All About The Music

Love songs are as old as love itself. And there are thousands to choose from. So with Valentine’s Day almost upon us, what might make the perfect love song for your own true love?

Hello and welcome to an especially romantic edition of All About The Music, with me, Neil Brand. Today I am here to help in your quest to find that special song for that very special someone. And believe me, I am throwing the net wide – from Nina Simone in 1966 right through to Jvke and his Golden Hour in 2022.

My advice? List...

What makes the perfect Christmas song? Is there a formula for a festive hit? Call me foolhardy, but I think there might be!  

Hello and welcome to this special Christmas edition of All About The Music, with me, Neil Brand. Today the guest chair is empty, but instead my studio sleigh is bursting with Christmas songs – from Slade’s joyfully raucous “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” to Chris Rea’s bittersweet drive home and the timeless grace of David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s unlikely collaboration.  

In this episode, I reveal my key ingredients for creating a Chr...

I love the unpredictable mix of music that guests bring to the show, and this episode is no exception – step forward jazz legend Miles Davis, and electronic producer Jon Hopkins! 

Hello and welcome to another All About The Music, where I’m joined by Charlie Luxton — architectural designer, familiar TV face, and lover of music with a tendency to push boundaries. Charlie’s playlist is as bold (yet often simple) as his buildings. We discuss the vulnerability of  Thom Yorke, a candidate for the best album ever from Marvin Gaye, and the wild inventiveness of Edinburgh’s Afrobeat-lad...

Paul Martin presented almost 1500 episodes of Flog It! But despite being a daily presence on our screens, how many of us knew that Paul was once a professional drummer?!  

Hello and welcome to this episode of All About The Music, where I’m chatting to Paul – a musician with stories as colourful as any found in the auction room, and someone for whom music and emotion are never far apart. 

Where else to start but drumming – the foundation of everything, as Paul explains. But, like the sorely missed Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters’ fame, some drummers ha...

I suspected we might be listening to The Beatles in this episode. Instead I got Blondie and The Monkees, neither of which were expected… both of which put a big smile on my face! 

Welcome to another episode of All About The Music, where I’m joined by Samira Ahmed — broadcaster, journalist and author – whose interest in music is every bit as great and varied as you’d expect from a presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.  

From her first album – Blondie’s Parallel Lines – via piano lessons and Claude Debussy, to the bizarre brilliance of William...

What a joy to sit down with the brilliant Stephen Frost – comedian, actor, and master improviser. I’ve been lucky to know Stephen for years, but he’s loved by a great many more for his roles in The Young Ones, Blackadder, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? 

Stephen’s love of music is just as infectious as his onstage energy. In fact, you can feel that energy in many of his choices! He loves the hit of an intro that grabs hold of you from the outset – step forward, Status Quo and Thin Lizzy. 

There’s also...

Welcome to this episode of All About The Music, where I have the pleasure of sitting down with Bruno Tonioli – legendary dance judge, choreographer and, as I now know – wonderful storyteller (and teacher of Italian).

Many will know Bruno from his decades on Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars. Fewer will know of his days choreographing the biggest stars in the business or what he really likes to listen to in his own time. 

Bruno’s passion for music pours forth with every story he tells. And what’s so clear is his love of p...

Hello and welcome to this second episode of All About The Music, where I’m joined by Rob Bell – presenter of many TV shows that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed from the comfort of my sofa. Rob’s explored the history of bridges, railways, lighthouses, and even nuclear submarines. But it turns out his love of music is just as entertaining and fascinating. 

Two things quickly became clear to me during our conversation for the show… Rob loves instruments (especially brass), and for Rob – music means having a good time. Whether it’s the unstoppable drive of AC/DC, the energet...

Hello, Neil Brand here – 

For this first show, I’m joined by the marvellous Keith Brymer Jones, much loved for his pottery designs and his emotional appearances as a judge on TV’s Great Pottery Throwdown. 

We talk creativity, nostalgia, and the many ways in which music finds its way into his life — whether he’s at the potter’s bench, on stage with his own band, or even at his mother’s wake.  

Keith’s chosen tracks take us from the 1970s right up to the present day and from the early days of Roxy Music...

Hello, I’m Neil Brand — composer, pianist, and lifelong music lover — and I’d like to invite you on a new musical adventure.

In All About The Music, I sit down with familiar faces from culture, comedy, and television to explore the songs that mean the most to them. Together, we uncover the memories, emotions, and moments behind their musical choices — and with my piano to hand, we dive into what makes that music so special.

Across the series, I’m joined by guests including Keith Brymer Jones, Bruno Tonioli, and Samira Ahmed, whose soundtracks take us from laughte...

“Famous voices. The songs that shaped them. The stories behind the music.”

In All About The Music, composer, pianist and BBC broadcaster Neil Brand sits down with familiar faces from culture, comedy, and television to explore the soundtracks of their lives. From iconic anthems to guilty pleasures, each guest shares the songs that shaped them — and Neil brings those tracks to life at the piano, sparking laughter, memories, and plenty of surprises.

Series One launches 22 October with weekly episodes featuring guests including Bruno Tonioli, Samira Ahmed, Stephen Frost, Rob Bell, Charlie Luxton, and Keith Brymer Jones...