Gavin Wood's Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Jane Gazzo is an Australian radio and television presenter, performance and club DJ, television personality, voice artist, author, and music journalist.

It was in her mature teenage years that she joined 3RRR Radio in Melbourne, presenting a Sunday afternoon (4pm-7pm) new music show called Calamity. She also began contributing stories to the UK's Q magazine and Dolly Australia under the name Calamity Jane.[citation needed]

She later became well known as a result of her national radio and TV shows, including Triple J radio's Super Request and ABC Television's live three-hour Saturday morning program, Recovery. It was on this TV show that she interviewed some of the world's biggest international bands as they toured Australia.[citation needed]

In 1992, Gazzo formed a punk band, "Rubher", as lead singer. They released 2 EPs through Mushroom Records before disbanding in 1996. In May 2018, Jane reformed the group for a one-off show with The Mavis's.

In 1998, she recorded with Australian band Underground Lovers, under the Japanese pseudonym "Mitsuame"; covering Can's 1976 song "I Want More" (from their album, 

Gazzo relocated to London, England in 1999, sharing a flat with The Prodigy founding member and former dancer Sharky. In London, she first worked at numerous jobs, including a summer at the Rough Trade record shop, promotions at Virgin Records and DJ'ing at Alan McGee's Death Disco.[citation needed]

In 2000 she became a presenter on the London radio station XFM (Weekend Breakfast). Her time there included a three-week stint producing Russell Brand on-air before he was sacked by the station for bringing in a homeless man.[9] She later joined its parent station Capital FM, presenting the Capital Top 30 Album Chart Show and The Rock Show.

Gazzo made her UK Television debut in 2001 presenting an eight-part music series called "Play Loud" on BBC TV channel Play UK.[10][11]

In 2001 she also briefly worked for Courtney Love, sharing a London house with the former Hole lead singer.

Her presenting work has also led to involvement with charities. In February 2006 she hosted the first ever Cancer Research UK "Rock Memorabilia" auction at Abbey Road Studios, helping to raise £130,000.[13]

She joined BBC Radio 6 Music in 2002, and presented Jane Gazzo's Dream Ticket[14] from June 2004 to September 2005, as well as other BBC Radio 6 Music shows and specials.

In 2006 Gazzo presented pre-recorded music shows on VH-2 TV in the UK as well as the "Download" in-flight radio show on Emirates Airlines (described as "the best modern rock and alternative from some of today's top bands"[16]).In January 2007 she joined Rockworld TV, presenting and interviewing various artists.[citation needed]

She also DJ'd at various festivals and venues around the UK including All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in Camber Sands as well as Death Disco, Camden Lock, Keston Lodge, Latitude Festival and Defectors Weld venues in London.[citation needed]

In May 2007 Jane returned to Australia to join Foxtel music Channel V as daily presenter and VJ. She co-hosted the whatUwant daily request show, as well as artist and festival specials. Her first major broadcast for Channel [V] was presenting the network's Live Earth coverage from Sydney Football Stadium on 7 July 2007. She has also presented from the Homebake festival, Splendour in the Grass, the ARIA Awards red carpet, Sound Relief and the Big Day Out.[citation needed]

From late 2010, Jane became a co-host on Channel [V]'s The Riff. She shared the presentation job with Danny Clayton, Billy Russell and Kyle Linahan (later replaced by Carrissa Walford.) The programme was broadcast weekly on Saturday mornings.She also hosted the daily music news programme "WTF" three times a week.

In June 2012, Gazzo moved to Max, a 24-hour music platform on Foxtel as a full-time host and VJ, presenting countdowns and interviews.

In February 2015, Jane became morning presenter on Triple M in Melbourne.She also hosted the national Australian music show "Homegrown" and the syndicated celebrity show "My Generation". After 3 years, Gazzo left the station to concentrate on freelancing media work.

In August 2019, Jane was chosen as the opening DJ for Hugh Jackman, on the Melbourne leg of his Australian concerts at Rod Laver Arena, playing six shows as his main support act.

In 2020, Jane hosted weekly music program The Sound on the ABC under the tutelage of the late Michael Gudinski.

On this episode of Gavin Wood’s Countdown podcast, guest host Lee Simon catches up with iconic Australian singer-songwriter, Kasey Chambers.

 

Kasey Chambers is one of Australia’s most beloved country music artists, with a career spanning over two decades. Her debut solo album, The Captain (1999), catapulted her to fame, earning her widespread acclaim and multiple ARIA Awards.

 

Known for her raw, emotional song writing and distinctive voice, Kasey has released a string of hits, including Not Pretty Enough, Pony, and True Colours, solidifying her status as a leading figure in the country and roots music scene.

 

With over 14 studio albums and numerous accolades to her name, including being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, Kasey continues to tour and create music that resonates deeply with fans around the world. Her music blends elements of country, folk, and rock, touching on personal experiences, relationships, and social themes.

 

25 years into her solo career and Kasey is still sharing her story, publishing her second book and releasing a new album, Backbone, which Kasey will take on tour next year.

 

Listen to the podcast now to hear Lee Simon and Kasey Chambers discuss her incredible career, influences.

Geoff Cox, better known as “Coxy”, is a star of radio and television, and former drummer in The Bootleg Family, Avalanche and Little River Band. His life in the entertainment industry started out playing drums six nights a week in Rock and Roll Bands, fast becoming one of the top session drummers in Australia, playing on 20+ gold albums. During the 70’s Coxy toured the world with the likes of Russell Morris, the Bee Gees, and Cliff Richard. He also played in Las Vegas for several international artists throughout his career. From 1979 until 1987 Coxy ran The Roxy, an iconic Rock and Roll pub in Melbourne. The catchcry “Coxy from the Roxy” in his raspy, Aussie voice on radio ads became legendary. One of his earliest TV appearances was on Countdown, in a short documentary which led viewers through the process of making Australian Crawl's music single, "Beautiful People". Coxy later went on to become a presenter himself on Channel 9’s Postcards, and Coxy’s Big Break on Channel 7. Coxy’s radio career started on the Smithy and Cox Show on 3DB, before he joined forces with our very own Gavin Wood for the Gavin and Coxy Breakfast Show on 3TT and TTFM. He then went on to host Juke Box Saturday nights with Coxy on 3MP for the next decade and he can still be heard on ads, as a guest, or giving interviews.

Marty Rhone was born as Karel (or Karl) Lawrence van Rhoon on 7 May 1948 in the Dutch East Indies  (Indonesia) His father was Eddy Emile van Rhoon, his mother was Judith Olive.  She was a singer and actress, who met Eddy through the Sydney jazz scene; he was a visiting pianist.   The couple married in 1947, and migrated to Australia on 21 April 1950 and briefly lived in Sydney and Brisbane, and then moved to Darwin.  

Rhone was taught piano by his father but he preferred singing. In August 1959, aged 11, he first performed publicly at Darwin's Mitchell Street Town Hall in Around the World in 80 Minutes – a charity variety concert – alongside his father on piano and his mother. After he finished primary school, the family moved to Sydney.

In mid-1961, Rhone appeared on a talent quest segment of ATN7-TV series, Tarax Show, and was offered a singing spot on a children's show, 

During 1966 Marty Rhone and The Soul Agents supported The Rolling Stones on the United Kingdom rock group's tour of Australia. They also performed on the bill of the P.J. Proby Show at the Sydney Stadium with Wayne Fontana, Eden Kane and The Bee Gees appearing.  Rhone moved to Melbourne and issued five singles on Spin Records but had "limited success".

In March 1970, Rhone was conscripted for National Service until 1972. During his service he attended the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a member of their band, for 18 months.

From April 1972 to July 1973 he acted in the Australian stage version of Godspell at The Richbrooke, Sydney with Rod Dunbar, Peita Toppano and John Waters. The Australian cast soundtrack album was issued as Godspell: a Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew on His Master's Voice. He attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and in July 1973 he released a new single, "Goodbye in May". He composed the music for Ruzzante Returns from the Wars, which starred Ivar Kants  Rhone followed with appearances on TV soap operas, Number 96 (1974) and Class of '75 (1975).

By mid-1975 Rhone had signed with M7 Records and issued his next single, "Denim and Lace", which peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. It was promoted on the Class of '75 soundtrack album. It was co-written by L Lister (aka Jack Aranda) and F Lyons (aka Shad Lyons). Lister and Lyons also produced Rhone's debut album, Denim and Lace, recording at Alberts Studio 139. At the end of the year "Denim and Lace" was the second highest selling single in Australia. His next single, "Star Song", reached the Top 50, the next two were less successful, while the last one for the year, "On the Loose" reached the Top 40. Of the four singles, "On the Loose (Again)" – co-written by Bryan Dawe and Steve Groves (ex-Tin Tin)– was used by Rhone to win the 1976 Australian Popular Song Festival and represented Australia at the World Popular Song Festival.  In June 1977 he had another hit with "Mean Pair of Jeans", which reached No. 10. In July 1978 Rhone relocated to London. In June 1979, Rhone took the role of Lun Tha in the London Palladium presentation of The King and I alongside Yul Brynner and Virginia McKenna. By September 1981 he had returned to Sydney.

In 1987 Rhone became a business manager for a trio of brothers, the Australian boxers: Dean, Guy and Troy Waters. In December 1988 Rhone organised the "Battle on the Beach" for January 1989 with Dean Waters, as Australian heavyweight champion, to fight New Zealand's title holder.

In 2007, Rhone  performed a repertoire of tracks by Cliff Richard; a gig at the Crown Casino, Melbourne, in late 2008 it was filmed and broadcast in February the next year as Marty Rhone: A Tribute to Cliff Richard and The Shadows.  In May 2011 on the Cliff & Dusty presentation he performed with Sheena Crouch as UK pop singer Dusty Springfield and in June 2012 with his own "musical theatre fantasy" covering Richard's and The Beatles' material in Cliff Joins The Beatles.

In August 2016, Rhone released 50th Anniversary Album, a career spanning compilation album.

Irwin Thomas (born Irwin Thomas Whittridge; 6 January 1971) is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performs professionally using the stage name Jack Jones from when he was the lead vocalist-guitarist in the band Southern Sons (1990–1996).

His other bands collaborations include Electric Mary, She Said Yes and Ahmet Zappa. He is known for his collaborations with John Farnham and Rick Price.

He released his debut solo album, The Evolution of Irwin Thomas, in 2002.

Dear Enemy was an Australian indie pop band formed in Melbourne in 1980. The band released a studio album, Ransom Note, in 1984 on EMI and Capitol Records that featured its best known single, "Computer One", a No. 15 hit on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in January 1984. "Computer One" also reached #59 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock chart in March, 1984. Dear Enemy disbanded in 1988.

On this episode of Gavin Wood’s Countdown podcast, Gavin catches up with Australian saxophonist, television personality and radio presenter – Wilbur Wilde. Perhaps best known for his work as part of the house band on “Hey Hey It’s Saturday!” Wilbur Wilde rose to prominence with the bands Ol' 55 and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. Wilbur has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Skyhooks, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Split Enz, Roy Orbison, Cold Chisel, Joe Cocker, Dire Straits, the Angels, Dragon, James Reyne and Jimmy Barnes. Wilbur has made numerous other TV appearances throughout his career on shows including The Flying Doctors, The Paul Hogan Show, Blankety Blanks, Sale of the Century, MTV, Getaway, Postcards, Prisoner, Spicks and Specks, and commercials for the Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency. His CV also boasts a string of movie credits including Trojan Warrior, Mad Max, The Coolangatta Gold, City of the Damned, Jenny Kissed Me, Dead End Drive-In, and Cool Change, as well as over 750 performances with The New Rocky Horror Show. Wilbur has also presented on an array of radio stations, including Gold 104.3, Vega 91.5, 3UZ, 3XY, and 3MP.

Graham William Nash OBE (born 2 February 1942) is an English-American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of the Hollies in 2010.He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to music and to charity. Nash holds four honorary doctorates, including one from the New York Institute of Technology, one in music from the University of Salford in 2011 and one in fine arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Susan Kay Quatro was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1950, and grew up pursuing performing. Suzi was playing bongos on stage with her father’s jazz band by the age of eight, and by 14 she’s changed her name to Suzi soul and had left school to become a Go-Go dancer.

By the age of 15, Suzi was fronting the band the Pleasure Seekers, with her sisters. The band toured the country and were invited to Vietnam to entertain troops, before changing their name to Cradle in the early 1970’s and transitioning to a more hard-rock sound.

It was performing with Cradle where Suzi was first noticed by British producer Mickie Most, who was interested in Suzi as a solo performer. Mickie invited her to London and introduced her to professional songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, which turned out to be a winning formula.

In 1973, “Can the Can” flew to number one and went on to sell two and a half million copies worldwide. Between 1973 and 1980, Suzi featured in the British charts for no less than 101 weeks, and has sold to date over 55 million records.

Since then, she has released fifteen studio albums, ten compilation albums, and one live album. Other songs, including "48 Crash", "Daytona Demon", "The Wild One", and "Your Mama Won't Like Me", also charted highly overseas.

While Suzi enjoyed great success both in the UK and Australia, she is mostly known in the US for her cameo on hit TV show Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero. However the appearance might’ve helped her duet "Stumblin' In" with Smokie's lead singer Chris Norman reach No. 4 in the US.

Suzi is still active, writing, broadcasting, recording, and this year she’s embarking on her 38th tour of Australia.

 

On this episode, Gavin catches up with Australian media personality and radio broadcaster – Philip Brady OAM.

Philip Brady OAM is one of the country’s most experienced and familiar radio broadcasters, with a career spanning more than 6 decades.

From Kennedy to Vizard, Newton to Hogan, Philip has collaborated with Australia’s most iconic personalities.

Philip’s career started in tandem with the early beginnings of Australian television transmission in the late 1950s.

Like many of Australia’s media greats, he got his start providing voiceovers on Channel 9 and making appearances on Graham Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight.

Philip’s most substantial work came from his nearly 30-year position as host of 3AW’s Nightline program.

Just last year, Philip celebrated 65 years in the media industry, and is still co-hosting Remember When on 3AW with Simon Owens.

In 2018 Philip was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the broadcast media industry

Beyond broadcasting, Philip is a long-time supporter of The Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria and is one of the Australia Day Ambassador Program’s longest-serving members.

Listen to the podcast now to hear as Gavin catches up with one of Australia’s most enduring media personalities – Philip Brady: