The RHODcasts

Rhod Sharp

The veteran BBC presenter and journalist RHOD SHARP was cut off from the work he loved by an accelerated retirement at the instant of the first Covid lockdowns. Could podcasts keep his listeners in the conversation?

Episodes

  1. When Jazz Came to Europe

    1 JAN

    When Jazz Came to Europe

    In When Jazz Came to Europe, Tony Staveacre and Rhod Sharp uncover the story of a musical innovator who has never had the recognition he deserves in his own country. Philadelphia’s Sam Wooding not only brought his band to Europe, but a whole new sound.

    24 min
  2. Tony's Taste of Comedy

    29/08/2025

    Tony's Taste of Comedy

    In Tony’s Taste of Comedy, Tony Staveacre takes Rhod Sharp on a lightning tour of some of the best standup comedians of the twentieth century - from the forgotten to the unforgettable. Thus Sid Field (bottom right) one of the first standups to make a living doing impressions, and Billy Bennett (top right) a war hero who nevertheless portrayed himself as "almost a gentleman." Tony's lifelong involvement with comedy and comedians through his books and TV shows results in a very personal take on what makes us all more human.

    27 min
  3. Dream World - The Life and Death of Al Bowlly

    19/02/2025

    Dream World - The Life and Death of Al Bowlly

    In Dream World - The Life and Death of Al Bowlly, Rhod Sharp and Tony Staveacre explore the story of a 1930s British superstar who outsold Bing Crosby. With seven of his original hits, here is Al Bowlly’s explosive career remembered in archive interviews with fellow band members and friends.

    32 min
  4. Tim's Comedy Links

    11/05/2024

    Tim's Comedy Links

    Rhod Sharp and Tony Staveacre take a fond look back at the 57 year career of the beloved British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor. Tony caddies for Tim on the golf course where they grew up, stopping along the way to remember Tim’s radio heroes.

    38 min
  5. The Band Played On

    08/03/2024

    The Band Played On

    What was the prevailing sound on the Titanic? Light music, and lots of it. In The Band Played On, Tony Staveacre and Rhod Sharp recreate the musical voyage of SS Titanic, with a pickup band from the Savage Club of Bristol performing numbers from the White Star line songbook.

    45 min
  6. Music Made Me: The Allan Schiller Story: Part 1

    03/03/2024 · BONUS

    Music Made Me: The Allan Schiller Story: Part 1

    In the first part of this audiobook, internationally renowned pianist Allan Schiller looks back on 1961 when at the age of 18 he was selected for the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire.

    40 min
  7. Music Made Me: The Allan Schiller Story: Part 2

    03/03/2024 · BONUS

    Music Made Me: The Allan Schiller Story: Part 2

    In this concluding part of his audiobook, the renowned Mozartian Allan Schiller looks back on his student days at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire during the height of the Cold War.  The members of Schiller’s piano trio prepare for the day when they go on the road.

    43 min
  8. A Love Letter to America: Rhod Sharp talks to Jim Naughtie: Part 2

    03/03/2024

    A Love Letter to America: Rhod Sharp talks to Jim Naughtie: Part 2

    Starting at a party thrown by the Kennedy family at their compound on Martha’s Vineyard and ending with an autumn 2020 encounter in a Scranton, PA. coffee shop with two voters separated by generations and party affiliation, JIM NAUGHTIE weaves more stories of the  changing American body politic while asserting unshakeable faith in human nature.

    48 min
  9. A Love Letter to America: Rhod Sharp talks to Jim Naughtie: Part 1

    03/03/2024

    A Love Letter to America: Rhod Sharp talks to Jim Naughtie: Part 1

    Rhod talks to his old friend JAMES (Jim) NAUGHTIE about Jim’s introduction to the country 50 years ago this year and other memories collected in his book On The Road. (Recorded November 2020)

    44 min

  10. 31/08/2023

    Astor Piazzolla - Tony Staveacre's interview

    Rhod Sharp and Tony Staveacre present a never-heard interview with a giant of music, Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla inspired generations of musicians with his classically-trained approach to a form once heard only in the brothels of Buenos Aires. He called it New Tango. Such was the initial hostility to it in Argentina that he was forever grateful he had grown up learning to box on the mean streets of New York, alongside his schoolmate Jake LaMotta, The Bronx Bull. Here, in Tony’s carefully preserved recording from 1989, is Piazzolla in his own words, richly illustrated with his thrilling music. Afterwards he said this was his best-ever performance on record. Sadly, it would also be the last time that this brilliant sextet were heard together in public. We are privileged to hear it now. (August 2023)

    34 min
  11. David Greig - Adventures With the Painted People

    30/07/2020

    David Greig - Adventures With the Painted People

    This episode with David Greig, who is incidentally stepping down after eight highly successful years as Artistic Director of the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, showed an innovative approach to performing under Covid restrictions. Originally published on July 30, 2020, it describes a make-believe encounter somewhere in the Highlands between a Roman legionary and a young Pictish woman. In the following summer the play made its long-awaited debut in the open air at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (now helmed in 2025 by first-time artistic director Alan Cumming). Here though, Greig talks about the challenges and rewards of taking it to BBC Radio 3.

    42 min

  12. 01/07/2020

    Summon The Heroes: Keith Lockhart of The Boston Pops

    In 2020, a summer of no Olympics and precious little else because of lockdown, the conductor KEITH LOCKHART tells RHOD SHARP how 80 members of the Boston Pops came together from home in a YouTube performance of John Williams' Olympic anthem Summon The Heroes. (recorded June 2020)

    32 min
  • 12 Episodes

4.9
out of 5
117 Ratings

About

The veteran BBC presenter and journalist RHOD SHARP was cut off from the work he loved by an accelerated retirement at the instant of the first Covid lockdowns. Could podcasts keep his listeners in the conversation?

Information

  • Creator
    Rhod Sharp
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Rhodcasts
  • Show Website
    The RHODcasts