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Talking About My Generation | Episode 12
Talking About My Generation
Monday, 8 September 2025 - 59 minutes
Lee Scriven and Del Bromham welcome former Stray frontman Pete Dyer for a vivid, boots-on-the-ground journey through the late-60s/70s British rock scene and the band’s own twists and turns. Pete traces his path from west London dance halls and youth-club stages to joining Stray, recalling Friday-night gigs, a White City talent contest they narrowly lost to a crooning duo, and catching The Who back in their Detours days around Acton and Harrow.
The trio dig into what made those rooms electric — the wall of lads down the front, dodgy PAs, and that moment when the crowd “clicked” — before shifting to studio life: trying to bottle the band’s live punch on record, arguing for feel over fuss, and why some classic tracks should be left as they were rather than “fixed” decades later.
They riff on The Beatles’ influence — from writing for others (Billy J. Kramer, Badfinger) to famous covers — and on producers who shaped entire eras, from Spector’s cavernous drama to the modern tech that can unpick old mono tapes. There’s a cracking Stray origin tale too: the producer-manager who signed them while managing Black Sabbath, first pitching them as the “new Sabbath”, then, after hearing those stacked harmonies, calling them “the new Beatles”.
Road stories abound: weekenders at Butlins, dashing straight to a heavy London club night (Live Evil) expecting a hostile crowd and instead bringing the house down, and the eternal realities of long coach trips, tiny fees, and big adrenaline. Looking ahead, Del and Pete talk about dusting off deep cuts, twin-lead guitar magic, and fresh dates — including a Nene Valley-type festival slot — with the same humour and camaraderie that powered Stray from the start.
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