The Story of Rock and Roll: S6E28

The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show

Episode 28 of Season 6 went out live at 19h00 on Rebel Rock Radio on 13 July 2023. Following on from The Rock Doctor’s Rock Power Play Turbo show it was necessary to keep the pace. It has been freezing in Johannesburg this week with Temperatures getting down below zero and we actually had snow which happens about once every 20 years. It made sense to kick off with The Boomtown Rats ‘Wind Chill Factor Minus Zero’.

The big news this week was an interview with the multitalented SA Rock legend Mark Haze. Mark had some kind words to say about the old days when I met him at the very, very start of his musical career. Our 5 minute interview went on a bit longer and would have gone even longer if we didn’t call time in the interest of the music. We were incredibly privileged to hear Gareth Haze’s new track ‘Home’. Mark is busy working with Gareth on his debut album, really looking forward to hearing it in a few months' time.

The Immortals section of the show featured Dire Straits and the opening track of their third album Making Movies. The track is of course ‘Tunnel of Love’, it is an amazing preview of how Mark Knopfler was developing as a songwriter and showed the path to their mega-selling Love Over Gold album.

This week's Ultimate Challenge was a problem. We looked at 1983 and started with 6 albums. I managed to whittle it down during the week by leaving out Ozzy Osbourne’s Bark At The Moon and Mötley Crüe’s Shout At The Devil. This left us with Def Leppard – Pyromania, Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind, Dio – Holy Diver, and Metallica – Kill ‘Em All. So very hard, Pyromania sold the most by far, Holy Diver is one of the most beloved debut albums of all time, and Kill ‘Em All changed the face of metal forever. It also marks the point where the Ultimate Challenge ended. Not the concept but the name, it is now known as The Diabolical Challenge.

Artists featured: The Boomtown Rats, Skid Row, Ratt, U.D.O., Buckcherry, Extreme, Mammoth WVH, Joel Hoekstra, Disturbed, Shinedown, James Reyne, Cold Chisel, Rory Gallagher, Billy F. Gibbons, The Black Cat Bones, Ignite, Seether, Godsmack, Gareth Haze with Mark Haze, 12th Avenue, Megadeth, Dire Straits, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Dio, Metallica, Butch Walker, David Bowie, The Clash, Tom Petty, Wolfmother, Badlands, winery Dogs, Greta Van Fleet

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