Category Archives: Worlds Shortest Radio Show

….to evoke summer and sunshine. This is a perfect example. The moment hear it, you can imagine life in LA around 1969. But if you were Bill, how would you feel about having this majestic paen written especially for you? Extremely flattered? Or ever so slightly scared?

…….but she doesn’t. I can’t sing, read music or play an instrument. She does all these things wonderfully, took her Music GCSE a year early and got an A*. I couldn’t be prouder and so I’ve found a track with “A Star” in the title. She got one and she is one. She’ll find this […]

…..about 100 yards from a bench where he and I once had a takeaway. I was sitting eating mine and he sat down next to me. If you recognise someone famous, there’s a certain arrogance in pretending not to, so I said hello. I was never a great fan of The Clash but in five […]

Very nice but usually containing some strange comestibles – Scottish shortbread, ginger preserve, gentleman’s relish. And often quite a lot a wood shavings to pack out the wicker basket. The best bit is, of course, the basket itself. It remains long after the shortbread has been eaten and the gentleman’s relish thrown away. If you […]

…I’m one of them but I consider myself old-skool. Cyclists like me have not taken it up recently. We don’t cycle to keep fit or to “do our bit for the environment”. We do not wear lycra or hi-viz clothing as a militant marks of eco-piety. We demand no special treatment. We cycle simply because […]

……I really am. I was barrelling round the M25 yesterday afternoon, singing along loudly and lustily to Cuddly Toy. A few hours later, I went to see Alan Partridge Alpha Papa and it features our hero doing exactly the same thing. It’s a great track because it somehow deludes the singalonger into believing that he […]

……..and now, within the blink of an eye, I find myself attending silver wedding parties. Yesterday I was celebrating 25 years since my friends Brian and Hilary walked down the aisle. Hard to think of a great track with the word “silver” in it. Silver Lady? Hi-Ho Silver Lining? But there is an old Motown […]

I can’t but my son can. Over the last few months, he’s been revising for his A levels, often to gentle musical accompaniment. Jazz pianist Bill Evans was a particular favourite, so the boy has taste. His results were fantastic and two days later, I’m still flushed with pride. Maybe I should have listened to […]

…….and this is the track on which most Elvis impersonations are based. Though I doubt any are as good as my friend Eugene O’Hara’s. Even when we were seven, he had a deep voice and could do a decent Elvis. So it was pleasing to hear that, all these years later, he’s taken up a […]

…..either England are playing Scotland at Wembley, I thought, or the Bay City Rollers have re-formed. Okay, so they couldn’t really sing or play any instruments but aided by seasoned session men, they made some great, well-crafted pop songs. Here’s a good example: Sing up at the back and don’t pretend you don’t like it.