About It's Only Rock n Roll with hosts Phil Blizzard & Russell Mason
"It's Only Rock and Roll" goes beyond the spotlight to reveal the fascinating stories of the unsung heroes who made rock's greatest moments possible. From groundbreaking concerts like Pink Floyd in Moscow during Glasnost to Wham performing at the Great Wall of China, this podcast captures a special time in music history through authentic, unfiltered conversations.
Co-hosts Russell Mason and Phil Blizzard bring complementary perspectives – Russell from his years touring and promoting, Phil from interviewing countless music legends throughout his broadcasting career. Together, they're creating a relaxed, nostalgic journey through an industry populated by unforgettable characters (many known only by their colorful nicknames).
Future episodes will feature tour managers, production crews, artist managers, record producers, and the legendary "liggers" (backstage gate-crashers) who defined an era. These are the people who witnessed it all – the near-disasters averted, the bizarre requests fulfilled, and the moments of brilliance that audiences never saw.
Steve Martin veteran production manager - from pub gigs to superstar Madonna
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...
7 Sept 2026
Hendrix After Hours with guitarist/singer-songwriter Bryn Haworth
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 ...
30 Dec 2025
Global Backstage: A Rock And Roll Year In Review
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 ...
7 Dec 2025
Pioneers of Gulf Entertainment - Comic Nights, Gulf Lights, Desert Rats Pt 2
We relive how comedy, concerts, and sheer grit brought modern live entertainment to the Gulf, from Billy Connolly and Lenny Henry to Bollywood stadium spectacles and ballet on the beach. Heat, customs, and failing gear tried to stop us; diplomacy, craft, and humour carried the day. • British comedians breaking new ground across the Gulf • Jasper Carrot’s late-career surge and Lenny Henry’s airport pranks • Cancelled shows, customs hiccups, and strict cultural lines • Bootleg tapes, censored ...
2 Dec 2025
Desert Rats Of Rock And Roll - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the Gulf - Pt 1
In this, the first of two parts, we trace how a small team of promoters and techs hauled second-hand gear, charmed airlines, and built a live music circuit across the Gulf in the 80s. Stories of burning dimmers, poolside plotting, cultural shows in ballrooms, A concert scene doesn’t just appear; someone has to drag it across borders, bolt it together in the heat, and pray the dimmers don’t catch fire. We look back at how a handful of stubborn promoters and techs built a touring circuit ...
25 Nov 2025
Elvis Presley - Memphis Mansion, his home in Denmark, built by a fan to keep the music alive
We tour Memphis Mansion with Hendrik Knudsen and Stan Urban, tracing the stories behind Elvis’s TCB chain, the Johnny Cash exhibits, and the spirit that keeps rock and roll alive. We balance myth and memory, dig into Colonel Parker, and plan a return when July’s residency hits. From the sparkle of the first TCB chain to the quiet authority of gold records and stage clothes, we follow the artefacts that carry stories—why they exist, what they meant to the artists, and how they still teac...
18 Nov 2025
Security to the Stars: Ronnie Franklin On Music Security
Fame can feel like a storm. We sit down with veteran security lead Ronnie Franklin to map the invisible work that keeps artists, crews and fans safe when the wind picks up—without turning the night into a fortress. From his baptism at London’s Rainbow Theatre to global tours with Wham and decades at George Michael’s side, Ronnie unpacks how planning and people skills beat brute force every time. We trace the birth of modern concert security: radios that cut out around corners, promoters deba...
11 Nov 2025
Lost In France - Five Friends, One Bus, And A Film About Music, Grit, And Friendship
Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason meet a Scotsman, an Irishman, and a Frenchman for their journey to a tiny Breton, French town and reshape what a music scene can mean. We open the podcast in 90s Glasgow, where Chemical Underground helped a new wave of indie bands find their voice and their values. From cramped stages and borrowed gear to a label identity forged by conviction, the scene thrived on camaraderie, sharp taste, and the kind of local folklore that sticks—like loading out togeth...
4 Nov 2025
Fans & Memorable Gigs - From First Bands To Legends of Rock
Ever wonder why some gigs tattoo themselves on your memory while others fade as the lights come up? We sit down with two lifelong friends and serial gig-goers to trace a fan’s journey from teenage awe at the Brighton Dome to the organised chaos of modern stadium shows. Their stories move fast: queuing for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court, discovering Rory Gallagher’s fire, and catching Deep Purple tearing up the Half Moon in Putney. Along the way, we weigh what really matters — rooms that sing, mi...
27 Oct 2025
From Mumbai to Hollywood - Rock Machine To Indus Creed
A powerboat race, a broken fax, and a last‑minute visa scramble set the stage for a story about identity, reinvention, and the stubborn joy of playing loud. In this espisode Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason 'sits down' with Uday Benegal—frontman of India’s pioneering rock band Indus Creed—to trace the band’s evolution from Rock Machine, the bold name change that reframed their destiny, and the craft behind blending tabla, sarangi, and bansuri into guitar-driven songs without ...
20 Oct 2025
Back in The USSR - Pink Floyd & flying a rock tour on an army plane
Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason joins concert producer Jacek Slotala for a hands‑on journey taking us from Polish postcard singles to Pink Floyd’s sold‑out Moscow shows. This fascinating, incredible story is told by the fixer who cracked Gosconcert and flew tours on army planes. We share how food, language, and nerve turned red tape into roaring crowds without a single lyric censored. A postcard single pressed in 1960s Poland. A phone that never stops ringing. And a plan bold enough to ...
18 Oct 2025
Backstage Stories - promo for the series
It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com
6 Oct 2025
Six Decades of Rock’n’Roll: Stan Urban on Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee, Led Zep, and Life on the Road
The night rock and roll first grabbed Stan Urban wasn’t on a stage; it was in a cinema, watching Little Richard tear through Long Tall Sally. From that moment, a Dundee kid with two fingers on an old family piano set off on a six-decade run that takes us from church halls and converted radios to Chuck Berry’s stage, Led Zeppelin’s cocktail tab, and a viral train-station jam that made thousands miss their trains. We sit with Stan to unpack the craft behind the chaos. He strips pianos to the f...
27 Sept 2025
From Bay City Rollers to Bowie: A Backstage Journey Through Rock History
Step backstage with Phil Blizzard & Russell Mason in this the debut episode of It's Only Rock n Roll into the chaotic, exhilarating world of rock and roll touring. Special guests are industry veterans Jake Duncan and Steve Martin and together they pull back the curtain on nearly a century of combined experience managing tours for some of music's biggest legends. From accidental beginnings to career-defining moments, these production wizards recount their journeys with refreshing ho...
21 Sept 2025
"It's Only Rock and Roll" preview with Phil Blizzard & Russell Mason
Phil Blizzard & Rusell Mason introduce their new podcast exploring the world of rock and roll touring from the 1980s onwards The two Co-hosts bring complementary perspectives – Russell from his years touring and promoting, Phil from interviewing countless music legends throughout his broadcasting career. Together, they're creating a relaxed, nostalgic journey through an industry populated by unforgettable characters (many known only by their colorful nicknames). "It's Only Rock and ...
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