Welcome to A Breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kaye. Hi, thanks so much for your company today. I hope you’ve had a terrific week and you’ve been kicking goals, no matter what that means for you.
I’ve found myself reflecting a little bit over the last few days on some of the feedback that I’ve received from you. A few of you have asked me if I could let you hear more from my special guests. So sometimes I do come across people who turn out to be really great interviews, who quite frankly deserve more time.
This week, I’ve had the pleasure of chatting to a guy called Jon Illsley, who boasts both a great story, as well as some truly awesome music. So this week, I want to bring you more of him and more of his music. For those of you who don’t instantly recognise the name, Jon is the English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and founding member of English rock band Dire Straits.
I caught up with Jon to chat about his new book, My Life in Dire Straits, as well as his latest solo album, simply called Eight. He was really captivating and I hope you enjoy hearing from him as much as I enjoyed chatting with him. Jon Illsley, it’s terrific to meet you.
Welcome to A Breath of Fresh Air. Wow, what a career you’ve enjoyed so far. You’re going to have to walk me through it, but let’s start at the most recent things and work our way back.
You’ve got a book out, you’ve got a new album out, a solo album, which is your eighth solo album. Could you tell us a little bit about both of those? Well, they were projects which were really not planned, to be honest. But then we had lockdown.
And for people who do music and do a bit of writing and stuff, it was the ideal time to indulge, if you like, because there wasn’t anything else going on. I mean, literally, everything just came, probably in Australia, everything came to a standstill. The phone didn’t ring, you know, nobody was doing anything.
And I had a few ideas for some songs. So I started with that. And before the lockdown started, actually, let me just go back a little bit.
A publisher approached me about writing a book about the Straits, or My Life in the Straits, actually, because she’d been to see one of the shows that I was doing, which was sort of a Q&A of the band’s life, which I started doing about two or three years ago, because it was very enjoyable to reflect with one of my managers and have a chat and then play some music, have a chat, play some music. And so it was sort of an evening of, if you like, personal indulgence, but also sort of a Q&A with the audience as well. So she saw that, and she said, have you ever thought about writing a book? And I said, it’s a very odd question.
Why are you asking me? She said, well, I’m an agent, and I came to see your show the other day. So she put the idea forward of a book, which I hadn’t really been thinking about at all, to be honest, until she mentioned it. And I said, I’m not sure that I could do that.
So I said, I’m probably going to have to have some help to arrange it. Because when you’re writing a book, it needs to be structured, and having never written one before, it would have been crazy to try and do it on my own. And so anyway, one thing led to another, and we actually started putting the idea together before lockdown.
And then, of course, with lockdown, we were doing what we’re doing now, which was Zooming every day. And I was relating the story. And I thought I wasn’t going to remember anything at all.
But then, interestingly enough, once you start talking about something, something else comes into your mind. And it was remarkable, because I’m not very, I can’t remember an awful lot of things. And suddenly, but I was remembering the almost ridiculous details.
And it just, it just turned into this, you know, quite long process. And then, then the album took place during lockdown. And I started the album with my son, Harry, who brought all his DJ equipment and recording equipment down.
And I said, let’s go and work on some songs together for about so about two or three hours a day in the morning, we sat down. And he’d never done anything like this before. And I’d never done anything with him before.
So it was quite an interesting sort of father son moment. I think he found it quite tricky to be gone with his dad’s sitting here strumming a guitar and recording it. Getting late, the music stopped, and I could see my future.
I was ready for this moment, that much is true. Equipped up from behind. Well, how do you do? How do you? I love you still from the album eight.
I’m chatting with Dire Straits, John Hillsley. The bare bones of that then turned into a full blown out. And there we are, that’s what that’s where we are.
So I ended up after lockdown with two fairly big projects on my hands. Amazing. Why did you call the album eight? Well, it’s my eight pillow album.
And actually, when I was looking at photographs for the book, my sister, who’s got the archive of the family, she gave me all these pictures of when we were young. And one of them was when I was eight years old, which is the cover. If you get the album, you’ll see it as a cover of me on the front.
When I was eight, just before we were going to have, I think we’re going to have lunch with granny. And I thought, this is my pillow album. That’s me.
I was eight. Let’s call it eight. So that was that.
And it’s also when you call something eight, everybody says, what does that mean? And I said, well, because there’s been seven solo albums before that. And we go, oh, my God, we never knew that. I didn’t know that either.
So yeah, that’s so that helps people to go back and listen to the earliest music. Integrity, adversity, it’s nothing new. I’m on a go, and my doing’s a trick, not easy to succeed.
A rainbow’s the end of fantasy, hope and believe. In each phase, no one can agree. Keep asking myself, where’s the sense of harmony? Yeah.
We broke the bed and drank the wine, the words were all true. Fragility, captivity, it’s nothing new. The future’s sitting in the palm of your hand.
Hang on to your hats, because none of this was planned. In each phase, no one can agree. Keep asking myself, where’s the sense of harmony? So Eight has nine tracks on it, and they’re all original tracks.
Which one? Do you have a personal favorite? Well, a long way back, the opening track on the album is really a reflection of when the band started in this little council flat in Deptford. And it was really based around the first time we went to Los Angeles as a group in 1979, the first American tour. And we played at the Roxy in LA.
And it was all about going there and staying at the Sunset Marquee, which was the rock and roll hotel where all the misbehaving went on in LA. I remember it well. And have you been there? I have.
Yeah, yeah. So the Roxy was just down the strip from there. And we didn’t realize at the time until we went up to the bar upstairs that there were quite a lot of people in the room which were fairly important sort of celebrity types.
And one was Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was there, and Rod Stewart was there, and Protectland turned up on the next night because they’d obviously just separated. So that was it.
And Stevie Nicks. So it was a bit of the sort of LA crowd really turned up. And it’s all very exciting.
So I wrote this song called Long Way Back. It’s a long way back to Deptford town, which is where the band started. It was a pretty seedy part of London in a council flat, which I was renting.
In the view, shimmering with the rhythm Blue sunset marquee But never met to the net Friends of friends of a certain kind It’s a six-pay knife It’s a long way back It’s a long way back to Deptford town It’s such a long way back It’s a long way back to Deptford town Yeah, she asked you to go You can’t decline Putting it down A lot of little time Don’t move too fast Better take it slow Time didn’t start with a ticking of a clock A few knocks was all it took In a hotel room Song from the bar Like Riverview Fresh off the shelf Nothing now will ever be the same Could this be it by another name? It depends Who’s right and who’s wrong It’s a long way back It’s a long way back to Deptford town It’s such a long way back To Deptford town From New York City to Monterey From New Orleans to Fiskel Bay On with the show So much I just didn’t know So I breathed it in And took it down You really did start from very humble beginnings, didn’t you? Could you tell us a little bit about how you got together with your friend Mark Knopfler? Well, this is a sort of series of coincidences actually And I think life is a series of coincidences If you put yourself in a particular place Where something different might happen Then occasionally different things do happen So I’ve never really taken the straight and narrow Probably a bit more straight and narrow now Although my wife probably doesn’t think so Than I was then I used to take quite a few risks I didn’t go to university until I was 23 If I felt like changing and doing something I’d usually take the unpredictable path Which found me in this council flat Which I was renting in South London And I needed a flatmate And a friend of mine said Well, I know a local social worker Who’s looking for a place to live And it turned out to be David Knopfler Matt’s brother Which was an important moment Which we didn’t realise of course In all our lives The fact that I had a space in this council flat Because I couldn’t afford the rent Because it was £9.48 a week And I wasn’t very well off at the time I was going to say I was in dire straits But that’s such a cliche now But things were pretty basic So David moved in And he had a guitar with him So we used to sit down and strum guitar a bit And I think one day he said to me Oh you should meet my brother Mark He’s quite handy on the guitar And I said oh great He said he’s probably going to come down In a couple of weeks And he did, he came down I met him You know when you meet somebody for the first time I just got a certain sense of warmth from him And I thought at the time When I was reflecting on it I thought I’m going to know this bloke for a long time As it turned out it’s been God knows 40, 45 years now It’s quite incredible really isn’t it Has it gone as fast for you as it has for me? Well there’s one thing that we don’t realise of course Is that we don’t know We don’t have unlimited amount of time on this planet So it’s best to get on with stuff And I think you realise that as you get older You know there’s only a limited amount of birthdays You’re going to have You know when you’re 23 You don’t think about birthdays And how many more you’re going to have Of course not When you’re 73 you think hmm okay I’ve had quite a few birthdays Yeah I don’t dwell on it too much But so that was the sort of That’s what I’m saying the coincidence is And I wouldn’t have been in the council flat Unless I’d packed in my job And gone to study sociology and philosophy At Goldsmiths College And they were giving out council flats to students So I got one of those I almost created this thing for myself Without realising it Where I was going to meet these guys And we just made sense musically together And personally together You know we just used to hang out a lot Mark and I especially and still do Do you believe in fate? Probably yeah I mean yeah I mean whatever fate is In the west Where our love began It takes a little time For us to find our way Our history is the wind Welcome every day Only time will tell Only time we live to Only time will tell Wise men of a stranger Help share a heavy load Only time will tell Coming up find out how John Ilsley and Mark Knopfler hit the big time And how they managed to keep their feet firmly on the ground
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. It’s great to have you with me.
I do hope you’re enjoying what I’m bringing. So we’ve heard how John Ilesley believes it was fate, or if you like, serendipity, that led him to partnering with Mark Knopfler in the first place and founding the phenomenon that’s become Dire Straits. To say the band hit the big time is probably an understatement, but one thing’s for sure, when they did, their lives changed forever.
When you decided to pull a band together with them, who actually named it Dire Straits and why? Well, that was named by a friend of Peck Withers, the drummer, who was the only professional musician amongst us, and he was living with other musicians in North London, and he was so blooming poor, he said, I’m not going to come and play with the band unless you pay my petrol and my fag money. And we didn’t have any money ourselves, so I thought that was a bit tight. But anyway, he was a great drummer and we enjoyed playing with him, so we paid his fag money and his petrol for him to come down and play with us.
And his mate, when we were looking for a name for the band, his mate said to him, Peck, you’ve been a professional drummer all your life and you’re still in Dire Straits, why don’t you call it that? So that’s how it came to be. I mean, I suppose the Rolling Stones called themselves the Rolling Stones because of a blues song by Muddy Waters. I don’t know.
I mean, The Beatles is a great name because it’s B-E-A-T as opposed to B-E-E-T. Yeah, yeah, yeah. These are little gems.
How the Kinks got their name, I don’t know. That’s probably a different story altogether. I’ll have to ask them that.
So, John Elsley, you started gigging around the place. In the beginning it wasn’t easy for you. You didn’t have any money.
You were carrying all your own gear in and out of gigs. When did fortune change for you? Well, there’s another coincidence, you see. I stupidly started a record shop in north London with a girlfriend of mine when I was at university.
And in order to sort of get the right music in the place, I sent a letter to a DJ in London who I’d been listening to. He used to play on Sunday mornings. A guy called Charlie Gillett, and he played this, had this honky-tonk music show.
And I got some ideas for the shop from him. He very graciously sent me a whole list of albums that I should stock in the record store. Anyway, the shop lasted about four months.
So that was a bit of a disaster. But I had a contact with Charlie. And so when we made the demo tape in 1976, when Mark had about three or four, about four songs, maybe five songs at the time, Mark said to me, don’t you know Charlie Gillett on Radio London? I said, well, I don’t exactly know him, but I’m sure we can get in contact with him.
So I wrote to Charlie and said, look, I’m in this band called Dire Straits and we’ve made this demo tape. Would you listen to it? And he wrote back and he said, sure. And he said, come round to the house for tea on Thursday afternoon.
So Mark and I trooped down there with this tape, gave it to Charlie, not thinking anything of it. And that was Thursday. And that Sunday morning, he played Sultans of Spring on the radio from the demo tape.
Shiver in the dark, it’s raining in the park of mean time Sound of the river, you’re stopping, you’re holding everything A band is blowing, Dixie, double ball time You feel all right when you hear the music ring Well, now you step inside, but you don’t see too many faces Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down Competition in other places But the horns keep blowing that sound Way on down south Way on down south, London town We didn’t hear it because for that morning, we weren’t listening to the show. Mark and I were shifting some furniture to make some money for a mate. And so we didn’t actually hear it on the radio until, I mean, until the following weekend when he played it again.
And he said, I’m going to play this song on the radio until somebody out there picks this band up and gives them a record deal. And it was like, so I rang Charlie up and said, God, blimey, Charlie, what’s going on here? And he said, you wouldn’t believe the amount of phone calls I’ve had from record companies, other DJs, music people saying, who the hell is this band? What the hell’s going on, Charlie? And he said, well, I don’t know anything about them, apart from that these two blokes came in and gave me this tape. He said, can I give you a phone number away to them? And I said, sure.
And then our phones started ringing like crazy. There’s no mobiles in those days. It was an old phone on the wall, you know.
Of course. So every time somebody rang up from a record company, I was writing all their details all over the walls in this council flat. So the whole wall was covered in people’s names and telephone numbers.
Were you shocked? Yeah, well, pleasantly surprised, I think, would probably be the right expression. And so we were suddenly bombarded with these record companies coming at us. John, did you know that you had something special with the other guys? I mean, you obviously knew how prolific a songwriter and a great guitarist Mark is.
Did you know that you were making really special music together at that point? Well, it felt good, that’s all I can say. You don’t really know until somebody says, we like that. It’s the feedback you kind of get which makes you think, oh, people are taking this seriously.
They kind of like it. Well, they certainly liked it, didn’t they? I don’t think anybody really knows when they first start out. And so there’s an element of surprise.
You know, I think when The Stones started out, they were just playing rock and roll and blues and stuff like that. They didn’t know what was going to happen. Then suddenly there was mayhem surrounding them.
And in a sense, there was a bit of mayhem surrounding us, I suppose, not in the same kind of way. We were probably not quite so misbehaving as The Stones. But you were huge.
Yeah. At the time, you were the biggest band in the world and the journey lasted you something like 15 years, right? Yeah, it did. It had legs, as we say.
It sure did. I think the reason why was because you mentioned it earlier, you know, we had a pretty prolific songwriter who was constantly coming up with ideas and good songs and, I mean, songs like Remy and Juliet and Tunnel of Love and Telegraph Road and Money for Nothing. Look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it You play the guitar on the MTV That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it Money for nothing and you choose to freeze Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it Let me tell you, them guys ain’t dumb Maybe get a pistol on your little finger Maybe get a blister on your thumb We’ve got to install microwave ovens Got some kitchen deliveries We’ve got to move these refrigerators We’ve got to move these color TVs The little faggot with the earring and the makeup Yeah, buddy, that’s his own again The little faggot got his own jetty and plane The little faggot, he’s a millionaire We’ve got to install microwave ovens Got some kitchen deliveries We’ve got to move these refrigerators We’ve got to move these colour TVs Money for nothing was Dire Straits most commercially successful single.
It topped several charts in the US and was also a massive hit in the UK as well as in many other countries. The song is about rock star excess and the easy life it brings compared to real work. Mark Knopfler wrote it after overhearing delivery men in a New York department store complaining about their jobs while watching MTV.
Sting actually sings on the song too and helped write it. The song earned Dire Straits a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance. It was also quite controversial.
The lyrics were deemed homophobic and when the band performed it live they’d often replace some of the words with less vulgar ones. I’m chatting with Dire Straits co-founder and bassist John Ilesley. Without one realizing it, these have formed the sort of backdrop of quite a few people’s lives and which is actually a very pleasurable thing to know.
And having been a part of that was a great pleasure for me, I have to say. And I think the important thing to remember though is, I mean Mark’s often said this to me, he said, I do wonder what would have happened if you and the other guys we made these songs with, it would have sounded the same if these songs had been played by somebody else. And I said, well, we’ll never know that.
And the great thing about the writing was that we all kind of got involved when the song was presented to the band. The band then knocked it into shape for want of a better expression. And so everybody’s input.
And I think the rhythm section between myself and Pic was pretty important. That seems to have stood the test of time as well. And the chemistry between you is also super important, isn’t it? The fact that you all got on so well together and you and Mark in particular would have contributed to the sounds you were making.
Yeah, I think the band survived because of exactly what you’ve said. You know, it is about having a relationship with somebody and the relationship working over time. You know, some relationships are only momentary, some, and this one seems to have stood the test of time.
We knew when to call it a day though. I mean, I think we realised that after the On Every Street album and the On Every Street tour where we played to about 10 million people. That’s amazing.
Which is a really extraordinary thought. It’s completely wacky. Well, I wonder where you are tonight You’re probably on a rampage somewhere You have been known to take the light in Getting in somebody’s hair You always had the knack Fade to black Bet you already made a pass I see a darkened room somewhere You run your finger round the rim of his glass Run your finger through his hair Scratch across his back Fade to black John Elsley, have you always had your feet on the ground through this journey or did you get carried away with it at the height of the success? Because you appear to be such a grounded, humble, normal sort of a guy.
Did you become the pop star when everybody was clamouring for you? Well, I think that that side of things is very difficult to deal with sometimes and I think it helped the fact that we were a bit older and look, I can assure you we had an awful lot of fun, let’s put it that way playing music and, you know, being together and hanging out together It’s probably because I came from a family which was quite disciplined My father was an ex-major in the army and a bank manager So I came from a sort of slightly disciplined family and I think that probably stood me in good stead when the band first started because I was able to literally sort of hold things together while everybody else was sort of like Out of control Not doing anything And so actually quite an important partnership there when you realise what you’re good at and I knew what I was good at Sorry, not in a boring way either I mean, I’ve had plenty of fun, let me assure you Yeah, I can see that on your face You wouldn’t be boring Of all of those fabulous songs, is there one that’s closest to your heart? Well, it’s a song that really sort of seems to have resonance and I think will have resonance for probably an awful long time It’s Brothers In Arms It’s one of those songs which touches people and me every time I play it I think it’s a wonderful piece of music It was a battle of each time And the way to hell was so bad In the fear of the law You did not discern My brothers in arms There’s so many different worlds So many different songs And we have just been warned That we live in different worlds The song Brothers In Arms was inspired by the Falklands War While Britain managed to reclaim its territories the nation lost nearly 300 soldiers in the conflict John Eelsley says it’s sad that the song about a young soldier dying on the battlefield is still so appropriate today I played it recently in a festival in Ireland, a literary festival after some discussions and some talks about the war in Ukraine and all the rest of it and the organisers said would you just play Brothers In Arms acoustically So I did and it was quite difficult It was quite difficult to play just on the guitar on your own But you did it I did it and I found it quite difficult myself and it was quite harrowing but it was a remarkable experience and probably one I’ll treasure actually And now the sun’s gone to hell The moon’s riding high To do me farewell Cause every man has to die But it’s written in the starlight And every line in your path We’re fools to make war On our brothers in arms John Eelsley’s acoustic version of Brothers In Arms Stay tuned to learn more about the next chapter in John’s life
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. Thanks so much for hanging in with me.
I love having your company. Now, John Illsley, Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits. Theirs is a story of fortune smiling on those who dared take a chance.
We’ve been hearing from John Illsley about his humble beginnings and military style upbringing that protected him from getting carried away with the unexpected success that Dire Straits saw over a 15-year period. Throughout the 80s, Dire Straits were one of the biggest bands on the planet. Their songs formed the soundtrack of a generation, and they live on today, still racking up sales, still being played on the radio on every continent.
Now, in other unplanned moves, John tells us about his autobiography, My Life in Dire Straits, the inside story of one of the biggest bands in rock history, as well as about his latest solo album, Eight. The book is called… My Life in Dire Straits. I’ll help you out.
The book is called, thank you, My Life in Dire Straits. It’s out now. When you look at the proportions of sales around the world, Australia and New Zealand, for some obscure reason, I suppose because we did work out there a lot, but proportionally speaking, it’s sold incredibly well in New Zealand and Australia.
Australia and New Zealand just loved Dire Straits. I remember, I think it was my birthday, and Sultans of Swing had just come out, and we didn’t play any other record that whole night. It must have played 150 times round and round and round and round, and we just kept dancing.
Check out Guitar George He knows all the chords Learning strictly rhythm He doesn’t want to make a cry or sing If Dan and Old Guitar is off He can’t afford When he gets up under the lights To play his band And Harry doesn’t mind If he doesn’t make the scene He’s got a dirty time job He’s doing all right He can play the honky-tonk like anything Sitting it up Friday night With the Sultans With the Sultans of Swing The book recounts the band’s rise from humble origins in London’s spit-and-sawdust pubs to the best-known venues in the world, the Working Man’s Clubs to Madison Square Garden, gigging with wild punk bands to the Live Aid stage at Wembley, until ultimately the shattering demands of touring on a global scale and living life in the spotlight took their inevitable toll. John’s story is also a tribute to his friend Mark Knopfler, the band’s lead singer, songwriter and gifted guitarist. It’s a tale told with honesty, soulful reflection and wry humour, and it’s the first and only account of the band’s incredible journey.
What do your kids think about you? Are they proud of their dad or are they like most kids that are growing up or have grown up that just shrug it off and go, you know, think you’re an old fogey? Well, they’ve kind of got used to it, I think. I think they are. Yes, I know they’re proud, actually.
I mean, I’m proud of them. I mean, they’ve all turned out, I’ve got four of them, they’ve all turned out pretty good and three of them are into music and one is into building. So the one into buildings, of course, is earning a good living and the other one’s into music or not.
Did you try and talk them out of it? No, not at all. I mean, look, you know, both my daughters have sung on pretty much certainly five of my albums and Harry helped me make this last one. So, you know, they’re all part of it.
My youngest daughter came out on the last tour and did all the organising and tour managing and stuff and she loves all that stuff. I think they love the history of the family, if you like. And so, you know, I think they’ve half read the book, which is good because actually it then gets into the sort of the big time stuff.
But they’ve read the early part of the book, which is me growing up and how one gets into these crazy situations in your life. So it’s an example to them, really, of not accepting the status quo, which I never did. I wasn’t very good at that.
I’m probably better at it now, although sometimes my wife is not so sure. Yeah, I think they’re proud and in a sense that makes me feel good too because I’m still working, I’m still playing, you know, I’m still writing. So that won’t ever go away.
And when somebody says, when are you going to retire? And I say, what’s wrong? And in our streets, keep us apart. The silence, it’s a no joke. Something out there stopped us having fun.
So that the sun will shine and the winds will blow. This all will pass as well we know. Take what you need, not what you want.
There ain’t no bar, restaurants, no playing in the park. No visits to the zoo. Relax my friend and let things be.
You have your pride to keep because none of this was meant to be. The sun will shine and the winds will blow. This all will pass as well we know.
None of this was planned from John Elsley’s latest album, Eight. The song’s title really could have been John’s theme song as his career evolved after a series of serendipitous meetings that included renting out a room in his small council flat whilst at university to Mark Knopfler’s brother, David. Dire Straits, as I’m sure you know, were for many years one of the biggest bands in rock history, selling more than 120 million records.
They won four Grammy Awards and embarked on some of the biggest tours the industry has ever seen. They were hectic days indeed and their last tour in 1992 was, according to John, utter misery. Whatever the zeitgeist was, he said, it had passed and the strain on personal relationships, both physical and emotional, was palpable.
Fame had taken its toll and the band decided to give it all up. Today, John Elsley is a very different man. He’s able to put his feet up again and go at his own pace, both with making music and his newfound hobby.
And you’ve discovered a new talent in being a painter as well because your art is fabulous. Well, thank you. That’s an ever-changing situation, the painting, that’s for sure.
That is really difficult. I paint pictures and I’m painting when I think that’s OK, you know, the rest of it, or that seems to work, but it doesn’t really… Unless you’re communicating something to somebody else and they say, that’s good. So it’s the feedback you kind of get which makes you think, oh, people are taking this seriously, they kind of like it.
Well, it’s just a new challenge. I have total faith in you that you’ll conquer that one too. John’s been very modest.
His paintings are fabulous. He first started with painting when he was 15, around the same time he picked up a guitar. And while music obviously took priority until the band split in the early 90s, he then found himself painting most days.
But his solo exhibitions in London, Sydney and New York have all been amazingly successful. John Elsley has spent the last 15 years fighting leukaemia. Today he’s all clear and is a firm believer that in life anything can happen at any time.
He spends most of his time these days making music, working on paintings or in the restaurant pub that he owns in Hampshire. He’s never been more content. He and Mark Knopfler are still good friends and he no longer laments the fact that Mark chose not to turn up to the band’s 2018 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
John says there’s something in the song Romeo and Juliet that relates to that event, although he wouldn’t say what. I guess we’re just going to have to wait till we can chat with him again to discover more. Meantime, here’s that song.
A love struck Romeo, sing the streets of Serenade Layin’ everybody low with a love song that he made Find the streetlight, steps out of the shade Says something like, you and me babe, how about it? Juliet says, hey Romeo, you nearly gave me a heart attack He’s underneath the window, she’s singin’ Hey love, my boyfriend’s back You shouldn’t come around here singin’ up to people like that Anyway, what you gonna do about it? Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start And I bet, many of you exploded into my heart And I forget, I forget The movie song When you’re going to realise It was just that the time was wrong Juliet Classic Romeo and Juliet from Dire Straits. Johnny Oslea, I better let you go. But in letting you go, which track would you like us to go out with from the latest album? Ooh, 21st Century, because I think it’s pretty relevant to what’s going on right now.
Okay, we’ll give it a whirl. Johnny Oslea, thank you so much for talking with us today. What an absolute pleasure to meet you and congratulations on a fabulous, fabulous career.
Thank you very much. Nice to speak to you. You too.
All the very best. Bye now. Sometimes it feels like these days will never end The push and pull of how we dance The messages we send Nature’s voice is lost amongst the bluster and desire No one seems to notice that the flames are getting higher Welcome to the 21st century For him and her and you and me This is the 21st century Ooh, ooh There’s gonna be a problem if we don’t see eye to eye Before another battle cry Take time to reflect Take time to consider this For you and this life Welcome to the 21st century Ooh, ooh For him and her and you and me Ooh, ooh This is the 21st century Ooh, ooh Take what you need, not your heart This house of cards, put to shrink, the blanks unsold 21st Century from the album 8. I hope you enjoyed hearing Jon Ilsley’s story.
Perhaps there’s an artist you’d like to hear from. Just send me a message through the website abreathoffreshair.com.au and let me know who you’d like me to find for you. It’d be my pleasure to get them onto the show.
Meantime, if you could do me a favour and subscribe to the podcast, I’d be really grateful. Take care of yourself, won’t you, until we meet again. I’ll look forward to being back in your company same time next week.
Bye now. Cause it’s a beautiful day You’ve been listening to A breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kaye. Beautiful day Oh, baby, any day that you’re gone away It’s a beautiful day