x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Steve’s Mix Tapes

Celebrating the art of the mixtape. Ten songs, chosen to fit with nine categories (plus one wildcard). Some curated by me, but also featuring lots of guest mixers.

music music commentary

All Episodes

78:14

Steve's Mix Tapes #042 (Ian McCullough)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/11/01

My guest mixer this week is Ian McCulloughNo, not that one... Not yet anyway. This Ian (my third Ian in six weeks!) is another fellow Fall enthusiast. And he's been very patient, as we recorded this nearly three months ago - hence the rather dated reference to Donald Trump's golf skills!

en

79:19

Steve's Mix Tapes #041 (Alan Edwards)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/10/25

My guest mixer this week is Alan EdwardsAlan is both a work colleague and a very good friend, who my wife describes as my 'work husband'. Initially, we talked about him coming on the podcast as a bit of a joke, as musically (and in many other ways) we inhabit very different universes. But when I mentioned in episode #024 his offer to provide a playlist that would 'bring in the girls, gays and theys', the feedback was mostly on the lines of 'bring it on'. So buckle up and be prepared for a rather

en

93:36

Steve's Mix Tapes #040 (Daryl Easlea)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/10/18

Daryl is a music writer whose work has appeared in Mojo, Record Collector, Q, The Guardian and The Independent, and has published several books on subjects as diverse as Chic, Slade, Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Cher and Sparks.In addition, if you have a few reissue or box set CDs in your collection, it’s fairly likely that at least one of them includes some sleeve notes written by him.

en

75:29

Steve's Mix Tapes #039 (Steve Shelley)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/10/11

My guest mixer this week is Steve ShelleySteve occupied the drum stool in Sonic Youth for 26 years and has played with musicians such as Michael Rother, Howe Gelb, Tom Verlaine, Ron Asheton and Mark Kozelek. He also founded a label called Smells Like Records (now Vampire Blues), and has been instrumental in promoting the careers of artists such as Cat Power, Blonde Redhead and Lee Hazlewood. Described on a Reddit thread as ‘the best drummer in rock history’, his most recent release is Orcutt

en

100:02

Steve's Mix Tapes #038 (Ian Clayton)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/10/04

My guest mixer this week is Ian ClaytonIan is an author who came up in conversation several times last week when I talked to Ian Daley, as he has had several books published by Route. They include Bringing It All Back Home (a book about searching for a soundtrack to your own life story), Song For My Father (a reflection on a lifelong search for a father figure), and It’s The Beer Talking (a book about a lifelong love affair with local pubs). I can particularly recommend Bringing It All Back Home, a

en

101:42

Steve's Mix Tapes #037 (Ian Daley)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/09/27

My guest mixer this week is Ian DaleyIan set up Route Publishing in 2000, and since 2005 has run the company from his home in Pontefract alongside his wife Isabel Galán. Route has published several books about The Fall (including those by Steve Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft, Paul Hanley and me!) They've also put out a range of titles about Bob Dylan, as well as books by Helen O'Hara (Dexys Midnight Runners), Tom Hingley (Inspiral Carpets), Mark Hoyle (Dub Sex) and Iain Matthews (Fairport

en

92:21

Steve's Mix Tapes #036 (David Gedge)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/09/20

My guest mixer this week is David GedgeDavid is the sole constant member of indie legends The Wedding Present, the band that I have seen live (by some distance) the most often over their 40 year career. I have also written blogs about TWP and Cinerama. He remains relentlessly busy with work, so I'm grateful he managed to squeeze this interview in. N.B. We had a slightly dodgy internet connection, so the sound quality isn't always as good as I'd like it to be - apologies!

en

78:07

Steve's Mix Tapes #035 (Chris McAvoy)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/09/13

My guest mixer this week is Chris McAvoyChris has been mentioned quite a few times on this podcast, because over the years he has supplied me with dozens of mix tapes / CDs (some examples in the pic on the website). We've known each other for the best part of 40 years, and have spent countless weekends in Manchester going to gigs, eating curries and drinking beer. Speaking of which, please bear in mind that this interview was recorded face to face following a long afternoon in the pub...

en

84:50

Steve's Mix Tapes #034 (David Hughes)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/09/06

My guest mixer this week is David HughesDavid is one of those people I know from the Fall Online Forum, and is also a fellow supporter of the excellent Sombrero Fallout podcast. Although he lives in Australia these days, he is - like me - a native of North East England. He's also addicted to travel, and estimates that he's spent more than 3 years of his life in India alone.

en

01:07:44

Steve's Mix Tapes #033 (Steve Titley)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/08/30

My guest mixer this week is Stephen G. TitleySteve is, by his own description, a writer, standup, actor, singer and (dad) dancer. He is the man behind the Church Of The Fall, and was recently seen performing in a highly entertaining production of Hey Luciani! at the Prestwich Arts Festival.

en

01:24:35

Steve's Mix Tapes #032 (Chris Ruth aka bzfgt)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/08/23

My guest mixer this week is Chris Ruth aka 'bzfgt'Chris is the man behind the remarkable website The Annotated Fall, as well as the Grateful Dead blog Every Dark Star. He was also one of the esteemed judges on the Fall Cup panel.

en

01:34:25

Steve's Mix Tapes #031 (Terry Christian)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/08/16

My guest mixer this week is Terry Christian TV and radio presenter, journalist, comedian and author - he was memorably described in 1994 as ‘the most hated man on television.’ Although, as he points out, this was, ironically, by none other than Piers Morgan. A friend of mine texted me in advance of the interview to say that Terry is 'one of life's good guys and very, very opinionated so it should be a great listen.' Hopefully, you'll find that all that is true!

en

01:18:50

Steve's Mix Tapes #030 (Kirsty Pringle)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/08/08

My guest mixer this week is Kirsty PringleIn celebration of her birthday, I invited my lovely wife Kirsty to select a set of songs that she loves and - just about - fit the criteria. (There was some bending of the rules that nobody other than her would have got away with!) She has appeared on one of my podcasts before (episode #29 of the Fall in Fives Radio Show) and we got a lot of positive feedback for that. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy this one just as much...

en

01:45:55

Steve's Mix Tapes #029 (Thurston Moore)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/08/02

My guest mixer this week is Thurston MooreThurston is, of course, a founder member of the premier noise-rock band of the late 20th / early 21st century, Sonic Youth. Post-SY, he has had a rich and varied career including a multitude of solo projects and collaborations as well as a well-worth-reading memoir, Sonic Life. This is another longer than usual episode, but hey... it's Thurston Moore ferchrissakes...

en

01:32:14

Steve's Mix Tapes #028 (Doug Evans)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/07/27

My guest mixer this week is Doug EvansDoug and I crossed paths via a shared love of the Sombrero Fallout podcast. He resides in North Carolina (the 'Tarheel State', apparently), but in a truly random coincidence it turns out that his great-great-grandfather hailed from the same small Welsh village as my wife! It's great to have musicians, authors, journalists on the show; but it's also a joy to have guests on that are just passionate about the music they listen to...

en

01:51:55

Steve's Mix Tapes #027 (Billy Reeves)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/07/19

My guest mixer this week is Billy ReevesBilly is a songwriter, musician, producer and broadcaster who you most likely know from 'A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed', a song that he wrote and played on that was a 1998 top 30 hit for Theaudience (featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor on vocals). In the 2000s, he turned to travel and sports broadcasting, and has also gone on to record three solo albums, all of which you can buy here). This turned into a bit of a mammoth chat, but it was quite hard to edit it

en

01:29:56

Steve's Mix Tapes #026 (Rob Barbato)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/07/12

My guest mixer this week is Rob BarbatoRob played bass in The Fall in 2006-07 as part of a lineup fondly remembered as 'The Dudes'. They were highly regarded as a live outfit, although they never recorded a studio album that did them justice - something that we discuss in the interview. We also talked about the fact that he was the only ever member of the group to be permitted by MES to have a beard! Rob was kind enough to contribute to my Fall in Fives Radio Show a few years ago (his episode is

en

01:32:28

Steve's Mix Tapes #025 (Johnny Mac)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/07/05

My guest mixer this week is Johnny Mac.Johnny (real name John McMahon) and I have known each other - via the Wedding Present online forum - for years. As it turns out, we know each other well in some ways, but not so well in others! He was very nervous about doing this interview (the written word is more his thing - but I'm sure you'll agree he made for a great guest, displaying real passion for his selections.

en

56:45

Steve's Mix Tapes #024 (Birthday Mix)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/06/28

For the first time in a while, this is one of my own mixes... and that's because it's my birthday tomorrow (or at least it will be the day after this mix comes out).I toyed with various ideas for this mix, but in the end, I just went for songs that mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers!

en

01:08:58

Steve's Mix Tapes #023 (Daren Garratt)

Steve’s Mix Tapes ·

2025/06/21

My guest mixer this week is Daren GarrattDaren drummed for The Fall in 2013-15, appearing on The Remainderer and Sub-Lingual Tablet. He appeared with the group when they played Glastonbury in 2015 (about which we hear an interesting tale in the interview) - you can see the whole performance here. He has also played with The Nightingales and Dave Lance Callahan (of The Wolfhounds).

en

43 results

Similar Podcasts

Pasquale Maassen Soundcloud

Pasquale Maassen

Marian Klose

Marian Klose

sevenism

sevenism

Dean Delray"s LET THERE BE TALK

Cactus Radio Network

Word In Your Ear

Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold