Steve’s Mix Tapes

My guest this week is Martin Stephenson
I was particularly delighted to have Martin on the show, not least because Gladsome, Humour and Blue is one of my favourite albums of all time.
Martin is, like me, a native of Durham, and so you might find my accent a little more prominent than usual!
Martin's playlist is focused on artists that are up and coming / not yet well known, so make sure you check out the 'Buy Online' links on stevesmixtapes.com

Something a little different this week...
This week's show is dedicated to the memory of my most excellent friend Chris McAvoy (star of episode #035).
Regular listeners may recall me making frequent references to Chris in previous episodes as someone who provided me with a multitude of  mix tapes/CDs over the years.  Sadly, Chris died a couple of months ago, and this is a tribute to him. 
It ignores the usual parameters of the podcast - something of which he would doubtless have approved - and features contributions from several of his friends who, like me, are completely devastated that he is no longer with us.
And for those of you who didn't know him, I hope you'll still appreciate a fine set of tunes.
Goodbye friend, RIP.

My guest this week is Craig Walker
Craig is the singer, guitarist and songwriter of Dublin band Power of Dreams, whose 1989 debut release ‘A Little Piece of God’ was single of the week in both Melody Maker and Sounds and in the same year were named by the NME as one of their ‘stars of tomorrow’.
He has released a single under the name Pharmacy, played with avant-garde/electronica group Archive and released a solo album called Siamese. His latest project, Spoon Speaker Man, is a duo featuring Dan Worton of Ned's Atomic Dustbin.
He was also once ejected from a party for throwing up on Simon Cowell's shoes!

My guest this week is Stephin Merritt
Stephin  is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has, over the last 35 years, produced some truly remarkable music; in particular, he was the man behind what is, in my estimation, one of the greatest albums of the 20th century, 69 Love Songs.
He has also recorded soundtracks under his own name, as well as producing music as the 6ths, the Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes.

My guest this week is Niall Quinn
Niall was the drummer and main songwriter in The Hitchers - whose 1997 song ‘Strachan’ was a John Peel favourite and has regularly been voted as one of the best football-related songs of all time. You may also have heard it quite recently on this podcast, as Steve Hill chose it for his mix in episode #76.

My guest this week is David Rose
I was introduced to David via previous guest Paul Garrett. David describes himself as 'a punk/ post-punk/ indie music fan and inveterate gig-goer of 45 years standing, currently with over 1,400 gigs under my belt' and has blogged about his experiences at http://www.gigbook.blogspot.com/

My guest this week is Graeme Ramsey
Graeme is not only an ex-member of The Wedding Present, but has been both the drummer (2006-09) and the guitarist (2009-12). He also, as we discussed, once told Steve Albini how to mic a drum kit!

My guest this week is Liam Fitzpatrick
Liam hails from Birmingham, but now resides in Whitby and runs his own cafe, Beckett's. Like me, he has a background in education, and also like me is a fan of The Wedding Present and The Fall.
He emailed me to say, “if ever you fancy another ordinary 'Joe Soap' on the show - just let me know”.  Well, I'm always delighted to have a music enthusiast on the show...

My guest mixer this week is Steve Hill
Steve is a journalist and author whose debut book, The Card, was nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.  His third book - out later this year - is called Friday Night Fever: Inside The Cult Of Half Man Half Biscuit.

My guest this week is Mark Hex
Mark is an author and musician who describes himself as “Scottish bred, London exiled. Deep fried in Glasgow” who writes, according to his Amazon page, “stories for people who don't like books.”
He has written a series of books about growing up in Ayrshire in the 90s, including Nae Burds, Here We Go, Decks of Ten and Exploding Cans and Utter Bams.
He has also released several albums on Bandcamp, including Edgelore of the Land of Nihilists, People Hate Glasgow and, most recently, Unique Results (New Adventures in Lo-fi) - an album that one website said “spits, seethes, and struts with unruly charm.”