Creative Forces with Guy Kilty

CFP # 44 - Elizabeth Bananuka

Guy Kilty / Dap Dip — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Elizabeth Bananuka is a PR professional and the founder of BME PR Pros and The Blueprint, both of which promote racial diversity in the PR and communications industry. She's delivered diversity workshops for agencies, lobbied industry publications to diversify their judging panels, speakers and commentators, and in 2019 she organised the first BME PR Pros conference. In our fascinating chat, she tells me why she decided to start BME PR Pros and The Blueprint, and how she made the transition from being a full-time employee to a freelancer and company founder. Get in touch: creativeforcespod@gmail.com / https://twitter.com/creativeforcesp

CFP #43 – Matt Sewell

Guy Kilty / Dap Dip — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Matt Sewell is an artist, illustrator and author, best known for capturing the beauty of birds through his vivid watercolours. Over his career he's illustrated for The Guardian, The National Trust and The V&A, painted walls for Greenpeace, BBC’s Springwatch and Countryfile, and the RSPB, and his work has been exhibited in London, New York, Tokyo and Paris. In our conversation, Matt explains how he made the transition to being a full-time artist, why he loves heavy metal, and why he's so fascinated by drawing wildlife, particularly, of course, birds. Get in touch: creativeforcespod@gmail.com / https://twitter.com/creativeforcesp

CFP #42 – Blake Howard

Guy Kilty / Dap Dip — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Blake Howard is a writer, movie critic and podcaster, and the founder of One Heat Minute Productions. After starting out making my favourite ever podcast, One Heat Minute, in 2017, Blake has gone on to produce hundreds of brilliant podcasts under the One Heat Minute Productions brand, on a bunch of movies, including Last of the Mohicans, Miami Vice and Zodiac. On top of all that, he's written about movies for the likes of Empire Magazine, SBS Movies and Dark Horizons, among others. In our chat, Blake tells me how he started out in podcasting and why he loves audio as a medium for film criticism, and how it's felt to meet his heroes through his shows. Get in touch: creativeforcespod@gmail.com / https://twitter.com/creativeforcesp

CFP # 41 - Adam Gibbons

Guy Kilty / Dap Dip — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Adam Gibbons, better known as Lack of Afro, is a musician, multi-instrumentalist and producer. His first studio album, Press On, was released by Freestyle Records in 2009 and he's since gone on to release six more, all of which are infused with his unique take on funk, soul, break beats and rap. In our chat, Adam tells me how he became inspired to produce every aspect of his records, why taking control of his music and releasing it on his own label became so important to him, and the role his gran played in his early musical development.

Get in touch: creativeforcespod@gmail.com / https://twitter.com/creativeforcesp

CFP #40 – Oliver Jones

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 02:00:00 +0000

In 2010 Oliver Jones founded Deer Shed Festival, a family-focused music, arts and science weekend camping festival in North Yorkshire, with his wife Kate. Since then, it's gone on to become one of the best family-friendly festivals in the UK and celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. Oliver spent more than a decade working in the music industry in Bristol and London, which included playing at Glastonbury and studio engineering for Massive Attack, and ended up working in all sorts of jobs before setting up Deer Shed. In this honest and funny interview, which was recorded in front of a live audience at the Podcast Social Club (which he also founded) in Thirsk, hear Oliver describe the ups and downs of setting up a festival, the highs and lows of the music business, and the joys of heading down a YouTube wormhole.

CFP #39 – Andrew McMillan

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Andrew McMillan is a poet and lecturer in creative writing. His debut collection, physical, published in 2015, won a host of prizes and was the first poetry collection to win the Guardian First Book Award. Earlier this year, it was voted one of the top 25 poetry books of the past 25 years by the Booksellers Association. Growing up in Darfield, south Yorkshire, Andrew spent his early years looking to go into politics, but switched to poetry in his late teens. In this interview hear Andrew describe why he decided politics wasn't right for him, how he dealt with the merry-go-round of awards ceremonies when his first book took off, and the influence his dad Ian had on his career.

CFP #38 – Joanne Harris

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Joanne Harris is the author of more than a dozen novels, most famously Chocolat, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Born in Barnsley, Joanne started writing at an early age and worked as a teacher for over a decade before the success of Chocolat allowed her to become a full-time writer. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. In this interview, hear why Joanne never thought she could earn a living as an author until Chocolat's success, why her brief stint as an accountant was 'like being in a Terry Gilliam film', and how she and her bandmates have managed to stay together for more than three decades.

CFP #37 – John Nicholson

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 02:00:00 +0000

John Nicholson is a football writer, novelist and web entrepreneur. Born in Hull and raised in Stockton-on-Tees, John has enjoyed a wide-ranging career which includes setting up the online t-shirt businesses DJTees & TShirts365, submitting a weekly column for Football365 for almost two decades, and writing 16 novels. His 2010 book We Ate All The Pies was long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and he’s been short-listed for Writer of the Year by the Football Supporters Federation. Along the way he’s lived in over 20 locations including The Black Isle in Scotland and Laguna Beach, California. In this brutally honest and funny interview, hear John talk about his love of rock and roll, vinyl records and Middlesbrough FC, how he fell into writing professionally by accident, and how he found out he is related to William the Conqueror.

CFP #36 – Matthew Cope

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Matthew Cope is a magician and magic teacher who performs under the name Matthew J Magic. Growing up in Yorkshire, Matthew started juggling at the age of 10, performing magic as a street entertainer at 14 and was playing all over the country as a magical illusion act just a year later. Now, after a stint as a school teacher and extensive travel around the world, he’s a full-time entertainer, performing his unique combination of magic and variety to audiences around the UK and beyond. In this interview, hear Matthew describe why he became fascinated with magic and variety from such a young age, why he loves travelling, and how his Grandad helped him fulfil his ambitions.

CFP #35 – Rebecca Swift

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Swift is global head of creative insights at the world-renowned photo agency Getty Images. Since joining the photography industry over 20 years ago, Rebecca has pioneered the use of analytics to find out why we are attracted to certain images rather than others, and been instrumental in ensuring Getty’s stock photographs portray women and people with disabilities in realistic ways, including the banning of photoshopped body shapes. In this interview hear how Rebecca got into the industry by accident, how it’s been revolutionised completely by technology in the last two decades, and which musical instrument she plays to relax.

CFP #34 – Rahaf Harfoush

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 23 May 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Rahaf Harfoush is a best-selling author who focuses on the impact of digital technologies on society and working life. Born in Syria, Rahaf grew up in Canada and became fascinated by digital technology as a teenager, particularly social media and blogging. Her first book, Yes We Did: An Insider’s Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand, chronicled her experiences as a member of Barack Obama’s digital media team during the 2008 Presidential election and explored how social networking revolutionised political campaign strategy. Her second book, Hustle and Float: Reclaim Your Creativity and Thrive in a World Obsessed with Work, looks at the ways the endless hustle of the digital world is affecting our mental and physical health and our creativity. In this interview hear how Rahaf felt scared at first when she moved to Canada and couldn’t understand what people were saying, what it was like working on the 2008 Obama campaign, and why she kicks off her day by watching comedy.

CFP #33 – Emma Kennedy

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 09 May 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Emma Kennedy is a best -selling author, TV writer, actor and presenter. After growing up in Stevenage and Hitchen then studying at Oxford University, where she met and performed with comedians Richard Herring and Stewart Lee, Emma spent three years as a solicitor before quitting to become a full-time writer. Since then she’s written for and starred in TV shows like Goodness Gracious Me, This Morning With Richard Not Judy, The Smoking Room and Late Lunch with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, as well as The Kennedys, a BBC comedy series based on her childhood. Her first book, How To Bring Up Your Parents, came out in 2007 and her second, The Tent, The Bucket and Me, about her family camping holidays, appeared two years later. Since then she’s written eight more, including the Wilma Tenderfoot series of children’s books. In among all that she’s also won Celebrity Masterchef and Celebrity Mastermind. In this interview, hear how Emma defied all expectations to get to Oxford, why she knew instantly she’d made a big mistake becoming a lawyer, and why she has a new-found love of Lego.

CFP #32 – Greig Johnson

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Greig Johnson is a comedy writer, performer, musician and filmmaker. His comic creations include Belgian action star Lunge Dolphin, music production guru Woody Brown and northern poet Brian McMorley, and he has recently appeared in BBC Two’s The Mash Report and CBBC’s Class Dismissed. After growing up in Harrogate, Greig studied and then went onto teach graphic art and design in Leeds. At the same time, he was making short films and comedy sketches and when one caught the eye of comedian Matt Lucas, Greig’s career path started to shift. In this very funny interview, hear how Greig’s first comedy videos were made for just two of his friends, the sheer terror he felt the first time he performed his characters on stage, and why his biggest comedy inspiration may well be his Dad.

CFP #31 – Ian McMillan

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Ian McMillan is a well-renowned and much-loved poet, journalist, playwright, and broadcaster. Known as ‘the bard of Barnsley’, his warmth, humour and way with words shine through in his books, regular TV and radio appearances, and frequent tweets. Still resident in his native South Yorkshire, he’s also held the position of poet-in-residence for a wide range of organisations including Barnsley FC and Humberside Police. In this open and often hilarious interview, hear Ian explain how he discovered being a poet who could be funny could be a big advantage, why the freelance lifestyle means he is always saying ‘yes’, and why he loves performing in village halls.

CFP #30 – Heather Greenwood

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Heather Greenwood is a senior executive at film and TV production company Fulwell 73, whose documentary production credits include the smash hit about the return of Bros, After The Screaming Stops, Sunderland Till I Die and I Am Bolt. After growing up in a small village in Lincolnshire she and her family moved to Birmingham when she was ten. While at school there she got involved in youth theatre production and loved it so much she decided that was what she wanted to do for her career. In this interview hear why Heather stayed in her friend’s living room in London early on, how her production career has taken in reality TV, drama, documentaries and feature films, and what it’s been like experiencing the huge recent success of the Bros documentary.

CFP #29 – Martin Newman

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Martin Newman is an internationally-renowned expert on customer experience and e-commerce who has been involved in multi-channel retailing for over 30 years. After growing up in Glasgow and starting out working for the family firm he went on to hold senior positions at Ted Baker, Harrods, Burberry, Pentland brands and Intersport before founding the multi-national consultancy Practicology. Now the author of a book, ‘100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience’, Martin is a regular contributor to Retail Week & Drapers and delivers keynote presentations around the world. In this interview, hear Martin describe his early career in the family firm and then as a holiday rep, how he worked his way up to senior roles at some of the biggest names in retail, and which bands he bunked off school to see in London when he was a teenager.

CFP #28 – Sulene Fleming

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Sulene Fleming is a singer/songwriter from Bradford. After starting out singing in competitions as a teenager she’s gone on to appear on countless sessions for all sorts of artists and producers – including Nowegian duo Stargate – and front funk and soul bands like The Brand New Heavies, The New Mastersounds and The Fantastics. In this honest and funny interview hear how a chance meeting at the age of 15 made Sulene believe a career in music might be possible, which hugely successful girl group audition she thinks she may well have turned down in the 1990s, and why she temporarily reinvented herself mid-career.

CFP #27 – Diane Brown

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Diane Brown is the founder and president of RxArt, a non-profit organisation which installs contemporary artwork in hospitals, particularly those that treat children. Now based in New York, Diane grew up in Ohio and originally started out in medicine before pursuing her lifelong passion for art, eventually running successful galleries in both Washington and New York before creating RxArt in 2000. In this interview hear Diane explain why art has affected her so much in her life and work, why she switched career from medicine, and why she believes artworks have the power to affect real change in people’s health and well-being.

CFP #26 – Tony Husband

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Tony Husband’s brilliant and funny cartoons are familiar to millions of people in the UK and beyond, thanks to regular appearances in publications like Private Eye, The Times, Punch, Playboy and many others over the last four decades. In that time he’s won numerous major awards, including the Pont Award for depicting the British way of life. Meanwhile, Yobs, which he draws for Private Eye, is one of the best-known comic-strips in Britain. Alongside his day-to-day career as a cartoonist, he’s also used his work to create several books, including two that feature very personal reflections; one about his father’s dementia and the other on his son’s drug use. In this warm and witty interview, hear how Tony worked out that drawing cartoons was going to be his main career, how he kept trying when he faced numerous rejections early on, and why he’s been called the ‘Keith Richards of cartooning’.

CFP #25 – Portia Jones

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Portia Jones is the creator of the travel and lifestyle blog Pip and the City. After growing up in South Wales with a passion for travel, Portia went on the first of many solo trips abroad as a teenager. More than ten years of extensive travelling later she launched her blog and has since been shortlisted for a Vuelio blogging award, become a brand ambassador for Euroventure Travel, has been listed as a Travelex top blogger and has collaborated with many tourism boards and travel brands. In this honest and often hilarious interview, hear Portia explain how she’s found herself in a number of sticky situations abroad over the years, why she loves comics and sci-fi, and why being in fancy dress can be helpful when you lose something on the train.

CFP #24 – Creative inspiration part three

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 02:00:00 +0000

In a special podcast looking back at some of the highlights from Creative Forces episodes 11 to 18, record producer Steve Levine talks about his friendship with Boy George, technology evangelist Dr Sue Black remembers what she did in the first few years after leaving home at 16, drummer Simon Allen explains how his band, The New Mastersounds, got started, PR guru Paul Blanchard recalls how an incident with a lobster in France changed his diet forever, obstetrician and gynecologist Felice Gersh talks about growing up in New York and the influence of her family on her career, and writer and director Jason Wingard remembers how he felt switching career after his time as a professional footballer came to an end.

CFP #23 – Nick Johnson

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Nick Johnson is a pioneer of property development and urban regeneration. After starting out as a surveyor he went on to become a director of the hugely successful city centre regeneration specialists Urban Splash, chair of Marketing Manchester and a teacher at Yale. In 2011, though, he went into “self-imposed exile”, leaving those and several other advisory roles behind to start again. That decision led him to take on the redevelopment of the market hall in Altrincham, Cheshire, with great success. Soon afterwards he and his partner Jen took their formula of semi-industrial style and carefully curated independent traders a step further by creating Mackie Mayor from a Grade II listed market building on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. In this fascinating interview, hear how Nick was heavily involved and influenced by the Factory records scene in the 1990s, why he likes to keep things just on the edge of falling apart, and why he never takes a meeting that involves more than three people.

CFP #22 – Julian Richer

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Julian Richer is one of the UK’s most successful high-street retailers. After buying and selling his first piece of hi-fi equipment for a profit at the age of 14, he opened his first Richer Sounds store in London just five years later. Four decades on that store has grown into a nationwide chain of more than 50 shops, 400 staff and an annual turnover of almost £190m. Alongside his retail career he’s also an author (his latest book, The Ethical Capitalist, was published earlier this year) and industry consultant, famously advising both Asda and Marks and Spencer, and he’s the drummer in funk and soul band Ten Millennia. In this hugely entertaining interview, hear Julian explain what drove him to start buying and selling at such a young age, how his band went from playing in front of six people to 6,000 almost overnight, and why he’s glad he used his own name on the shop, even though he thinks becoming a celebrity is a curse.

NOTE:
Julian very kindly agreed to ahead with this interview despite being full of a cold and he’s asked me apologise on his behalf and correct a couple of mistakes he made:
57:43 – he meant to say “depend on the ROADS to drive my lorries”
1:02:11- he meant to say “running a retail business is a hell of a lot HARDER”

CFP #21 – Priya Lakhani

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Priya Lakhani is the founder and chief executive of the cloud-based education platform CENTURY. After training as a lawyer, Priya quit the legal profession in 2008 to set up the Indian cooking sauces brand Masala Masala and within weeks her products were being stocked in major retailers including Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Waitrose. She also set up a charity alongside the sauces business, which provided a hot meal to a homeless person in India for every pot of sauce sold. In recognition for her success with Masala Masala and the charity Priya was awarded an OBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List and later became a member of the advisory board to the Secretary of State for Business, before going on to set up CENTURY. In this fascinating interview, hear how Priya developed her entrepreneurial skills working alongside her brother while they were both still at school, why her parents and grandparents instilled in her a desire to help others, and why she loves having a dog in the office.

CFP #20 – James Ingram

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 02:00:00 +0000

James Ingram is the chief executive of the e-commerce photography and video specialist, Splashlight, and host of the Creative Intelligence Podcast. After growing up in Chicago where he showed an early interest in creative design, James moved to Brooklyn at the age of 19 to start working in the printing industry. Over the next three decades he worked his way up into a series of leadership roles in graphic arts companies, before taking up his current role in 2005. In this frank and fascinating interview hear James explain how he overcame major setbacks in his career, how he completely reinvented his management style, how his work ethic came from his father, and why his grandfather tried to convince him to be a professional golfer.

CFP #19 – Dave Fishwick

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Dave Fishwick is a self-made millionaire and the star of Channel 4’s Bank of Dave. After growing up in Nelson, Lancashire, and leaving school at 16 with no qualifications, Dave started his entrepreneurial journey selling used cars. More than two decades later his eponymous company has grown into the biggest supplier of new and used minibuses and wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the UK. Alongside his successful career in business, Dave has also become an extremely recognisable face on TV. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Dave started lending money to customers and small businesses who were being denied credit by the banks, which led to him setting up Burnley Savings and Loans. That process became the subject of the Channel 4 series Bank Of Dave and he has gone on to star in two more Channel 4 series, How To Get Rich Quick and The Shopper’s Guide to Saving Money. In this fascinating interview, hear why Dave’s story really is one of rags to riches, why he’s determined to get a licence so Burnley Savings and Loans can become a fully regulated bank, and find out his four rules for starting out in business.

CFP #18 – Dr Felice Gersh

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Dr Felice Gersh is a multi-award-winning obstetrician and gynecologist and the founder of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine. After completing her medical training at the University of Southern California Medical School she spent many years working as a doctor of obstetrics and gynaecology where she developed a unique take on women’s healthcare and began to explore an interest in holistic approaches to healing. She later graduated from the two-year Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and now lectures at universities and speaks at conferences around the world about the subject. She also campaigns to help increase understanding of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the most common cause of female infertility worldwide, and recently appeared in a documentary about the benefits of fasting. She has been awarded the Orange County Medical Association’s Physician of the Year Award for 13 years running, and has received Southern California’s Super Doctor Award on several occasions. In this fascinating and moving interview, hear Felice explain what it was like being one of the first female undergraduate students at Princeton University, why she feels she benefited from her parents convincing her that she should pursue one of three possible careers, and why she plans to write a book every year.

CFP #17 – Dr Sue Black

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Dr Sue Black left home and school at 16, got married at the age of 20 and was a single mother of three at 25. After completing a degree in computing and then a PhD in software engineering she’s now a technology evangelist and digital skills expert, a UK government advisor, Honorary Professor of Computer Science at UCL, social entrepreneur, writer and public speaker, and was awarded an OBE for services to technology in 2016. Her current social enterprise #techmums teaches mums technology skills and helps builds their confidence by encouraging them into education, entreprenership and employment. Sue also led the successful campaign to save Bletchley Park from 2008-2011 and wrote an Amazon UK bestseller about it, Saving Bletchley Park, How #socialmedia saved the home of the WWII codebreakers. In this fascinating interview, hear Sue explain how she “dramatically changed her life” by forcing herself to overcome her shyness, how she ended up being the most retweeted person in the world during the Save Bletchley Park campaign, and why she dyes her hair bright red.
Photo credit: Ali Tollervey

CFP #16 – Simon Allen

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Musician, record label manager and photographer Simon Allen is a founding member of funk and soul outfit The New Mastersounds and runs the band’s label, One Note Records. Born in Warwickshire, Simon moved to Leeds at the age of 18 where he met guitarist Eddie Roberts and started a musical relationship that is still going strong today. In this insightful and funny interview, Simon explains why hearing one particular song when he was working in Discovery Records in Leamington Spa at the age of 14 changed everything for him musically, why his administrative skills have proved just as useful as his drumming skills in developing One Note Records, and why being paid in cash on tour can often prove costly.

CFP #15 – Creative inspiration part two

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 02:00:00 +0000

In a special podcast looking back at some of the highlights from Creative Forces episodes six to ten, DJ and author Dave Haslam explains why he chose “Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor” as the title of his memoir, food waste entrepreneur Tessa Cook talks about the moment she came up with the idea for her smartphone app OLIO, writer and director Keith Farrell discusses his early career in sports journalism, family-friendly festival creators Rowan Hoban and Sarah Bird explain the difference that working outdoors has made to their creativity levels, and public relations guru Andrew Bloch talks about the early days of the company he co-founded, Frank PR.

CFP #14 – Creative inspiration part one

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 02:00:00 +0000

In a special podcast looking back at some of the highlights from Creative Forces episodes one to five, new media visionary Ajaz Ahmed explains whether he knew what he wanted to be when he was school, dating industry expert Charly Lester explain why she loves taking on challenges, author Nick Royle outlines where his ideas come from, health food entrepreneur Juliane Ponan talks about her fears over appearing on the BBC TV programme Dragon’s Den, and illustrator Stan Chow explains how he’s able to capture the incredible likenesses of the rich and famous in his iconic portraits.

CFP #13 – Steve Levine

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 02:00:00 +0000

After joining CBS as a trainee tape operator at the age of 17, Grammy and Brit award-winning record producer Steve Levine has gone on to enjoy a hugely successful career in the music business, working with artists like The Clash and The Beach Boys and producing the first three Culture Club albums. A pioneer of digital recording techniques, he’s also been named BPI Producer of the Year and Top Singles Producer by Musicweek, and runs his own label, Hubris Records. Steve has also appeared on many radio and TV programs and is a regular guest on BBC Radio 6 Music, and his radio production company has produced several shows, including the documentary series The Record Producers, which featured interviews with some of the biggest name in record production including Trevor Horn, Nile Rodgers & Tony Visconti. In this interview hear how Steve got his big break in the music industry, what it was like for him and the band when Culture Club’s Do You Really Want to Hurt Me became a huge hit, and which record changed everything for him as a producer.

CFP #12 – Jason Wingard

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Jason Wingard is a multi-award winning filmmaker, writer and director. His latest film, the critically-acclaimed comedy Eaten By Lions starring Jack Carroll, Antonio Aakeel & Johnny Vegas, premiered at the 2018 Edinburgh Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Bagri London Indian Film Festival. His short film In Another Life, which tells the story of a young man’s journey to the UK through Europe as a refugee and was shot in the Calais Jungle, won Best UK Feature at the Raindance Film Festival. Two of his short films, Bus Baby and 2:20, have won at the Virgin Media Short Awards. In this interview hear how Jason started out as a professional footballer before moving into stand-up comedy, how he made his first short films on a very tight budget, and why seeing Johnny Vegas perform live made him decide to quit stand-up.

CFP #11 – Paul Blanchard

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Paul Blanchard is a PR guru, author, media commentator and creator of the hugely successful Media Masters podcast. As well as his two decades working in the media industry, Paul has created and sold an IT business, served as a local councillor and stood for parliament. In this episode hear how he started the Media Masters podcast and how its format has evolved, how he’s bounced back from setbacks in his career, and why an incident with a lobster in France changed his diet forever.

CFP #10 – Keith Farrell

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Keith Farrell is a writer and director. After several years working on period drama documentaries, including the multiple-award winning A Terrible Beauty, the story of the the 1916 Easter Rising in his native Dublin, Keith has most recently moved into writing and directing contemporary drama. His 2017 short film, Rabbit Punch, about a young refugee in Manchester struggling to cope with life at home and school who finds salvation in boxing, has been hugely successful, winning Best Short Film at the Omaha Film Festival and enjoying screenings at fourteen film festivals around the world. In this interview, hear how Keith moved from sports journalism into film-making, why dealing with rejection is a vital skill for a filmmaker, and how he uses running to refine his scripts.

CFP #9 – Rowan Hoban and Sarah Bird

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 02:00:00 +0000

In 2009 Rowan Hoban and Sarah Bird spotted a gap in the market for family-friendly festivals and decided to co-create the Just So Festival in their spare time. Just under a decade later, Just So has gone on to win multiple awards and Rowan and Sarah, through the arts organisation they created alongside it, Wild Rumpus, organise events all around the world from their horsebox office in the Whirligig Woods on the festival site at Rode Hall in Cheshire. In this episode, which was recorded in the woods in one of their caravans, Rowan and Sarah explain how a chance meeting led to them starting their business, what makes their partnership work, and why being outdoors fuels their creativity.

CFP #8 – Dave Haslam

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Mon, 21 May 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Dave Haslam is a DJ, journalist and author. After setting up his own fanzine, Debris, in the early 80s, Dave DJ’d over four hundred and fifty times at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda nightclub before going onto gig at festivals and club nights all around the world and play alongside bands like the Stone Roses and New Order. As a writer he’s now published his fifth book, ‘Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor; Music, Manchester & More’, a brilliant memoir of his life and career. In this interview, Dave explains why sharing has been the main theme of the various things he’s done over the years, why he loves weirdos and why he’s just recently formed a band.

CFP #7 – Tessa Cook

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 10 May 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Tessa Cook is the co-founder of OLIO, the smartphone app which connects neighbours and local businesses so they can share surplus food rather than throwing it away, and since its launch in North London in 2015 it’s now being used by hundreds of thousands of users in more than 30 countries. After leaving the family farm in North Yorkshire Tessa went on to study at Cambridge and Stanford and enjoy a successful career in business which included stints at the publishing group Emap and the technology pioneer Dyson. In this episode Tessa explains how she learnt a lot about entrepreneurship by watching the way her parents worked, how she suffered from ‘impostor syndrome’ at Stanford, and how she worked on a number of different company ideas before experiencing the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of Olio.

CFP #6 – Andrew Bloch

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Andrew Bloch is the co-founder and group managing director of Frank, one of the UK’s leading consumer PR agencies. After starting life with just three people in 2000, Frank now has offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Sydney, and counts Disney, Volkswagen and Sir Alan Sugar among its clients. In this episode Andrew explains how he got into PR by accident, how he overcame his doubts about whether he was ready to start a company before co-founding Frank, and how he swapped PR for rent in Frank’s first office.

CFP #5 – Charly Lester

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Charly Lester is an entrepreneur, dating industry expert and journalist. After creating the hugely popular 30 Dates Blog as a twenty-nine year-old financial contractor, Charly went on to become the Guardian’s dating editor and created The Dating Awards covering the UK, Europe and the US. With professional matchmaker Caroline Brealey she’s now launched A League of Her Own, a club for female entrepreneurs, and the Dating Expert Academy, an online accreditation program for aspiring dating experts. She’s also now head judge at the 2017 UK Blog Awards, chairing a panel of 40 expert judges. In this episode hear how Charly’s entrepreneurial streak has come to the fore in a variety of ways, the impact her parents have made on her life and career, and why she works best at night.

CFP #4 – Ajaz Ahmed

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Ajaz Ahmed is the chief executive of AKQA, the digital agency he founded when he dropped out of university at the age of 21. With a client list over the years that includes Nike, Virgin, Rolls Royce and Netflix, Ajaz and AKQA have consistently pushed the boundaries in their field and hoovered up more awards than any of their competitors along the way. In this episode hear how AKQA grew from just a handful of people to more than 2,000 based in studios all over the world, how his upbringing in rural Berkshire informs his view of the future, and the daily routine he employs to ensure he’s at his most creative.

CFP #3 – Stanley Chow

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 02:10:00 +0000

Stanley Chow is an artist and illustrator whose iconic and instantly-recognisable portraits of celebrities, footballers and musicians have received worldwide acclaim and generated a client list which includes the New York Times, The New Yorker, Manchester United and The White Stripes. In this episode hear how Stan’s love of drawing developed from a young age in his family chip shop in Manchester, why social media provided him with his ‘big break’, and why his love of football has been so key to his success.

CFP #2 – Julianne Ponan

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 02:05:00 +0000

At the age of just 22 Julianne Ponan became the owner and chief executive of the superfood brand Creative Nature. Just six years later Creative Nature products are stocked in the UK’s biggest supermarkets, and she and the company have won a ton of awards. In this episode find out how Julianne has grown the business, from prospective customers spitting out her first batch of snack bars to being sold nationwide, how she’s coped with anaphylaxis from a young age and how that’s inspired what she does now, and the rule she tries to live by when it comes to business opportunities.

CFP #1 – Nicholas Royle

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Nicholas Royle is a writer, publisher and editor. He’s written seven novels, two novellas and three volumes of short fiction. He’s a senior lecturer in creative writing at the Manchester Writing School and head judge of the Manchester Fiction Prize. If that wasn’t enough, he also runs Nightjar Press and works as an editor for Salt Publishing. In this episode find out how he keeps track of his ideas, why he’s fascinated by doppelgangers, and the exact seat where he feels he does his best work.

CFP – Trailer

Creative Forces Podcast / Guy Kilty — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 02:00:00 +0000

Creative Forces is a brand new podcast. Each episode is a conversation with a creative individual, hosted by Guy Kilty. Launching March 2018.