DAVIDBOWIE: ALBUMTOALBUM

• S5 Ep11: Tim Palmer on Tin Machine (Part One)

  What have U2, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Pearl Jam, Robert Plant, The Mission, The Polyphonic Spree, Gene Loves Jezebel oh and - David Bowie all in common? That's right - superproducer Tim Palmer has worked with them all, and countless others over the decades and is regarded as one of the most accomplished and renowned names in the biz. Following our Tin Machine 2 conversation earlier in the year, Leah Kardos and I thought it would be fun to talk to the man Bowie chose to co-produce his exciting new experiment back in summer 1988, all about his experiences working with the embryonic Machine. Tim was there, from the band's tentative first steps, through to their final sessions for Tin Machine 2. And in this episode, he spills the beans on what really went on behind the scenes in studios across the world from a huge empty casino in Switzerland to a beachside studio shared with Status Quo in Nassau to surveying Reeves's collection of sex toys in Sydney. A genial, knowledgeable and hands-on facilitator and enabler, listening today to Tim talking about his collaboration with Bowie, Gabrels & Saleses, it is obvious how his positive and constructive presence was a vital element in the complex Tin Machine dynamic. Fair to say, its thanks to his work behind the scenes that this disparate group of characters gelled their talents into two albums which despite being much maligned* still offer up plenty of riches for the Bowie fan to discover or rediscover. So, in this first of two parts, we meet Tim, as Tim meets Tin Machine and the whole unlikely, unwieldy, unexpectedly wonderful project lurches into life and Tim reflects on the unbelievable stash of Tin Machine tapes and DATs in his archives (none of which, to be clear, was used in the making of this episode). This recording was meant to have included my Tin Machine co-conspirator Leah Kardos but sadly on the day of recording, her internet connection went totally berserk - less Goodbye Mr Ed, more a live version of Sorry. Her presence is throughout, nevertheless, and I am very grateful to her, not least for the insightful questions that she came up with for Tim. Thanks of course to Tim for his time and generosity in speaking with me and for more info on his work and projects do check out his site here Thanks also to Leah for the intro and outro music for this episode *Maligned by people who have no taste, of course :) 

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• S5 Ep10: Leah Kardos on Tin Machine 2 (Part Two)

  Sorry! Join me for the second part of my conversation with author, musician, professor and all round superstar Leah Kardos on Tin Machine II – the overlooked, underrated work by Hunt and Tony Sales, Reeves Gabrels and David Bowie, from 1991. So underrated, in fact, that it's not even properly available -  a mystery in itself. There have been occasional rumours of a Tin Machine box but this never quite happens. Leah and I feel this is a great tragedy, as to ignore Tin Machine is to ignore a crucial, transformative and vital moment in Bowie’s evolution.  Made largely in Australia, in between Bowie's Sound + Vision tour and filming commitments for The Linguini Incident, Tin Machine 2 was released to a muted critical reception and an even more muted commercial reaction, despite a Herculean effort by the lads to promote the record around the world. But clearly, for whatever reason, the spark didn't burst into flame. Maybe it was the label's lack of promotion as Bowie would later angrily claim ("They did dick to promote it") or perhaps the timing wasn't right, or maybe it was just the weather or something like that. But Nile Rogers was waiting in the wings, Black Tie White Noise was about to get underway, a loved-up Bowie was ready to walk Iman down the aisle and the laddish hi-jinks and rumoured intrapersonal issues within the unit were just too much to deal with. Yet, despite being passed off as yet another misfire in a period where poor old Bowie couldn’t seem to catch a commercial or critical break, we feel there’s some inspired songwriting and brilliant performances on this album. Listen to Amlapura, Goodbye Mr Ed, hell even A Big Hurt - and tell us we're (Betty) wrong. Inventive, boundary-pushing musicianship, flashes of sheer brilliance from the band, moments of sublime songwriting - under different circumstances they would be standout moments in the Bowie canon. Unfortunately, given the times, they were forgotten. Until now. If you want a fat tasty vinyl edition of Tin Machine 2, check out https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tin-Machine-II/dp/B087L8DB9L https://www.juno.co.uk/products/david-bowie-tin-machine-tin-machine-ii-vinyl/867550-01/ https://uk.rarevinyl.com/collections/tin-machine/products/tin-machine-tin-machine-ii-silver-vinyl-uk-vinyl-lp-album-record-movlp2715-834103 etc  Thanks to Leah Kardos for the intro/outro music  

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• S5 Ep9: Leah Kardos on Tin Machine 2 (Part One)

  Tin Machine 2! Turkey or twizzler? It has to be said, full marks to Bowie and the boys for steaming ahead with their second album despite bemused reactions to the 1989 debut, Bowie gallivanting off around the world on the mammoth May - Sep 1990 Sound + Vision tour, being dropped by EMI (leaving DB without a record deal for the first time since 1966) and Reeves getting into the intricate properties of sex toys* - all of this conspired to create this, the occasionally brilliant, sometimes baffling, entirely peculiar Tin Machine 2. Bangers and clunkers come together in a far more focused way than the first album, a greater spectrum of songwriting and Reeves revels in the spacious soundscapes, aided and abetted by producer Tim Palmer.  In this opening episode Leah Kardos and I get to grips with the background to the album, its long gestation and the first few tracks, swooning over our favourites and coming to angry blows over "If There Is Something". Come ahead and dive in!  Many thanks to Leah as ever and also for her background intro music for this and all recent episodes - more information about Leah's many activities at https://www.leahkardos.com/ *I feature Reeves Gabrels, taken from an earlier albumtoalbum episode - do check out his whole interview here! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/davidbowie-albumtoalbum/id1355073030?i=1000547920678 Tin Machine 2 is not currently available on streaming, but cheapish second hand copies abound on ebay and amazon. (Leah and I feel strongly it should be reissued)

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• S5 Ep8: Leah Kardos on I Can't Give Everything Away (2002 - 2016)

  In this 'emergency' episode, recorded fast and raw on 9 July 2025, Leah Kardos and I react to the announcement that the final box set retrospective, the last in a series that began on September 12, 2015 with 'Five Years', will be released this September spanning "Heathen" to "Blackstar" as well as gathering up most of the b-sides, single edits, remixes and some rare live material in a box that looks- well, unexpected. What could have been included - and whatever has happened to 'Blaze'?  There's a lot to discuss and so, we discuss it. 

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• S5 Ep7: Mark Reeder on "Heroes" (Part Two)

  Berlin calling... it's September 1978 and young Mancunian punk musician, Joy Division/Factory Records associate and Germanophile Mark Reeder has hitchhiked to Berlin, the city where he would make a name for himself as a producer, DJ, musician, impresario and manager, responsible for firing up the West Berlin underground music scene during the 1980s. (For a vivid immersion into this era, check out 'B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989', the 2015 documentary chronicling Mark and the key and not-so-key players in the West Berlin post-punk scene). In this episode, we explore more of "Heroes", the most Berlin of Berlin albums, the city of darkness and division as refracted through the unique Bowie prism, aided and abetted by an assorted cast of maverick musicians, egg-head theorists, rock'n'roll, techno, experimentation and Iggy Pop. Mark and I take in the mood of the times, from his own personal memories of discovering Berlin with a Walkman and Side 2 of "Heroes" to the lingering influences of Krautrock, Isherwood, Albert King and Bolan. Thanks to Mark Reeder for his time and generosity for this episode, as well as to Thilo Schmidt for organising our previous visit to Hansa Studios and as ever, a massive thanks to Leah Kardos for composing and gifting the opening music to this episode. 

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