Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware

Today’s Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware features Carrie and David Grant. David is most well-known for his solo pop career in the 80’s, and Carrie for her work on TV talent contest Fame Academy, Pop Idol, Comic Relief and many other TV shows. They are married with four neurodivergent children, are both highly respected vocal and performance coaches, and both have MBE’s for their work with music, media and charity. Ladies and gentlemen - love will find a way, Carrie and David Grant...

Today’s guest on Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware is Peter Hooton, lead singer of the The Farm, famous for their much-loved epic hit ‘All Together Now’ based on the famous coming together of British and German soldiers in no mans land at Christmas, based musically on Pachelbel’s Canon. Peter is a true socialist (like myself) and is very proud of his Liverpudlian background and communal solidarity - he is passionate about education, football and is a proud Red in every sense of the word… Ladies and gentlemen, time to get on the groovy train, it’s Peter Hooton...

Today’s Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware episode features Bob Last – originator of The Human League’s first label, the man who originally released Being Boiled, manager of The Human League, Heaven 17 and BEF… in other words, the man who enabled my career to flourish! Bob is now a film producer and music supervisor, and has very fond and fascinating memories of the incredibly formative years we spent together between 1978 and 1984, and all his adventures with the seminal indie label Fast Product – these were golden years ;) Ladies and Gentlemen – the one, the only, Bob Last...

Today’s Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware features one of the most successful electronic pop artists of the 80’s, Howard Jones. His irresistible songs conquered the charts all over the world, in particular the US, where his reputation as an accomplished musician and performer is bulletproof. Howard’s humanitarian and Buddhist beliefs have informed his lyric writing throughout his career and his live performances are still entertaining audiences around the world. Ladies and gentlemen – you’d like to get to know him well, now’s your chance – the one, the only Howard Jones...

Today's guest on Electronically Yours is the much loved Liverpudlian band China Crisis. Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon were best friends at school, and their mutual love and appreciation of Bowie, Eno, Talking Heads and Steely Dan led them to write experimental but highly melodic and beautiful songs with fascinating titles- Black Man Ray, King In A Catholic Style… Their alliance with Walter Becker from Steely Dan was unlikely and innovative, and led to recording excellent pieces in exotic locations around the world. They are truly talented songwriters, and everyone has a soft spot for their gentle and fascinating style. The band are as popular as ever and still perform all over the world. Ladies and gentlemen – no need for wishful thinking, they’re here! Ed and Gary -  China Crisis…

Today’s guest on Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware is the massively underrated songwriter, singer, producer, actor and film producer, Leee John. His group Imagination has sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and was at the vanguard of black electronic pop music throughout the 1980’s. The instantly identifiable moog basslines, elegantly powerful electronic arrangements and soaring vocals were masterfully produced by Tony Swain and Mike Jolly. They were pretty glamourous too… Huge hits like Flashback, Music And Lights, In And Out Of Love and Just An Illusion dominated the airwaves, and Leee still performs around the world to huge audiences. Ladies and gentlemen – music, lights…action – it’s Leee John

Today’s Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware episode is a very special one. There are very few stone-cold electro-pop classic singles and Tainted Love is universally loved and respected. The man whose music filled a million dancefloors is Dave Ball, who together with Marc Almond created Soft Cell. Dave (described as ‘quiet but menacing’ on the Soft Cell website) is a self-taught, minimalist electronic producer, who was heavily influenced by Northern Soul and the underground dance scene in the north. His later work includes the Grid, and fascinating collaborations with Psychic TV amongst many others. In fact, he never stops… Ladies and gentlemen, sometimes it’s the quiet ones who make the most noise - Dave Ball.

Today’s episode of Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware features Sister Bliss (Ayalah Bentovim) who is a keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss, and particularly as part of the hugely successful group Faithless. Their live shows are legendary, including several Glastonbury appearances, and Blissy continues to DJ around the world, never ceasing to find new creative endeavours. She is a multi-talented multi-instrumentalist and has collaborated with Dido, Boy George, Cat Power, Robert Smith, The Temper Trap and Example amongst many others. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the great sisters of Electronica – Sister Bliss…

Today’s episode features the legendary head of A&R at Virgin Records during the glory years, Simon Draper. He was responsible for the signing and development of an enormously wide range of successful artists including Mike Oldfield, The Human League, Culture Club, XTC, The Sex Pistols, PiL, The Skids, Magazine, OMD, Magazine, Simple Minds and Heaven 17 amongst many others. His intuition for talent and his willingness to take creative and financial risks enabled Virgin Records to become, for a while, ‘the coolest label on Earth’… Ladies and gentlemen, I present the massively underrated talent of Simon Draper, without whom my and many other careers would probably never have happened…

Today’s episode of Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware features the fascinating and eclectic talents of David McAlmont. He is primarily known as a fine singer, originally scoring hits as McAlmont & Butler, but is also now an essayist and prominent art historian. His unique voice has also featured on incredible recordings with Bond composer David Arnold, and he continues to create exciting solo and collaborative work, and is much respected amongst the music industry cognoscenti. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Voice…David McAlmont