ME AND MY MATE GRAHAM
For whatever reason I
keep being asked what it like to appear on the radio...well it's nothing extra
special especially when you've been doing for as long as the Aged Rocker. But
for those so interested appearing on BBC Radio Lancashire's Breakfast Show with
my mate Graham Liver the format is as follows.....
Alarm goes off at
5:15am with the usual shower and pot of coffee. Out of the door no later than
6:10am and drive to the BBC Radio Lancs studios in Blackburn, a journey that
usually takes about twenty minutes. Park round the back and hit the security
switch on the staff entrance door, let the production booth staff see the face
on their monitors and one quick buzz later you're in!
Head into the Library
Theatre nodding to producers Leanne and Kate before gathering up the morning's
papers and a paper cup of coffee. The name of the game is to find about eight
stories that can be discuss making sure you lay off politics, troubles or
anything controversial. Draw a red ring round them, remove the pages from the
paper and sort into order, then wait. With a live feed running throughout the
building it's easy to work out the show's running topic, this morning being the
first record you bought since its Record Store Day tomorrow. A nob from Kate
and it's through the production booth and in with Graham, red lights on meaning
you keep as quite as possible since all the microphones are live. Sit down,
position the mic where it needs to be, wait for Graham to cue me in and away we
go. Ten minutes later the first stint is done with twenty minutes or so before
doing it all again. And that folks is how it's done!
Alarmingly, Graham was
at pains to explain that as soon as he gets home he changes into some work out
traccy bottom along with the fact he wanders round the studio in odd socks.
Graham's a nice lad but there are one or two things that do cause the old Aged
Rocker to worry about him!
The big thing about
this morning's appearance was hooking up with a guy called Paul Townsend from Townsend
Records in Clitheroe. With vinyl making a serious come back which means turn
tables are once again the thing to have, Record Store Day is when real music
fans will be able to get themselves some new limited edition proper LP's and
EP's such as the Iron Maiden one I've just got for myself. According to Paul,
it's these student types who have brought about this retro revolution, mainly
because it's the sleeve artwork that gets them going, most of the sleeves
ending up displayed on their walls.
Great thing is, is that
it's sky rocketed the value of old collections, the old Aged Rocker's original
LP copy of Pink Floyds' Dark Side of the Moon now worth about forty quid. This
new interest in vinyl also means fewer of those poxy downloads. Vinyl has a warm,
more mellow tone and since LP's and singles have to be played on a turntable,
through an amp and listened to using proper speakers, no more of this ear piece
lark. If you've never done vinyl or real records, get yourself out there and
buy a few and listen to the next best thing when it's not live! Better still go
visit Paul and start your own collection and do make sure you listen in when
the Aged Rocker is on the airwaves!
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