Here's what Nick has to say:
Radio has provided the soundtrack to much of my
life.
Born in Germany in 1959, the BBC's World Service and British Forces Radio
informed my world with Gilbert & Sullivan, Flanders & Swan, The Navy
Lark and the Clitheroe Kid.
Radio listening of my own choice started in the late sixties with Ed Stewart's Junior Choice show on Saturday mornings featuring Bernard Cribbins, Charlie Drake and Terry Scott singing songs about Shifting Pianos and Digging Holes, became essential listening.
Between 1971 and 1975 I strained to get reception of Radio Luxembourg on my tiny transistor radio under the blankets at night, and at school on Tuesday lunchtimes I listened intently to Radio One's chart rundown, desperate to hear if my personal hero Gary Glitter had triumphed over the rival Bowie, Bay City Rollers, Slade and T.Rex factions.
After 1975 I forsook the charts and radio and sought more adult listening, relying on the music press and friends' opinions for guidance. This lead to some dreadful mistakes and a record collection containing hugely embarrassing progressive rock.
By 1976 I had almost fallen out of love with music since nothing I heard inspired.
Television and radio pumped out blandness by day and numbingly tedious rock by night.
More through luck than judgement I encountered the punk phenomenon at an embryonic stage.
I was inspired to not only start to listen to new bands again, but to form a band myself.
Radio One's John Peel was an established figure on the radio with his show Perfumed Garden, but he too concentrated on progressive rock. Peel latched onto the burgeoning punk scene and in early 1977 declared that his show would no longer be a 'rock'n'roll mausoleum'.
From that point the Peel show focused on the new music that was emerging from around the country. Peel's championing of punk still left room for esoteric tracks by the likes of Drummers of Burundi, Gamalayan Music From Bali and poet/storyteller Ivor Cutler.
Peel's laid back enthusiasm was infectious, his huge knowledge an education to many.
By 1980 I found employment within the music industry in Scotland, initially with the Cartel indie distribution network, then Virgin Retail.
Being surrounded by music all day at work, I tended to seek respite from it during the evenings so my interest in radio waned.
Now in 2017 I've been asked to present a show for The Flash and agreed to give it a go.
I've called it Cross Tracking.
Peel's ethos is certainly an influence, but these are different times and initially I'll be trawling through the dark recesses of my record collection and scouring the charity shops for tracks that you may not have heard for some time, or perhaps not at all.
Hopefully I'll also be featuring interesting unsigned local bands too, but that's up to the bands as much as me.
I hope you find the music interesting, try to forgive the bloke chuntering between tracks.
He means well.
Radio listening of my own choice started in the late sixties with Ed Stewart's Junior Choice show on Saturday mornings featuring Bernard Cribbins, Charlie Drake and Terry Scott singing songs about Shifting Pianos and Digging Holes, became essential listening.
Between 1971 and 1975 I strained to get reception of Radio Luxembourg on my tiny transistor radio under the blankets at night, and at school on Tuesday lunchtimes I listened intently to Radio One's chart rundown, desperate to hear if my personal hero Gary Glitter had triumphed over the rival Bowie, Bay City Rollers, Slade and T.Rex factions.
After 1975 I forsook the charts and radio and sought more adult listening, relying on the music press and friends' opinions for guidance. This lead to some dreadful mistakes and a record collection containing hugely embarrassing progressive rock.
By 1976 I had almost fallen out of love with music since nothing I heard inspired.
Television and radio pumped out blandness by day and numbingly tedious rock by night.
More through luck than judgement I encountered the punk phenomenon at an embryonic stage.
I was inspired to not only start to listen to new bands again, but to form a band myself.
Radio One's John Peel was an established figure on the radio with his show Perfumed Garden, but he too concentrated on progressive rock. Peel latched onto the burgeoning punk scene and in early 1977 declared that his show would no longer be a 'rock'n'roll mausoleum'.
From that point the Peel show focused on the new music that was emerging from around the country. Peel's championing of punk still left room for esoteric tracks by the likes of Drummers of Burundi, Gamalayan Music From Bali and poet/storyteller Ivor Cutler.
Peel's laid back enthusiasm was infectious, his huge knowledge an education to many.
By 1980 I found employment within the music industry in Scotland, initially with the Cartel indie distribution network, then Virgin Retail.
Being surrounded by music all day at work, I tended to seek respite from it during the evenings so my interest in radio waned.
Now in 2017 I've been asked to present a show for The Flash and agreed to give it a go.
I've called it Cross Tracking.
Peel's ethos is certainly an influence, but these are different times and initially I'll be trawling through the dark recesses of my record collection and scouring the charity shops for tracks that you may not have heard for some time, or perhaps not at all.
Hopefully I'll also be featuring interesting unsigned local bands too, but that's up to the bands as much as me.
I hope you find the music interesting, try to forgive the bloke chuntering between tracks.
He means well.
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