Anthony Kavanagh (Part One)
Walking The Dog with Emily Dean
Goalhanger
4.6 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 October 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week Emily and Ray head to Highbury Fields to meet the brilliant Anthony Kavanagh, who first found fame in the 90s as pop star Kavana, with hits like I Can Make You Feel Good and countless appearances on Top of the Pops.
Anthony opens up about the reality behind that glossy pop image, sharing his story with remarkable honesty in his new memoir Pop Scars. In it, he reflects on the pressures of overnight fame, hiding his sexuality, addiction, and the chaotic fallout of being discarded by the music industry in his twenties.
It’s a moving and darkly funny conversation with a hugely likeable guest who’s come through extraordinary challenges with warmth, wit and perspective, and who, most importantly, won Ray’s seal of approval.
Check out Anthony's wonderful book here and make sure you follow him on Instagram
Follow Emily:
Instagram - @emilyrebeccadean
X - @divine_miss_em
Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My headache won't go away. |
| 0:02.0 | I get blurry vision. |
| 0:04.0 | My balance is awful. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm exhausted. |
| 0:07.0 | We can all get these symptoms from time to time. |
| 0:09.0 | But if you are a loved one, notice you're getting a combination of them regularly. |
| 0:13.0 | Don't ignore it. They could be signs of a brain tumour. |
| 0:16.0 | My headache won't go away. |
| 0:18.0 | I get blurry vision. |
| 0:20.0 | My balance is awful. I'm exhausted. |
| 0:22.5 | To learn more about the common science of a brain tumour, visit headsmart.org.com, better safe than tumour. |
| 0:32.2 | This podcast is sponsored by Magic Radio. So I've had the builders in recently, and I won't lie, we've had a few |
| 0:38.9 | disagreements. Apparently, my obsession with the colour pink is borderline weird. But one thing we've |
| 0:45.1 | totally bonded over is our shared passion for Magic Radio. The truth is everyone loves Magic Radio, |
| 0:51.2 | because there's no other station quite like it. Where else can you |
| 0:55.2 | guarantee you're going to hear the best variety of songs from the 80s to now? One minute, you're |
| 1:00.9 | singing along to the Spice Girls, the next Bruno Mars or a bit of Adele, and then suddenly my current |
| 1:06.6 | fave, Teddy Swims. And best of all, you never hear the same song twice between nine to five during the |
| 1:12.7 | no-repeat workday. I also get to start my mornings with the fabulous Got Quine and Harriet Scott on the |
| 1:19.1 | Magic Radio Breakfast Show. And I've got Gabby Roslin and Mel Gedroich keeping me company on weekends. And when |
| 1:26.4 | the day winds down, Nikki Chapman brings a |
| 1:29.1 | soundtrack of relaxing favourites on her mellow magic show, ideal if you need to put your feet up after a |
... |
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