Category Archives: Bradford Beat

Matters relating to Simon Ashberry’s Bradford Beat show on Thursdays at 8pm (UK time)

A trip down memory lane

It’s been full-on nostalgia on Bradford Beat as we highlight tracks from the CD set accompanying the book Bradford’s Noise of the Valleys volume 2 1988-1998:

Embrace – All You Good Good People
Old Joe Zydeco – Zydeco Gris Gris
Rootsman – Old Pan Killer
Hardware – What Race Are You?
Primate – Break My Fall
Summum Bonum – Exploding Raindrops
Psycho Surgeons – Panic On
Natural Rhythm – Bluebeat and Ska
The Headmen – Reach The Sky
Chest – Angels
Scarlet Heights – Scarcity Prayer
Sansaar – Bind Us Together

You can listen again by clicking here

New year, new tunes

We had a fistful of brand new tracks for our first propoer show of 2014.
The full list of music we played is as follows:

Chris T-T – Bury Me With A Scarab
Junk Dealers – The Chain of Command
Algiers – Mother
Wilful Missing – I Am Clay
Polyphonic Spree – Let Them Be
Eagulls – Opaque
Idlewild – American English
Zed – Easy Does It
Beans On Toast – Keep You
Kaiser Chiefs – Misery Company
Electric Soft Parade – Summertime In My Heart
Scars on 45 – Heart’s on Fire
Anna Calvi – Suddenly

You can listen again by clicking here

That countdown in full…

Just in case you missed it, here’s a full rundown of the 2013 Christmas Countdown – our top 20 tracks of the year.

1 Simon Crabtree – The Spirit of Bradford City
2 Polyphonic Spree – You Don’t Know Me
3 Ron Sexsmith – Nowhere To Go
4 Steve Mason – Oh My Lord
5 The Seven Inches – Cashback
6 Hobbes Fan Club – Your Doubting Heart
7 Arrows of Love – The Knife
8 Drenge – Face Like A Skull
9 Swim Deep – The Sea
10 Marika Hackman – Cinnamon
11 Chris T-T – The Bear
12 Tim Burgess – The Doors of Then
13 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep Like A Shark
14 I Am Kloot – These Days Are Mine
15 Teleman – Cristina
16 Vessels – Elliptic
17 Damn Vandals – Kings of Never Never
18 Chutzpah – Eyes
19 Eagulls – Nerve Endings
20 Beaty Heart – Lekka Freakout

You can listen again to the final show of the year featuring the top 5 by clicking here – and it will also be repeated on Thursday from 8pm – 9pm on BCB 106.6FM.

Boxing Day bonanza

It was Boxing Day and boy, did we have a party.

Not just a stockingful of alternative festive tunes but also the final part of this year’s Christmas Countdown.

Here was what we played in full:

The Wind Up Birds – Working Christmas
City and Colour – Harder Than Stone
Poppy Factory – 7×7
Electric Soft Parade – Mr Mitchell

Christmas Countdown Top 5
5 The Seven Inches – Cashback
4 Steve Mason – Oh My Lord
3 Ron Sexsmith – Nowhere To Go
2 Polyphonic Spree – You Don’t Know Me
1 Simon Crabtree – The Spirit of Bradford City

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down – Holly Roller
Mongol Horde – How The communists Ruined Christmas
Larry and his Flask – Closed Doors
Red Paintings – Wasps
Velvet Underground – I Can’t Stand It

The good news is you can listen again by clicking here.

And we’ll be repeating the whole kaboodle for good measure on Thursday 2 January from 8pm to 9pm.

Bradford’s Noise of the Valleys

Gary Cavanagh was our studio guest this week, talking about his book Bradford’s Noise of the Valleys Volume 2

And we also found time for the third part of our Christmas Countdown. Here are the tracks we played:

Anna Calvi – Suddenly
Negative Panda – She Is Right
Dubh Chapter – Touch and Go
New Model Army and Tom Jones – Gimme Shelter

10 Marika Hackman – Cinnamon
9 Swim Deep – The Sea
8 Drenge – Face Like A Skull
7 Arrows of Love – The Knife
6 Hobbes Fan Club – Your Doubting Heart

You can listen again by clicking here.

Make some noise, Bradford

Don’t miss next week’s Bradford Beat when we’ll be chatting to Gary Cavanagh about the long-awaited second volume of his book Bradford’s Noise Of The Valleys.
He’ll be on the show on Thursday 19 December from 8pm – 9pm reminiscing about music from 1988-1998. We’ll also be bringing you the first half of the Top Ten of the 2013 Christmas Countdown.
Here’s a recap of the tracks we played on last night’s show:

Polyphonic Spree – Raise Your Head
Junk Dealers – Reailty TV
Mogwai – The Lord Is Out of Control
Special AKA – Nelson Mandela
Eagulls – Tough Luck

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN PART 2
15 Teleman – Cristina
14 I Am Kloot – These Days Are Mine
13 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep Like A Shark
12 Tim Burgess – The Doors of Then
11 Chris T-T – The Bear

John Parkes – Trireme 72 (All Rowed Home)
Electric Soft Parade – Summertime In My Heart
Threshold Shift – Hang In There
Superfood – Bubbles

You can listen again by clicking here

Christmas Countdown 2013 part 1

Our rundown of the top 20 tracks of the year is underway.
The next part of the Christmas Countdown will be part of Bradford Beat on Thursday 12 December from 8pm – 9pm.
The first part of the chart went out last week’s show, which also featured an interview with Tom from the Electric Soft Parade.
Here’s the full list of tracks played:

Drenge – Nothing
Junk Dealers – Hometown Blues
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN PART 1
20 Beaty Heart – Lekka Freakout
19 Eagulls – Nerve Endings
18 Chutzpah – Eyes
17 Damn Vandals – Kings of Never Never
16 Vessels – Elliptic
Polyphonic Spree – Popular By Design
Electric Soft Parade – The Sun Never Sets Round Here
Sentimentalists – Toilet Attendant
John Parkes – One Who Got Away
Electric Soft Parade – Life In The Backseat

You can listen again by clicking here

 

Electric Soft Parade exclusive

Bradford Beat has an exclusive interview with Tom White from the Mercury Music Prize-nominated band The Electric Soft Parade this week.

He’ll be chatting about why it took six years to get round to bringing our their new album Idiots as well as their forthcoming gig at the Eiger Studios in Leeds on Sunday (8 December).

Tune in to hear the interview on Bradford Beat this Thursday (5 December) from 8pm to 9pm – there’ll also be the first part of this year’s Christmas Countdown, our Top 20 tracks of the year.

Get ready to be merry

Don’t forget the Christmas Countdown begins on Thursday!
We’ll be playing our annual chart of our favourite 20 tracks of the year throughout December.
Last week’s Bradford Beat featured an interview with Itch plus these tracks:

Polyphonic Spree – You’re Golden
Vessels – Myopic Biopic
I Was A Cub Scout – The Hunter’s Daughter
John Parkes – Cold
Itch – Best Shot
Junk Dealers – Government Leaders
Electric Soft Parade – The Sun Never Sets Around Here
The Seven Inches – To Boldly Go
Peace – Wraith
Rodina – There You’ll Be

You can listen again by clicking here

Get ready to scratch that Itch

Rising star Itch is a guest on next week’s Bradford Beat.
The show on Thursday 28 November (8pm – 9pm) will feature an exclusive interview with the hip-hop artist who was previously in the punk fusion band The King Blues,

Here’s the full list of tracks played on last night’s show (21 Nov):

Beaty Heart – Lekka Freakout
John Parkes – My Hit Song
The National – Graceless
Vessels – Elliptic
Beach Boys- Good Vibrations
Junk Dealers – Bad Vibrations
Billy Bragg – January Song
The Seven Inches – Our Gang of Friends
The 1975 – Girls
Chutzpah – Eyes
Status Quo – Down Down
Fossil Collective – How Was I To Know?
Marika Hackman – Cinnamon
Itch – Best Shot

You can listen again by clicking here