Mick and the PhatMan Talking Music
Join Mick and Jeff as they talk about artists, albums and music genres with passion that comes from personal connection. They’ve seen artists in concert at venues that don’t even exist today, bought albums when they were released on vinyl and, in some cases, met the artists.
Sometimes they love the artist or music they're talking about. Sometimes they don’t. But, without fail, you'll always hear something you didn’t know.
Episodes
95 episodes
Cutting down Tall Poppies
Just because you’re successful doesn’t mean everyone likes you. In fact, success can often draw criticisms that might not be given to other performers. In Australia, we call that the “Tall Poppy Syndrome”, where people lo...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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58:18
Warren Zevon – Finally inducted into the Hall of Fame!!
A while back, we talked at length about Warren Zevon, one of the great American songwriters and one of our idols. So, this year, Warren Zevon has been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, along with Bad Company and Cyndi...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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59:05
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - More than Come Up and See Me!
The late Steve Harley was most famous for his 1975 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), but there’s much more to the story than one good single. We look at the band’s early albums and Steve Harley's career around and after that single ...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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59:41
Musical taste - a collection of influences
Why do you like the music you do? Is it as simple as “It’s what I heard on the radio”? Or something deeper? People with elder siblings may be exposed to music earlier than first children. Jeff had an older brother, so wa...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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1:17:33
Legendary Women of Rock – Patti Smith & Marianne Faithfull
This episode, we look back at two hugely influential women artists – Patti Smith, whose 1975 “Horses” album inspired so many artists, and Marianne Faithfull, whose passing in January, 2025, is a huge loss. “Horses”,...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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1:10:13
More of our Rob Younger interview (with better sound) (#2)
Part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Radio Birdman's Rob Younger. From music production styles, to why some people can't keep it in their pants, and the disgraceful lack of credit given to Stevie Wright for the success of The Easyb...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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2:02:40
A conversation with Radio Birdman's Rob Younger
A special treat for you this episode! Rob Younger, lead singer of legendary Australian group, Radio /Birdman, joins us in the studio to give us his thoughts on everything from music production to the influence of the Beatles on all rock m...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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1:31:33
Who's brave enough to cover Bowie's "Heroes"?
In case you hadn’t noticed, we love a good cover version! This episode, we’re looking at covers - staples, covers from strange sources, and some songs that have had a LOT of covers, including a bunch of covers of David Bowie's “Heroes”, one of ...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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1:14:02
Great Debut Albums
Every band/artist has to have a first album. Sometimes those albums are good, sometimes they’re not, and sometimes they just show potential. This episode, we look at some first albums over the gamut of the rock era that we regard as...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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1:33:59
2024 - Wrapping up another year of great stories & music!
Well, this is the last episode of Season 4, and once again, it’s been a ball of fun (and music). 4 years and still going strong – bigger and better than ever! We look back at “Knockin’ on Heaven's Door” and "Rock News", as well as s...
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Season 4
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Episode 20
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1:09:15
Creedence Clearwater Revival – what really happened?
Everyone knows and loves Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their run of hits at the end of the '60’s, and their enduring popularity, has rarely been equaled. Not so well-known is the story of the clashes that caused their run to end so abruptly. We...
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Season 4
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Episode 19
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1:05:01
Were the 80’s really that bad?
The 80's is a decade with many musical failings. But they produced some great music, too. This episode, we look at what Rolling Stone magazine considers to be the best songs of the 80’s. We have criticised Rolling Stone in the past ...
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Season 4
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Episode 18
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58:27
Nick Lowe - What's so funny?
This episode spends time with Nick Lowe, a British performer, who started out with pub rock band, Brinsley Schwarz, and Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile. Lowe’s solo career has produced a huge bunch of great songs – many of which you’ve heard, even if yo...
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Season 4
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Episode 17
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1:01:13
"Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" - David Bowie's last great album
David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” is, for many fans, his last great album. Mick regards it as one of Bowie’s best, while “Ashes to Ashes” is Bowie's confession to a decade of hedonism. Mick and Jeff talk through what...
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Season 4
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Episode 16
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1:12:05
Albums we regret buying
As we grew up, music was the most important thing there was. As part of that, we bought some albums that weren’t great, and time has generally proven our assessments right! This episode, we talk about some of those "dud" albums, by artist...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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1:15:07
Down the Rabbit Hole - Things we find on the Web
In today’s episode, we look at how social media gives us a grab-bag of people’s memories of stars and some who weren’t quite so successful, or scarcely successful at all. Nonetheless, they are remembered by some and lionised on social med...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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1:20:08
The strange ways some bands got their names
All bands need a name, but the process of getting that name is different for each band. This episode, we look at how a bunch of well-known bands got their names. Some are amusing, some are horrifying, some are dark or seedy – be ready for...
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Season 4
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Episode 13
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1:16:59
Bands who changed their sound mid-career
It’s not unusual for bands to change their sound or style as they move through their career. We take a look at bands that changed their sound substantially (or started a completely new sound) for a whole lot of reasons - from The Beatles,...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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1:15:01
Nick Cave – From "Shivers" to 2024 solo piano & bass
Nick Cave. After a career that would exhaust a lesser man, he’s still recording and performing breathtaking work. Mick’s just seen him live with only his piano, and a bass guitar, and can’t stop raving! We look at how he started and...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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1:02:00
Weird & Wonderful Collaborations
Musicians love to collaborate. We thought we'd have a look at some that are just great, some that are weird, and some that are simply awful! As usual, some you'll know, and some you won’t. Our “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” i...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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1:15:16
Jethro Tull - killer riffs with a flute player standing on one leg
Jethro Tull is one of the stranger turns taken by rock music over more than 50 years. Mick and Jeff look back at some of the band’s best work, and, maybe, some of their strangest. The “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is Qu...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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1:02:05
Jarrah McCleary/Panama - how artists earn money today - live interview
This week, something a little different for you – our first live interview! Jarrah McCleary is an Australian musician - writer, songwriter & producer - whose music, a mix of synth-heavy sounds and beats to smooth electronica, is...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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1:26:12
Johnny Cash – A grand cornerstone of rock music
This episode looks at Johnny Cash’s “The American Recordings”, a series of 6 albums released on American Records between 1994 and 2010. By 1994, when he signed to Rick Rubin’s American Records, it ...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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1:12:58
"Songs for Drella" - Lou Reed & John Cale's moving tribute to Andy Warhol
“Songs for Drella”, Lou Reed & John Cale’s marvelous 1990 posthumous tribute to Andy Warhol, offers an intensely personal view of Warhol with songs and playing that rank among the finest in either man’s career. Their first collaboration sin...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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57:29
Outrageous Tour Demands – You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!
We all know that rock and pop stars live in a different universe to us mere mortals. Many make strange demands for things that must be provided before they’ll perform a show. Today, we look at stars’ demands – whe...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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1:13:56