The RebChat: Conversations about the creative process for art and for business.

Episode #3: "From London Lads to Global Pop Icons: Wham! The Documentary"

Summary:

In today's episode, Becky and Cathy Dixon dive deep into the world of Wham!, the title of the 2023 documentary released on Netflix. Wham tells the story of the power pop duo, from formation to superstardom to their split. But at its core, the movie is about their appeal, relatability and their humble beginnings as two ordinary London boys with a dream to their ascent to the pinnacle of global pop stardom; this story will leave you humming their tunes and appreciating their legacy anew.

Show Notes:

• The World of Wham!
• Comprised of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, Wham! Embodied the spirit of the early to mid-80s and brought a fresh, revitalised sound to the pop scene.
• Hits That Defined a Generation:
• With anthems like "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Last Christmas," "Club Tropicana," and "Everything She Wants," Wham! had an uncanny ability to capture the zeitgeist of the times, leaving an indelible mark on music history.
• The Origins:
• George and Andrew's journey began in the London suburbs. Bonding over shared dreams and a mutual love of music, they transformed from childhood friends to global superstars. In the early years, Andrew was the leader. He decided the only destiny George and he had was to form a world-famous pop band. 
• Unity and Split:
• Wham! wasn't just a name; it symbolized the unity between the duo. They brought joy, style, and pure pop brilliance as one united front. Yet, as with many tales of fame, pressures and ambitions led to their eventual split. We discuss how George Michael's departure marked the end of an era and the start of a successful solo career.
• A Dream Realized:
• The true essence of their story lies in the grit and determination behind their stardom. Two ordinary boys from London with dreams more significant than their surroundings made it to the world stage, leaving a legacy that still resonates today.

Links & Resources:

• www.rebcatcreations.com

Prince Harry’s book Spare has garnered much attention since Random Penguin House released it in January 2023. Spare is Prince Harry’s memoir, which covers his life journey from “trauma to healing” He discusses his life after his mother’s tragic death, early adulthood, the military service, and his life as a husband and father. Spare was written by the ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer and became a publishing phenomenon by selling 3.2 million copies in the first week. Reviews have been mixed, some praising Harry’s openness and vulnerability and others more critical of the details he gave about family members and other people who maybe could have been left out of the story. 

Becky Dixon, out of curiosity read a hard copy of Spare from cover to cover and offers her review of the book in this podcast. Her motivation was to be able to talk about the book from her own experience rather than from hearsay and speculation.

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The second season of The RebChat podcast, kicks off with Becky and Cathy Dixon, co-founders of Rebcat Creations, discussing their latest audio drama production, Cadillac High by Steve Gold. 

The play, initially not suitable for audio, was adapted with the author's collaboration and is based on the opioid epidemic, drawing inspiration from Patrick Radden Keefe’s book, Empire of Pain.

Join the sisters as they share their journey through casting, collaborating with Backstage, and offering valuable advice on being clear about roles. They also explore the challenges of transforming a theatre play into an engaging audio drama, delving into the processes of auditioning, casting, rehearsals, and editing to bring the compelling story to life. Tune in to learn more about the creative process and the technical aspects of producing an audio drama.

Timestamps

0:00:09 Exploring the Creative Process of Audio Drama Production: A Discussion on Cadillac High

0:02:14 Conversation Summary: Adapting Steve's Play for Audio Production

0:04:08 Heading: Exploring the Synergy Between the Opioid Epidemic and a Play Adaptation

0:05:59 Conversation Summary: Casting and Rehearsing for an Audio Play

0:13:56 Heading: Editing and Patching a Zoom Recording for a Dark Comedy Play

0:15:58 Conversation Summary: Discussing the Appeal of a Play About the Opioid Crisis

0:18:08 Conversation Summary: Cadillac High and Future Projects

0:20:17 "Interview with Becky from Rev Chat: Discussing Cadillac High and OxyContin"

To listen to Cadillac High. go to The RebCat Story Collections:

Scott Davenport has  has written plays for TV and radio for over a decade. He chats with Cathy from Rebcat Creations about how he transform his abundant ideas into stories. He draws inspiration from real life, real people especially in the North West of England.  He is particularly interested in community dynamics and exploring characters on the fringes of the communities.  He believes there are stories everywhere, on every street corner  and encourages budding writers to "write what fascinates you."

He has written a play about the North West for Rebcat Creations called The Pav which will be produced and released in Spring/Summer of 2023 on The Rebcat Story Collection. 

You can find Scott on twitter 

Scott  Davenport

@scriptrocket

Rebchat's Rebecca Dixon, talks with Thia Path about her work, her approach to art and what it is all about. This fascinating conversation will resonate with artists and people who appreciate art, especially the freedom and sense of the soul's expression that comes from original work. 

Cathy Dixon from The Rebchat, talks with Charly Cox, an award-winning climate change coach and Founder of Climate Change Coaches. A professional coach for ten years, Charly specialises in developing leaders in environmentally-focused businesses. She has a background in the creative sector and worked for seven years in West Africa.

You can find the book Charly mentioned in her interview here:

In Episode 25 of the Rebchat podcast, Cathy Dixon first discovered Serena singing outside the Tate Modern Gallery and her gorgeous music and singing drew a crowd of appreciative listeners. She has just released her single Shout, which features on this episode. In discussions with Cathy, Serena shares her musical heritage and journey and also her search for personal technology about what makes us happy. After all, it is not something we are taught in school.

In Serena’s own words:

I’m Serena Kaos and I sing, make songs and play keys, for happiness since I was 6 and also for a living since I was 18. 3 years after releasing a trip-hop album with the group Soma Zero, I'm finally out there with my first single as a solo artist - Shout. This song is a portrait of how I see life – a magical experience that shouldn’t be kept in our dreams. Both alternative and pop, both soothing and igniting, talks about overcoming hardship in life and becoming a better and happier self. I have a voice, a piano and you. For some magical reason, it's more than enough.

Would you like to have some short videos of me busking and also the teaser for Shout's music video? It would be easier for me to send them over by WhatsApp, can you give me yours

Serena Links Links

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/serenakaos/shou

Cathy Dixon of Rebcat was talking with artist Rebecca Potts about her work, motherhood, teaching and running a podcast show.

Rebecca Potts Aguirre (she/her, b. 1982, Montana) is an artist based in Los Angeles whose practice centers around documenting daily life. Her work explores themes of feminism and gendered labor, memory and visibility, trauma and healing. With a background in printmaking, Potts Aguirre works across media as materiality is central to her concepts.

Cathy Dixon talks with Eleanor Winton about business, careers and a world moving forward post Covid 19. During this lively and fascinating discussion, Eleanor shares how she thinks we need to prepare in times which present wave after wave of uncertainty. Here is Eleanor in her own words:

____________

I have always had a natural curiosity and been a lover of information and pattern spotting. After studying law in my early twenties, I moved into a career as an investigator of conduct initially (at the Scottish Government and in the Financial Ombudsman Service) and then financial crime in the forensic team at a major consultancy.

One of my great frustrations in my time as an investigator was seeing how a lack of motivation and curiosity could detrimentally impact the results of very serious and costly investigations (and create the need to carry them out in the first place). With that in mind, I pushed for innovative responses to the challenges we faced and saw the great results they could yield.

Inspired to pursue a career in innovation I made the move to the firm’s innovation team and from there went on to build and lead The Future Institute in the UK, a brand new proposition merging innovation, strategy and foresight and working directly with Boards and Executive Teams to frame successful strategies for dealing with disruption.

It was clear to me that leaders needed provocation, challenge and inspiration around building a sustainable and profitable future and I set up Foresightfully in 2017, bringing both creative and analytical perspectives to urgent business challenges.

Cathy Dixon of Rebcat Creations met Ryskii in  unusual circumstance. She heard him singing while he was being filmed on Millennium Bridge for his latest release. She asked him if he would like to feature in the production of our latest audio story Newsworthy wwww.recatcreations.com/newsworthy and he agreed.

Ryskii is a South Londoner who been singing for most of his life, learning his craft at school and being part of a gospel choir. He writes from his heart and much of his lyrical content is autobiographical, based on his life and emotional experiences. He has released several songs on Spotify. 

In this recording we can hear four pieces: 

1. Envy

2. Make it

3. Fake Friends

4. No More

Contact Ryskii directly and/or listen to all his work:

In this episode we  listen to entrepreneur and ex-professional athlete Josh Gape talk about his supplement business.  We find out how Josh discovered his life and career path during a sabbatical from his City job.  We learn how his nose to tail products improve our health and quality of life. The passage below is Josh in his own words. 

The idea for APE was developed when I was travelling with my partner Izzi in India. Both of us were unhappy in our corporate London jobs so needed to take some time out. This time away created the space we needed to realise what we actually wanted to do with our lives. I have always been heavily into sports, nutrition & health optimisation so was using the time away for personal research and reading. At the same time, Izzi and I both began to deep dive into meditation and it became part of or morning and evening routine.

This caused something to click into place for me and I began to explore the relationship between the body, mind & soul. I started to understand how a more holistic approach, taking the time to work with each of these aspects, was the most optimal way for me live my life. By gaining deeper knowledge of health, nutrition and how to leverage them, I was able to take my performance to another level and surpass limitations I had been previously experienced.

A desire to share this message acted as the catalyst for APE Nutrition and I started to think about which products could best help people on their journey to optimal health and performance. Both Izzi and I felt that there were so many ‘health’ brands selling gimmick products that weren’t genuinely healthy. We recognised that the majority of ‘health foods’ were packed with artificial sweeteners and genetically modified ingredients. With a huge number of supplements on the market being poorly sourced and therefore lacking in the beneficial compounds they’re known for.

That's why everything we create at APE is made from real food that's come from regenerative and organic farming practises. This benefits the soil, the environment, the animals involved as well as our customers.

To benefit from Josh’s supplements at a discount price please use REBCAT in the checkout.

Cathy Dixon of Rebcat Creations was in conversation with the wonderful Gene Monterastelli of Tapping Q and A. We talked about words, beliefs and the voices in our head and how tapping, sometimes known as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or Thought Field Therapy (TFT).

Gene Monterastelli is a Brooklyn based practitioner who helps small business owners from all over the world to eliminate self sabotage. He is the edit of TappingQandA.com and the host of the Tapping Q and A Podcast. Help love teach experienced practitioners and total newbies provocative approaches to tapping to get the most out of the healing experience.

You can contact Gene on:

It was a privilege for Rebcat to listen to the inner world of Kate Scott. Kate is a UK contemporary painter, brought up in Brighton, she studied Fine Art Painting at The University of East London, graduating with a First Class honours followed by a Masters in  Fine Art printmaking at Brighton University.

Kate uses acrylic and mixed water-based media, on canvas to create vibrant intimate paintings; her work concerns the relationship between space and solidity, the conscious and the unconscious, using raw colour and gesture alongside drawing to both express and explore illusions of light and depth, and to convey a sense of personal memory, mood and emotion, she finds the physical process of painting taps into the silent voice that cannot be communicated any other way.

Kate is often inspired viscerally by music and the elements as she progresses and seeks to crystallize and recall the intangible sense of a particular space and feeling in time.

She had various studios and exhibited in and around London, taking part in mixed exhibitions, commissions, and having work in private collections and also one-woman shows, before moving back to Brighton in 2000.

Kate makes paintings of various sizes and also carries out commissions, all work is available to buy unless stated otherwise, prices range from £170 to £3000, please look at the contact page for more information.

She says ‘There is often a battle between recklessness and control, natural expression and artificial order, the resulting truce being a feeling of balance, as if the images had just come into being, depicting a world within themselves.’

Isabelle Fernandes

The 2022 season kicks off with an inspiring discussion featuring our lovely guest Izzie Fernandes. Izzie is passionate about “access to potential” for all humans. We learn about Izzie’s experience of volunteering, what got her into volunteering and why she does what she does. 

Izzie has experience of working with people who have been excluded, marginalised for all sorts of life circumstances beyond their personal control such a refugees and children.

Izzie leads on the Early and Creative Talent programmes at Avanade UK and EU, She works on strategy, recruitment and programmes that provide opportunity for people from around the UK and Europe to bring different skillsets to the table to help build an organisation full of diverse thought and output.

In this podcast Izzie mentions the organisations that she is involved with.  Check out:-

Amélie Hois : Opera Singer, Actress, Athlete.

Amélie Hois is a brilliant, rising star in the world of opera and film.

Amélie talks with with Cathy Dixon about her background, how she adapted her career during COVID and her personal philosophy on maintaining a positive, composed mindset within very pressurised and competitive environments.

The podcasts includes three excerpts of Amelie singing: -

Rebcat’s Cathy Dixon was talking with PiNs.

Bhupinder Singh, known professionally as PiNS, is a mixed media human, artist, & educator for positive social change, based in London. With an extensive creative background spanning 15 years & attaining a Fashion with Business BA, PiNS has explored various application techniques in his work including textiles, fine art, graphic and installation design. Previous clients include YKK, National Archives UK, The Wilson Museum, Urban Outfitters and Clarks to name but a few. PiNS artwork is now held in important art collections worldwide after successful solo exhibitions in London since 2012 and various mixed shows across the UK. An official BT Artist for the London 2012 Olympic Games, PiNS continues to push creative boundaries through personal work, as well as engaging with community and charity projects, empowering people to explore and develop their own creativity through art-led workshops.

You can find more

On this week's episode of the Rebchat we talk with Lorraine Flaherty about her work and the 10 year anniversary of the publication of international best seller: Healing with Past Life Therapy. 

Lorraine is an Author, Lecturer, Transformational Therapist, Corporate Trainer, Speaker and Artist – specializing in Mandalas. Pioneer of Inner Freedom Therapy; she taught Clinical Hypnosis and Accelerated Learning to Medical students at major UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, and Hypnosis for Pregnancy to Midwives for nearly twenty years. She has also taught Regression Therapy to students from all over the world. She works with clients in her private practice and runs workshops and healing retreats globally. She is very passionate about empowering others and helping them to heal and is the author of Healing with Past Life Therapy; Transformational Journeys Through Time and Space, published by Findhorn Press.  

Boris Prigmore of Rebcat Creations has been speaking with Kyrianna (Kiri) Bolles is a surrealist watercolor artist currently working in Tacoma, WA. She is an alumna of  the University of Puget Sound, and works as a Museum Educator and Teaching Artist at Tacoma Art Museum.

Kiri was raised on a small sheep farm in the foothills of the Siskiyou mountains in southern Oregon. At a very young age she began creating art, which led to her being placed in a Waldorf school where she began her foundational training in watercolour at 8 years old. She excelled at art throughout elementary and middle school and found it an enjoyable pass-time.

At the age of 12 Kiri remembers bending over while jumping rope and  feeling  immediately feel that something had happened in her back,  “ I was in so much pain I could barely move."

It changed her life. She has a constant, chronic pain that at times is debilitating and leaves her unable to walk or stand. Thus, began years of medical appointments, dozens of doctors, hours of physical therapy, MRIs, bone scans, x-rays, etc and no answers. Art became something different for her then – an outlet and an escape from this confusing, terrible thing that was happening.

In high school Kiri stumbled upon self-portraiture by chance, and not fully realizing what she was doing at first, began to make watercolor self-portraits about her chronic pain. Farm life instilled a great fascination with the natural world in her and she saw parallels between certain natural elements and her chronic pain, (the way fungus grows on rotting wood, or a plant rooting into soil). These visual metaphors in her self-portraits allowed her to have the first glimpse of agency over her condition. "Suddenly I could see the pain and even draw myself pulling it out of my body if I wanted to."

She received awards for her art in high school and even had exhibitions at several local and regional galleries.

College brought new challenges. Kiri tried to get accommodations for absences, and maybe even for a support group to be set up for students like herself. As a senior she was able to start the support group and at long last started meeting other students struggling with chronic conditions. During undergrad Kiri was awarded merit scholarships for her work. Her art appeared in over a dozen university publications, and won several awards including the Senior Art Award in her graduating class for her thesis project creating portraits of students with chronic pain and illness.

​Since graduating Kiri has continued her work making portraits of people with chronic conditions. Having been raised by two psychotherapist parents - Sharon Bolles and Nando Raynolds - Kiri has a strong interest in psychology and the intersection between it and chronic pain. Her parents and older brother Jasper Raynolds have always been very supportive of her work and helped to encourage her art making and dedication to helping people.

While Kiri still struggles with chronic pain, she is grateful for the purpose it has created in her life. "I battled for so long with the grief of living every day with chronic pain. I feel so blessed to have found this path with my art and for all the incredible, strong people I have met along the way. I can't wait to continue to grow my practice."

Rebecca Dixon of Rebcat Creations, has been speaking with Ricardo Ales, artist and illustrator. The paragraph below describes Ricardo in his own words. 

"I am an artist, Southern California born and raised. Birds for some reason have become a magnetic presence in my life. I suppose the intricacy and intimacy of drawing their forms attracts me. I began my art career in school at the University of California, San Diego where I got my bachelor's degree in drawing. After that the rest has been a rollercoaster ride; an endless ebb and flow of high regard and self-loathing, leading me to where I am now, drawing funny looking birds".