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Lenny Kravitz, Travis' Fran Healy and the Thursday Theme.

Jo chats to rock star Lenny Kravitz about his memoir ‘Let Love Rule’. Plus she chats to Travis' Fran Healy from LA. And she's got the Thursday Theme - songs about November 5th.

Jo chats to rock star Lenny Kravitz about his memoir ‘Let Love Rule’.

Lenny has sold over 40 millions records worldwide and won four Grammys for male rock vocal performance. He’s a writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist and is regarded as one of the greatest rock musicians of our time.

'Let Love Rule' runs from Lenny’s childhood up to the release of his debut album in 1989.

'My life is all about opposites,' he writes. 'Black and white. Jewish and Christian. The Jackson 5 and Led Zeppelin. I accepted my Gemini soul. I owned it. I adored it. Yins and yangs mingled in various parts of my heart and mind, giving me balance and fueling my curiosity and comfort.'

Let Love Rule covers a vast canvas stretching from Manhattan's Upper East Side, Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant, Los Angeles's Baldwin Hills, Beverly Hills, and finally to France, England and Germany. It's the story of a wildly creative kid who, despite tough struggles at school and extreme tension at home, finds salvation in music. We see him grow as a musician and ultimately a master songwriter, producer, and performer.

We also see Lenny's spiritual growth-and the powerful way in which spirit informs his music. The cast of characters surrounding Lenny is extraordinary: his father, Sy, a high-powered news executive; his mother, Roxie Roker, a television star; and Lisa Bonet, the young actress who becomes his muse.

The central character, of course, is Lenny, who, despite his great aspirational energy, turns down record deal after record deal until he finds his true voice. The creation of that voice, the same voice that is able to declare 'Let Love Rule' to an international audience, is the very heart of this story.

'Whether recording, performing, or writing a book,' says Lenny, 'my art is about listening to the inspiration inside and then sharing it with people. Art must bring the world closer together.'

Plus she chats to Travis' Fran Healy from LA. Travis' single, Nina’s Song, is Jo's Infatuation this week, and ia from their latest album, 10 Songs. `Nina’s Song’ was influenced by Nina Stibbe’s novel ‘Man at The Helm’. Speaking about the track, Fran Healy said ‘It’s a story about 3 kids whose dad walks out and they set about finding a new one. It made me recall when I was little, being desperate to have a dad and asking my mum if she could go to the dad shop and get one. It’s a song to anyone who wishes they had a dad and a reminder to anyone who has a good one to not take them for granted.’

And this week’s Thursday Theme is November 5th. Send all your bonfire and firework related song suggestions to jo.whiley@bbc.co.uk

1 hour, 57 minutes

Last on

Thu 5 Nov 2020 19:00
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2

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Music Played

  • Kelly Clarkson

    Since U Been Gone

    • Now 62 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Smith & Burrows

    Old TV Shows

    • Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough.
    • PIAS.

  • Mint Royale

    Singin' In The Rain

    • (CD Single).
    • Sony BMG.

  • Travis

    Nina's Song

  • Lenny Kravitz

    Flowers For Zoe

  • Aretha Franklin

    Rock Steady

    • Atlantic.

  • The Jacksons

    The Love You Save

    • The Best Michael Jackson & Jackson Fi.
    • Polygram Tv.
    • 11.

  • Gladys Knight & The Pips

    Neither One Of Us

    • Gladys Knight & The Pips - Singles Al.
    • Pro-Tv.

  • Lenny Kravitz

    Let Love Rule

    • Let Love Rule.
    • Virgin.
    • 2.

  • The Prodigy

    Firestarter

    • (CD Single).
    • XL.

  • Jocelyn Brown

    Somebody Else's Guy

    • Heart Full Of Soul 2 (Various Artist.
    • Global Television.

  • The Breeders

    Cannonball

    • ALTERNATIVE 90S.
    • Sony Music TV.

  • Nancy Sinatra

    Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

    • The Best Of Cult Fiction (Various).
    • Virgin.

  • Katy Perry

    Firework

    • (CD Single).
    • Virgin.
    • 1.

  • Ash

    Burn Baby Burn

    • Infectious Records Limit.

  • The Teardrop Explodes

    Treason

    • ISLAND.

  • Billy Joel

    We Didn't Start The Fire

    • Billy Joel - The Ultimate Collection.
    • Sony Tv/Columbia.

  • Olivia Dean

    Echo

    • Echo.
    • 1.

  • R.E.M.

    Losing My Religion (Radio 2 In Concert 50, 2004)

  • Luther Vandross

    Never Too Much

    • The Love Album (CD 1) (Various Artist.
    • Virgin.

  • Spice Girls

    Who Do You Think You Are

    • Spice.
    • Virgin.
    • 7.

  • Ben E. King

    Stand By Me

    • Shades Of Soul (Various Artists).
    • Global Television.

Broadcast

  • Thu 5 Nov 2020 19:00
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2