Ever wonder why some gigs tattoo themselves on your memory while others fade as the lights come up? We sit down with two lifelong friends and serial gig-goers to trace a fan’s journey from teenage awe at the Brighton Dome to the organised chaos of modern stadium shows. Their stories move fast: queuing for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court, discovering Rory Gallagher’s fire, and catching Deep Purple tearing up the Half Moon in Putney. Along the way, we weigh what really matters — rooms that sing, mixes that breathe, and the crowd energy that turns a setlist into a shared event.

The debate gets spicy where performance meets production. Stadiums bring scale, but do giant screens make you a spectator instead of a participant? From Oasis at Wembley to Coldplay’s LED spectacles, we unpack when visuals elevate and when they steal the show. Then a pivot to the pure: Bob Dylan’s phone-free theatre, where every phrase lands because there’s nothing else to look at. We talk queues, exits, and the odd miracle ticket, but keep coming back to sound — the tone, separation, and punch that made the Brighton Dome a revelation and Rush a byword for precision.

No fan’s tour is complete without guitar heroes. Jimmy Page for invention, Rory Gallagher for heart, Gary Moore for bite, David Gilmour for melody, Prince for the solo that still silences rooms. Thin Lizzy’s revolving door of players, Wishbone Ash’s harmonies, and the support acts that later exploded — Def Leppard under AC/DC, Bon Jovi under KISS — all feed a bigger question: why did so many bands from the 70s endure while newer acts struggle to jump from clubs to arenas? Fewer venues, different economics, and the vanishing art of earning a following onstage are part of the answer.

If you love live music — the sweat, the surge, the note that lifts a room — this conversation is a reminder of why we keep showing up. Hit follow, share it with a gig buddy, and tell us: which concert still lives rent-free in your head?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

A powerboat race, a broken fax, and a last‑minute visa scramble set the stage for a story about identity, reinvention, and the stubborn joy of playing loud.

In this espisode Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason 'sits down' with Uday Benegal—frontman of India’s pioneering rock band Indus Creed—to trace the band’s evolution from Rock Machine, the bold name change that reframed their destiny, and the craft behind blending tabla, sarangi, and bansuri into guitar-driven songs without falling into cliché.

The journey flows through sunburnt beach gigs in Dubai, bewildered crowds in the USSR, a UK Womad run, and openers with Europe, Bon Jovi, and Santana. Uday contrasts the tour cultures with insight—how Santana’s crew modeled true professionalism—and shares a delightfully messy onstage cameo with Slash in Bangalore.

Along the way, we explore the role MTV Asia played in easing a risky rebrand, the practical magic of backline and FOH, and the creative decision-making that kept identity authentic while broadening appeal for global audiences.

There’s a detour to New York, where disillusion with India’s shifting industry pushed Uday toward indie cinema and writing for the Village Voice, before a return home reignited the band with younger players and new energy. We go deep on recording Evolve in Mumbai and landing mix legend Tim Palmer through a thoughtful cold email—a field guide in how independent bands can reach world-class collaborators. Most of all, Uday reflects on the legacy he cherishes: helping shift India’s live circuit from cover-band defaults to original music as the standard. He also teases a gentler solo project produced by a rising young talent, proving reinvention never really ends.

If stories of music branding, cross-cultural production, and life on the road light you up, this one’s for you. Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves rock history with heart, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find us.

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com

Phil Blizzard and Russell Mason joins concert producer Jacek Slotala for a hands‑on journey taking us from Polish postcard singles to Pink Floyd’s sold‑out Moscow shows.

This fascinating, incredible story is told by the fixer who cracked Gosconcert and flew tours on army planes. We share how food, language, and nerve turned red tape into roaring crowds without a single lyric censored.

A postcard single pressed in 1960s Poland. A phone that never stops ringing. And a plan bold enough to fly a rock tour on a Soviet army plane. This conversation pulls back the curtain on how Western music crossed the Iron Curtain, from jam‑packed Leningrad halls to Pink Floyd lighting up Moscow without a single lyric censored.

We trace the path from Pagart, Poland's state monopoly, to the first real breakthrough: Wishbone Ash in Leningrad, chosen for taste and temperament. Food, not lights, became the make‑or‑break factor, so the team toured with a portable kitchen, UK‑trained Polish chefs, and pallets from West Berlin. Those breakfasts backstage did more for morale than any rider. Then came a bigger swing: assemble a new band, the Lost Empires, and barter shows for flight hours to reach Siberia. Gear lashed into an Antonov, crew in army seats, and a bucket with a lid for a loo—proof that ingenuity beats infrastructure when the music matters.

The Pink Floyd chapter is a masterclass in production under pressure. Fifty‑six trucks replaced by cargo jets, a customs bridge to win crucial hours, and a last‑minute hotel wipeout solved with roubles and relentless door‑knocking. When national mourning paused a show after a tragic explosion, the band added a makeup date at the end to keep faith with fans and still make Helsinki. Along the way we meet interpreters who could silence police, legendary road crew soldering mid‑tour, and the caterer who trained a generation. No propaganda, no grandstanding—just the quiet power of concerts to ease tension and make strangers sing the same chorus.

We also look at milestone tours that reset expectations: Procol Harum reopening Poland, Tina Turner building her Private Dancer comeback from bare floors, and how language, respect, and precision got Western acts invited back.

If you care about live music logistics, cultural diplomacy, or the sheer stubborn joy of making the impossible run on time, you’ll feel right at home here.

Press play, subscribe for more untold tour stories, and leave a review with the wildest backstage fix you’ve ever heard—what would you have done in that Moscow hotel scramble?

It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com