Explore every episode of the podcast In My Life. Artists On The Record.

Kanye West goes on the record about:

• His parents — and, interestingly, it’s his father who he speaks mostly about
• Jay-Z
• Barack Obama
• Mental health
• His contradictions.

But mostly we’re going to explore what goes on in that head of his.

Bob Dylan goes on the record about:

• Why he felt a phony in the 60s.
• His recording process
• Writing songs vs writing books
• His Born Again phase — both when he’s in it and out of it
• Gun control
• Abortion
• His peers, including John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Leonard Cohen goes on the record about:

How he saw himself as a writer
Women
Love
His time on Mt Baldy, living as a monk
His comeback, and
Ageing — or "The Third Act" as he referred to it

Paul McCartney goes on the record about:

• How The Beatles formed
• Why Pete Best was replaced
• The moment he knew they’d made it
• What set them apart from other English bands
• How close did they ever get to re-forming
• Playing The Ed Sullivan Show, and
• The "Paul is dead" farce

Plus:

• He’ll tell you how to write a song
• How he would teach music to kids
• He’s asked if it gets harder to write songs as you get older
• And he also lifts the lid on some Beatles classics.

Paul McCartney goes on the record about:

• His childhood
• The first song he wrote
• His influences
• Meeting Elvis
• Linda.

He also goes into great detail about John Lennon. You’ll hear him recount the time they first met — and it’s before that fateful day at the Woolton Fete.

• Why they started writing songs together
• How they wrote songs together
• Why they were so prolific
• Their feud, and
• Where he was when he heard Lennon had died.

And speaking of writing songs, you’ll hear him talk about some of his best post-Beatles compositions.

Keith Richards goes on the record about:

• Getting his first guitar
• Getting beaten up at school
• Meeting Mick Jagger
• The Stones 
• Drugs
• Songwriting
• His favourite obscure Stones song
• One song he’d love to call his own.

Plus he also gets very personal and speaks about his son dying of cot death.

Jeff Buckley goes on the record about:

• His childhood
• His voice
• Grace the concept
• Grace the album
• Rap.

Plus:

• His mother talks about when Jeff met his father, Tim
• One of his major influences speaks about Buckley the singer.

John Lennon goes on the record about:

• Double Fantasy
• Did the songs come easily to him?
• What was it like being back in a recording studio?
• Songwriting
• Being a house-husband
• Plus something about himself you never knew. 

John Lennon goes on the record about:

• When he first wanted out of The Beatles 
• Songwriting
• Thoughts of returning to England
• Meeting and working with Elton John and David Bowie
• Signing off in 1975
• What he did for the next five years
• What made him return to recording
• And, heartbreakingly, what the future held in his eyes.

Nick Cave goes on the record about:

• His childhood
• How he got into music
• Forming his first band and the story from The Birthday Party to The Bad Seeds
• Drugs
• Religion
• Influences,
• Fatherhood 
• Songwriting
• His music

Bruce Springsteen goes on the record about:

• The artist who has had the single biggest influence on his career
• Auditioning for legendary Columbia producer John Hammond
• Being dubbed “The New Dylan”
• Why he plays three-hour-plus concerts
• Why Born In The USA, the song, wasn’t on Nebraska
• Broadway
• His first band 
• His first gig
• The only song he’s ever recorded that came to him in a dream.

David Bowie goes on the record about:

• Androgyny
• Being pigeon-holed
• Working with John Lennon
• Drugs
• Berlin
• 1980s
• Songwriting
• His songs
• His legacy

Bob Dylan goes on the record about:

• His childhood and parents
• Why he changed his name
• His influences
• His disdain for the press, Time magazine in particular
• Songwriting, and
• A couple of his most iconic songs.

David Bowie goes on the record about:  

• How to say his name
• His thoughts on his mother
• His influences
• What kind of songs did he set out to write
• Performing
• Ziggy
• The songs.

Neil Young goes on the record about:

• His father, and the nickname he had as a child
• The many tangents he’s taken in his career
• Buffalo Springfield
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Crazy Horse
• The infamous Geffen years
• His songwriting process

Plus:

• He has some excellent advice for budding artists 
• The now-iconic line “it’s better to burn out than it is to fade away”
• Where he got the phrase “rust never sleeps” from

Yusuf goes on the record about:

• Growing up
• Wanting to be a cartoonist
• How he got the name Cat Stevens
• Getting TB
• His spiritual journey
• Songwriting
• Quitting music
• His comeback
• The difference between Yusuf and Cat Stevens

Van Morrison goes on the record about:

• Performing
• Recording
• Songwriting

Plus he speaks about some of his most iconic songs and there’s also a fascinating insight into the real Van Morrison from fellow Irish musician Glen Hansard, who spent an eventful and enlightening night with him back in the day.

Van Morrison goes on the record about the period leading up to and including Astral Weeks. He talks about:

• His childhood
• His musical influences, Ray Charles in particular
• His early bands
• His window cleaning business
• Paying his dues in Germany
• Them
• Turning solo
• Brown Eyed Girl
• Astral Weeks

Angus Young  goes on the record about:

• Learning to play the guitar
• His influences
• His brother Malcolm
• The music

Plus, Brian Johnson goes on the record about:

• Bon Scott
• Auditioning for the band

Elton John goes on the record about:

• His childhood
• His problematic relationship with his father
• Drugs
• John Lennon
• His first marriage
• His sexuality
• His gift — and his gift is his song, of course
• Songwriting
• His favourite song

Plus he has a theory at to what killed Elvis and Michael Jackson — it wasn’t just the drugs.

Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour and Nick Mason go on the record about:

Syd Barrett
Dark Side Of The Moon
Wish You Were Here
The Wall
The Final Cut
Feuds
Live 8