The Mild Mannered Army paullaird

Ahoy.  Something a little different...before going ahead and setting up a dedicated podcast for this mad idea I have decided to give a taster on this channel.  I am joined by two Twitter chums to discuss and debate "Inside No.9"; episode by episode.  I hadn't ever seen a single minute of it and they were, at best, casual observers.  Here we are then, three strangers discussing a television show they don't really know anything about for reasons that none of us can really explain.  

I am joined by author Graeme Armstrong to discuss his debut novel "The Young Team".  Inspired by his own experiences of gang culture in North Lanarkshire Graeme has produced a debut novel that has generated real excitement and that looks set to be viewed as a classic in time.  With themes of family, identity, love, loss and belonging running throughout the tales of life as part of the Young Team this is a book that captures you, excites you, disturbs you and challenges you.  With explicit content and discussion of some potentially triggering content.

A treat as I am joined, in the Filmhouse bar, by Rick McMurray from Ash to discuss 25 years of...teenage wildlife.  This is a real delight with Rick and I talking Top Trumps, Iron Maiden, the perfect set-list and almost everything else along the way.  Teenage Wildlife is available right now on CD, vinyl and a few limited edition formats of both are still available too.  You know what to do.

Former Britpop star James Cook follows up his fantastic memoir "Memory Songs" with a new book that deals with his experience of being the father of a child with non-verbal autism and how music helped him to connect with her.  James is open and honest about his experiences and the things he has learned on his journey.  The book is available from Blink and, right now, we would encourage you to order a copy from your nearest independent book shop.

In this episode I am joined by the legendary music producer Stephen Street.  Over his career Stephen has worked with some of the best known, best loved and iconic bands and artists in popular music; The Smiths, The Triffids, Blur, The Cranberries and Sleeper are just a few of those.  Here we discuss all of those bands and Stephen's memories of working with them.  This is a real treat...enjoy it!

What a treat.  An interview with Gene drummer and all 'round good egg Mr Matt "The Hat" James.  Matt and I met to talk about the debut album from Gene, "Olympian", and along the way we discover the history of the band, Martin Rossiters love of Queen, what working with Phil Vinall was like and so much more besides.  A treat I tells ya.