Camel Club Presents

In todays episode I catch up with Bill Hann (formerly of popular local band The Bessingbys and Misterkite) and these days an extremely accomplished podcast presenter of the much loved and viral tik tok sensation "This Album" Podcast.

When i set out on the journey of recording a mini podcast series to help promote the 20 year reunion show my intention was to chat with all the people involved in the night, and Bill as our headline DJ act of the night was the final piece of the puzzle.

We discuss his podcast (and hopefully had "...

In todays episode I catch up with fellow Rickmansworth school alumni Simon Francis. During my time promoting and gigging in Watford, Simon was ever present in local bands with his musical talent shining through for all to see.

It's therefore no surprise that when you fast forward twenty years he's gone on to tour the world as a session bass player for the likes of Ellie Goulding, The Pierces and Kylie Minogue. He's graced stages as big as Glastonbury's Pyramid, and appeared on Jools Holland and Jimmy Fallon.

These days when he's not on stage...

I was delighted to catch up with Paul who with his partner Laila have been a cornerstone in Watford's music community for over 12 years since they opened the LP Cafe in Watford. I was keen to chat all about running that business, but equally i first met Paul during the mid noughties when he was a founder member of 13 piece Wartgore Hellsnicker, who graced the Camel Club stage. He's since gone on to tour with other amazing Watford punk bands - The Social Club and Nervus - so plenty to discuss.

In todays episode i've ticked off two great Watford bands by catching up with Ross Collins, bass player of both The Stetsons and Langley Road to discuss the highs and lows of both bands during the noughties.

Welcome back to my conversation with Shane Lamont. Thanks for listening to part 1, but if you haven't yet, give that a go first (episode 10)

Todays episode concludes the chat talking all about the infamous Horns open mic, Shanes Memories of times spent in the film world due to family connections, and we discuss where he is today.

I had a great evening catching up with him, and i hope you enjoy it too!

We re join Pearse Grady to discuss his fantasy festival line up in todays bonus edition.

The Cock heavy festival has been born, but do keep an eye out for Madonna,

I had the pleasure of catching up with Watford music legend Shane Lamont in todays episode. In fact the conversation was so interesting with so much great content from Shane, that i felt it was right to split the episode into two parts.

Episode 10 covers his early years as we chat about where music came into his life, with some crazy travel tales of his years spent in the US. We conclude by discussing his reintroduction into Hertfordshire life where he met another local legend Pete Curtis, and joined a popular local covers duo Wing and a...

Todays episode moves a few stops up the Met Line where i've reconnected with legendary Dj and gig promoter - Pearse Grady.

Many bands from Watford would have played at Trinity Bar in Harrow on the Hill, and the scene and local following Pearse helped build echoed what was happening in our own town.

Like me, Pearse was tracking up and coming bands on myspace, and creating great shows that showcased local bands with up and coming artists. A feather in his cap is that during this time he booked the first shows performed by...

In todays episode Im delighted to be joined by Martin Renshaw of the band Phoenix Down.

Martin, Or Marv as i remember him, was not only a singer songwriter in the aforementioned band Phoenix Down, but played a huge and vital role in developing a creative arts community in the town. His work with Inspiral was incredibly pioneering and important in shaping the music scene to look beyond simply promoting a standard format gig.

We recorded the show at Sanctuary Studios in Watford, which allowed us to also record a live track written by Marv...

Todays episode is with the lovely Anna Swannell. She has to be one of the busiest creative minds that i've spoken with, she was ever present during the noughties Watford music scene and today continues to shine.

However, today, not only is she a performer / vocalist and musician, she is also a stand up comic, a community choir leader, a vocal coach and open mic host. When she had time to come up for air amongst all of these inspirational endeavours she joined me on zoom to discuss the old days and bring me up to speed...

Ask any Watford based musician about their memories of the Watford music scene during the noughties and they will undoubtedly mention The Horns. It became a local institution and not only hosted world famous and world class musicians but often went out of its way to support and provide a platform to galvanise young local talent.

In todays episode i'm thrilled to catch up with the man behind this iconic music venue - Denis Cook.

We discuss his younger days, to understand how music changed his life as well as a deep dive into everything...

Another bonus episode and today I spent some time catching up with the legendary Richie Illes - the man on the skins for the Fullertons to put together his dream two stage festival.

I couldn't have put this pod series together and not taken a moment to talk about my own band The Fullertons (formerly Camel One). However, equally i couldn't be host and guest, so i'm delighted that William Hann the viral sensation and all round top man of This Album Podcast has jumped into my seat to explore the stories and memories of our time as a band.

Expect tales of Wellington Boots, Moscow, Stringfellows strip club and the art of carrying Hammond organs up spiral staircases.

As has become accustom, Roberto has delivered to the podcast, the two stage festival of his dreams. I was intrigued by this one as Roberto has a superb taste in music across many genres - check it out to see which way this goes!

In episode 4 i'm delighted to be joined by the legend that is Roberto Cappellino.

From his early work in Rockets through to his current outfit "Lakes" Roberto has consistently impressed and inspired me. He has a vocal and musical talent that shows no bounds. He hasn't just followed the crowd but always pushed boundaries.

In my opinion he's written not just songs, but in some cases anthems.

However, as we find out - it could have been very different - had he been discovered during his early years as MC Sleaze!

Coup delivers his verdict on the ultimate two stage festival line up - I wonder who will headline.........?

In episode 3 I caught up with a very familiar face to Watford music.

In the mid noughties Chris Couper could often be found at Taylors, The Horns, Walkabout and pretty much anywhere else that hosted live music. These days though, he's often much further afield travelling the world in the quest of becoming one of the biggest Bruce Springsteen fans.

I was fascinated to learn more!

Chris Franks returns for a little bonus episode curating the Goulash Festival of his dreams. Take a listen to see who would have graced the lean to stage of Lee's Wood.

Chris Franks of Goulash promotions returns for a bonus episode where he curates his perfect 2 stage festival line up. It may be too big of a show for a field near Lee's wood Hertfordshire, but we can only try!

We've been quizzing guests to build their very own two stage festival - picking their favourite 5 bands of all time for the main stage and 5 bands of the noughties to cover the second stage.

Todays bonus episode is with our first podcast guest - Alex from Mohair.

In our second episode i catch up with my friend Chris who with his brother Jack and good friend Tom set up a pioneering all ages event in Watford in the mid noughties. We talk about the high points when they were booking the likes of Example and Professor Green, running weekend festivals and supporting local bands, to the lows where ultimately religion became their undoing. Enjoy!

I caught up with Alex of Mohair fame to deep dive the potted history of the band, we covered a lot of bases from the early days where violins and DJ's were in the mix right the way to the glory days of their "Small Talk" album release and UK / US tours supporting Razorlight.