Author Archives: Simon

About Simon

Simon Ashberry has been playing the best of local music on Bradford Beat for almost a quarter of a century . He was music columnist for the Telegraph & Argus for several years, covering local acts such as Embrace, Terrorvision, Tasmin Archer and New Model Army, and has played bass in several bands himself. He was previously part of Bradford-based Loom with John Rigby from Trip and Stumble and currently plays with innovative blues trio West Yorkshire Noblemen's Society.

Christmas Countdown – part 3

We’re nearly there.

As the festive season approaches its climax Bradford Beat moved into the Top 10 of its annual Christmas Countdown (our choice of the best 20 tracks of the year).

Here’s the third part of the 2015 chart:

10 – Bloc Party – The Love Within
9 – Euros Childs – Fruit and Veg
8 – The Maccabees – Marks To Prove It
7 – Frank Turner – The Next Storm
6 – Public Service Broadcasting – Go!

Other tracks we played this week were:

Portico featuring Joe Newman – 101
Zed – White Knuckle Ride
Ghostpoet – Be Right Back, Moving House
Venusian Plow – Ed Canaveral
Sentimentalists – My Mad Mind
Mini Mansions – Double Visions
Eaves – Pylons
Seasick – Summertime Boy

You can listen to this show again and the Top 5 will be in our Christmas Eve show from 8pm to 9pm on BCB 106.6FM

Christmas Countdown part 2

We’re tiptoing ever closer to festive season proper – with numbers 15 to 11 of our annual Christmas Countdown being revealed on this week’s show.

Here’s the full list of tracks we played.

Stone Temple Pilots – Vasoline
Fire Engines – Candyskin
Laika Dog – Getaway
BB King – Christmas Celebration
The Prettiots – Stabler
Malombo – Motshile

Christmas Countdown:
15 – Savages – The Answer
14 – Too Many Chiefs – Psilocybin
13 – Laura Marling – Short Movie
12 – The Delvaux – Deco Doll
11 – Drenge – Running Wild

Delta 5 – Anticipation
Public Service Broadcasting – Korolev
Mystery Jets – Telomere

You can listen again here.

We’ll be moving into the Top 10 on Thursday 17 December (8pm to 9pm) and playing the Top 5 on Christmas Eve at the same time.

Christmas comes early

The festive season is officially underway – Bradford Beat has unveiled the first part of its annual Christmas Countdown.

Each December we compile a chart of our favourite ntracks of the year – and here’s the first part of our Top 20:

16 Vessels – Echo In
17 Blur – I Broadcast
18 Ghostpoet – Off Peak Dreams
19 Stand Alone – This Is Ours
20 Wolf Alice – Giant Peach

Here’s the full list of other tracks we played on tonight’s show –

Too Many Chiefs – Psilocybin
Bloc Party – the Love Within
Le Tournoi – Christmas Eve
Savages – TIWYG
Ezra Furman – Body Was Made
Laika Dog – Fondo El Mondo
Euros Childs – Fresh Water
Daughter – Numbers
Chuck Berry – Run Run Rudolph

Among them was a new track by Bradford’s Too Many Chiefs.

You can catch the band live at the following gigs:

Friday 4 December – Brewery Tap Idle (also on the bill Lizard Tongue)
Sat 5 December – Lizardfest 6 at the Northern, Odsal (also on the bill Lizard Tongue, Pulverise, Hollow Earth and TCCL)

You can listen again the full show here.

It’s nearly that time again

Bradford Beat is gearing up for the annual Christmas Countodwn which begins on Thursday 3 December.

In the meantime, here’s what we played on this week’s show:

Soak – Reckless Behaviour
The Delvaux – At The Jeunesse D’Oree
Girl Band – Pears for Lunch
Public Service Broadcasting – Sputnik
Wind Up Birds – Working Christmas Day
The Savages – The Answer
Vessels – Echo In
Paul Weller – Pick It Up
Champion Jack Dupree – Third Degree
Mini Mansions – Double Visions
Sentimentalists – I’m Beat
Kurt Vile – Dust Bunnies
Albert Hammond Jr – Losing Touch

You can listen again here

Mercury revs up

Bradford Beat has been gearing up for the announcement of this year’s Mercury Prize winner by highlighting three of the shortlisted albums – by Soak, Ghostpoet and Wolf Alice.

Here’s the full list of what we played on our latest show – which will be repeated from 8pm to 9pm on Thursday 19 November:

Terrorvision – American TV
Editors – Ocean of Night
The Delvaux – Trouble Buried Deep
Soak – Reckless Behaviour
Soak – Blud
Wolf Alice – Your Loves Whore
Wolf Alice – You’re A Germ
Ghostpoet – Off Peak Dreams
Ghostpoet – X Marks The Spot
Forward Russia – 9
Daughter – Doing The Right Thing
Too Many Chiefs – Devil Bird
Soak – Be A Nobody

You can listen again here

Fireworks of the aural variety

Bradford Beat’s bumper bonfire night of tuneage consisted of the following:

Embrace – Fireworks
Low – What Part of Me
The Spills – A Film and a Frame
Soak – Reckless Behaviour
The Delvaux – Spider’s Bride
Public Service Broadcasting – Korolev
Venusian Plow – Ed Canaveral
The Prettiots – Stabler
Captain Beefheart – Tropical Hotdog Night
Billy DeLines – I’m A Blues Man
Bear’s Den – Agape
Vessels As You Are
Tame Impala – Let It Happen

You can listen again to the show here

“There’s a ghost in my show”

We played some ghostly tunes to mark Hallowe’en, as is apparently traditional.

Here’s the full list:

Wolf Alice – Freazy
Embrace – I Run
Terrorvision – Alice, What’s The Matter?
Frankie Laine – Ghost Rider In The Sky
Public Service Broadcasting – Sputnik
Wilful missing – Ghosts
Euros Childs – Fruit and Veg
Vessels – Echo In
Camera Obscura – Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken
Stand Alone – This Is Ours
R Dean Taylor – There’s a Ghost in my House
Nick Toczek – Head Came Off
New Order – Tutti Frutti

Listen again by clicking here

Thoughts turning already to end-of-year lists…

We’re already looking ahead here on Bradford Beat to the 2015 Christmas Countdown – our top 20 tracks of the year. Meanwhile here’s what we played on this week’s show:

The Maccabees – Spit It Out
Tasmin Archer – New Amsterdam
Jeffrey Lewis and Los Bolts – Outta Town
Stand Alone – False Beginnings
Euros Childs – Horse and Cart
The Delvaux – Deco Doll
Steve – Two Point Nearly Zero
Sunshine Underground – My Army
The Libertines – Heart of the Matter
Allusondrugs – Magic College
Lord Huron – Hurricane
Too Many Chiefs – Devil Bird
Embrace – Follow You Home
Paul Weller – I’m Where I Should Be

You can listen again here

Oldies but goodies

Some favourite older tracks by Bradford artists such as Harmacy and Tasmin Archer featured in the latest edition of Bradford Beat. Here’s the full list of what we played:

Stand Alone – Easier Said Than Done
The Clang Group – Shipbuilding
Tasmin Archer – Shipbuilding
Euros Childs – Fruit and Veg
Harmacy – On The Waves
Kurt Vile Pretty Pimpin’
handmadehands – I Did Nothing
Low – What Part Of Me
The Delvaux – Nightman
The Prettiots – Suicide Hotline
Imani Hekima – Just Beneath The Dub
Wolf Alice – You’re A Germ
Vessels – Echo In
Soak – Be A Nobody
Sentimentalists – Poppa’s Stoned On Chemicals Again

You can listen again here

Tonight, Josephine – twice!

Two different songs both called Josephine – but entirely different – were among the fare served up by this week’s Bradford Beat.

Here’s the full list of what we played:

Frank Turner – Josephine
Terrorvision – Josephine
Drenge – The Woods
Captain Beefheart – Clear Spot
Low – What Part Of Me?
Stand Alone – Demons
Kyuss – Gardenia
The Delvaux – Deco Doll
The Proclaimers – Throw the R Away
Laika Dog – Daddy, What’s Your Soul?
Alabama Shakes – Shoegaze
Paul Weller – Where I Should Be
Too Many Chiefs – Devil Bird

Listen again to the show here