Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery
Into the archives: Looking back at 50 years of Queen
On LiSTNR’s Behind the Hits podcast, the latest episode features Queen as they celebrate 50 years on record.
This episode tells the story of Queen, with archived interviews of Freddie Mercury himself and personal insights from friends and people who worked with them – including Queen band members lead guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, Keyboardist Spike Edney, and producer Roy Thomas Baker.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to Cameron Adams, LiSTNR Music Feature Writer about bringing the story of Queen to life.
“Bohemian Rhapsody is the most streamed song of the entire last century – above bands like Guns n’ Roses or The Beatles. They’ve had this incredible career, but they’ve regenerated themselves, which not many 70s bands have been able to do,” Adams says, speaking about why Queen is such an enduring band, even after 50 years.
“They were never critic darlings, they got a lot of bad reviews – especially in the 70s. But I think because they were doing stuff that was so different, that has made them a bit timeless in a way. Also, Freddie Mercury is just a legend, they don’t make them like him anymore.
“They’re one of the few bands that parents, grandparents, and kids can find something in. Maybe it’s because they were super diverse, and the fact that all four members wrote a British number one single is pretty rare. There are all these interesting factors that come up when you deep dive into Queen.”
With 50 years of material to sift through, Adams says that he had to pick a direction to take the episode in. In the end, there’s one stand-out Queen moment that
“We’re pretty lucky as SCA, there are incredible archives. I went back and found some great interviews, we’ve got interviews of Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, and Brian May which haven’t been heard for years. I went through those and used them to try and tell the story, and then would research around that.
“We really focused on Live Aid, because that’s such a key moment for people from all different generations. Still, if you go to YouTube, the views on that are insane.”
It’s not only the archives that Adams had access to while putting together the Behind the Hits episode. One of SCA’s very own was able to tell insider stories – like the one about how Katy Perry was almost the new front of the band over Adam Lambert.
“One of the resources we have is Rob Duckworth, a Triple M legend,” says Adams. “He told us this great story about how in 1985, The Works Tour was touring around Australia, and he bonded with the band so much that Brian May hosted a radio show with him. Then he ended up on tour with them and became a confidant. Then He bonded with a guy called Spike Edny, who’s been their on stage keyboard player since ‘84 – so he gave us this incredible access to Spike, and Spike is still there to this day with Adam Lambert. He told us the Katy Perry story.
“They were trying to find someone to front Queen, and Katy Perry was at the peak of her popularity. She couldn’t do it – she had rehearsal issues or something – and the same management looked after Adam Lambert.”
With the Live Aid concert the centrepiece of the episode, Adams says that Edny takes the listeners well and truly behind the scenes of the iconic concert.
“He points out that Queen at that point were a little bit washed up to many, they weren’t on Band-Aid, they weren’t invited on that single. They had a 6pm slot which wasn’t dark, it wasn’t a superstar kind of slot. He said that all these young bands were playing their new songs, but Queen knew the power of having a hit. He talks about being at the rehearsal, with the band going, ‘Well, what do we do? Play the hits’ – and they wrote down the set list on the back of a cigarette packet. He says, I wish we kept that!”
Ultimately, Adams says that it’s this sort of deeper info that he hopes listeners will take away from the episode.
“The insider information and insider perspective is really, really impressive. Hopefully, Queen fans will find that interesting, and people who just know a bit about the history will also be able to take some information away from it.”
[Listen to Behind the Hits here]
LiSTNR announces Season Two of BabyLab hosted by Emma Watkins and delves into the world of how babies think
The podcast series will see children’s entertainer Watkins break down the questions that parents may have about how babies learn to communicate. Questions to be explored in BabyLab season two include: where does the first word come from? Are screens good for learning? Does music improve communication skills?
Watkins will speak to both parents and experts, including Dr Genevieve Quek and Professor Jorge Serrador, to learn about the fascinating world of communication and babies.
Professor Sue Hespos, leader of the MARCS BabyLab at Western Sydney University, said the BabyLab podcast is an exciting new initiative that translates world class university research on child development into fun, bite-sized parenting ‘hacks’ for modern mums and dads wanting to help unlock their growing baby’s learning and language development.
“As one of the leading infant communication and child development research centres in Australia, we are proud to share our latest research and findings with parents and caregivers of young children,” she said.
Each of the nine episodes drops weekly every Wednesday.
Australian Podcast Awards reveal major sponsor and judges for 2023
The Australian Podcast Awards have revealed that iHeart will be their major sponsor for 2023 and have also revealed the list of judges including:
• Ali Aitken
• Brianna Ansaldo
• Sam Blacker
• Joel Callen
• Stephanie Coombes
• Astrid Edwards
• Mike Fitzpatrick
• Del Fordham
• Corey Layton
• Lap Phan
FW and CommBank release second season of There’s No Place Like Home
FW’s award-winning podcast There’s No Place Like Home returns for a second season to uncover the early signs of abusive relationships.
Interweaving real-life stories from victim-survivors with the testimony of experts, There’s No Place Like Home is a call to action for listeners to notice red flags in their own life or in a loved one’s relationship.
Audiences will meet eight victim-survivors who have generously shared their own experiences. Through the lens of their stories, There’s No Place Like Home explores the most common forms of non-physical abuse, including surveillance, gaslighting, love-bombing and financial abuse.
“In our second season of There’s No Place Like Home victim-survivors and their loved ones share harrowing stories of a kind of abuse that is too often dismissed or disbelieved,” says FW founder and managing director, Helen McCabe.
There’s No Place Like Home is hosted by Tarang Chawla whose own sister Nikita was murdered by her husband in 2015. Episodes explore what non-physical abuse looks like, what it feels like, and – most importantly – what to do if you suspect it’s happening to you or someone you care about.
[Listen to There’s No Place Like Home here]
POPSUGAR Australia announce POPSUGAR Love Rants, with Melissa Mason as host
Val Morgan Digital’s POPSUGAR Australia has announced the launch of a new podcast,
POPSUGAR Love Rants with Melissa Mason as host.
The new podcast will explore topics from love, sex, relationships, friendships, and self-love with Mason – an Australian journalist and editor with over ten years of experience in media.
Melissa Mason, host of POPSUGAR Love Rants said “It’s been incredible to have these raw and honest conversations with some of the most inspiring women in Australia. I have honestly learned so much about myself from these chats and I’m sure listeners will feel the same way.”
Youly, an online platform designed to empower women with fast convenient and discreet access to treatments and prescriptions, partnered with POPSUGAR Australia to create the twelve-part podcast.
Advertising services and media strategy agency Audience Group put its client, Youly as a sponsor for the podcast and is keen to engage with its young female audience.
New episodes will drop every Thursday.
[Listen to POPSUGAR Love Rants here]
Black Magic Woman partners with iHeart to amplify Indigenous voices and expand reach to regional Australia
The collaboration marks a significant milestone for Black Magic Woman as it becomes the first Indigenous podcast to join the iHeartPodcast NetworkAustralia, opening doors for expanded reach and the opportunity to educate and inspire listeners across metro and regional Australia.
Host Mundanara Bayles, the driving force behind Black Magic Woman says the partnership amplifies the potential of her podcast and the broader Indigenous community.
Speaking about the partnership Mundanara said: “Based on the research that most of our listeners are in capital cities, ARN’s extended reach in regional Australia presents a great opportunity for Black Magic Woman to gain more listeners and educate people in these areas.”
The Black Magic Woman Podcast is an uplifting conversational style program featuring mainly First Nations people from Australia and around the world sharing their stories about their journey to highlight the diversity amongst First Nations peoples.
[Listen to Black Magic Woman here]
