Gavin Wood's Podcast

Marty Rhone was born as Karel (or Karl) Lawrence van Rhoon on 7 May 1948 in the Dutch East Indies  (Indonesia) His father was Eddy Emile van Rhoon, his mother was Judith Olive.  She was a singer and actress, who met Eddy through the Sydney jazz scene; he was a visiting pianist.   The couple married in 1947, and migrated to Australia on 21 April 1950 and briefly lived in Sydney and Brisbane, and then moved to Darwin.  

Rhone was tau...

Irwin Thomas (born Irwin Thomas Whittridge; 6 January 1971) is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performs professionally using the stage name Jack Jones from when he was the lead vocalist-guitarist in the band Southern Sons (1990–1996).

His other bands collaborations include Electric Mary, She Said Yes and Ahmet Zappa. He is known for his collaborations with John Farnham and Rick Price.

He released his...

Graham William Nash OBE (born 2 February 1942) is an English-American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of the Hollies in 2010.He was a...

Susan Kay Quatro was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1950, and grew up pursuing performing. Suzi was playing bongos on stage with her father’s jazz band by the age of eight, and by 14 she’s changed her name to Suzi soul and had left school to become a Go-Go dancer.

By the age of 15, Suzi was fronting the band the Pleasure Seekers, with her sisters. The band toured the country and were invited to Vietnam to entertain troops, before ch...

On this episode, Gavin catches up with Australian media personality and radio broadcaster – Philip Brady OAM.

Philip Brady OAM is one of the country’s most experienced and familiar radio broadcasters, with a career spanning more than 6 decades.

From Kennedy to Vizard, Newton to Hogan, Philip has collaborated with Australia’s most iconic personalities.

Philip’s career started in tandem with the early beginnings of Australian televis...

On this episode of Gavin Wood’s Countdown podcast, Gavin catches up with American singer, songwriter and composer - Jimmy Webb.

Jimmy Webb achieved success from a young age, aged just 21 when he won his first Grammy Award, winning Song of the Year in 1967, for the song, “Up, Up, and Away”.

As well as “Up, Up, and Away”, Jimmy has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacA...

Tommy Emmanuel was a working professional age of 6, playing rhythm guitar in his family’s band as they toured Australia.

He has never had a formal guitar lesson, in fact, he doesn’t read music or know music theory. However, he’s considered one of the modern masters of the guitar, with Chet Atkins naming Tommy as a Certified Guitar Player, an honour bestowed to only 4 other people.

Tommy’s guitar skills grew from natural talent ...

Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the Pyromania album. Prior to joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene. Outside of Def Leppard, with which he still records and performs live, he has been involved in a number o...

Born Christopher John Cheney in 1975, Chris graduated with a VCE from Wheelers Hill Secondary College. Chris played guitar since age 6 and studied jazz at Box Hill Tafe in 1994-95. However, it was at a barbecue Chris' was introduced by his sister to Scott Owen. In 1992 they formed a cover band called 'The Runaway Boys' taken from a Stray Cats song of the same name which performed covers of the band's songs with the ...

Peter first came to prominence with Stylus in 1975, releasing four albums with hits such as ‘Summer Breeze’ and ‘World of Make Believe’ before the band split in 1980.

A successful solo career followed throughout the 80’s, with a top 20 hit for his first release, ‘Fear of Thunder’, and success with the song ‘Blame it on the Weather’ – not only for Peter but also for John Farnham, whose voice, incidentally, Peter’s soaring vocals are...

Melbourne-born sisters, Vika and Linda Bull, grew up singing at church, and were taught how to harmonize by their Tongan mother.

The talented siblings first made their mark as members of Joe Camilleri’s The Black Sorrows in the late 1980s, also providing backing vocals for other artists including Hunters and Collectors, Archie Roach, John Farnham, Deborah Conway, and Paul Kelly.

In 1994 they left the band to launch their own career...

Lee (Vassilis) Simon was born in 1954 in Melbourne to Greek immigrant parents. At age five, he changed his first name to Lee, as "it was easier to use." He worked as an audio engineer from 1971 at local radio station, 3AW. His first job as a DJ was for radio 2BE in Bega, New South Wales followed by stints at 7HT (Hobart), 2NX (Newcastle) and 2SM (Sydney).

Simon returned to Melbourne as a DJ and announcer for radio station...

Mike Brady was born in England and moved with his family to Australia when he was 11 years old. His recording career began in the mid 60’s with the formation of MPD Ltd (Mike, Pete & Danny).
After MPD Ltd, Mike spent the majority of his time building his career as producer and writer of jingles for Television and Radio. One such jingle brought Mike back into the public spotlight. He was asked to record a promotional song f...

Bill Armstrong - Legendary Music Producer was born  in 1929.

The Melbourne audio technician-turned-producer has been at the forefront of the local music industry for more than 60 years.

In the mid-50s, Armstrong was working as a "balance officer" at ABC Radio, producing live-to-air programs, outside broadcasts and variety shows and working with the likes of Graham Kennedy. In 1956, he was charged with overseeing the P...

Bill Armstrong - Legendary Music Producer was born  in 1929.

The Melbourne audio technician-turned-producer has been at the forefront of the local music industry for more than 60 years.

In the mid-50s, Armstrong was working as a "balance officer" at ABC Radio, producing live-to-air programs, outside broadcasts and variety shows and working with the likes of Graham Kennedy. In 1956, he was charged with overseeing the P...