John Watson is best known as the manager of an astonishing roster of recording artists from Silverchair to Missy Higgins, Birds of Tokyo, Paul Mac, The Presets, Gotye, Dustin Tebbutt and these days, Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil. John also runs his own recording and publishing outfits via Eleven: A Music Company. 

In Part 1 of their conversation, Peter and John look back on his start in the business in Townsville, his time in the record business and how he came across three teenagers from Newcastle Silverchair.

Even while touring, performing and being on TV as a 'rock star' in the 1970s, Les was already thinking about the future and where he would go next in life. While working on his re-invention after the end of Hush, Les discovered that being in a successful Australian band in the 70s didn't open as many doors as one would expect; he would need to carve out his own path for the next phase of his life. 

In Part 3 of Peter and Les's conversation, they look at Les's re-invention as a successful and award-winning sound and brand designer, including his work at founding music and sound design business Song Zu. It is a story that is equal parts about music and about one's own power to create personal change; a story that is just as relevant for today.

Renaissance man - pt 3: A conversation with Les Gock

This conversation is one very close to Peter Rix's heart. One of his early artist management jobs was with the glam rock band Hush. The mid-1970s saw the band take on constant performing, touring, radio airplay and regular appearances on 'Countdown', giving the band chart success and Countdown's #1 Song of 1975. Les Gock was the lead guitarist and co-songwriter in the band. 

In Part 2 of their conversation, Peter and Les share their stories of Hush hitting the road and touring. There were many memorable moments and a bunch of not so memorable moments as well. It was a period of camaraderie with the other Australian bands of the time.

Renaissance man - pt 2: A conversation with Les Gock

This conversation is one very close to Peter Rix's heart. One of his early artist management jobs was with the glam rock band Hush. The mid-1970s saw the band take on constant performing, touring, radio airplay and regular appearances on 'Countdown' - giving the band chart success and Countdown's #1 Song of 1975. Les Gock was the lead guitarist and co-songwriter in the band. 

In Part 1 of their conversation, they look back at how Les started out in music and in the band, and what it took to build a following, get on 'Countdown' and achieve touring and chart success in the 1970s.

Renaissance man - pt 1: A conversation with Les Gock

Nowadays John also co-manages Cold Chisel and manages Midnight Oil, in addition to his work with artists such as Gotye, The Presets, Birds of Tokyo and Dustin Tebbutt. In Part 3 of their conversation, Peter and John look at how Cold Chisel came back with the hunger they now have, the endless global drive of Midnight Oil, and his own personal highlights from over two decades of managing Australian recording artists.

Managing Australia's finest - pt 3: A conversation with John Watson

In Part 2, Peter and John look at the role of the manager in the life and career of a recording artist: when to stay close, when to keep your distance, how to deal with the big highs and the big lows. Each artist that John has worked with over the years has required a different approach - especially in the new era of social media and music streaming. They also look at John's current work with Cold Chisel and how that came about.

Managing Australia's finest - pt 2: A conversation with John Watson

Managing Australia's finest - pt 1: A conversation with John Watson

In Part 2 of Peter's conversation with Charles Fisher, they look at Charles's 10 years spent producing records in the US and how that differed from working in Australia. They also look at the arrival of digital audio and production and how it has changed the music landscape. The equipment might be different, but it has never been easier to produce music and get a start in the industry. The way to becoming successful and making a living out of the industry is much different though and the term 'producer' can now have a different meaning. Charles and Peter discuss where the opportunities and potential pitfalls lie.

The song doctor - pt 2: A conversation with Charles Fisher

There are few long-standing members of the music industry globally who have the unique ability to hear and smell a hit record. There are even less who can show a track record for finding those neglected, unsigned, unwanted recording artists who they can put in a studio with a song that ultimately finishes its journey at the very top of the music charts.

Charles Fisher is one of those quiet achievers that you will only find if you search the credit section of your next album. From Radio Birdman in the 70s to Savage Garden in the 90s and beyond, this is a serious practitioner of the art of producing and recording hit records. They call him 'The Song Doctor' with good reason. 

In this episode, Peter and Charles look back at Charles's start in the music industry. Charles always knew he wanted to make records. From starting out producing records in a run-down film studio in Sydney's inner west through to producing one of the biggest selling Australian albums ever, Charles walks us through those moments and shares his insights on what it takes to produce a hit.

The song doctor - pt 1: A conversation with Charles Fisher

The 80s brought in a new time for radio - a new way of listening via crystal clear FM and new ways of doing things. Peter and Rod talk about those early days when FM turned on for the first time: how the first Triple M - Triple M Sydney hit the airwaves, the impact Doug Mulray had on the station and breakfast radio and how Triple M extended into Melbourne. They were heady days. In a lot of ways too, Rod's exit from Triple M was just as spectacular as his entry - the myth about the chainsaw and the boardroom table is the stuff of radio legend. Rod finally clears that story and talks about his life after radio and the friendships forged.

Bringing the rock and roll to radio - pt 2: A conversation with Rod Muir

There is no rock and roll without the radio. As a manager of artists and bands in the 1970s, it was part of Peter Rix's job to help break his artists through to success. To break your band, you needed to get their song on the radio. For Peter, it meant visiting key radio stations such as 2SM in Sydney, 3XY in Melbourne and 4IP in Brisbane: get your songs on these stations and you're on your way to making hits. 

Through those radio days, one man stood in the middle of that mad world as the leader of the pack. Rod Muir was the brains behind 2SM's ascendency as Sydney's leading music radio station of the 70s (extending that ascendency to 3XY in Melbourne and 4IP in Brisbane), and then of the launch of FM in the 1980s with Triple M. In Part 1 of their conversation, Peter and Rod look back at Rod's start in radio in Tasmania, the 1970s when 2SM and AM radio was king and then the start of FM in the 1980s and a new decade of ruling the airwaves on Triple M.

Bringing the rock and roll to radio - pt 1: A conversation with Rod Muir

The rise and rise of INXS did not mean resting on one's laurels. It meant recording, and touring and touring and even more touring, despite everyone else thinking it was time to rest and enjoy the fruits of the labour to date. This idea of keeping momentum moving has led to the next wave of INXS's career: the top-rating TV mini-series and the keeping of the band's journey alive via new endeavours which will take INXS to the next stage. Chris tells Peter about this process of momentum and how his and the band's travels are far from ended.

Building the biggest band in the world - pt 3: A conversation with Chris Murphy

The next phase of Chris Murphy's career sees Chris start building INXS from a local young band to an international band taking to the global stage. Underpinning his work and belief in the band and their future was an internal self-belief that nothing is impossible to do. 

Chris tells Peter about the drive that propelled him along in those early years: the travelling, the deals, and the taking of risks. He also looks at how the MTV revolution came at exactly the right time in the band's career to take INXS to the next level.

Building the biggest band in the world - pt 2: A conversation with Chris Murphy

There are many criteria you can place on success in the music business: taking your band to number 1 on the American Billboard Chart, selling nearly 50 million albums, selling-out Wembley Stadium and playing to 78,000 fans are amongst them. One Australian band has achieved all of these milestones - and they have done it with the guiding hand of one long-time manager.

Chris Murphy has been the legendary long-time manager of INXS. But for Chris, achieving global success did not happen overnight. It started by leaving high school to work for his family's agency, learning the ropes and working hard while his friends were off surfing. In Part 1 of their conversation, Peter Rix and Chris Murphy talk about those early years and how it built up to a very unexpected moment and an even more unexpected offer to become the agent, and later manager of a young INXS.

Building the biggest band in the world - pt 1: A conversation with Chris Murphy

Harvey Lister is the Chairman and CEO of AEG Ogden - manager of the largest network of venues in Asia Pacific. Peter Rix and Harvey met in the 70s, via radio promotions and touring bands in Queensland. 

In Part 2 of their conversation, Harvey talks through his entry into the event & venue business and the present day thinking and data that goes behind putting on events and running venues. Harvey also looks back on his all-time favourite moments in live music and some of the things he personally does himself to make sure those who buy tickets to a show have a great experience in the venues he oversees.

A life in music, events and venues - pt 2:  A conversation with Harvey Lister

Harvey Lister is the Chairman and CEO of AEG Ogden - manager of the largest network of venues in Asia Pacific. Peter Rix and Harvey met in the 70s, when Harvey was initially working in radio station promotions at legendary Brisbane radio station 4IP, and then later touring bands throughout Queensland. 

In Part 1 of their conversation, Harvey recounts how it all began: how his start working in fashion parades let to a career in radio station promotions which in turn led to a career in touring bands. The long distances and hard yards up and down the Queensland coast are the beginnings of a career that leads to running some of the biggest venues in the region.

A life in music, events and venues - pt 1:  A conversation with Harvey Lister

In Part 2 of this conversation, Peter, Phillip and Mark speak about the growth of the ARIA Awards from an event that was a sit down dinner with no live music or television broadcast, to a big broadcast production on television filled with live performances. They share their favourite stories from last 30 years of ARIA Awards, from the early days of the awards through to recent times. They speak about their most memorable awards moments with Billy Thorpe, Kylie Minogue & Michael Hutchence, The Waifs, Keith Urban and John Butler, and plenty more; along with the ill-fated ARIA Awards broadcast on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Peter, Phillip and Mark also look to the strong future ahead for the ARIA Awards.

Peter Rix was the Chairman and Producer of the first 14 ARIA Awards from 1987 through to 2000. In this first conversation, he speaks with two of the founding fathers of the ARIA Awards: former ARIA board director Phillip Mortlock and the former long time producer of the ARIA Awards, Mark Pope.

The ARIA Awards from then to now - pt 2:  A conversation with Phillip Mortlock and Mark Pope

The ARIA Awards first kicked off in 1987. Elton John was the Master of Ceremonies, and John Farnham's Whispering Jack album won nearly everything. The coming together of the music business with all its egos, vibes, competitiveness, and divided opinions, all under one roof was the night the music industry grew up and openly acknowledged each others talents.

Peter Rix was the Chairman and Producer of the first ARIA Awards on that night in 1987 and for the next 14 years through to 2000. In this first conversation, he speaks with two of the founding fathers of the ARIA Awards: former ARIA board director Phillip Mortlock and the former long time producer of the ARIA Awards, Mark Pope. In part 1 of their conversation they talk about how it all began, how the awards still mean so much to recording artists, along with all the war stories in getting the awards up and running.

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