Savior On The Tram

I was just stepping on the tram on the way to the studio, (three stops away) when my phone rang. It was Mandi to tell me that I had picked up last week's weekly tram pass instead of the current, valid one. Not only did I step straight into the path of the ticket inspector, but the tram was filled with what I refer to as 'cunt squad' (hasn't caught on yet); the high-visabilty jacket wearing bunch of jobsworth ticket inspectors. For some reason they need a team of six to do this job, which means that as it is Sunday the tram company are actually paying twelve wages as today is double time (I only ever show my pass to one of them on principal of the fact that it is a one person job), so I was fucked. I explained to the ticket guy that I had picked up the wrong pass, hoping that he would understand. Maybe it was the presense of cunt squad (seriously, they'll all be calling them that soon) that made him do his job to the letter, but he said that I would have to buy a ticket. I only had 1.40 in change on me, and they don't take cards on the tram. I said that I would use my card to buy a ticket from the machine at the next stop, but of course the new machines weren't working. My next offer was to buy a return ticket on my way back, but that wasn't good enough either. I explained who I was and that I was on my way to do my radio show, and I can only assume that he either isn't a lover of high quailty music, or he works this shift every Sunday afternoon and hasn't had the chance to listen to my show (I should have told him that all the shows are available on Mixcloud) because that didn't work either. Just when I thought that I would have to get off and be late for my own show, a stranger gave me the 60p difference as an act of kindness. That man saved radio today, and if you like music, you owe him a drink.

The show was a busy one, in the first hour I was talking to punk poet Eagle Spits about his charity work for Casa Alianza, and the four volume compilation album he has released, Punk 4 The Homeless. He brought his book of poetry with him too, so in addition to playing a few tracks from the album he also performed one of his poems. 

My musical guest was Adam Clarkson of Captain Dangerous, in to play three brand new songs from the band. I've known Adam about four years but been a fan of the band for longer, and he is always a pleasure to talk to. The main thrust of our conversations, on and off air, are mentioned in my main blog. The songs were great, I can't wait to hear the full band versions. 

(Note: This was Adam's third appearance on The Sunday Alternative)

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'

Hate Colony 'Cottonmouth' 

Max Lisa 'Fly Away'

Qui 'Songbirds'

Tomorrow Come The Wolves 'Lover's Eyes'

Zooparty featuring Glenn Matlock 'P.M.A.'

Grave Robber 'Invisable Man'

Monkish '17p For A Freddo'

2pm-3pm

Coffee House session, The Landed:

'Leaving So Soon'

'Lovely Day'

'Things To Talk About'

Adam Clarkson, live performance:

'Hang Your Head In Shame Darlin''

'Down And Out In Kennleworth'

'King Richard 4th'

Captain Dangerous 'Then She Kissed Me'

Reason 'Before The Dawn'

Jac Dalton 'For Your Love'

David Bowie 'Dirty Boys'

                     'Rock & Roll Suicide'

All alone in the studio this week, just me and some great music!

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
Eddie & The Hot Rods 'The Power And The Glory'
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates 'Dr Feelgood'
Dr Feelgood 'Milk & Alcohol'
Melissa Moore 'Everyone Is Dead'
                        'Moonage Daydream'
The Drones 'Lookalikes'
Snuff 'Let The Music Play'
Dexy's Midnight Runners 'There There My Dear'
Carter USM 'Billy Smart's Circus'
David Bowie 'TVC15'/'Modern Love'/'Rebel Rebel/'Heroes' (Live Aid)

2pm-3pm

Your Favourite Enemies 'First Day Of My Life'
                                      'Where Did We Lose Each Other?'
Sham 69 'Borstal Breakout' (12")
Spunge 'Centrefold'
Spearhead 'Never Gonna Give You Up'
Patrick Plunkett 'Hooked On Desire'/'Millionaire'/'Come Home Tonight' (Sunday Alt session, 6th November 2011)
Nirvana vs The Bee Gees 'Smells Like Stayin' Alive'
The Smiths vs Michael Jackson 'Barbarism Begins With Billie Jean'
The Fall 'Mr Pharmacist'
New Order 'True Faith'

I'm Back

Back in the swing of things after a week off last week, with a live session from Patrick Plunkett who had taken the trouble to drive up from London to appear ahead of his gig in Nottingham this Friday at Jamcafe. This was his second appearance on the show, (the third returning guest), having performed on The Sunday Alternative way back in 2011.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
Eddie & The Hot Rods 'Quit This Town'
Tomorrow Comes The Wolves 'Lover's Eyes'
The Kut 'No Trace'
Mudhoney 'Trademark Of Quality'
Damn Vandals 'I Bring You Love'
The Enfields 'I'm For The Things You Do'
Tennessee Thompson 'Slippin' and Slidin''
Echo & The Bunnymen 'Forgiven'
David Bowie 'Beauty & The Beast'
                     'Magic Dance'
                     'Dead Man Walking' (acoustic)

2pm-3pm

Johnny Lucas 'Lilo'
                      '7 Nation Army'

Patrick Plunkett live performance:
'Good Is No Good'
'Rainfall'
'MTV Dream'
'Wanderer'

The Cure 'Where The Birds Always Sing'
Pop Will Eat Itself 'Rock-A-Hula-Baby'
Qui 'Kicked Out Of Mime College'
Faith No More vs Queen 'Under Midlife Crisis Pressure'
The Alarm 'Down The Road'
Big Audio Dynamite 'Medicine Show'
Willie Nelson 'Bring Me Sunshine'

On The Phone

I didn't book a live music guest this weekend as I didn't think there would be enough time due to having two important phone interviews lined up; Barrie Masters from Eddie & The Hot Rods in the first hour, and Pauline Black of The Selector in the second. As everyone knows I'm a huge fan of the Rods and I've known them for about thirteen years so it was an easy interview. I think I confused Pauline a little by referencing some of her other work just to show her that she was talking to a genuine fan instead of a run of clueless local radio DJs that phoner sessions usually involve. With these two interviews sorted, I devoted much of the show to these artists and similar acts.

1pm-2pm (includes interview with Barrie Masters)

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
Sex Pistols 'Pretty Vacant'
Eddie & The Hot Rods 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'
Dr Feelgood 'Walking On The Edge'
Eddie & The Hot Rods 'Why Should I Care'
                                    'Gloria/Satisfaction'
                                    'On The Run'
                                    'Horseplay'
                                    'Better Without You'
                                    'Teenage Depression'
                                    'Get Out Of Denver'

2pm-3pm

Pauline Black & The Neville Staple Band 'Three Minute Hero'/'On My Radio'/'Too Much Pressure' (live at City Pulse, Nottingham)
The Specials 'Ghost Town'
The Selector 'Big In Body'
Billie Holiday 'When You're Smiling'
Pauline Black 'I Can See Clearly Now'
The Selector 'Back In Black'
Madness 'It Must Be Love'
The Specials 'Friday Night & Saturday Morning'
                    'Gangsters'
Breadchasers 'Things Will Be Better'

You Can Help

You may have noticed that there is a PayPal donate button above this blog. This is to enable me to work independently to create short films, podcasts, and other such things that will be made available for free without profit to myself.

I am trying to raise the funds to make a short documentary about The Sunday Alternative, and you can help by making donations (any amount is greatly appreciated) towards the costs. In return, I will host a free screening of the film, which will be made available at a later time on YouTube.

The film will feature interviews with past presenters, musicians, and most importantly the fans of the show. It was thought of when the show celebrated its second birthday but there wasn't enough time.

To see this film made and released this year, please consider making a donation.

Many thanks

Steve

Best Song Ever!

It was Twitter to the rescue once again, as my live guest Simon Waldram came via a shout out a couple of weeks ago. In fact, it was my former co-presenter Penny who put us in touch with each other. He seemed shy at first, but he was a good laugh and as he walked into my broadcast booth for the interview he commented on my great taste in music! I was playing 'Shadowplay' by Joy Division at the time.

You will notice that I played two versions of 'Louie Louie'. I think it is well documented that I collect versions of this song (along with 'I Love Rock and Roll' and 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'), so I was referring to the fiftieth anniversary of the FBI investigation into the lyrics of the version by The Kingsmen, as mentioned in a recent article in The Guardian that I wasn't asked to contribute to. I took along the Richard Berry original and Motorhead's cover, thinking that The Kingsmen version would be in the system. It wasn't.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
Motorhead 'Louie Louie'
Colour Code 'Dance With The Times'
Dangerous Girls 'Don't Give Me Sense Give Me Rhythm'
The Trashmen 'King Of The Surf'
Jan & Dean 'The Little Old Lady From Pasadena'
Joy Division 'Shadowplay'
Damn Vandals 'Twist Up And Tangle'
David Bowie 'Scream Like A Baby'
Warpaint 'Ashes To Ashes'
David Bowie 'Word On A Wing'

2pm-3pm

Richard Berry 'Louie Louie'

Simon Waldram live performance
'Brushfield Spots'
'Family Album'
'Resenah'
'Thermal Girl'

Larry & The Blue Notes 'Night Of The Sadist'
The Nightcrawlers 'I Don't Remember'
Kraftwerk 'Europe Endless'
MG & The Escorts 'A Someday Fool'
Sonny Cole 'Robinson Crusoe Bop'
Television Personalities 'Where's Bill Grundy Now?'
Sultans Of Ping FC 'Where's Me Jumper?'
The Undertones 'You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It)'
The Clash 'Straight To Hell'

*Simon prefers the Black Flag version of 'Louie Louie'.

Fizz, Crackle, Hiss!

No Gary again this week as he has injured himself, but I was joined by City Of Kites who were another session guest organised on Twitter. I hadn't realised how established each member of the band were among Nottingham bands, forming something of a supergroup. As always they performed in the second hour, but sadly the recording of the entire show isn't goood enoough to upload to Mixcloud due to the crackling quality due to something going wrong during broadcast that had an adverse effect on my recording.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
The Fabulous Wailers 'Turn And Run'
Human League 'Do Or Die (ultrasound mix)'
Guns & Roses 'November Rain (acoustic)'
Gerry Trimble 'Winds Of Change'
The Who 'Won't Get Fooled Again'
Primal Scream 'Loaded'
Klaus Nomi 'The Cold Song'
Big Audio Dynamite '2000 Shoes'

2pm-3pm

The Bad Shepherds 'I Fought The Law'

City Of Kites live session:
'Undo You'
'Laura'
'I Envy You'
'The Dotted Line'

David Bowie 'The Man Who Sold The World (acoustic'
David Bowie & Freddie Mercury 'Under Pressure (acapella)'
David Bowie vs Lenny Kravitz 'Mama Said I'd Be Famous'
Stevie Wonder vs Metallica 'Sad But Superstitious'
Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers 'I Wanna Be Loved'
The Stooges 'Loose'
Carter USm 'Good Grief Charlie Brown'

It's Sunday Fucking Lunchtime Kids!

Alone again in the presenting studio, although I was (as a last minute Twitter-to-the-rescue-arrangment) joined for a live acoustic session from One Million Motors, or John as I call him. He played seven songs, breaking the record for longest performance on the show and raising the bar for effort. Within a brilliant set he did drop a couple of fuck-bombs, which I immediately apologised on air for.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Me Radio Man'
Sandie Shaw & The Smiths 'I Don't Owe You Anything'
Reel Big Fish 'Don't Let Me Down'
K Walker 'One Minute To Zero'
Ronnie Pearson 'Hot Shot'
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones 'Simmer Down'
Donnie White 'Your Kind Of Loving'
Smash Mouth 'I'm A Believer'
Justin Hines & The Dominoes 'Carry Go Bring Home'
Eddie & The Hot Rods 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'
                                    'Teenage Depression'
David Bowie 'Ziggy Stardust (acoustic)'
                     'Sweet Head (acoustic)'
Mod Fiction 'Quit Stalling'

2pm-3pm

Igor Presnyakov 'Enter Sandman'

One Million Motors live session:
'To The Death'
'Never Alone'
Here's To Life'
'You'
'Everything'
'Golden'
'Potemkin City Limits'

Scritti Politti 'The Sweetest Girl'
The Lornes 'Hangman'
The Blockheads 'Boys Will Be Boys' (having just been emailed the track by the band)
International Exiles 'Let's Be Sophisticated'
Primitive Calculators 'Do The Icepick'
Dum Dum Girls 'Pay For Me'

Happy New Technical Fault!

Selfie

The first edition of The Sunday Alternative of the new year kicked off in pretty typical Trent Sound style, with my music not being in the studio system. I contacted the controller who said that he would update the system when he got home and do it remotely. The songs hadn't left the shared Dropbox folder, so even refreshing the system was hopeless. To get around this, we did the first forty minutes of the show by finding our chosen tracks on Youtube, which was a bodge of a solution but at least helped to tide us over.

1pm-2pm

Chas & Dave 'Auld Lang Syne'

Regina Spektor 'My Dear Acquaintance'

Counting Crows 'A Long December'

Parry Grip 'Doctor Who'

Jon Pertwee 'Who Is The Doctor'

Nenah Cherry 'Buffalo Ting Spirit'

Michael Jackson vs The Doors 'Billie Jean On A Storm'

The Everly Brothers 'Omaha'

The Freshies 'I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Records Checkout Desk'

2pm-3pm

The Orb 'Valley'

Roberta Tovey 'Who's Who'

Great Lake Swimmers 'Gonna Make It Through This Year'

Sir Henry & His Butlers 'Bye Bye Johnny'

Utah Saints 'Something Good (High Contrast Mix)'

Spike Jones 'All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth'

The Beez 'Apathy'

Dean Carter 'Jailhouse Rock'

Johnny Skiles 'Rock Jump Boogie'

Sean Bonniwell 'Double Yellow Line'

Sesame Street Cast 'Keep Christmas With You'

Tis The Season...

Gary was running late due to family business so I did the first half an hour in something of a weird mood. I had looked forward to this show as I didn't get a chance to do a Christmas Alternative last year, and the year before I did a Christmas Number One countdown, so I hadn't done a show in this style since my legendary show on Sherwood Radio.

Once Gary turned up it was business as usual; my plan to celebrate Christmas on alternate years, how annoying it is that the shops start Christmas in the summer, and Doctor Who got a mention as usual. This certainly wasn't ever going to be your conventional Christmas special.

1pm-2pm

Oscar The Grouch 'I Hate Christmas'
Coldcut 'Coldcut's Christmas Break'
Elmo & Patsy 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band 'There's No Light On The Christmas Tree'
The Clash 'I Fought The Law'
                 'White Riot'
                 'Jail Guitar Doors' (all played in tribute to Joe Strummer, who died on this day in 2002)
Jethro Tull 'Holly Herald'
Iggy Pop 'White Christmas'
Run DMC 'Christmas In Hollis'
Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans 'Here Comes Santa Claus'
Status Quo 'It's Christmas Time'
The Roots 'Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa'
AC/DC 'Mistress For Christmas'

2pm-3pm

The Goons 'Walking Backwards For Christmas'
Wall Of Voodoo 'Shouldn't Have Given Him A Gun For Christmas'
Twisted Sister 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'
Alice Cooper 'Santa Claws Is Coming To Town'
The Ramones 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)'
The Go-Gos 'I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek'
Vera Lynn 'The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot'
Spinal Tap 'Christmas With The Devil'
Richard Digance 'The Ballad Of Johnny Milner'
The Goodies 'Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me'
Kermit The Frog 'One More Sleep 'Till Christmas'

Home For The Weekend

The Nottingham music scene has to do without Chloe McShane while she studies at Brighton University, so when she offered to pop in for a sing and a chat I couldn't say no.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
Chas & Dave 'Ain't No Pleasin' You'
Duffo 'Walk On The Wild Side'
John Doe & The Acetates 'Purple Haze'
Lucks Lane 'Running For My Life'
Nena 'Starman'
David Bowie 'White Light White Heat'
Nine Inch Nails 'Maybe Just Once'
Chloe McShane 'Singing Red'
The Sonics 'Lucille'
The Razz 'You Can Run But You Can't Hide'
Stuntman Mike 'Promise'
Bogshed 'Morning Sir!'

2pm-3pm

Cocteau Twins 'Lazy Calm'

Chloe McShane live in session:
'Don't Let Go'
'Twenty Nine'

Patti Smith 'Switchblade'
Close Lobsters 'What Is There To Smile About'
Voodoo Glow Skulls 'I Shot The Sheriff'
The Church Mice 'Babe We Are Not Part Of Society'
The Soup Dragons 'Head Gone Astray'
Inspiral Carpets 'Well Of Seven Heads'
Peabody Hermitage 'Something So'
Dr Feelgood 'Walking On The Edge'
The Pretty 'Mustache On Your Face'
The Church 'As You Will'
Primal Scream 'Funky Jam (super droog mix)'

A 'Quite Good' Show

I'm determined to have a live music session on as oftern as possible, although it might be difficult for out of town bands with my new time slot. This week was fine though, as my mate Bainy was on hand to come in with half of his new band Blue Vulture. I've had a joke with Bainy for a while now, refusing to say anything positive about his band other than that they are 'quite good', it's even on their Reverbnation page. I went and ruined it right at the end of their set by turning to Gary with the microphones on in our studio by saying "absolutley brilliant". The truth is of course that they are a great band with some fine songs. They have only played gigs at a venue that I am barred from so far so I have yet to see them live.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man'
The Gentrys 'Gonna Look Straight Through You'
The Stranglers 'All Day And All Of The Night'
Television Personalities 'Part Time Punks'
The Deepest Blue 'Pretty Little Thing'
Link Wray 'Mind Blower'
The Cigarettes 'You Were So Young'
David Bowie 'Tired Of My Life'
Flight Of The Concords 'Bowie Song'
Queen vs Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'Under The Pressure'
John Lennon 'Imagine'

2pm-3pm

Pantera 'Walk'
The Dead Milkmen 'Punk Rock Girl'
Nirvana vs Blur 'Smells Like Song 2'

Blue Vulture live session:
'Green Teeth'
'Hide'
'Cats & Flowers'
'The Last Time I Saw You Alive'

The Remains 'I Can't Get Away From You'

The Todds 'I Want Her Back'

Divine Comedy 'Song For Ten'

Neil Hannon 'Song For Ten'

John Lennon 'Happy Christmas (War Is Over)'

Smashing Pumpkins 'Disarm'

The Sunday (Lunch) Alternative

Lucks Lane's website is here

We're back after a three week break with a new time slot. The dinner tables of the country strained under the weight of roast dinners, while we provided the soundtrack. It was nice to leave the building in daylight. Live music was provided by Lucks Lane performing an acoustic session for us.

Please spare a thought for those of us who work on Sunday.

1pm-2pm

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio' (new theme tune)
Johnny Cash 'Sunday Morning Coming Down'
Morrissey 'Everyday Is Like Sunday'
Toby Jepson 'Dear Mama'
Florida Room 'White Room Versus'
Lucks Lane 'Running For My Life'

Lucks Lane live in the studio:
'Pathway'
'Some Scars'
'Turn The Tide'

Lucks Lane 'Million Hours'
Rick Durham And The Dynamos 'I Got My Eyes On You'
Dr T And The Undertakers 'Times Have Changed'

2pm-3pm

David Bowie 'Love Is Lost'
Nine Inch Nails 'Everyday Is Exactly The Same'
Toy Dolls 'Poltergeist In The Pantry'
Tomorrow Comes The Wolves 'Torn Thin'
Rock Sugar 'Don't Stop The Sandman'
Chameleon Circuit 'Exterminate Regenerate'
Gary Numan 'My Dying Machine'

7pm-8pm

Shhh Apes 'Painkiller'

American Head Charge 'Sugars Of Someday'

The Pogues 'Dark Streets Of London'

The Damned 'Elouise'

David Bowie 'It's Gonna Be Me'

Florida Room 'My White Room Versus'

Madness 'Lola'

Vic Reeves 'Oh! Mr Songwriter'

Tracy Ulman 'Bobby's Girl'/'Move Over Darling'

Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers 'Take A Chance'

Haarts 'Article Way'

8pm-9pm

The Smears 'Halloween'

The Jam 'Ghosts'

John Cooper Clarke 'I Married A Monster From Outer Space'

Bauhaus 'Bela Lugosi's Dead'

Georgina Anderson 'I Can't Make You Love Me'

Taken By Trees 'Sweet Child Of Mine'

Go Radio 'Goodnight Moon'

Mexico Indigo 'Fragments'

Marc Almond 'Black Lullaby'

Mighty Mighty 'Law'

Morgus And The Daringers 'Morgus Creep'

Stump 'Buffalo'

7pm-8pm

'Walk On The Wild Side'
'White Light/White Heat'
'Rock 'n' Roll'
'Sweet Jane'
Above played in tribute to Lou Reed

Aztec Camera 'We Could Send Letters'
The Trade 'The Fall'
The Southern Death Cult 'False Faces'
Smash Mouth 'Why Can't We Be Friends'
Millencolin 'Penguins and Polar Bears'
EMF 'Unbelievable' (Boot Mix)
David Bowie radio show tape from 1973

8pm-9pm

Gary Numan 'White Boys And Heroes'
Cut Down Clay 'Hey Ya'/'Lose Yourself'
Pete Yorn 'Panic'
The Stranglers 'Goodbye Toulouse'
Turisas 'Rasputin'
Trisha And The Lynchpins 'There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis'
Xmal Deutchland 'Searchlights'
The Fogcutters 'Cry Cry Cry'
The Grave Jingers 'Thief Of The Midnight Sun'
The Benders 'Can't Tame Me'
? And The Mysterons '96 Tears'
Theatre Of Tragedy 'Siren'

7pm-8pm

Joy Division 'Transmission'
Spear of Destiny 'Liberator'
Bogshed 'Morning Sir!
Close Lobsters 'What Is There To Smile About'
The Smiths 'Reel Around The Fountain'
Morrissey 'Sweetie Pie'
Spunge 'Centrefold'
Reel Big Fish 'Another Day In Paradise'
David Bowie 'Scream Like A Baby'

8pm-9pm

Strawberry Switchblade 'Jolene'
Pop Will Eat Itself 'Def Con One' (Twilight Zone mix)
The The 'Uncertain Smile'
The Sonics 'Lucille'
Jesus Jones 'Blissed'
Cocteau Twins 'Lazy Calm'
Velvet Underground 'Rock 'n' Roll'

7pm-8pm

David Bowie 'China Girl' 12"
The Hate Colony 'Cottonmouth'
Neneh Cherry 'Buffalo Ting Spirit'
The Nervous Eaters 'Loretta'
39 Clocks 'Heat Of Violence'
The Razz 'You Can Run But You Can't Hide'
Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps 'Hold Me Hug Me Rock Me'
Lonnie Donegan 'Railroad Bill'
Chas And Dave 'Ain't No Pleasin' You'
Tansads 'Eye Of The Average'
Nine Inch Nails 'Everyday Is Exactly The Same'
Beatnik Termites 'Strawberry Girl'
Screeching Weasils 'The Girl Next Door'

8pm-9pm

History Of Rock And Roll 'Ultimate Rock'
Pennywise 'I Get Around'/'Surfin' USA'
The Jermz 'Powercut'
Rock Sugar 'Don't Stop The Sandman'
Eminem vs Elvis 'Lose Yourself'
White Stripes vs Eurythmics 'Sweet Dream Army'
Psychedelic Furs 'The Ghost In You'
The Copyrights 'Kids Of The Black Hole'
The Methadones 'Goodbye To You'
The Riverdales 'Crash Of The Moons'
American Head Charge 'Sugars Of Someday'
Prince Buster 'One Step Beyond'
The Wedding Present 'Take Me I'm Yours'

7pm-8pm

The Frank and Walters 'Funky Cold Medina'
The Ruts 'Something That I Said'
8 Foot Sativa 'Feeding The Weak'
Johnny And The Bluebells 'Shame'
The Milkshakes 'Chatham Junction'
The Pop Rivets 'Fun In The UK'
The Mekons 'I'll Have To Dance On My Own'
Anti-Nowhere League 'Gypsies Tramps And Thieves'
Autopsy Boys 'Crushing On Cynthia Leach'
Bad Shepherds 'Going Underground'
Billy Bragg 'That's Entertainment'
Bad Manners 'Lip Up Fatty'
Blondie 'Good Boys'
Bauhaus 'Bela Lugosi's Dead'
The Damned 'So Messed Up'

8pm-9pm

The Sea Above live session from 9th June 2013
Bowling For Soup '1985'
Bruce Dickinson 'All The Young Dudes'
Eater 'Queen Bitch'
Faith No More 'The Real Thing'
Buzzcocks 'Why She's The Girl From The Chain Store'
Fun Boy Three 'The More I see The Less I Believe'
The Riverdales 'I Don't Wanna Go To The Party Tonight'
The Lillingtons 'I Need Some Brain Damage'

Goose Fair And Talc On The Floor

I opened the show with a little montage to celebrate the upcoming Goose Fair, always a highlight of the Nottingham calender. As suggested by Rose on Twitter, I played a few Northern Soul favourites too as it is forty years since the opening of Wigan Casino. Solo again, and calmed down slightly from last week's barbed comments.

7pm-8pm

Johnny And The Raindrops 'Goose Fair Song'
Del Shannon 'Runaway'
Buddy Holly 'Rave On'
Calliing All Astronauts 'Red Flag' (Goth-step mix)
Flowers For Agatha 'Through The Ceiling'
Speedies 'No Substitute'
The White Wines 'Summer Girl'
The Queers 'Wipeout'
Fatboy Slim vs Dire Straits 'Money For Rockerfeller'
Michael Jackson vs Nine Inch Nails 'Bad Like A Hole'
Queen vs The Beatles 'Fat Bottomed Girls Come Together'
Toy Dolls 'I've Got Asthma'
Rita And The Tiaras 'Gone With The Wind Is My Love'
Cajun Heart 'Got To Find A Way'
Darrell Banks 'Open The Door To Your Heart'
Dena Barnes 'If You Ever Walk Out Of My Life'
Lou Pride 'I'm Coming Home In The Morning'
Al Wilson 'The Snake'

8pm-9pm

Patti Smith 'Horses'
Flipron 'Big Fat Blackberries'
Iron Maiden vs Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Relax'
Johnny Thunders 'Society Makes Me Sad'
NOFX 'All His Suits Are Torn'
King Cartell 'All Talk No Trousers'
Big In Japan 'Suicide A Go-Go'
Voodoo Glow Skulls 'I Wanna Be Like You'
The Zippers 'You're So Strange'
Kissing The Pink 'In Awe Of Industry'
B-Movie 'Nowhere Girl'
Attack Attack 'I Kissed A Girl'
Flipron 'The Comet Returns' (with Neville Staple)

Things I Can't Tell You About

After a few days of ridiculous arguments with Trent Sound's owner, in which we have gone round in circles, I decided to fight back tonight by playing by the rules in the most sarcastic way possible.

7pm-8pm

Milky Edwards and The Chamberlings 'Moonage Daydream'
Balzac 'Ziggy Stardust'
The Trashmen 'Bird Dance Beat'
Save Ferris 'Come On Eileen'
The Gun Club 'She's Like Heroin To Me'
The Killjoys 'Recognition'
The Only Ones 'The Whole Of The Law'
The Punkles 'Hey Jude'
                    'Let It Be'
                    'Here Comes The Sun'
The BB Belles 'To The Moon'
The Shop Assistants 'I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You'
Eddie And The Hotrods 'Ignore Them'
Siouxsie And The Banshees 'The Passenger'
Coice De Mula 'Panic'
H2O 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'
They Might Be Giants 'Particle Man'
The Specials 'Skinhead Symphony'

8pm-9pm

Milky Edwards and The Chamberlings 'Starman'
David Bowie 'Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed'
The Clash 'Rudie Can't Fail'
The Pop Group 'We Are Time'
Poison Girls 'Persons Unknown'
Honeytrap 'Make Me Happy'
Void 'Who Are You'
Black Tamborine 'Throw Aggie Off The Bridge'
The Vibrators 'Judy Says (Knock You In The Head)'
The Longdicks 'Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)'
Quantum Jump 'The Lone Ranger'
The Beat 'Rock And Roll Girl'
New Order 'Dreams Never End'
Human Tetris 'Things I Don't Need'

This Could Be The Last Time

I attracted quite a bit of attention on Twitter this evening when I announced that this week might be my last show. This morning I received an email from the owner of Trent Sound with a bee in his bonnet about the American show, and some nonsense about rivalry. I wasn't in the mood to do a radio show, and I felt about an inch away from quitting all the way through.

7pm-8pm

Toy Dolls 'Fisticuffs In Frederick Street'
The Highliners 'The Benny Hill Boogie'
Antiseen 'Psycho Killer'
The Exploding Hearts 'Making Teenage Faces'
Bomb The Bass 'Megablast'
A Guy Called Gerald 'Subscrape'
Kraze 'The Party'
The Exploited 'Chaos Is My Life'
The Plimsouls 'How Long Will It Take'
Camouflage 'Love Is A Shield'
Rotersand 'One Level Down'
Swell Maps 'New York'
Wolfshiein 'Once In A Lifetime'
The Alley Cats 'Bitter Fruit'
Dead Kennedys 'California Uber Alles'

8pm-9pm

Spires 'Lucid Abstractions'
The Vaselines 'Son Of A Gun'
Bauhaus 'The Man With The X-Ray Eyes'
Audioslave 'Shadow Of The Sun'
Chris Cornell 'Black Hole Sun'
The Swankys 'I Don't Know I Don't Care'
Bad Brains 'Back In The DC'
The Fall 'Cowboy George'
Sisters Of Mercy 'Temple Of Love'
Reel Big Fish 'Brown Eyed Girl'
The Damned 'Ballroom Blitz'
Alan Vega 'Ghost Rider'
The Beatles 'Get Back'

It's Our Birthday!

It was the show that the world had been waiting for, and the hype paid off as we had a brilliant show to celebrate the second birthday of The Sunday Alternative. I had invited all of my former co-presenters along to join in the show, and several members of the Nottingham press. Chris Underwood and Penny Reeve couldn't make it but had sent me a recorded message. I didn't hear from Erik Petersen to say yes or no so had no idea whether he was going to turn up or not, which if long time listeners will remember is how he used to operate anyway. The press didn't bother either, although I made the mistake of emailing Simon Wilson, the entertainment editor of The Nottingham Evening Post (as I still call it) while he was on holiday so I'm sure he would have been along if he had seen the email.

I wore the same shirt that I wore for the very first show, funnily enough it is a Paul Smith shirt. Paul Smith clothing and The Sunday Alternative have something in common of course, started in Nottingham and exported and enjoyed around the world.

Something that was a real 'water cooler moment' for the show was the slight change to the opening. Rather than playing the usual jingle, (the song on the music player on this blog page) myself and Gary sang the song live in the studio with him on ukulele. 

7pm-8pm

'Another Opening, Another Show' (intro)

Al Jolson 'Mr Radio Man' (I always used to start with an old music hall standard)

Electric Six 'Radio Ga Ga'

The Sunday Alternative Jingle

Ian Dury 'England's Glory' (I had to play that one didn't I?)

REM 'Radio Song'

Captain Sensible 'Snakes and Ladders'

The Dickies 'The Sound Of Silence'

Billy Bragg 'Accident Waiting To Happen'

Duffo 'Walk On The Wild Side'

A special one-off Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll, voted for by the listeners

The Clash 'Louie Louie'

Blanks 77 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

Ghoti Hook 'I Love Rock and Roll'

8pm-9pm

ELO 'Mr Radio' (a nod back to the Dad Rock Classics feature)

The Degenerates 'Radio Anarchy'

The Kovenent 'Mirrors Paradise'

Crass 'Mother Earth'

Barnum Meserve 'Colours'

The Cramps 'Human Fly'

American Head Charge 'Writhe'

Mudhoney 'Touch Me I'm Sick'

David Bowie 'Moonage Daydream'

Overpowering

I really enjoy doing the show with Gary, and I honestly think that the two of us have breathed new life into the show. It helps that he is my best friend and we talk the same nonsense on air that we do in the pub or round my house. Cassia joined us, having never joined in with The Sunday Alternative before. Gary and I agreed that we were perhaps a little too overpowering, and that we should have given her more input. She was brilliant on NottinghamLIVE and in hindsight we were a little unfair tonight. 

7pm-8pm

Misfits 'Saturday Night'

The Damned 'Perfect Sunday'

KLF 'Last Train To Trans-central'

Adventure Babies 'Camper Van'

Rollins Band 'Low Self Opinion'

Chameleon Circuit 'An Awful Lot Of Running'

Tom Waits 'Good Old World'

David Bowie 'The Shadow Man'

8pm-9pm

Depeche Mode 'Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts)

David Bowie vs Snoop Dogg 'Spaced Oddity'

The Jam 'The Butterfly Collector'

The Meteors 'Hell Ain't Hot Enough For Me'

Elvis Hitler 'Live Fast Die Young'

Chameleon Circuit 'Exterminate Regenerate'

Television Personalities 'I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives'

The JellyBottys 'Peter Cushing Lives In Whitsable'

The Ran-Dells 'Martian Hop'

The Cramps 'Human Fly'

The Stooges 'Dirt'

Head Balance

 I think the video says it all really.

7pm-8pm

Bernard Sumner 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
The Nerves 'Hanging On The Telephone'
Ameria 'We Never Close Our Eyes'
The Stooges 'Down On The Street'
Tubeway Army 'Something's In The House'
Warsaw 'No Love Lost'
Fred Naa 'A New England'
David Bowie 'Heroes' (Manchester mix)
Sonic Youth 'Schizophrenia'
Sugarcubes 'Deus'

8pm- 9pm

Adam Ant 'A.N.T.S'
Velvet Underground 'Oh! Sweet Nuthing'
The Suicide Machines 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It'
The Triffids 'A Trick Of The Light'
Candy Flip 'This Can Be Real'
Johnny Moped 'Darling Let's Have Another Baby'
Autopsy Boys 'Crushing On Cynthia Leach'
The Donkeys 'Bloodhound'
The Plague 'In Love'
Blur 'Bank Holiday'

Alone Again

7pm-8pm

The Gonads 'Punk Rock Will Never Die'
Anti-Nowhere League 'Streets Of London'
New Order 'Turn The Heater On'
Madness 'Love Really Hurts'
Machine Gun Kelly's Rejects 'I'm Going Back'
The Bruthers 'Bad Way To Go'
Barenaked Ladies 'Be My Yoko Ono'
Goldfinger 'Get Up'
The Gents 'I Wonder Why'
David Bowie 'Fame/Starman'
Nirvana vs Michael Jackson 'Smells Like Billie Jean'
The Beatles vs Fatboy Slim 'Walrus Of Choice'
Nine Inch Nails 'Maybe Just Once'
Primal Scream 'Loaded' (high tunes mix)

8pm-9pm

Siouxie And The Banshees 'Captain Scarlett'
The Cure 'Disintergration'
Morrissey 'Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness'
Neds Atomic Dustbin 'Selfish'
Inspiral Carpets 'A Memory' (1986 demo)
Ministry 'Same Old Madness'
Gary Numan 'Music For Chameleons'
Flowered Up 'Egg Rush'
David Bowie 'Beauty And The Beast'
The Konrads 'I Thought Of You Last Night'
Bowie vs Supergrass 'Rebel Radio'
Devo 'Doctor Detroit'
Nirvana 'Lithium' (as part of the handover with More Than Jazz, Dave played a cover of 'Lithium' by The Bad Plus straight after the news)

I'm Not The Doctor

Gary didn't join me until the second hour, as he was at home watching the announcement of the new Doctor. For some reason it wasn't me despite my suitability, it has gone to Peter Capaldi. I'd like to see Peter Capaldi present an alternative music show.

7pm-8pm

The Skag 'Stop And Listen'
Dee and Tee 'Something's Coming'
Half Man Half Biscuit 'Tour Jacket With Detachable Sleeves'
The Jesters 'My Babe'
The Wedding Present 'I'm From Further North Than You'
Nirvana vs Europe 'The Final Teen Spirit'
Housemartins vs The Smiths 'This Charming Caravan'
Bob 'You Never Take Me Nowhere'
Joy Division 'I Remember Nothing'
                    'Transmission'
                    'Inside The Line'
Half Man Half Biscuit 'Joy Division Oven Gloves'
William Tennant 'I'll Never Be Dr Who Now' (live performance from The Sunday Alternative)
Dead Kennedys 'I Fought The Law'

8pm-9pm

David Bowie 'This Is Not America' (ultrasound 12")
The Fall 'Eat Y'self Fitter'
REM vs David Bowie 'Everybody's Heroes'
Eminem vs David Bowie 'Let's Dance'
Stiff Little Fingers 'Gotta Getaway'
Less Than Jake 'Daddy Cool'
Kilburn And The High Roads 'The Badger And The Rabbit'
Barenaked Ladies 'Be My Yoko Ono'
David Bowie and The London Symphony Orchestra 'Space Oddity'

Nearly Didn't Make It...

I missed the tram and had to get the ten to seven one instead. Thankfully there wasn't a band in otherwise I'd have kept everyone waiting. I arrived during the seven o'clock news so all wasn't lost.

7pm-8pm

Labi Siffre 'It Must Be Love'
Susannah And The Magical Orchestra 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
Guns and Roses 'Don't Cry' (rare demo version)
Yoya 'Major Tom Rocket Man'
Link Wray And The Wraymen 'Batman'
The Vendettas 'Red Lambretta'
Spunge 'Oliver's Army'
Nirvana vs Dead Or Alive 'Spins Like Teen Spirit'
Blondie vs The Doors 'Rapture Riders'
Dum Dum Girls 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'
Johnny Kidd And The Pirates 'I'll Never Get Over You'
Johnny Bell 'Flip Flop And Fly'
Wilko Johnson 'Bye Bye Johnny'

8pm-9pm 

Pop Will Eat Itself 'Everything's Cool'
Choking Susan 'Mary Mary'
Calling All Astronauts 'What's So Good About'
Bad Shepherds 'The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum'
The Specials 'Too Much Too Young'
The Clash 'Three Card Trick'
Gary Newman 'Down In The Park'
Iggy And The Stooges 'Search And Destroy'
Johnny Thunder And The Heartbreakers 'One Track Mind'
New York Dolls 'Fishnets And Cigarettes'
Robert Wyatt 'I'm A Believer'
Splodganessabounds 'I've Got A Lot Of Famous People Living Under The Floorboards Of My Humble Abode'
Stiff Little Fingers 'Love Of The Common People'
MC5 'Motor City Is Burning'

Not Quite Alone

No Gary this week, but I did have a live band in. Minimum visited Trent Towers from Birmingham.

7pm-8pm

Morrissey 'Reader Meet Author' (acoustic)
The Kids 'I Wanna Get A Job In The City'
The Gizmos 'Rock And Roll Don't Come From New York'
Choking Susan 'Gay Boyfriend'
Alien Sex Fiend 'All The Madness'
The Mighty Lemon Drops 'Inside Out'
Minimum 'Smash Routine'

Minimum live session

Minimum 'KT Explosion'
Peter Schillig 'Major Tom Come Home'
How Many Beans Make Five 'Grown Up Way'
Calling All Astronauts 'Freaks'

8pm-9pm

Blitz 'All Out Attack'
David Bowie 'Ragazza Solo Ragazza Sola'
                     'Heroes' (French language version)
                     'Rebel Rebel' (soulwax mix)
Visage 'Night Train'
The Normal 'Warm Leatherette'
Lurkers 'Let's Dance Now'
Mode Moderne 'Disco Ruff'
The Juju's 'Do You Understand Me'
The Uncalled For 'Do Like Me'
Mighty Vikings 'Love Me Forever'
Dr Feelgood 'Oyeh'

All By Myself

Gary was ill so didn't come in tonight, he was round my house last and he looked rough then so I knew he wasn't doing an Erik. With no band either, this was going to be one of those shows where the music took over.

Not to worry, I had a big bag of pod peas to eat!

7pm-8pm

Bad Shepherds 'Off To The Beer Tent'

Slim Smith 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow'

Presidents Of The United States Of America 'Video Killed The Radio Star'

The Ruts 'Staring At The Rude Boys'

The Rocking Vicars 'Someone Like You'

Startled Insects 'Overzoom'

The Bolshoi 'Away'

The Creamers 'Little White Lies'

Kirsty McColl 'I'm Going Out With An 80 Year Old Millionaire'

                       'They Don't Know'

Sonics 'Cinderella'

Dark Day 'Don't Bother'

The Chameleons 'View From A Hill'

8pm-9pm

Skinny Puppy 'Assimilate'

Devo 'Mongoloid'

Piccadilly Line 'Emily Small'

David Bowie 'Starman'

Tears For Fears 'Ashes To Ashes'

The June Brides 'Just The Same'

Wanda Jackson 'Rockabilly Fever'

Big Mama Thornton 'Hound Dog'

Bo Carter 'Baby Will You Warm My Wiener'

Bad Shepherds 'Going Underground'

Slaughter And The Dogs 'Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone'

Lunch Buddies 'Still Time'

John Otway 'Middle Of Winter'

The Jam 'In The Midnight Hour'

It's Not Us, It's Them

This week's edition of The Sunday Alternative was presented by the reunited radio team of Andy Haynes and Bainy while I was in London.

Satnams Tash - The Petrol Song (Acoustic)

Sam Beeton - Storyteller

Lois  -Sid James

The Amber Herd - Leaving Home

In Isolation - Film Noir Scandal

Hardback Fiction - Piano Long

Brad Dear - They Say

The Gorgeous Chans - San Sebastion

Best Served Chilled - Two Feet, Two Weeks, Weak at the Knees

Lee Gough - Sacrifice

Hayley Queen - Keep the Faith

Leah Sinead - To the Sea

In the North Wood - The A Song

Steve McGill - You Don't Say Us Anymore

Luxury Stranger - Nothing Holy

Rosie Abbott - Victim of My Imagination

Dog is Dead - Glockenspiel Song

Jake Bugg - Two Fingers

Six By Seven - Truce

Locked Out

The show got off to the shakiest start ever this week, as we were locked out of the studio as the show begun. The last live show on a Sunday finishes at five, and then there's an hour long pre-recorded show before we take over at seven. Joe and Sam, our sound engineers, were outside the studio when we got there, unable to get in because someone had locked the door with the 'big lock' so we couldn't get in with the entry code. To make matters worse, the band Throw The Goat turned up. Phone calls and text messages were sent to the station boss to come and let us in, and Gary started listening to the show on his phone so that we could hear what the automated system played from our song library, (thankfully from The Sunday Alternative library and not some pop shite).

Eventually we were able to get in, and I then had the task of putting the show together. The automated system had played 'I'll See You In My Dreams' by Joe Brown, and a song by Dandy Livingstone, I forget the title. I set up the opening jingles and first two tracks, and declared that the show officially starts now. There was then the other problem of the band not bringing instruments with them, as they had thought that I was providing acoustic guitars due to a mix up over email correspondence. Gary rang his brother Craig, (another quarter of Prefontaine) and a guitar was delivered to the show. To say what a poor impression the band had been given of us, Throw The Goat were brilliant company and charming guys. They were over from California on a mini-tour of the UK, and we were their first port of call. Unusually for a live guest, they stayed for the whole show and acted as an audience to our ramblings and contributed some song choices.

7pm-8pm

The Bad Shepherds 'Our House'
                               'What A Waste'
The Who 'To Kill My Appetite'
The Busters 'Don't Worry Be Happy'
The Toy Dolls '500 Miles'
Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy 'Kiss Me'
Throw The Goat 'Southeast Bound'

Throw The Goat live
'Beef'
'Having A Beer'

The Third Bardo 'I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time'

8pm-9pm

David Bowie and Dave Gilmour 'Comfortably Numb'
NYA 'Back To You'
Joe Strange 'Down In The River'
The Smiths 'Half A Person'
Jeff Buckley 'I Know It's Over'
Queens Of The Stone Age 'Go With The Flow'
The Bad Shepherds 'No More Heroes'
                               'Gary Gilmore's Eyes'
Nirvana vs Rick Astley 'Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up'
Guns And Roses vs The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper's Paradise City'
David Bowie and Iggy Pop 'The Passengers'
Huey Lewis And The News 'The Power Of Love' (I was bullied into persuaded to play this by the band and Gary)

I have no fucking idea how to rotate this picture. In my photo album it is the right way up.

A remarkably stress free show tonight, I’m not keen on doing the show solo now I’ve established a good report with Gary, but family commitments kept him away this weekend. My live music guest was Joe Strange, who gave the sound engineers an easy job as he was just voice and acoustic guitar.

Once again, Gary is not doing an Erik.

7pm-8pm

Camper Van Beethoven ‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’
CF98 ‘Runaway’
Nouvelle Vague ‘Teenage Kicks’
Full Blown Cherry ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’
Furniture ‘Brilliant Mind’
Kirsty McColl ‘There’s A Guy Works Down The Truck Stop Swears He’s Elvis’
Skanic ‘Breed’
The Jasmine Minks ‘Cold Heart’
Thirteenth Floor Elevators ‘Tried To Hide’
The Vaselines ‘Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam’
The Ronettes ‘I Wonder’
The Ramones ‘Baby I Love You’
The Alarm Clocks ‘Yeah’
Razors ‘Heroes’
Placebo ‘Five Years’

8pm-9pm

Human League ‘Do or Die’
Joe Strange ‘I Turned Around’

Joe Strange live in session

‘Ever Since The Day’
‘A Glimpse of You’
‘Caught In The Middle’
‘Roll It Over’

Joe Strange ‘Down In The River’
The Fall ‘Pacifying Joint’
Teardrop Explodes ‘Sleeping Gas’
Eugene Pitt And The Jive Five ‘Never Never’
The Ascots ‘I Need You’
Rip Rig And Panic ‘You’re My Kind Of Climate’

Joe Strange can be Internetted here

Modern Dad Rock #MDR

No live band this weekend, just the two of us playing great music and talking bollocks. We started with ‘Father and Son’ by Cat Stevens, as a lot of people had posted it online in honour of Father’s Day. I followed it with ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath as it is a favourite of my dad’s, and one of the first heavy metal songs that I heard thanks to him, (I still remember that ‘Snowblind’ was the B-side of the single).

A few days ago I saw a television advert for an indie dance classics compilation CD that had obviously been marketed towards Father’s Day and it made me feel old. Surely the whole ‘dad rock’ genre (if indeed it is a genre of its own) is for old dads? Am I now old enough to have ‘dad rock’ pointed in my direction? Some of you may remember a feature of The Sunday Alternative called Dad Rock Classic, in which we strayed from our usual musical outpourings and played something that wouldn’t be out of place on a Top Gear tie-in CD. The on-air discussion about this led us to invent a new marketable genre, Modern Dad Rock™©.

Modern Dad Rock™© is aimed at people who are dads, but not ‘dad rock’ dads, if you know what I mean. Towards the end of the first hour, and for the whole of the second hour, we did away with our planned music and wallowed in the nostalgia of Modern Dad Rock™©

7pm-8pm

Cat Stevens ‘Father And Son’
Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’
The Offenders ‘Teenage Kicks’
The Lollipop Shoppe ‘You Must Be A Witch’
The Sex Presleys ‘Heartbreak Hotel’
                               ‘I Can’t Help Falling In Love’
The Paragons ‘Left With A Broken Heart’
The Pastels ‘Thankyou For Being You’
Mercury Rev ‘Goddess On A Highway’
Utah Saints ‘Believe In Me’
Pearl Jam ‘Even Flow’
Sultans Of Ping FC ‘Where’s Me Jumper’

8pm-9pm

New Order ‘Temptation’
Carter USM ‘The Only Living Boy In New Cross’
Jesus Jones ‘Info Freako’
Transvision Vamp ‘Baby I Don’t Care’
Shakespeare’s Sister ‘You’re History’
Guns and Roses ‘Jumping Jack Flash’
Faith No More ‘Epic’
The Cult ‘She Sells Sanctuary’
EMF with Reeves and Mortimer ‘I’m A Believer’

It was good to have Gary back on board this week, it’s much better doing the show with someone to bounce ideas off and chat to. We mentioned the Prefontaine gig at Jongleurs with Matt Humphries, Josh Kemp, and The Fade. There was also a brief mention of my attempts at compering, Gary and Teegan’s visit to David Bowie Is…at the V&A in that London, and I managed to get through the whole show without insulting anyone.

We also welcomed The Sea Above, a fine band from Leicester who performed live in our very warm studio.

7pm-8pm
Grab Grab The Haddock ‘Nothing To Say’
Batmas ‘Teenage Kicks’
Nine Inch Nails ‘Came Back Haunted’
Depeche Mode ‘Enjoy The Silence’ (dub)
They Might Be Giants ‘I Am A Paleontologist’
The Shop Assistants ‘All That Ever Mattered’
Lulu/David Bowie ‘The Man Who Sold The World’
David Bowie ‘Where Are We Now’

8pm-9pm
Smashing Pumpkins ‘Space Oddity’
The Sea Above ‘Empires’

The Sea Above live session‘Middle Lane’
‘September’
‘Apologies’
‘Scatter’

101ers ‘Keys To Your Heart’
Milkweed ‘Call Me A Doctor’
Sneaker Pimps ‘Ashes To Ashes’
The Smiths ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’
Stone Roses ‘Love Spreads’
Jimi Hendrix ‘Voodoo Chile’

The Sea Above are here

Stressful But Worth It

There were two brilliant live sessions in tonight, which is always a bit hectic, but thanks and thumbs up to Joe and Sam from ROFL Audio for producing the live sound.

Gary is back next week, and is not doing what is known in the radio industry as 'doing an Erik'.

7pm-8pm

The Skids 'The Devil's Decade'
MC5 'Baby Won't Ya'
Scary Cherry And The Bang Bangs 'Don't Wanna'
The Sea Above 'J A R S'
No Authority 'Archibald's Law'
Hot Pistol Shrimp 'LSD'
Calling All Astronauts 'Eye Of God'
Explode The TV 'Pure Water'

Explode The TV live session:
'This Is The Drug'
'Let Love Love You'
'Narcopolitic'
'Digging A Hole'

Visit Explode The TV here

David Fenton 'Fresh Air'

Andy And Joey 'Love Your Company'

The 45s 'Couldn't Believe A Word'

8pm-9pm

David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails 'Scary Monsters'

Shake Hands Eric 'Turning Down The Thunder'

Blind Melon 'No Rain'

Chris Cornell 'Billie Jean'

Dropkick Murphys 'End Of The Night'

Splodganessabounds 'Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please' (dub version)

NYA 'You Are'

NYA live in session:

'Open Your Eyes'

'Acoustacrab'

'You Are'

'Choir Invisible'

NYA 'Choir Invisible'

Visit NYA here

NB: Such is the difference between their studio rockiness and the beautiful gentleness of their acoustic session, it didn't matter that they performed the same tracks as I played. In fact it is interesting to hear both versions so close together. I'm sure you'll agree that the live session was something special, and only the second time they have done it. They did say this was the better of the two!

Sadly, the show ran right out of time and only had time for a very brief chat with Anezka and Dan, the show played out with 'Zombie Eater' by Faith No More, which cut out for the news.

Chernobyl Children's Project

Press release relating to a song you heard on yesterday's show

Last year two friend's of The Procession, Luke and Katie, got involved in a charity called "Chernobyl Children’s Project", (CCP UK), by way of hosting a recuperative holiday for 2 young girls from Belarus. The girls were just 2 of many children living today in Belarus and the Ukraine whose lives have been affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. Even after so long since the disaster, babies are now being born with cancer or leukaemia or with genetic disorders.

The charity provides recuperative holidays in the UK for about 300 children from Belarus. For children who cannot come to the UK, they organise a holiday camp in Belarus, delivers convoys of humanitarian aid, purchase urgently needed medicines for the Children’s Cancer Hospital in Minsk, and support the Children’s Hospice Movement. Volunteers from the UK also can go over to Belarus to help out in orphanages’, hospitals, holiday camps, and so on.

Seeing at first hand through Luke and Katie the benefits of this charity, we felt obliged to try and help out, especially as after March 2013 the UK government will start charging £85 for the visas for children coming from Belarus to England for recuperative holidays, even those for five year olds in remission from cancer.

We have a government petition in place regarding the visas. We are desperately trying to raise awareness of this; as if we can get 100,000 people to sign it we will be able to force a government debate on the issue. As well as this we are looking to volunteer ourselves to go over to Belarus to help out, as well as be involved with the children when they come over here. Even just donating an evening to playing football with some of the kids is a big help.

We are also looking to raise funds, specifically for visa's for 2 children to come over again to stay with Luke and Katie, and also for the trip to Belarus for Katie and Ewelina (Martin's girlfriend), and potentially Paul and Martin from the Procession who have Visa applications awaiting approval. Any additional funds will help with the charities existing projects.

In order to raise both funds and awareness, Martin has organised an all day charity gig at Scruffy Murphy's in Birmingham. As well as the great line up including The Procession as well as established tribute and original acts, lots of local companies have donated prizes, so there will be many fund raising activities throughout the day. The Procession will also be releasing a single which will contain information about the petition with any funds raised from sales going to the charity. The Procession will also be getting involved in summer activities in the UK with the kids on recuperative holidays.

Additionally through the presenter Tom Mallow, we are looking to setup a wider awareness project using a charity called "Sky Badger". They help other charities with similar causes, and have some high profile backers. Tom has helped promote the cause with interviews on his radio show with Martin and Luke, as well as with several people involved with Sky Badger, and is looking himself to organise a charity event in August. In addition to this we hope to promote many more events to help the cause.

Key Dates

26^th April - Season’s Charity single release to mark 27^th anniversary

27^th April – All day charity gig at Scruffy Murphy’s to raise funds / awareness

May - Katie visit to Belarus

May - Martin, Paul, Ewelina visit to Belarus

3^rd/4^th August – Sky Badger Festival, Lutterworth

All August – Belarus Children visit U.K. – Several fun activities to be planned with the kids

7.     31^st August – E-Petition Closing Date

Links:

1.    Charity: http://www.chernobyl-children.org.uk

2.    27^th April, Birmingham Gig Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/events/394568270632638/?fref=ts

3.    Radio Interview: http://soundcloud.com/tommallowinterviews/tom-mallow-interviews-luke

4.    Government Petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37945

5.    Sky Badger: http://www.skybadger.co.uk/

Today was going to be a bit of a struggle, as it was the Dot To Dot festival in Nottingham. Gary was out and about at the festival and tweeted reports, and I had a live session from POM.

7pm-8pm

The Planet Smashers 'Never Gonna Drink Again'
Me First And The Gimmee Gimmees 'Over The Rainbow'
The Polecats 'John I'm Only Dancing'
NYA 'Driving The Nails In'
POM live in session
The Fugs 'Carpe Diem'
The Sea Above 'Empires'
Centre Excuse 'Don't Let Go'
Nine Inch Nails 'We're In This Together'

8pm-9pm

Morrissey 'Drive In Saturday'
Steve Jones 'Suffragette City'
The Plastics 'Last Train To Clarksville'
Skatalites 'Simmer Down'
The Skunks 'YMCA'
The Maytalls 'A Man Who Knows'
Barenaked Ladies 'If I Had $1,000,000'
Buck Owens And The Buckaroos 'Act Naturally'
Talking Heads 'Slippery People'
Gary Numan 'This Wreckage'
Ron McElroy 'World At War'
Throw The Goat 'Southeast Bound'
Wee Willie Harris 'Rocking Chair On The Moon'
The Charlie Daniels Band 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia'
David Bowie 'Let's Spend The Night Together'

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