The H Files with Kevin Hillier

Peter Asher has had a career like a Russian doll. It started as an 8 year old actor working with the likes of Boris Karloff. While Peter's sister Jane became a leading actress, Peter was drawn to music and with Gordon Waller became the worldwide hit making duo Peter & Gordon. They did get some help from Peter's sister's boyfriend and Asher house lodger Paul McCartney, who wrote a few songs the duo recorded.

As Peter tells Kevin...

Andy Kim has been a star for a very long time and his musical footprint started in the legendary Brill Building in New York, the mecca for budding songwriters from all over the world. When a young, wide-eyed Canadian walked in for a meeting with Jeff Barry, it was a life changing experience, and the start of a Hall of Fame musical career.

Andy talks about writing Sugar Sugar, a worldwide number one song for The Archies, and his sol...

Mike McClellan has carved a very successful career across many decades because he is a craftsman, a showman, a man with a curious mind and a passion for singing and songwriting that he still works at today at the ripe old age of 80. 

As he prepares for his latest tour, Mike reflects on what drives him, what makes him happy, what has influenced him and what has touched him over the year.  

As you will di...

Buzz Bidstrup is a jack of all trades and master of plenty - including storytelling - and does he have a story or two to tell. The man behind the drum kit for The Angels is also a founding member of Gangajang, record producer and sound engineer for many of this country's best artists, manager, promoter, songwriter (No Secrets - no less) and now author of the book No Secrets (Harper Collins) that tells the behind-the-scenes story of...

It has been 50 years since we first heard David Surkamp's unique voice as frontman of Pavlov's Dog and on the eve of the band's first Australian tour, David shares his thoughts on his amazing musical career. From writing the iconic Julia to meeting Vanda and Young on his only visit to Australia, David tells a great story. 

Cowboy Junkies are also on their way to Australia for their 40th anniversary tour and founding member Mic...

Paul Carrack is a great singer. That is a fact, not an opinion, and he is a genuinely nice bloke to chat to, as I found out when we caught up to discuss his latest musical offering “The Country Side of Paul Carrack”.

Paul's voice lends itself to any style of music as he has shown across his career from the early days with Ace (How Long), UK Squeeze (Tempted) and Mike & the Mechanics (Silent Running) to his many succ...

Two stunning guests on this episode and some cracking music unveiled.

John Swan aka Swanee is back with a great new album 'Believe,' featuring his friends and family who just happen to be the cream of Australia's music talent. John talks about putting this 16 track gem together with help from his mate Brian 'Frog' Harris of Songland Records. The guest list includes his brothers Jimmy and Alan Barnes, his brother-in-law Diesel, plus...

It's the old 'Let's get the band back together' and after a 51 year hiatus, the original Alice Cooper Group returns with Alice and a new album - The Revenge of Alice Cooper.  Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith and Michael Bruce talk about what happened, what's happening and how this new album came together, including an appearance from ther late Glen Buxton. As you will hear, they have lost nothing in the half a century between albums...

As the Two Ronnies used to say, "In a packed program tonight" we have three very fine guests for episode 18.

First up Angus Burchall, long time drummer in the John Farnham Band, chats about how his adventures with John started and his latest recorded work as part of Horizon. Horizon features Angus, Brett Garsed (Episode 14), the late Stuart Fraser and Lee Bradshaw. Check out the album  horizonmusic.com.au 

My second guest...

The British musical invasion of the sixties might have been led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones but Manfred Mann were in the front row of that first fleet of artists that dominated the charts and became the soundtrack of a generation. Who can forget songs like Pretty Flamingo, Mighty Quinn, Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Just Like a Woman, Come Tomorrow, Fox on the Run and at least a dozen more?

Tom McGuinness was a member of Manfred Ma...

It is another very entertaining episode of The H Files with guests Steve Kilbey and Gary Sandy. Kilbey is one of the most original, outspoken and refreshing performers in Australian music and is not shy with his views on the business. As he prepares for a career retrospective tour of the country, he is in good form about the past, present and future. 

American actor Gary Sandy was the star of WKRP in Cincinnati, a hugely succe...

Gilbert O'Sullivan and Dion Pride join Kevin for a chat as they prepare for their tours of Australia. Gilbert's songs have been part of our lives since he debuted back in the early seventies with unforgettable and timeless songs like Clair, Get Down and Alone Again Naturally. He talks about those songs, his songwriting, the early days and much more.  

Dion, a very talented musician in his own right, is the son of the lege...

Brett Garsed is a hell of a guitar player and brilliant musician who came to prominence in the Whispering Jack days with John Farnham. Brett travelled the world with his guitar but has settled back in regional Victoria and chats about his latest work on the Horizon project, his solo material and the Farnham days. 

For the first time we also open the H Files Vault and find an episode of Kev's old national radio show Rocksat, wh...

An undisputed musical legend, Dion might be 85 but he is ageless and still rocks with the best of them. Dion and his friend Adam Jablin have collaborated to produce a new book full of Dion's great stories, life experiences and sage advice. The pair join Kevin for a fascinating chat about life and those classic Dion musical memories - The Wanderer, Ruby Baby, touring with Buddy Holly and his Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction by L...

Concert goers have lots to choose from in the coming months and two of the most anticipated tours are my guests in this episode. JJ Burnel, an original member of The Stranglers, shares stories from the punk days of pub gigs and punch ups through to the success of Golden Brown and Skin Deep and now as older statesmen of the UK bands from that era. Their 50th anniversary tour is about to hit Australia. 

Roachford's journey is ve...

Todd Rundgren is undoubtedly one of the most interesting musicians of our generation. He slips between musical genres with ease and has always kept the critics and fans wondering about what is coming next. On the eve of his latest Australian tour, Todd talks about a wide range of subjects including sport, his family, how to blow up AI, becoming a stage singer rather than a studio vocalist, his thoughts on producing other artists an...

On the eve of his latest Australian tour, Gary Puckett joins Kevin to chat about his incredible career which saw his band The Union Gap outsell The Beatles in their prime. From Woman Woman to Lady Willpower and Young Girl, the hits rolled out, dominating the charts and radio and television worldwide in the late 1960s. Sixty years later, Gary is still packing venues and those songs have stood the test of time and generations. 

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Jeff Baxter was and is the ultimate rock 'n roll gun for hire. His car full of guitars has travelled the length and breadth of the USA and there would hardly be a recording studio in which he hasn't plied his trade and left his mark. 

'Skunk' is one of rock's most interesting characters, best illustrated by his current day job as a consultant for the US Department of Defence. It's not rocket science but it is close! 

From...

There was no bigger band in the UK and Australia in the early seventies than Slade and  lead singer Noddy Holder was a superstar. At 78, he still is. Noddy shares memories of some amazing times, including how the first song he ever wrote became the band's biggest hit, getting his MBE at the palace, the unusual perks of getting the keys to his hometown Walsall, plus touring Australia back in the day. Noddy still performs occasi...