As Season One of Expat Property Story draws to a close, it's time to explain the titles of episodes to anyone who hasn't already noticed.
Each episode is named after a song and if you go to the episode show notes, you will find a link to a YouTube clip of the song chosen for each guest.
Apparently the single most important factor in growing a podcast is not the guest, it's not the audio quality, and it's not the host. No, it's the title.
I found this out while researching how to start a podcast, but I thought, 'I don't care... I want my podcast to be different to the other property podcasts.'
However, all good things must come to an end, and ultimately, I want the podcast to reach more people. So, I'm bowing to pressure from the Gods of Search Engine Optimisation and making it easier to find.
But the least I can do is dedicate a blog post to the songs and artists that have inspired each episode.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave a message on the website telling me anything about music and property...
Or why not leave a voice message telling me your favourite property song?
In the meantime, here are the songs for each episode (click on the titles...):
Episode 1: 'Another Brick in the Wall' - Pink Floyd
In the opening episode, I wanted to show people that you don't have to sign up for an overpriced property training course to start your property education. If I'm honest, I was never a Pink Floyd fan. 'The Floyd' were always a bit of a no-no for punk fans like me. As I got older, however I came to realise that the sentiment behind this song is actually quite punk. A teacher friend of mine told me that they played this song on Day 1 of Teacher Training.
Episode 2: 'Bankrobber' - The Clash
Much more my cup of tea than Pink Floyd! I asked Stuart Ball, our guest from Episode Two how he had managed to build a portfolio of 35 UK properties from here in Hong Kong and he joked that he'd robbed a bank. Many of his properties are blocks of flats, so I briefly considered 'Blockhead' by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. If I'd known then about my guest in Episode Nine, I'd have probably gone for Ian Dury...
Episode 3:'Fools Gold'- The Stone Roses
In Episode Three, Ivan Goh warned us of the possible pitfalls awaiting those chasing the gold of new-build off-plan developments in the UK giving me the excuse I needed to include this 9'53" piece of musical genius. In November, 1989, with their debut album already hailed as a classic, The Stone Roses released Fools Gold which sounds as cool now as it did then, putting Manchester at the centre of attention much like property would do thirty years later. Ever wondered where the idea for The Expat Property Story musical intro came from? Now you know...
Episode 4: 'Mr Taxi' - Girls' Generation
When Samuel Chan told us that he had done a great deal via someone he shared an Uber with, I went looking for a song about taxis and soon stumbled across this K Pop cracker and I don't mind admitting it's well worthy of a place in Samuel's show notes!
Episode 5: 'Money, Money, Money' - Abba
This song was always going to be included sooner or later with a title like that! And when Vicki Wusche explained how she helps her clients re-evaluate their relationship with money, Sweden's finest got the call...
Episode 6: 'ABC' - The Jackson 5
This week's guest was an Aussie Born Chinese UK investor who has a blog called ABCDad. Enough said!
Episode 7: 'Like Clockwork' - The Boomtown Rats
Before feeding the world, Bob Geldof was in a band and they were pretty good. An old client of Helen Godbold-Eade suggested she named her UK property consultancy business 'Like Clockwork', as it was a good description for her services. So she did!
Episode 8: 'Money Transfer (That's What I Want)' - Barrett Strong
As expats, we sometimes need to transfer money. That's what we want! I chose the original, by Barrett Strong even though it was the Flying Lizards' 1979 cover that I heard first as a teenager...
Episode 9: 'Safe European Home'- The Clash
I couldn't resist! Episode Nine's guest was The Expat Property Investor. His first name is Saif. He lives in Dubai, but invests in his hometown of Bradford. Which is in Europe, so... Saif's European Home! As my youngest guest by far, I'm fully aware that he's probably never heard this fine tune about the Clash's trip to Jamaica...
Episode 10 - 'Help'- The Beatles
When I started Expat Property Story, I knew that Vanessa Warwick of Property Tribes was a 'must have' guest. She will have forgotten more about property from reading all those threads than I could ever hope to learn. So, when I made my request, she asked if she could make an appeal for donations to a 'Just Giving' page to help refugees (pets and people) escaping from the conflict in Ukraine. So we split the interview into two episodes and called this one 'Help' for obvious reasons...
So there you have it. The first ten episodes ... I'll explain the next ten episodes in another blog. Click on the song titles and enjoy the tunes!
