Tag Archives: Christmas Countdown

Ahem, Christmas is a-coming…

Yes, yes, I know we’ve just had a heatwave but the fact is that we’re on the slippery slope towards the end of the year.

Forget the sweltering temperatures we had at the start of October – instead, it’s time to start thinking ahead to the Christmas Countdown.

For  the uninitiated, that ‘s the top 20 tracks of the year as chosen by Bradford Beat.

We broadcast the “chart” in true  John Peel style in reverse order throughout December.

But we do need your help to make sure we don’t miss any corkers – so email your suggestions to simon.ashberry@bcbradio.co.uk

Well, it’s better than doing your Christmas shopping anyway…

Christmas Countdown – part 2

We’re halfway through the Christmas Countdown – our choice of the top 20 tracks of the year.
Here’s what we have had so far:

11 iLiKETRAiNS – Sea of Regrets
12 State of Error – Sign The line
13 Sunshine Underground – A Warning Sign
14 Black Keys – Tighten up
15 Grinderman – Heathen Child
16 Being 747 – Life In The Trees
17 The Fall – Bury Parts 2 and 4
18 Vicky and Sunny – Ankhon Main Ek Khawab
19 Creole Choir of Cuba – Chen Nan Ren
20 Cee-Lo Green – Forget You

The third part will be broadcast on Bradford Beat on Thursday 23 December with the final instalment on 30 December.

Whisper it quietly… get set for the Christmas Countdown

Yes, yes, I know it’s not even Hallowe’en yet, let alone Bonfire Night.
But the fact remains that it’s only FIVE weeks until the start of this year’s Christmas Countdown.
In case, you’ve missed what we’ve been doing on Bradford Beat every December for the last few years, that’s our choice of the best 20 tracks of the year.
This year, we want to make it as democratic as possible by asking listeners to submit suggestions for their favourite songs of 2010.
So here’s your chance – among the most frequently-played albums on Beadford Beat have been The National and Arcade Fire.
Let us know what you’d like to see included in the Christmas Countdown – either add a comment here or send an email to simon.ashberry@bcbradio.co.uk
This year’s Top 20 will be broadcast over four weeks from December 2 to 23.

And here’s a reminder of the past five years’ Christmas Countdowns:

1 Super Furry Animals – Inagural Trams
2 Depeche Mode – Peace
3 Rev Chunky/Jam Sponge – Wednesday Downers
4 Crystal Stilts – Shattered Shine
5 Ben and Steve (ex-The Turn) – Our Sounds (demo)
6 Tricky – Puppy Toy
7 Tiny Masters of Today – Pop Chart
8 Sky Larkin – Beeline
9 Lord Auch – Maredo
10 Secret Machines – Last Believer, Drop Dead
11 Grizzly Bear – While We Wait For The Others
12 Roger Davies – Brighouse On A Saturday Night
13 Frank Turner – Poetry of the Deed
14 Blue Roses – I Am Leaving
15 Benjy Ferree – Blown Out (Gold Doubloons and PCs of Eight)
16 The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa
17 Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
18 Prom Knight – Counter Intelligence
19 Scaramanga Six – Misadventure
20 New Model Army – Autumn

Continue reading →

Looking back…still

While we’re still gazing back over the past decade (just), here’s a reminder of the previous four Christmas Countdowns – our pick of Bradford Beat’s favourite 20 tracks of the year – going back to 2005.

It’s nice to see some bands have become almost regulars – The Lodger, Roger Davies and The Futureheads among those appearing more than once.

But whatever happened to The Old House? Or AFS?

Continue reading →

Christmas Countdown – part 3

And so we’ve broken into the top 10 of Bradford Beat’s run-down of the best 20 tracks of 2009 – here’s what’s been unveiled so far:

6 Tricky – Puppy Toy
7 Tiny Masters of Today – Pop Chart
8 Sky Larkin – Beeline
9 Lord Auch – Maredo
10 Secret Machines – Last Believer, Drop Dead
11 Grizzly Bear – While We Wait For The Others
12 Roger Davies – Brighouse On A Saturday Night
13 Frank Turner – Poetry of the Deed
14 Blue Roses – I Am Leaving
15 Benjy Ferree – Blown Out (Gold Doubloons and PCs of 8 )
16 The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa
17 Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
18 Prom Knight – Counter Intelligence
19 Scaramanga Six – Misadventure
20 New Model Army – Autumn

To hear the top five, you’ll have listen on Christmas Eve!

Bradford Beat is on BCB 106.6FM on Thursdays from 8pm-9pm and repeated Sunday 7pm-8pm.

The Christmas Countdown begins!

The first five tracks of Bradford Beat’s annual Christmas Countdown have been revealed.

For several years the show has marked the festive season with a rundown of our favourite 20 tracks of the past 12 months.

So far, the 2009 Christmas Countdown reads as follows:

16 The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa
17 Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
18 Prom Knight – Counter Intelligence
19 Scaramanga Six – Misadventure
20 New Model Army – Autumn

Five further tracks will be played over each of the next three weeks, with the number one being unveiled on Christmas Eve.

Bradford Beat is on BCB 106.6FM on Thursdays from 8pm-9pm and repeated Sunday 7pm-8pm.