Way back in 2006 I bought my first iPod and quickly discovered the joy of podcasts, which were a pretty new concept at the time. One of the first shows I subscribed to was Gareth Jones on Speed. It featured journalist and presenter Gareth Jones (friends of a similar vintage as me may recall him from 1980s TV as Gaz Top) and two of his friends, Richard Porter and Paul Ireson (known as Zog to his friends) chatting about cars. Six years later I had the pleasure of meeting Gareth when he came to shoot a video podcast at Goodwood and we’ve stayed in touch from time to time ever since. That day Gareth was kind enough to fix me up with a pit lane pass and that enabled me to take lots of photos - it’s a day I still look back on very fondly.
After twenty years of podcasting Gareth announced earlier this year that he’d be hosting an event in Llandudno to celebrate this milestone. I missed the tenth anniversary event so this time I was determined not to miss out and as soon as tickets went on sale I booked my spot and planned a long weekend away in north Wales. Knowing about my photography habit from our previous meeting, Gareth was soon in touch to ask if I could take some photos of the show so for one night only I found myself being a podcast and gig photographer!
Gareth had a full evening’s entertainment planned, starting with a live recording of the podcast. Richard has since moved on to other projects since the podcast began (he was script editor for Top Gear and The Grand Tour for many years) but he came back for this show reuniting with Gareth and Zog – the original presenting trio. With a combination of car chat and some comedy sketches, they were plenty of golden photographic opportunities, and I caught some priceless expressions on their faces!
Occasionally, I also turned my camera towards the audience, who were evidently enjoying themselves.
For the second part of the evening there was a quick change of gear and a set short of songs by the On Speed Band - namely Gareth, Richard and Zog - including some of the car related numbers they’ve sung on the podcast over the years.
The final part of the evening was a full on rock gig, performed by Gareth’s new band - the Pit Stop Boys. If you’re a photographer shooting gigs like this you usually get limited time to do your job - perhaps three songs before they throw you out of the photographers’ pit at the front of the stage. Fortunately I didn’t have this restriction and was able to shoot all evening. The Motorsport Lounge in Llandudno is a fairly compact space, so I was able to move about and capture the band from different angles, allowing me to catch action close ups of almost all the band members (sadly their keyboard player was hidden at the back and I couldn’t access the side of the stage to catch him in action).
It was great to see Gareth’s son Indigo performing with his Dad on stage too - a real family affair.
The grand finale brought everyone together, with Richard and Zog joining the Pit Stop Boys on stage for a couple more numbers - the end of a cracking evening! Here’s to the Gareth Jones on Speed 30th anniversary bash in 2035!
Photos taken 19 July 2025
