Fascinated with Gearóid Farrelly – Details, episodes & analysis

Shampoo were a breath of fresh Ari that ran simultaneous through pop and brit pop in the mid-nineties. The band that actually took Girl Power mainstream were catapulted to fame when their song "Trouble" became a monster hit. In this episode we chart their journey from indie darlings to "Top Of The Pops". Throughout it all they were never swayed from what they wanted to do. They wrote all of the songs, did all of their own styling and had strong ideas about how Shampoo were presented and they were Left to their own devices to get on with it. They became hugely successful in Japan and ended up on the rich list. We chat about their success, their beginnings, the spice girls and the accounting error that ended their time on a major label and how they became one of the first bands to sell their music via a website. Cherry Red is reissuing all of Shampoo's albums in a deluxe boxset. You can grab it here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jasper Rees is the author of "Let's Do It" the authorised biography of Victoria Wood. The book was written with the consent of Victoria's children following her death in 2016. Jasper wrote the book by listening to audio recordings mad by Wood herself in preparation to write a memoir.  "Let's Do It" has just been published in paperback and is a must read for any Victoria Wood fan. The book was described by the guardian as "a brilliant tribute while also – somehow, almost – bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory". This interview was recorded live at the Cat Laughs Podcast Festival in Kilkenny in December 2020. You can buy "Let's Do It" by Jasper Rees here Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Jasper Rees Twitter: @JasperRees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July of 2013 Chicago singer-songwriter Steve Grand uploaded a video for his song "All American Boy". It was a video for a country song with a bare bum and a gay twist and a within days it had a million hit and Steve was the face of new gay country. Except that he wasn't and he wasn't even a country singer but he was in demand. To date steve has had two successful albums and recently launched a range of underwear called Grand Axis. I catch up with Steve to talk about his music, coping with online hate and of course underpants. If you really enjoy this podcast you can support me by buying me a coffee on Kofi. You can listen to Steve Grand's music on Spotify. You can watch the video for All American Boy here. You can buy Steve Grand physical copies and merch here. Check out Grand Axis Underwear designed by Steve here. Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Steve Grand Twitter: @stevegrandmusic Instagram: stevegrandmusic Facebook: /SteveGrandArtist Past Guests Sean Smith has released his debut album "Solo". It's on all streaming and download platforms and you can buy physical copies here. Chely Wright has re-released "Lifted Off The Ground" on vinyl. You can get copies here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Gearóid meets singer/songwriter and choreographer Doris Pearson who shot to fame with her brothers and sisters as Five Star.  Doris is currently in lockdown in the UK and is working on solo material. We had a chat about her time in her family supergroup. We chatted about the humble beginnings, fame, money and family. Truly a family business Five Star were managed by their father Buster and they stacked up hit albums and singles in the mid to late 80s earning a grammy nomination and a Brit Award for Best British Group in the process. Success meant they moved from their home in Romford to a Mansion in Surrey. The tabloid-friendly family became the subject of a press witch hunt and they left for LA. The group disbanded officially in 2002 and regrouped in 2012 to perform at UK festivals. This is the performance mentioned in this episode https://youtu.be/VQg-8MlBITY In 2019 Five Star Gold was released. If you really enjoy this podcast you can buy me a coffee on Kofi https://ko-fi.com/gearoidfarrelly You can listen to Five Star here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4toJT7YydhWcrYNgWJK4hW?si=v5Rt9Tb9SrqF6qkxu_d5iA Follow Gearoid Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gearoidfarrelly Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gearoidfarrelly Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gearoidfarrelly Follow Doris Pearson Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thedorispearson Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dorismpearson Facebook: https://facebook.com/Doris-Pearson-692176227828566/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I chat to singer songwriter Lesley Roy. As teenager Lesley would busk on the streets of Dublin and instead of dreaming of superstardom she actively chased it. She signed a record contract with and American Label and spent two years in Sweden learning to write pop songs under the direction of Max Martin who produced her 2008 debut album "Unbeautiful". The album was released and expectations were high but it wasn't to be. Lesley began cowrite for other artists like Ms Montreal and Adam Lambert.  This year she was returned to performing and was due to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam with her song "The Story Of My Life". The song was released and lauded however on the 18th March the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19.  If you really enjoy this podcast you can buy me a coffee on Kofi https://ko-fi.com/gearoidfarrelly">https://ko-fi.com/gearoidfarrelly https://open.spotify.com/album/1rHXAzNDnX5EU6eAZo7BWm?si=8ksts61uQe-FVa_I3lsCnQ">You can listen to “Unbeautiful” here https://music.apple.com/ie/album/story-of-my-life-single/1502388582">You can buy to “Story Of My Life” here Follow Gearoid Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gearoidfarrelly">@gearoidfarrelly Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gearoidfarrelly">gearoidfarrelly Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gearoidfarrelly">;/gearoidfarrelly Follow Lesley Roy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lesleyroyreal "> @lesleyroyreal Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lesroy">lesroy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the live “Fascinated” show from the Dublin Podcast Festival to YouTube. My guests on the night were the fabulous singer-songwriter Naimee Coleman and the wonderful Niamh Kavanagh. Hits were sung and we even recreated the moment Niamh won the Eurovision Song Contest. The full show can be watched on YouTube. If you really enjoy this podcast you can buy me a coffee on Kofi https://ko-fi.com/gearoidfarrelly Enjoy it and stay safe  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I catch up with the wonderful Jann Arden in the midst of the worldwide Corona Virus epidemic. Last week she was supposed to be  inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards but the ceremony was cancelled amid fears around the outbreak. Last week she streamed a mini-concert from her living room as part of a movement by artists to entertain those in isolation and to urge people to stay at home.  Jann Arden is a huge recording artist in Canada and had international success in 1994 with her "Living Under June" album. She has just released her 14th album "These Are The Days" and has released more than 40 singles. She has been nominated for 19 Juno awards and won 8 of them. She has contributed to movie soundtracks and is a regular on Canadian television. Leonard Cohen visited her in the studio when she was recording one of his songs and wrote to her afterwards to tell her how her version "stays with him". Aside from music Jann has written four books and regularly appeared in challenges with TV Host Rick Mercer which caused her to become a viral sensation to a new generation of fans. Her live shows are as popular for her story-telling as for her music. She has even hosted a gala at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Her sit-com "Jann" was a smash hit in Canada in 2019 and the new season drops soon. Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Jann Arden Twitter: @jannarden Instagram: jannarden Facebook: /JannArdenOfficial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first album I ever got was a cassette copy of Bananarama’s “Greatest Hits Collection”. When I discovered pop music with their anthem “I Want You Back” I listened to it over and over. At the time I was too young to be allowed read pop magazines so i didn’t know what they looked like until I finally saw them in my friends copy of smash hits.  But when I go the greatest hits that christmas I was surprised that there was a different girl on the cover. I learned that this girl was the original member of the band but not the girl that had appeared on their current hits.  It made no sense to me on that Christmas Day in 1988.  Jacquie O’Sullivan was the former lead singer of Rockabilly band the Shillelagh Sisters when she was called to a meeting and asked to replace Siobhan Fahey who was leaving Bananarama, then the biggest girlband in the world. Jacqui had four years of wild partying in the band until she was suddenly not there any more and Bananarama reemerged as a duo.  In this chat Jacquie talks for the first time about life in the band, her shock departure and life since. When she left the band she was one of the most famous women in the UK and she needed a job. She eventually fled to Thailand and led a very different life to that of a member of  the biggest girlband in the world. Before coming home she found yoga and trained for two years to become a teacher.  https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/slippry-feet/165818619">You can listen to Slippry Feet here https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/shillelagh-sisters/270295465">You can listen to the Shillelagh Sisters here https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/bananarama/720991">You can listen to Bananarama here Follow Gearoid Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gearoidfarrelly">@gearoidfarrelly Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gearoidfarrelly">gearoidfarrelly Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gearoidfarrelly">;/gearoidfarrelly Follow Jacquie O'Sullivan Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacquie0007"> @jacquie0007 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jacquieoofficial">jacquieoofficial Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jacquieosullivanofficial"> /jacquieosullivanofficial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Gearóid chats to actress and comedian Jessica Chaffin.  In podcasting circles Jessica is well-known for her genius comedy creation Ronna Glickman formerly of the “Ronna and Beverly” podcast. She has just launched her advise show “Ask Ronna” with Bryan Safi.   Jessica has also appeared in a whole pile of sitcoms and movies. Most recently she can be seen on “Abbys’ on NBC. She is also on “Big Mouth” on Netflix and has previously had roles on “Veep”, “Two Broke Girls”, “Weeds”, “Search Party”, “Episodes” and “Man With A Plan”.  She has also appeared in “Spy”, “The Heat” and “Ghostbusters” all directed by Paul Feig who directed the original Showtime pilot for “Ronna And Beverly” and their subsequent UK chat show for Sky Atlantic.  A new episode of “Ask Ronna” drops every Tuesday and it is available wherever you get your podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2007 Sean and his Sarah caught the eye of a production runner while queuing to audition for the X Factor. Within a couple of months they were both performing live together every saturday night to millions of viewers. Each week to Same Difference astonished producers by clocking up millions of votes. Their cheesy but note-perfect performances had won the hearts of the viewing public and there was no turning back. They were beaten in the final but went a way with an album deal and a legion of fans. The following year the financial crisis played havoc with the campaign for the major label release of their debut album "Pop". A major image overhaul accompanied their next album. There were acoustic sessions and naked photo shoots. Having made a lot of money Same Difference called it a day in 2014. Sean hit the gym and launched a solo career and hasn't looked back.  Follow @seansmithsolo  Buy Sean's music https://www.energiserecords.com/sean-smith/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices