Fascinated with Gearóid Farrelly

Shampoo were a breath of fresh Ari that ran simultaneous through pop and brit pop in the mid-nineties. The band that actually took Girl Power mainstream were catapulted to fame when their song "Trouble" became a monster hit. In this episode we chart their journey from indie darlings to "Top Of The Pops". Throughout it all they were never swayed from what they wanted to do. They wrote all of the songs, did all of their own styling and had strong ideas about how Shampoo were presented and they were Left to their own devices to get on with it. They became hugely successful in Japan and ended up on the rich list. We chat about their success, their beginnings, the spice girls and the accounting error that ended their time on a major label and how they became one of the first bands to sell their music via a website. Cherry Red is reissuing all of Shampoo's albums in a deluxe boxset. You can grab it here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jasper Rees is the author of "Let's Do It" the authorised biography of Victoria Wood. The book was written with the consent of Victoria's children following her death in 2016. Jasper wrote the book by listening to audio recordings mad by Wood herself in preparation to write a memoir.  "Let's Do It" has just been published in paperback and is a must read for any Victoria Wood fan. The book was described by the guardian as "a brilliant tribute while also – somehow, almost – bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory". This interview was recorded live at the Cat Laughs Podcast Festival in Kilkenny in December 2020. You can buy "Let's Do It" by Jasper Rees here Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Jasper Rees Twitter: @JasperRees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bright Light Bright Light is welsh musician, artist and songwriter Rod Thomas. Originally from a small town in Wales, Rod has become one of our most respected independent queer artists with approval in the form of collaborations and touring opportunities from some of the world's biggest stars. He began learning piano, guitar and saxophone as a child and began performing acoustically under his own name. In 2010 he defined his synth sound with the release of his debut single "Love Part ii".  He has gone on to release 4 albums and has just released a compilation album "So Gay, So Dramatic". He has toured with Cher, Scissor Sisters and Elton John.  In this conversation we chat about LGBTQ representation, his place in the music industry and how he has done everything in his career himself.  You can support Fascinated by becoming a member of headstuff+ on headstuffpodcasts.com. In return for your support, you will get access to bonus exclusive bonus content. In the bonus content for this episode, you can hear Rod talk about remixing Dannii Minogue's iconic "All I Wanna Do" and we chat about our mutual love of Gayle and Gillian. You can listen to Bright Light Bright Light's Music on Spotify, download on Apple or buy gorgeous physicals on brightlightx2.com Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Bright Light Bright Light Twitter: @brightlightx2 Instagram: brightlightx2 Facebook: /brightlightx2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ireland has always had a great reputation for rock music. In the 90s Sinead O'Connor, U2 and The Cranberries led the pack. It took a while for the explosion of bubblegum pop which was happening in the UK and Europe to hit Ireland. Una was one of the first Irish female pop vocalists to be launched around the time the success of Boyzone was starting to attract international attention.  Already a session singer she had recorded backing vocals for Something Happens and Aslan. In 1994 she released her debut single "Crawl" which became a huge Irish hit.  But it was with the release of a cover version of Randy Crawford's "You Might Need Somebody" that she discovered the harsh realities of the music industry. Una continued to perform and formed Boogie Nights a hugely successful party band and continued to release music independently. She then went on a world tour as a solo vocalist in Michael Flatley's "Celtic Tiger". After this She performed in the TV special "The Voice Within" and in 2012 was beaten by Jedward in an attempt to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest after which she took time out to start a family. When Una's back catalogue goes online there will be a link to it here! Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Luciana Twitter: @UnaGibney Instagram: gibneyuna Facebook: Una-Gibney-342844672405318 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Una Healy was a gigging singer/songwriter when she answered an ad looking for a female singer for a girlband. What followed was a phenomenal seven years in The Saturdays one of the new millennium's biggest girlbands. A string of massive hits in the UK led to them getting signed by Island Def Jam in America and making their own reality series "Chasing the Saturdays" for the E Network.  Since then Una has been a regular on Irish and UK television as a presenter and released a solo album  "The Waiting Game" and a string of silly releases including a duet with Sam Palladio. Una returned to Ireland during the lockdown and is back living in the town where she grew up. She is one of the loveliest people and has an incredible new single "Until You".  You can support Fascinated by becoming a member of headstuff+ on headstuffpodcasts.com. In return for your support, you will get access to bonus exclusive bonus content. In the bonus content for this episode, you can watch the interview with Una. You can listen to Una's music  and The Saturdays back catalogue on Spotify. Follow Gearoid Twitter: @gearoidfarrelly Instagram: gearoidfarrelly Facebook: /gearoidfarrelly Follow Una Twitter: @UnaHealy Instagram: unahealy Facebook: /unahealy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices