music speak for itself this week as we sample well known and less common tracks from their first album in 1969 through to 1979’s In Through the Out Door.