You hear the songs, you see the lights, but you rarely meet the people who make sure the whole machine turns up, works, and gets to the next city. That is why we brought Steve Martin back for a sequel: his career runs from the South London pub circuit to the biggest stages, and he tells the stories from the side of the stage rather than the centre of it.

We start with Nine Below Zero, the era of hundreds of gigs a year, and how one night at the Half Moon in Herne Hill can change a life. Steve talks “sliding doors” moments that take him from superfan to crew, and then into the wider touring world through management links, including the jump to Nick Kershaw. Along the way we dig into the practical reality of live music careers and what it takes to earn trust when you are new, surrounded by experienced people, and battling imposter syndrome. Then we get properly behind the curtain on production management and tour management: getting the show in and out on time, handling crews, working within tight budgets, and navigating the awkward gap between what an artist wants and what the numbers allow. Steve also opens up about the loneliness of being the adult in the room, the pressure it puts on relationships, and how he finds a workable balance with family life after decades in rock and pop touring. We also hit some incredible name checks and lessons learned: Sinead O’Connor, Madonna, Jeff Beck, boy bands like Bros and Westlife, and the wonderfully chaotic world of Madness.

The final chapter is Squeeze, where Steve now helps manage and tour an iconic British band that is still getting bigger, still writing, and still selling out major venues.

If you enjoy true music industry stories, tour life reality, and practical insights into production management, subscribe wherever you listen, share it with a mate who loves gigs, and leave us a review. What part of touring life would you want to hear more about next?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Season 2 of It's Only Rock n Roll commences with Russell Mason & Phil Blizzard catching up with guitarist and songwriter Brynn Howarth on the hard graft behind a music career, from sleeping at Victoria Coach Station to sharing stages with some of the biggest names of the 60s and 70s. Along the way we talk about Jimi Hendrix, Nashville sessions, Bob Dylan’s Christian records, and the turning points that lead Brynn into faith, prison work, and campaigning to protect trees.

He arrives in London with a guitar, no contacts, and nowhere to sleep, then ends up trading solos with Jimi Hendrix. That is the kind of real world rock and roll journey we get into with guitarist and songwriter Brynn Howarth, a true “musician’s musician” whose story runs from Denmark Street hustle to America’s post Woodstock live circuit. We talk about what it meant to chase gigs before the internet, how auditions worked in Tin Pan Alley, and why those early years taught grit that still applies to any music career today.

Brynn takes us inside a Speakeasy residency where the after hours crowd includes the biggest players of the era, and he shares an unexpectedly human insight about Hendrix: the loneliness that can sit behind fame. From there we follow his move to the United States, the freedom of mixed genre bills at venues like Fillmore West and Winterland, and the thrill of being accepted on musicianship alone. We also dig into Nashville recording, the value of session musicians, and what happens when great players turn a good song into something unforgettable.

The story turns personal as Brynn talks about meeting Sally, a vivid dream that pulls him back to England, and the quiet Welsh “time out” that sparks searching questions about anger, drink, drugs, and meaning. That path leads to a gospel tent meeting, a deep change in direction, and eventually to worship music, church work, and a prison ministry that starts at Wandsworth and continues for decades. We also touch on Jerry Rafferty studio work, Old Grey Whistle Test memories, music rights and why some albums vanish from Spotify, plus where to find music on Bandcamp.

If you enjoy thoughtful music history, artist stories, and the truth behind the myths, subscribe, share this with a mate, and leave us a review. What part of Brynn’s journey stays with you most?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

A season’s worth of passports, flight cases, and stories converge in a finale that refuses to fade to black. We trace the hidden arteries of live music—from a retired tour pro’s poolside idea to a globe‑spanning set of conversations with production managers, security pros, artists, superfans, and the die‑hards who kept sound and light alive in deserts, ferries, and freezing tarmacs.

We start where tours truly begin: backstage. Jake Duncan’s leap from a drum shop to Bay City Rollers and Wham captures the chance encounters that bend lives, while Steve Martin drops us into the command centre of Live Aid and the pressure of delivering David Bowie’s vision when a stage design suddenly isn’t big enough. Then the energy tilts to pure rock and roll with Stan Urban, who turns hoovers into instruments, weddings into gigs, and remembers jamming with Robert Plant before Ibiza swapped poets for package flights. It’s messy, joyful, and proof that invention beats perfection when the clock hits showtime.

The road stretches East as promoter Yatzek Slotala guides Pink Floyd past the Iron Curtain with a bag of rubles, a borrowed Air Force plane, and nerves of steel. He helps Tina Turner rebuild Private Dancer on Central European stages with borrowed backlines and bulletproof grace. In India, Rock Machine becomes Indus Creed as Uday Benegal explains why a name can trap you and how original songs, scrappy trains, and a sedated fox terrier named Scooby wrote their origin story. Two superfans rewind to first gigs—Genesis with Peter Gabriel’s theatre and Rory Gallagher’s raw voltage—reminding us why live music burns into memory.

We swing through France on a chaotic bus of Glasgow bands—Franz Ferdinand among them—proving that if your town lacks a scene, you make one, even if chairs go overboard on the ferry. Security steps forward with rare warmth as Ronnie Franklin reflects on three decades protecting George Michael, including a holstered‑gun scare diffused with calm and kindness. Finally, we walk the Memphis Mansion in Denmark, where a Rat Pack‑serenaded piano still sings, and head to the Gulf with the “desert rats,” who fought heat, sand, and fried dimmers so the show could go on.

Hit play for craft, chaos, and heart from Wham to Pink Floyd, Elvis to Indus Creed. If these stories moved you, follow the show, rate us, and share your first live gig memory—what was the song that changed everything?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com