On The Wire – A Fans View
There are some things in music that are foregone conclusions
– Liam and Noel will never be best buddies, The Rolling Stones will never
retire and On The Wire will always fight tooth and nail to defy being lifted
from the airwaves.
The later of the above is particularly poignant to the
legions of listeners to the Radio Lancashire show. Three times the show has been in danger of
being removed from the schedules, and three times it has survived. The last time was as recent as last year
where it lived (albeit being moved to a midnight to 2am slot on a Saturday
night) once more.
But, what makes the BBCs longest running alternative music
programme so special? Well, it’s purely
subjective of course. It may be its
seemingly steadfast resistance to play anything vaguely Top 40 bound (although
I do recall Freddie McGregor’s 1987 hit Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely getting an
airing before it leapt up the UK charts), it may be its commitment to all music
new that probably won’t be heard on mainstream radio anywhere else. It may just be that it’s a bloody good
listen.
On September 16th 2014, On The Wire will be 30
years old. That’s quite some
achievement. Steve Barker the presenter
and ever-present of the show ably assisted by Michael ‘Fenny’ Fenton and Jim
‘Jimbo’ Ingham sound like the proverbial ‘three amigos’ as they discuss, joke
and schedule (sometimes) music from all corners of the globe for our listening
pleasure.
Nowadays, there are strong focuses on reggae, roots and dub,
and there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be such good representation for a thoroughly
undervalued genre. When these styles
aren’t played then the floodgates are open for absolutely anything, and I mean
anything. Whether you like everything
that is played is not the point for me, it’s about hearing things for the first
time and learning about the gorgeous food of love that is music. It’s not about Steve having a popular
mid-Atlantic presenters twang either – by his own admission he isn’t, and never
will be that. His Lancashire drawl
(Brierfield born to be exact) is friendly and appealing, and I feel as though
he’s always talking specifically to me.
My first encounter with the show was around 1985, I
think. Earliest memories are hearing
Wiseblood’s Someone Drowned In My Pool, a surprising spin of Twilight Of A
Champion from The The’s phenomenal Infected album, and the life changing moment
of hearing Bop Bop by Fats Comet.
Fats Comet were the alter ego of the mighty Tackhead. The studio tomfoolery perhaps or maybe just their experimental disco funk brains in overdrive that they created with Bop Bop was something I had never ever heard before, and have never witnessed since. Even now, after all this time it sounds as fresh as an On-Usound daisy.
Fats Comet were the alter ego of the mighty Tackhead. The studio tomfoolery perhaps or maybe just their experimental disco funk brains in overdrive that they created with Bop Bop was something I had never ever heard before, and have never witnessed since. Even now, after all this time it sounds as fresh as an On-Usound daisy.
On every second Sunday of each month we are treated to
Funkology. Andy ‘Madhatter’ Holmes and
Pete Haigh bring a compelling collection of funk both old new with rare mixes,
and personal edits which bring a welcome change to the dross of the day
elsewhere.
Further memories for me include discovering the genius that
is Adrian Sherwood (and a live On-U hour long mix extravaganza) , exploring the
world of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and listening to the wisdom of none other than
John Robb (that’s an observation, not an attempt to impress my Louder Than War Big Boss). There was also the time I won a 12” single by
one of Terry Hall’s incarnations and had several requests played and duly dedicated.
My love for On The Wire was further displayed when on the
last round on BBC cuts the show had a distinct possibility of
disappearing. I set up a Twitter account
called simply @SaveOnTheWire. It was a
bit of a statement on my part and an echo of the never-say-die attitude of the
show. In 2007 when the opportunity came
my way to present an online show on Community Radio I seized it with both
turntables and called it simply Down The Wire.
They say the plagiarism is the greatest form of tribute, but my efforts
could barely scuff the surface of the institution that is On The Wire.
If you’ve never heard the show then tune-in (listen online
if you’re out of the Lancashire), settle down and shut up.
Here I close. On The
Wire is 30 years old, and I wish it a very happy Birthday. I’m sure that the fighting spirit of the show
will go down in history as much as the programme itself. Thank you Steve and the team past and
present, you may never know how much you changed a simple Burnley lads
life. But you did.
Adrian Sherwood on hiapop Blog
Lee 'Scratch' Perry on hiapop Blog
Save On The Wire on Twitter
Published on Louder Than War 10/09/14 - here
Lee 'Scratch' Perry on hiapop Blog
Save On The Wire on Twitter
Published on Louder Than War 10/09/14 - here
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