Geoff Downes has quite the musical CV. Shooting to fame with The Buggles, then joining Yes alongside Trevor Horn for their 1980 “Drama” album, he then had massive success alongside Yes member Steve Howe with the supergroup Asia. He rejoined Yes in 2011 where he remains to this day. Geoff joined me from his home in Wales for a career-spanning conversation discussing songs by The Buggles, Asia, and the epic Countermovement from the new Yes album “Aurora”.

Please forgive the sound quality on this interview. It’s perfectly listenable but not optimal.

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The Four Tops formed in Detroit in 1953, originally named The Four Aims. They’re a cornerstone of American pop music and helped propel the Motown label to international recognition. Although ostensibly a soul vocal group, I find the band interesting in how broad they were stylistically and in the variety of material they adopted. The current incarnation of The Four Tops are touring this year with The Temptations. They’re hitting the UK this summer, with a run that includes a date at the Royal Albert Hall.

I’m joined this episode by Lawrence Payton Jr. from the current line-up, the son of founding member Lawrence Payton who passed away in 1997.

Lawrence had a lot to say about growing up around his dad’s band, and why the Tops should still be on the road in 2026. He was great company.

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Charlie McCoy has an incredible musical CV to look back on. His relationship with Bob Dylan began when he was asked, at rather short notice, to join the session for “Desolation Row”. He went on to assemble the core band when Dylan decamped to Nashville to record his masterpiece “Blonde On Blonde”. He went on to play on “John Wesley Harding” and “Nashville Skyline” too.

Add to that, the many sessions he did for Elvis Presley, the work with Johnny Cash, and countless other sessions, you have a musical legacy few can match.

For 19 years he was music director for the Nashville TV show “Hee Haw”, and in 2022 he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

At age 85 he shows little sign of slowing down, and I was delighted he agreed to join me for the show.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast