Thursday 26 May 2011

Checking out what the 'great and the good' did...

As you will have gathered, I love the role of Radio presenter, and as such, I've read not only a lot of books on how to present a show properly, but have been reading by radio presenters.
Way back in 1976, the man I wanted to be was Emporer Rosko, and he wrote a book called Emporer Rosko's DJ book which told me how to set up a mobile disco and move on to becoming involved with radio. I still have the book, and it's very much a book written for a world that is no longer the same.
One of my heroes as a Radio Presenter is Tony Blackburn - he's been successful on radio since the Early 60s and even today he's till out there doing it - and working very hard at the same time - I've got a lot of respect for the amount of work he's still putting in.


I read Chris Evan's first book a while back, Entitled 'It's Not What You Think', it tells his story from a child right the way through to getting on his first Radio station (Radio Picadilly) and his consequent rise to the point where he lost the plot. It's hard to believe, but he worked in Radio for three and a half years without getting any wages! His story was inspiring to say the least.
I know many people think he's just a loud mouthed fool, but I've studied him and in particular, his Breakfast show, and having taken his show to pieces on a regular basis, I can only say that in my opinion, he's a brilliant broadcaster. He's quick-witted, articulate and funny, and his show is a masterclass on how to present radio. I have nothing but respect for his work.
Yes, I know many will point to when he went off the rails and became up himself, and I'd agree, but more about that soon.


Ken Bruce's book, 'The Tracks Of My Years' is also a cracking read. The book follows his rise to radio fame from his days in accountancy and working for a car hire firm to jobbing for BBC Scotland and then on to Radio 2. Its not the most exciting of lives to write about, particularly early on, but there are some amusing anecdotes. The most interesting part for me was the behind the scenes politics and sometimes pettiness at the BBC.


But back to Chris Evans and his second book 'Memoirs Of A Fruitcake'. I could not put the book down. It chronicles his fall from grace and it's written very matter of factly (is that a real word?). For me, the fact that Chris was brutally honest about not only what happened, but his own actions, made it a fascinating read. When I read his account of the story, I wondered how he's still alive, let alone doing the quality of work he is on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
He talks very candidly about what went on, about his relationships and how he slowly clawed his way back to where he is now. Even if you don't like Chris Evans, you really should read this book. I have even more respect for him that I did before. His is a true rags to riches story, but also how to lose it all, especially professionally and rebuild a career. Inspiring is the only word for it.
An excellent book and certainly one that I'd recommend to anyone...


Well, I'm of to Requestfest tonight, so I'll tell you about it next time....

Tuesday 24 May 2011

My radio shows listeners map (listen again/downloads only)

I've just had my first listener in Afghanistan! I'm shocked and amazed. In little over 2 years I've gone from being listened to by 3 people in Weymouth, to listeners across the world.

Here's a map of all the countries  that my shows have been listened to. Well happy!

Pick 'n' Mix - what a concept!

Can you remember going into Woolworths when you were younger and going to the Pick 'n' Mix counter? I used to love doing that. Can you remember how you always spent more than you'd planned there as well? Yeah...I did that too! It was just great picking up that bag and then shovelling in sweets of different types.

Well yesterday, I was going through my music database, and as I was doing it, I kept thinking to myself that I hadn't played some of those songs in ages. The thing is, because of the radio shows and the discos, I seem to be always playing songs that I'll be playing at one or the other.

I reckon I play around 10% of the music I've got, and I really felt like delving in and playing across the genres. I didn't really have much to do last night, so I thought I'd have a play. Then I had the brainwave - why not do a live show so others could listen while I did it?

And that's how last night's 'Pick 'n' Mix' show came into being. With no real idea what I was going to play, I just started and went from there.

Here's the result.


Here's the playlist:
1 Buddy Holly - Think It Over
2 Alan Price Set - Simon Smith & His Amazing Dancing Bear
3 Dan I - Monkey Chop
4 Edwin Starr - SOS  (Stop Her On Sight)
5 Beatles - Devil In Her Heart
6 Al Hirt - Java
7 Kinks - Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
8 James Taylor - Shower The People
9 Carly Simon - Older Sister
10 Duane Eddy - Some Kinda Earthquake
11 John D Loudermilk - Language Of Love
12 Jimmy Cliff - Miss Jamaica
13 Pioneers - Give & Take
14 Wizzard - Are You Ready To Rock
15 Sailor - Glass Of Champagne
16 TV Theme - Bonanza
17 Quantum Jump - Lone Ranger
18 M - Pop Musik
19 Andrews Sisters - Rum & Coca Cola
20 Perry Como - Love Makes The World Go Round
21 Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound
22 Frankie Laine - Champion The Wonder Horse
23 Rubettes - Juke Box Jive
24 Mixtures - Push Bike Song
25 Lord Rockinghams XI - Hoots Mon
26 Anita O'Day - Peanut Vendor (El Manisero)
27 Don Lang & His Frantic Five - Six Five Special
28 Ricky Nelson - My Bucket's Got A Hole In It
29 Keith Emerson - Honky Tonky Train Blues
30 Amazulu - Excitable
30 Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood
31 TV Theme - Antiques Roadshow (Remix)
32 50 Cent ft Thomas The Tank Engine - In Da Club (Remix)
33 Jilted John - Jilted John
34 Jo Boxers - Just Got Lucky
35 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Spanish Flea
36 Don Spencer - Fireball XL5
37 Joe Brown - Jellied Eels
38 Teresa Brewer - How Do You Know It's Love
39 Michael Holliday - Stairway Of Love
40 Tommy Bruce - Ain't Misbehavin'
41 Johnny Preston - Cradle Of Love
42 Connie Francis - Robot Man
43 Gene Pitney - Town Without Pity
44 Lee Marvin - Wanderin' Star
45 South Pacific Soundtrack - There Is Nothing Like A Dame
46 Jimmy Durante - Make Someone Happy
47 Neil Sedaka - Queen Of 1964
48 Piglets - Johnny Reggae
49 Fortunes - Storm In A Teacup
50 Meri Wilson - Telephone Man
51 Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime
52 Hank Williams Snr - Hey Good Lookin'
53 John & Olivia vs Arthur & Hylda - You're The One That I Want
54 Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes
55 Eddie Calvert - Angelina
56 Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs - Wooly Bully
57 Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack
58 Four Seasons - Marlena
59 Ketty Lester - Love Letters
60 T Rex - Ride A White Swan
61 Slade - Let's Call It Quits
62 Elvis Presley - Kentucky Rain
63 Darts - Daddy Cool
64 Lloyd Price - Have You Ever Had The Blues
65 Wayne Newton - Danke Schoen
66 Peter Cook & Dudley Moore - Goodbye-ee

To hear my recent shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com

Feel free to let me know what you think and whether you'd like me to do another one.......


Monday 23 May 2011

Going through my record database

I've spent the whole weekend reading a book on being involved in radio and have come tot he conclusion I have so much to learn, and it's whetted my appetite even more!

In the last blog, I talked about the fact that I was going to do a Requestfest on the radio, which I did. I was hoping I'd get a wider range of requests, but understandably, I got mostly soul-based requests. After all, it's what I'm know for playing, and my listeners like soul, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Mind you, I love so many other types of music as well. And it would be nice to play some of those as well. I've over 35,000 songs on my computer (nearer 40,000) and I don't think I play 10% of those on the radio.
As I'm writing this, I'm just skimming through some of the instrumentals, and I've played Herb Alpert, Earl Bostic and Floyd Cramer - all great in their own way.

I'm so tempted to do a live radio show and just play songs that strike my fancy from any of the genres on my database - be it Pop, Soul, Latin, Instrumentals, Rock, Novelty, MOR - I can't see me getting too many listeners, but it sure would be a varied show!

Looking back at the Requestfest show I did the other night, it was nice to get a lot of requests, and was good it be playing live - it certainly keeps you on your toes.


Here's the playlist:
1 Fats Domino - Be My Guest
2 Average White Band - I Just Can't Give You Up
3 Mamie Galore - It Ain't Necessary
4 James Brown - Sex Machine
5 Al Wilson - The Snake
6 Bobby Paris - Night Owl
7 Stevie Wonder - Another Star
8 Bobby Paris - I Walked Away
9 Donald Byrd - Dominoes
10 Jean Carn - If You Wanna Go Back
11 Darryl Grant - Don't Underestimate The Power Of Love
12 Fat Larry's Band - Center City
13 David Ruffin - Rode By The Place (Where We Used To Stay)
14 Sunlightsquare Latin Combo - I Believe In Miracles
15 Originals - Suspicion
16 Little Willie John - Don't Play With Love
17 Cool Million ft Eugene Wilde - Back For More
18 Temptations - Treat Her Like A Lady
19 Moments - Nine Times
20 Rolf Harris - Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport
21 Michael Wycoff - Looking Up To You
22 Reunion - Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)
23 Supremes - The Happening
24 Terry Ronald - What The Child Needs
25 Commodores - Fancy Dancer
26 Elvis Presley - GI Blues
27 Elvis Presley - A Mess Of Blues
28 Collins & Collins - At The Top Of The Stairs
29 Bobby Patterson - What A Wonderful Night For Love
30 Otis Redding - Rock Me Baby
31 Jaheim - Just In Case
32 Omarion - Entourage
33 Erma Franklin - Abracadabra
34 Fab Samperi ft Jonathan Molina - Listen Up
35 Aretha Franklin - One Step Ahead (Featurecast Re-Edit)
36 Al Hudson & Partners - Spread Love
37 Big Joe Turner - Flip Flop & Fly
38 Joey Negro & Sunburst Band - Everyday
39 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Love Is Like A Heatwave
40 Willie Hutch - Lucky To Be Loved
41 Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
42 Isley Brothers - Harvest For The World
43 Ujima - I'm Not Ready
44 Michel Legrand - Come Ray & Come Charles
To Hear my recent shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com

I can see me having a day where I play songs that don't normally see the light of day - although I do have to record my 'Flashback' show today.

It was really nice to get a request from one of my listeners in New Zealand today. First one I've had from the 'Rag-FM' (Ragland NZ) syndicated show - it's nice to know I'm having an effect so far away (and not having them just switch off!).

Back to the music..... See you soon!

 

Thursday 19 May 2011

'Requestfest' on the radio tonight!

At 8pm tonight (UK time) I'm going to be trying something new - I'm going to be doing a Requestfest show on the Radio - it will follow the same principals of the one that I do in live venues except you'll be listening on your PCs.

I'm going to be using Spreaker to transmit the show, and I'll be putting the link on facebook as soon as the show starts.

Here's how it works - if you want it and I've got it, I'll play it! Simple....

It means I don't have a clue what I'll end up playing or what genre it will be, or even whether it'll be a classic or a mahoosive bit of cheese!

All I do know is that if you're there - we'll have a laugh and play a few tunes. Also, I'll open my chatroom so you can join me there and we can carry on the banter there.

You can either email me a request at james@ontheradio.info or
put your request on my wall at
http://www.facebook.com/jmurphypage

Hope to see you there. Keep your eyes peeled for the link which will be posted on facebook at 8pm.

Now I'm not sure how it's going to work, but it'll be fun finding out!

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Losing another group - what I'm gonna do about it - a radio show and a magazine!

Well it happened - facebook closed down another of my groups - so inside a week, I've lost around 3000 members of my groups.

Here's the question - Do we just give up and figure that the last 2 years of trying to put something together was a waste? Or do we have the faith that what we've worked so hard for is worth starting again?

You got it - we're going to re-group and build even stronger than what we had before. Over the last few months, myself & Debz have worked hard on the magazine, completely re-built the 'On The Radio' website, and I'm working on making the shows better!

I've decided we won't start up new groups. The Very, Old Very Bald James Murphy page is still there and that's where we'll concentrate on putting all the news. You can help with the rebuilding of numbers by suggesting the page to your friends - it would be great if you can do that, and it would be appreciated.

Since I last blogged, I've done the Sunday Shake Up show and the new Pure Grooves web mag is out as well.


Here's the playlist:
1 Chi-Lites - It's Time For Love
2 Bill Withers - Tender Things
3 Odyssey - Lucky Star
4 Pink - Most Girls
5 Anthony David - Something About You
6 Mykah Montgomery - Think I Like You
7 Garland Green - Ain't That Good Enough
8 Barbara Lewis - You Made Me A Woman
9 Tony Clarke - Entertainer
10 Gladys Knight & The Pips - Landlord
11 Paul Johnson - When Love Comes Calling
12 Detroit Spinners - Love Is In Season
13 Intruders - Hang On In There
14 Archie Bell & The Drells - I Could Dance All Night
15 Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
16 Grover Washington Jr - Sausalito
17 Teddy Pendergrass - Love TKO
18 Roy Ayers - Everybody Loves The Sunshine
19 George Benson - Breezin'
20 Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze
21 Rufus - Ain't Nobody
22 Brothers Johnson - Stomp
23 Carl Carlton - She's A Bad Mama Jama
24 Emotions - Best Of My Love
25 Joe Bataan - Sadie She Smokes
26 Rahni Harris & FLO - Six Million Steps (East Runs West)
27 Wayne Henderson - Dancin' Love Affair
To hear my Recent Shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com/

Monday morning is when the new Issue of the Pure Grooves webmag is published. This week's featured artist is Chaka Khan and there are a lot of other features for your perusal!



So that's about it for now - get ready though, because I'm in the mood to make my shows the most listened to on the net and for my discos to be the most enjoyed! I do love a challenge....


Friday 13 May 2011

Requestfest last night and today's Pure Grooves show

Last night's Requestest, was a bit quieter than normal, but nonetheless, there were still a  lot of requests. Talk about not judging a book by its cover.

There are a couple that come to each Requestfest, they look well into their 60s, and until last night had never made a request, and I'd always wondered why they came - and then last night for the first time they made requests - I was expecting them to ask for the likes of Billy Fury or maybe Country and Western - was I surprised, they asked for bands like The Killers, Muse and The Calling! Which proves you never know what's going to be asked for at Requestfest.

Anyway here's the playlist:

1 Doobie Brothers - Listen To The Music
2 Hall & Oates - Maneater
3 Joe Jones - You Talk Too Much
4 Earth Wind & Fire - September
5 Style Council - Lodgers
6 Blow Monkeys - It Doesnt Have To Be This Way
7 Black Eyed Peas - Time (Dirty Bit)
8 Kanye West Ft Drake & Rihanna - All Of The Lights
9 Jennifer Lopez ft Pitbull - On the Floor
10 Christina Milian - Dip It Low
11 LMFAO ft Lauren Bennett & Goonrock - Party Rock Anthem
12 Bon Jovi - Have A Nice Day
13 Bob Dylan - I Want You
14 Moments - Jack In The Box
15 Killers - Human
16 Muse - Butterflies & Hurricanes
17 Waterboys - Whole Of The Moon
18 Chris Brown ft Benny Benassi - Beautiful People
19 Bloc Party - Mercury
20 Mann ft 50 Cent - Buzzin'
21 Nelly - Just A Dream
22 Lemar - 50-50
23 Nickelback - How You Remind Me
24 Calling (The) - Wherever You Will Go
25 Chase & Status ft Delilah - Time
26 Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom
27 Simon & Garfunkel - Boxer (The)
28 Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights Bigger City
29 Chris Brown - Yeah 3X
30 Savage Garden - Animal Song
31 Dire Straits - Romeo & Juliet
32 JT Taylor - Long Hot Summer Night
33 Usher ft Will I Am - OMG
34 Vicky D - This Beat Is Mine
35 Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
36 Fabulous ft Tamia - Into You
37 Specials - Ghost Town
38 Electric Six - Gay Bar
39 Train - Drops Of Jupiter
40 Village People - YMCA
41 UB40 - Food For Thought
42 Another Level - Bomb Diggy
43 Champs - Tequila
44 Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes
45 Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen
46 Ouch - Can't Stop Looking At You
47 Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed
48 Sub Focus - Could This Be Real
49 DJ Fresh ft Ce'cile - Gold Dust
50 Shalamar - Take That To The Bank
51 Dynasty - Does That Ring A Bell
52 Audioslave - Cochise
53 Carmel - More More More
54 Andy Williams - House Of Bamboo
55 Joe Bataan - Ordinary Guy
56 Amy Winehouse - Me & Mr Jones (F**kery)
57 Guess Who - American Woman
58 Lighthouse Family - Ocean Drive

As always, it's the Pure Grooves show from Midnight last night, and as always it was Jam-packed with great songs.

and here's the Playlist:
1 The Ones - Flawless
2 De Souza ft Shena - Guilty
3 Cerrone ft Jocelyn Brown - Hooked On You (Jamie Lewis Mix)
4 Soul II Soul - A Dream's A Dream
5 Mica Paris - Young Soul Rebels
6 Michel'Le - Nicety
7 Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby
8 Glenn Jones - At Last
9 Chaka Khan - Through The Fire
10 Freeez - Mariposa
11 Eddie Russ - Zaius
12 Barrio Jazz Gang - Linda Cancao
13 Michael Jackson - Girlfriend
14 Jean Carn - Bet She Won't Love You Like I Do
15 Leroy Hutson - Get To This
16 Evelyn King - Get Loose
17 Rochelle - My Magic Man
18 Mascara - See You In LA-Jet Plane Ride
19 Double Exposure - My Love Is Free
20 Chantal Curtis - Get Another Love
21 Michael Wycoff - (Do You Really Love Me) Tell Me Love
22 Chemise - She Cant Love You
23 Debra Laws - On My Own
To hear my recent shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com/

Oh yeah one final thing - facebook have started their cull of old style groups, and my 'On The Radio' group has gone - 1600 members gone in one go! grrrrr....

Ah well - we'll just have to start all over again......

Tuesday 10 May 2011

A new toy!

Whilst I was recording this week's Pure Grooves show, I just happened to be browsing the web and I came across a new toy! It's called 'Spreaker' and it allows you to broadcast live to anyone.

So as soon as I finished the show, I took a quick look round, signed up to the basic account, and within five minutes I was doing an impromptu show! With the basic version you get an ad chucked in halfway through so I wasn't quite sure how it was happening and the show can only be 30 minutes.

Anyway, I quickly put a status up and within a few minutes I had listeners in Texas, Australia, the West Of Ireland, and in the UK as well - not a bad start - turns out I had 14 listeners and it was so much fun.

I'd forgotten how good it is to be live. I may have to sign up to a proper account and start playing with it to get used to going live again. Click here to hear my tryout show.

T'was good fun and I reckon I'll be doing it again soon...

Monday 9 May 2011

Should I, Shouldn't I?

Sometimes it's hard to know what to do - I'm seriously thinking about calling it a day DJing - The last year has made me take a look back at how I earn a living and I'm beginning to feel that maybe time is catching up with me.

I'm beginning to feel that I'm now at the age when I need to re-evaluate how I do things. I'd already stopped doing 18th parties ages ago, then 21sts followed. Now I'm looking at 30ths and wondering whether people appreciating someone old enough to be their Dad DJing at the party for them.

I'm still doing the job and still getting lovely remarks each time I play out at parties, but I'm starting to feel that perhaps it's time to call it a day - I've got bookings as far ahead as the end of this year, but in the interim, I'm going to think seriously about calling it a day.

I've worked too many times, especially at nights I've put on and played to too few people, that the last year has been the first time I've found myself not enjoying it as much as I always have.

I always said to myself that when I stopped enjoying it, it was probably time to call it a day. However, there are still nights when I go out and it's as great as it ever was.

Take last Saturday as an example - I'd been booked to do a 40th birthday party, and the client wanted a soulful night, with lots of Caister anthems and a bit of Disco as well as Motown and other soul related tunes and to take some requests as well. This was just the type of party I really enjoy doing.


The party was only for around 50 guests, but it was a great night with an appreciative audience, who liked their music and had a great time. Here's the play list for the evening:

1 Fab Samperi ft Jonathan Molina - Listen Up
2 Jazzelicious - Fantastico
3 Sunlightsquare Latin Combo - I Believe In Miracles
4 Barbara Pennington - On A Crowded Street
5 Wilton Felder - Inherit The Wind
6 Sherrick - Just Call
7 Real To Reel - Love Me Like This
8 Black Box - Fall Into My Love
9 Mark Johnson - Daydream
10 Bob Sinclar - Darlin'
11 Charme ft Luther Vandross - Georgy Porgy
12 Teddy Pendergrass - Believe In Love (Phat Phili Mix)
13 Gerry Le Veaux - Front Of The Line
14 Jaheim - Ain't Leavin' Without You
15 Heston - Greatest Lover
16 Eugene Record - Overdose Of Joy
17 George Benson - Love Ballad
18 McCrarys - Love On A Summer Night
19 Keni Burke - Hang Tight
20 Chanel - My Life (TC & MWorld Southern Knights Mix)
21 Don E - Love Makes The World Go Round
22 Norman Hutchins - I Really Love You
23 Neo - Smile
24 Chi-Lites - Try My Side (Of Love)
25 Alexander O'Neal & Cherelle - Saturday Love
26 Gladys Knight & The Pips - When You're Far Away
27 George Benson - Inside Love (So Personal)
28 T Connection - At Midnight (Danny Tanaglia's Faithful Mix)
29 Blackbyrds - Walkin' In Rhythm
30 Al Matthews - Fool
31 David Ruffin - Rode By The Place (Where We Used To Stay)
32 Raydio - Jack & Jill
33 Bo Kirkland & Ruth Davis - You're Gonna Get Next To Me
34 Gloria Gaynor - This Love Affair
35 Gloria Scott - Too Much Lovemaking
36 Lew Kirton - Heaven In The Afternoon
37 Willie Hutch - Soul Strut
38 Walter Jackson - Touching In The Dark
39 Dennis Taylor - Smile
40 Leroy Hutson - Get To This
41 Finis Henderson - Skip To My Lou
42 Dayton - Sound Of Music
43 Average White Band - Let's Go Round Again
44 Jocelyn Brown - Somebody Else's Guy
45 Fatback Band - I Found Lovin'
46 Young & Company - I Like What You're Doing To Me
47 Atlantic Starr - Circles
48 Booker Newberry III - Love Town
49 Jr Walker & The All Stars - How Sweet It Is
50 Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You
51 Temptations - Ain't Too Proud To Beg
52 Kool & The Gang - Ladies Night
53 Chic - Good Times
54 Rose Royce - Car Wash
55 Abba - Dancing Queen
56 Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
57 McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
58 Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You
59 Gwen McCrae - Keep The Fire Burning
60 Chaka Khan - I Feel For You
61 Michael Jackson - PYT (Pretty Young Thing)
62 Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
63 Supremes - The Happening
64 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Jimmy Mack
65 Bobby Bloom - Montego Bay
66 Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
67 Chairman Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time
68 Sam Cooke - Twistin' The Night Away
69 Little Eva - Locomotion
70 Willie Mitchell - Champion (Part 1)
71 Frank Wilson - Do I Love You
72 O'Jays - I Love Music
73 James Brown - Sex Machine
74 Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
75 Stevie Wonder - Superstition
76 Isley Brothers - Harvest For The World

There was only one request that didn't fit the format, and that was for Abba - but hey, it was asked for. The client asked me to go with requests, so I played it - BIG mistake - totally cleared the floor, but it didn't really surprise me.

At the end of the evening - the client came over, and said that I'd played just what they'd wanted and that they were really happy. The guests had a good time. Throughout the evening people were dancing, and everyone enjoyed themselves, including me.



It's just a shame it's not like that when I put anything on - I would've thought I'd had a fair bit to contribute to the scene round here, but apparently that's not how it appears. After a year of trying with events, I've managed to get people to drive from places like Rotherham, London, Bedford, Thetford, Melton Mowbray and more, but I haven't been able to get people more than 20 people from Cambridge to come, so perhaps I'll stop wasting my time and just do parties and other people events.

Every party or wedding I've done here has been really great and people have always come up to me and told me what a great time they've had and what quality music I play, but I've been unable to transfer that to the events I've put on. It's a shame, because more than anything, it's eroded from the joy I get from what is my chosen profession.

I think it's time to take stock and decide where my future lies with regard to DJing.

Fortunately I'm still enjoying doing my radio shows, but that too may have to change if I make the changes I envisage making in the next year. Unless I can derive an income from what I do, then maybe I'll have to take another route. Personally it'll be a sad day for me when I do call it a day, but that's still in the future for now.

After a great night on Saturday though, it was time to get the Sunday Shake Up on the air.



Here's the playlist:
1 Al  Johnson & Jean Carn - I'm Back For More
2 Keni Burke - Risin' To The Top
3 Miles Jaye - Let's Start Love Over
4 Oleta Adams - Never Knew Love
5 SWV - Right Here
6 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Summertime
7 Jazz Crusaders - Keep That Same Old Feeling
8 Al Jarreau & George Benson - Breezin'
9 Brian Hughes - Here We Go
10 Richard Stepp - Caught Up In A Whirlwind
11 Yarbrough & Peoples - You're My Song
12 Beverley Knight - Mama Used To Say
13 Billy Paul - Your Song
14 Dexter Wansel - Sweetest Pain
15 Stevie Wonder - As
16 Temptations - Treat Her Like A Lady
17 Central Line - (You Know) You Can Do It
18 Grover Washington Jr - Winelight
19 Blackbyrds - Rock Creek Park
20 Lalo Schifrin - Bullitt
21 Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto
22 Leo's Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine
23 Ohio Players - Who'd She Coo
24 Prince - Sign O' The Times
To hear James' recent shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com/

The rest of the day was spent getting the Pure Grooves magazine sorted and it was put online today. Click here. 

That's it for now - I probably sound like I'm fed up - at the moment I am. But as Willie Hutch says in "Soul Strut" - 'Who knows what tomorrow may bring'...


Thursday 5 May 2011

Could it be done?

As you'll know, my involvement in Radio takes up a tremendous amount of my time - add to that the work that goes into doing the 'Pure Grooves' magazine each week, and I've worked out I'm putting in almost 50 hours a week into them both.

It begs to ask the question whether I should be getting an income from it. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and it does make me think that if there's no real opportunity to get into mainstream radio due to the way it's going with the networking of lots of local radio stations, whether it would be possible to make a living from the work I do on my shows and the magazine via a sponsorship/donation/subscription route.

Certainly if it was possible to earn a living in that way, it would allow the opportunity to devote all my working time to the shows and the magazine. However, it would mean that I would need thousands of people willing to donate a small monthly amount towards this.

The biggest problem I see with that is that with internet radio spreading and getting bigger, there is more choice than ever before, and as you don't need to pay to hear it, why would you want to?

Once again it means that you have to have something special in the way of programming to build a loyal and devoted following that would be prepared to commit to spending their money (and in the economic climate we're in at the moment, that's a big ask).

For someone like myself that has been earning a living from DJing over a period of years and wants to continue in that vein, I certainly feel that it's a route that I may have to look at. 

I've seen a change in the way the public are now spending their leisure time over the last few years. The majority of pubs/clubs continue to cater for the 18-25y/o age group - and as I'm now 50 it means that I am getting to the stage where that age group feel I'm not relatable to them.

It means that as time goes on, I will get less opportunity to work in pubs and clubs. Therefore, radio is a medium in which I can still thrive and would obviously like to take it a stage further and prosper financially from.

It seems to me that in order to actually find people willing to donate, I'm going to need many more listeners!

I think I need to put my thinking cap on and find something unique about my shows and magazine that makes people feel they'd be happy to subscribe.......

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Slip of the Lip

Following on from my last Blog, I've decided to add a new feature to the Flashback show. I'm sure many of us have heard or sung misquoted lyrics.

So, starting next week, Slip of the Lip is going to become part of the Flashback show - I've already been told some great ones - as the show only plays tunes that are over 25 years old this won't be in the show, but I loved it when I heard it, so I'll share it with you.

The song: La Isla Bonita by Madonna
The correct Lyric: Young girl with eyes like the desert
The misheard lyric: Young girl with eyes like potatoes

Gill Lucraft said she was singing the wrong lyric for months!


This should be fun! If you have any you'd like to share, let me know the Misheard Lyric, the correct lyric and the story behind it. Thanks...

Checkout the Flashback show today to hear the lyric that kick started this idea. See you later.....

Monday 2 May 2011

I can't help laughing...

Lyrics... songwriters the world over, spend time composing songs that they hope will take us to an emotional space where what they've written means something to us... well sometimes anyway.

This morning, I was singing to myself the song 'Jack In The Box'  by the Moments. I'd just sang the chorus that goes 'Jack comes out of the box, The bears came home and caught Goldilocks' when Debz, my Promogirl and erstwhile Webmag editor, looked strangely at me and said 'Is that the real words?'

On replying in the affirmative, she told me that she'd been singing 'the bears came home with Cockle Deluxe' ever since she'd first heard it. She went on to explain that she'd always wondered what that was all about!

It's not the first time she's done this though. In the Tavares song 'Whodunit', they sing the line 'Hey Baretta, will you please go get her'. Baretta was a 70s Private Eye in a TV series - Debz line was 'Hey Loretta, will you please go get her'. She wondered who Loretta was as well!

It started me thinking about how many mis-quoted song lyrics there are. 'Me ears are alight' for instance when they should be singing ' me Israelites'.

I think it could be a great theme for part of my oldies radio show.

Talking of Radio shows, here's the link to yesterdays Sunday Shake Up show

Here's the playlist
1 War - All Day Music
2 Average White Band - Queen of My Soul
3 Hi Tension - Peace On Earth
4 DeBarge - All This Love
5 Isley Brothers - Between The Sheets
6 Ray Goodman & Brown - Special Lady
7 Sonia - Puerto Rican Love (TC & Mworld Remind Mix)
8 Roy Hamilton - I'm In Heaven
9 Roxy 5000 ft Terri Walker & Friends - Never Going Back
10 Mike Stephens - Joy & Pain
11 High Fashion - Feeling Lucky Lately
12 Lenny White - Didn't Know About Love ('Til I Found You)
13 Mystic Merlin - Mr Magician
14 El Coco - Cocomotion
15 Greg Henderson - Dreamin'
16 Patrice Rushen - Look Up!
17 Carrie Lucas - Dance With You 12''
18 BB&Q Band - On The Beat
19 Cool Notes - Make This A Special Night
20 Sean Oliver - You & Me
21 Cool Million ft Eugene Wilde - Back For More
22 New Version Of Soul - 66 Mello
23 Inner Soul ft Kimberley Lawson - Don't Walk Away
24 Bashiyra - Mistified
To hear my recent shows, go to http://www.jamesmurphy.podomatic.com/

I've also recorded this week's Flashback show today which I'll post on Wednesday.

I'm now off to enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday Monday. See ya next time...