- On The Wire
"On The Wire" is a radio programme broadcast on
BBC Radio Lancashire . It is presented by Steve Barker. The show was first broadcast on 16th September 1984. In the 1980s the show was broadcast on Sunday afternoons 2-5pm. "On the Wire"'s first guests wereAdrian Sherwood and Keith le Blanc. Sherwood andDub Syndicate provide the show's theme music. The guests on the second week of the show wereDepeche Mode ."On the Wire" was one of the first shows in the UK to play
hip-hop ,house music andtechno music . It gave the first radio plays in the UK forDerrick May andKevin Saunderson and the radio premier of808 State 's "Pacific State" andA Guy Called Gerald 's "Voodoo Ray". Andy ‘Madhatter’ Holmes and Pete Haigh have provided since 1986 the once-a-month Funkology show. Michael "Fenny" Fenton has a weekly slot on the show where he plays music from the local music scene.At the beginning of the 1990s "On the Wire" was under threat from the
BBC , but at the last minute the show was saved by the BBC board, with the show being described as a ‘unique BBC product’. Brian "Planet" Jackson andJohn Peel were key figures in saving the programme. When the programme was saved it moved to a new slot on Thursday evenings, and then to its current slot on Saturday evenings.Guests on the show have included
Lee Perry ,Mark E Smith ,Half Man Half Biscuit , Kelly Joe Phelps, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jeb Loy Nichols andBlood and Fire . Highlight shows include: An Xmas party at the Ritz inManchester including Sherwood withGary Clail ,808 State ,A Guy Called Gerald , Little Annie andNeneh Cherry ; putting on The Fall free atClitheroe Castle and the three hour dub special shows.Since 2003, Steve Barker contributes from
Beijing with the invaluable help ofChristiaan Virant , American exile and co-founder of the China-based nu electronic unitFM3 .Engineers on the show have included Mikey Martin, Jethro (known on the net as ‘Culf’) and current engineer, Jim Ingham.
The forerunner to "On the Wire" was called "Spin Off" and it was broadcast on BBC Radio Blackburn (later BBC Radio Lancashire) on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm to 7pm. The programme was presented by Steve Barker and produced by Ian Cook (Education Producer).
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/local_radio BBC Radio Lancashire]
* [http://otwradio.blogspot.com/ On The Wire website]
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