The XS Noize Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Martin Blunt — founding member and bassist of The Charlatans, one of Britain's most enduring and beloved bands.

From their breakthrough with Some Friendly to the anthemic Tellin' Stories and the reflective Modern Nature, The Charlatans have spent more than three decades making music that moves between euphoria and heart. Now, with We Are Love, they've created a record that feels like a true celebration — warm, hopeful, and full of connection.

Martin talks about the chemistry that's kept the band together, the highs and heartbreaks along the way, and how they still find joy in playing together after all these years. He also pays heartfelt tribute to the late Rob Collins and Jon Brookes, whose spirit and influence continue to guide the band's sound and soul.

"If you gave us the being-in-a-band tick sheet, I think we've ticked quite a few of the boxes." – Martin Blunt

Listen to the full episode and join Martin as he looks back on the band's story, the soul behind We Are Love, and why — after all this time — The Charlatans are still chasing that same spark that started it all.

With over 250 episodes to its name, the XS Noize Podcast has become a trusted home for music's legends and trailblazers — a space where real conversations meet real stories. Hosted by Mark Millar, the show has welcomed an extraordinary lineup including Gary 'Mani' Mounfield, Glen Matlock, Miles Kane, Matt Berninger, Saint Etienne, D:Ream, Gavin Rossdale, The Farm, Snow Patrol, John Lydon, Will Sergeant, Ocean Colour Scene, Gary Kemp, Doves, Gavin Friday, David Gray, Anton Newcombe, Peter Hook, Razorlight, Sananda Maitreya, James, Crowded House, Elbow, Cast, Kula Shaker, Shed Seven, Future Islands, Peter Frampton, Bernard Butler, Steven Wilson, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, The Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, and Michael Head — among many more.

Explore the complete XS Noize Podcast archive here

New episodes of the XS Noize Podcast drop weekly — subscribe for more in-depth conversations with the artists who shape our lives.

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Mani — legendary bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, and one of the most influential figures in British rock history.

From the euphoric rise of The Stone Roses — the band that defined a generation and changed the sound of British music — to the wild creative freedom of Primal Scream, Mani's journey has been nothing short of iconic.

In this conversation, Mani looks back on the moments that shaped him — from the late-'80s Manchester underground, when The Roses' mix of psychedelic swagger and dancefloor groove ignited the Madchester movement, to recording their classic debut album and riding the wave of euphoria that followed. He opens up about the frustration of losing momentum during the long and bitter legal battles with Silvertone Records and FM Revolver, a period that tested the band's spirit but ultimately forged their defiant edge.

He recalls the band's rebirth with Second Coming, his explosive years with Primal Scream, and the emotional highs of reuniting The Roses for the monumental Heaton Park shows — one of the greatest comebacks in modern music. Mani reflects on the brotherhood, the chaos, and the transcendence that came with it all — and what it means to live through those storms with joy still intact.

"The four of us. Boom. There it is. The power of four. And it was beautiful." – Mani (on the magic of The Stone Roses' reunion)

Mani also shares personal memories of the Beautiful Thing sessions, the deep connection between groove and spirituality, and how he's carried The Roses' sense of defiance and soul into everything since. With trademark humour and honesty, he talks about surviving the highs and lows of fame, the secret to keeping the spirit of rock 'n' roll alive, and why music, at its best, still feels like a resurrection.

Listen to the full episode and join Mani as he reflects on a lifetime in music — from Manchester to the world — The groove, the chaos, the resurrection.

In Episode #247 of the XS Noize Podcast, host Mark Millar is joined by Finn O'Brien — frontman of London via Bristol indie band The Jacques — to discuss the band's powerful new album Make Repetition.

The Jacques' story is one of resilience, tragedy, and survival. Formed as teenagers, they rose quickly with early festival slots and a Libertines support show at Hyde Park, before facing devastating setbacks — including the loss of bandmate Will Hicks and Finn's own battle with addiction. Now, with Make Repetition!, produced by Dan Swift, Jules Apollinaire, and Gordon Raphael, the band have emerged with their strongest, most confident work to date.

In this episode, Finn talks about the stories behind songs like "Nothing Amazing" and "Via Dolorosa," how he ended up making John Lydon cry while touring with PiL, and what really happened when the band's gear was stolen by their tour manager. He also reflects on music as a vital lifeline, the resilience that has carried The Jacques forward, and why their next record might be a concept album.

Previous XS Noize Podcast Guests
Over 240 episodes in, XS Noize has welcomed legends and trailblazers, including:

Matt Berninger, Saint Etienne, D:Ream, Gavin Rossdale, The Farm, Snow Patrol, John Lydon, Will Sergeant, Ocean Colour Scene, Gary Kemp, Doves, Gavin Friday, David Gray, Anton Newcombe, Peter Hook, Razorlight, Sananda Maitreya, James, Crowded House, Elbow, Cast, Kula Shaker, Shed Seven, Future Islands, Peter Frampton, Bernard Butler, Steven Wilson, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, The Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, Michael Head — and many more.

Find The XS Noize Podcast's complete archive of episodes here.

In episode #158 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Peter Cunnah from D:Ream to discuss the brand new double CD compilation, "D:Ream - The Best Thing."

Peter Cunnah & Al Mackenzie made their name in the early '90s, having several top-ten singles, including hitting number 1 with Things Can Only Get Better. D'Ream has released "D:Ream - The Best Thing", a brilliant new compilation that includes all the hits, remastered with unreleased live versions and unreleased demos.

In this interview, Peter Cunnah talks about the new compilation, his early days with Derry rock band Tie the Boy, the success of D'Ream in the 90s, new music from D'Ream in 2024 and lots more.  Listen to episode #158 of The XS Noize Podcast with Peter Cunnah – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Future Islands, Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

Listen via YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS – Find The XS Noize Music Podcast's complete Archive of episodes here.

In episode #157 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Galen & Paul, a new project from Galen Ayers, the singer-songwriter whose artistic projects include the rightly acclaimed solo album 'Monument', and Paul Simonon, bassist with The Clash, Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad and The Queen.

After the bilingual charms, international genre-spanning adventures, and picture postcard images of pan-European culture of their debut album Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day? Galen & Paul have released the new EP Uno Más.

In this interview, Galen & Paul discuss their meeting, debut album, new EP, and more. Listen to episode #157 of The XS Noize Podcast with Galen & Paul – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Future Islands, Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

In episode #156 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring to discuss their new album, People Who Aren't There Anymore, released on 26 January 2024.

The seventh album from the band - Samuel T. Herring (vocals, lyrics), William Cashion (bass, guitars), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards, programming), and Michael Lowry (drums) - follows 2020's As Long As You Are. People Who Aren't There Anymore heralds a new chapter for Future Islands, who continue to challenge themselves and each other despite having formed nearly two decades ago.

Where they've pursued ever-higher energy anthems in the past, they've turned inward this time and unlocked a new level of ferocity, delivering some of their most inspiring and most heart-breaking tracks by doing the opposite: taking their time, making each breath, each syllable, each cymbal crash count. The result is a powerful, defining statement from a group of musicians who have made the best album of their career.

In this interview, Samual T Herring talks about the writing and recording of the album, that excellent Letterman performance, navigating loss and resilience and lots more. Listen to episode #156 of The XS Noize Podcast with Samuel T. Herring – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

Listen via YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS – Find The XS Noize Music Podcast's complete Archive of episodes here.

In episode #155 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Ed Vyvyan and Tom Rea from dream rock four-piece junodream about their debut album, Pools Of Colour.

Lined ten tracks deep, the band's debut album, Pools of Colour, is about coming to terms with insignificance. The profoundly immersive dream-rock LP asks essential questions, delving into the more insidious and disconnected parts of modernity and the human condition, presenting a band more interested in a cohesive, egoless whole than the perspective of four separate members. In sacrificing the desires of the self, they say, your creative collaboration becomes more fruitful and the world around you more colourful.

Sharing a deep connection resulting from being best friends for a decade, alongside a DIY formula at the heart of everything they do, junodream is building a captivating world within their tight community of fans and collaborators.

In the five years since their inception, junodream has amassed nearly half a million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 23 million collective streams on DSPs, forging blistering and immersive live performances, including a rapturous set at this year's The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.

In this interview, Ed and Tom discuss their fantastic debut album, Pools of Colour and lots more.

In episode #154 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Simple Minds bass guitar legend Derek Forbes to discuss his new autobiography, A Very Simple Mind: On Tour.

Derek Forbes is known for those iconic spine-rattling bass riffs, which we recognise in most Simple Minds' songs, and he wrote and co-wrote many of the band's earliest classics. Derek is also well known internationally as a songwriter and bassist for Big Country and Propaganda.

He won an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection in 2016 for his songwriting for Simple Minds, voted best bass player in the World in 1982 and best bass player from Scotland in 2010.

In this interview, Derek Forbes talks about how he nearly joined the Navy, the early days of Simple Minds, recording with David Bowie and Iggy Pop, getting sacked by Simple Minds and lots more. Listen to episode #154 of The XS Noize Podcast with Derek Forbes – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

Listen via YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS – Find The XS Noize Music Podcast's complete Archive of episodes here.

In episode #153 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Rob Spragg, AKA Larry Love from Alabama 3, to discuss their new studio album Cold War Classics Vol.2.

Alabama 3, the legendary band from Brixton, South London, are back with their majestic 14th studio album Cold War Classics Vol.2. Best known for their hit song Woke Up This Morning the iconic theme song for the acclaimed TV show The Sopranos Alabama 3 has earned a dedicated global fanbase and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of music genres.

With Cold War Classics Vol.2, the band are set to continue their musical legacy and captivate audiences once again. In this interview, Rob Spragg, AKA Larry Love, talks about the themes of the new album, upcoming live shows and lots more. Listen to episode #153 of The XS Noize Podcast with Larry Love – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

In episode #152 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Liam Croker from electrofunk soul sonic collective Winachi to talk about their long-awaited debut album Sympathy for the Future alongside the album's producer, the legendary John X (David Bowie, The Rolling Stones).

Winachi have finally released their debut album, Sympathy for the Future. The album features guest vocalists Natalie Wilde (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) & Rowetta (Happy Mondays) and was recorded & produced in Los Angeles at Earthstar Creation Center (Venice Beach). In this interview, Liam Croker and John X talk about writing and recording the album in Los Angeles, studio antics lots more. Listen to episode #152 of The XS Noize Podcast with Liam Croker and John X – BELOW:

Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have been Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Nick Heyward, Steven Wilson, Matt Goss, Billy Nomates, Tom Meighan, Toyah Wilcox, Midge Ure, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, The Brand New Heavies.

Listen via YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS – Find The XS Noize Music Podcast's complete Archive of episodes here.