HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ON THE WIRE NOW YOU ARE TWENTY-FIVE

Last week I had the pleasure of joining with some familiar faces and voices from the last 25 years of On The Wire at BBC Radio Lancashire's studio in Blackburn. Most notably an old and outrageously talented friend called Adrian Sherwood the Genius behind On-U-Soundz who has recently released another Lee Scratch Perry album. The entire show lasting 4 hours featuring an interview or two with Adrian is available for download at this link http://otwradio.blogspot.com/2009/09/playlist-19th-september-2009-on-wire-is.html which you may have to paste into your browser. When you get to the page look for the audio link and you can download a podcast of the full show. The same will apply to the next couple of shows which will be featuring more special anniversary guest mixes from stations in the USA.

On the Wire is still available each Saturday night in the North West of England on FM at 10 pm, British Summer Time and via the BBC Radio Lancashire Website and later on listen again and at the On the Wire Blog address above.

In this increasingly commercialised and dumbed-down world, music programs catering for more rarefied and diverse musical and cultural tastes are about as rare as rocking horse shit and since the sad loss of John Peel it has become glaringly obvious how blinkered the BBC has become. It tried to end On the Wire in the early nineties when the John Birt reign of terror and rolling news threatened to squeeze every bit of individuality and regional accent from Local Radio in the UK. Only thanks to a truly enormous and indeed magnificent response from its many loyal fans was it saved at the last minute.

The North of England and its major cities harbour a truly extraordinary volume and quality of musical talent but without programs like on the wire and the work of Steve Barker and Michael Fenton (Fenny) much of it would probably never even get a first chance to be heard. And this dedication to music and creative talent rather than merely the latest D rated Celeb which has earned not only its loyal audience here in the UK but also many new fans via the net and even DJs and presenters on stations across the Pond. Maybe its now impossible to credit all who have contributed in their various ways but there's no harm in trying. It gives me great pleasure to reprint the Roll of Honour of those involved with On the Wire over the last 25. Thank you one and all and here's to the next twenty five.

Mike Martin, Jethro Binks, Steve Baldwin, Nick Shimmin, Gaynor Hegart, yAjay, Sarah Champion, Allison Martin, John Kerr, Roger Brough, Dr. Steve Redhead, Dr Alan Woods, Uncle Joe Wilson, Twin Boys, Mark E Smith, Mike Chapman, Ian Cooke, Christian Virant. Baked Goods Boys, Comix boys & girls,Black Banana, Brian Jackson, John Peel, Andy Kershaw, Harry Hawk, Terry C,Dr Starngedub, Eastern Bloc, Martin & Graham & 808 boys, Action, Gordon & AckerBoomkat, Shlom & Alex,Probe, Annie & Bob, Steve Hardstaff, Geoff Davies, Roger Eagle, Gary Hickson, Daniel Miller, Mrs Cakehead, Adrian Sherwood, Kishi Yamamoto,Blood & Fire boys, Dom, Bob and Steve Barrow, Alex Fenton, Brian Cox, Hovis Presley, Fredd Dootson, Phil & Mick Orch, Nigel Blackwell. John Tree, Buzz Bury, Pete Haigh, The Madhatter, Colin Joseph, Jah Wobble, Alan Bishop, Paul Rooney, Enrico la Rocca, Andrew Neal, Marvin Scott. Professor Les Scott, Neil Robbins, Phil Smith, John Cuckold, Astonihing Sounds, Beatherder Boys Nick & Tim, Gary Ward @ Darwen Music Festival, Richard Finlayson, Mr Wiz, Krispy, Gerry & Brenda Kenny, Coldcut, Negativland, Dave Katz, Martin Kelner, Russell and Melissa at Dubhead, Ray Hurford, Paul Meme, John Eden, Laurent at WTM, Martin Mills, Annie Bandez, Alison at Southern, Tony, Chris and all at the Wire, Charlie Gillett, David Toop, Dennis Bovell, Jan & Christoph at Jahtari,

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TRUST ?

As a grass roots community and environmental worker over the last forty years, I can say with confidence that the main cause of of lack of trust and waste of time and resources on both sides of the pond and the political devide are the political party systems and the absence of proportional representation which they protect like gold. This in turn acts as a template for the corporate financial and business systems.

I have met throughout my life only a small number of politicians and businessmen and civil servants who i can really say i trusted and even fewer who I still trust. The rest are at best unreliable, many are personally motivated and some have little concern for anything other than personal power and financial advantage over others. Especially when in a Party or a corporate body a good individual tends to be swamped by the collective desire for power, influence and advantage. and the majority close ranks when anyone strays from the local orthodoxy. The same applies when someone commits a criminal act, or merely displays complete lack of ability or reliability.

The Party and Corporate system always looks after itself and those who toe the party line. Good is swamped and bad is protected against exposure. Large political majorities only breed arrogance and high handedness. and when I got the opportunity and challenged our former "leader" Tony Blair in a live radio phone-in, a couple of days before the 2000 AD election, his only excuse was that it would only give power to minorities. Events since then have only proved that we really do need more power in minorities and PR as this would actually increase democracy, force proper debate and prevent bad legislation and the outrageous conduct of the Tories in the Thatcher Era and and the Labour party in the Blair era.

The parties are still at it. They exaggerate as a reflex action to defend their policies and telling lies has become a virtue. Not suprisingly greed and dishonesty are now being elevated to virtues in this far from Brave New World. Thatcher and the Tories promised prosperity and property ownership but only to the few and to the detrement of the many. She also released control to the financial and banking systems, paving the way to the Credit Crunch and the chaos we are now experiencing. In the process she virtually closed down industry in the North of England and transformed the UK into an unsustainable service economy. When Blair was elected after many wonderful promises, he merely picked up Thatchers baton and ran with it to the detriment of the elderly, the sick and disabled and of course the unemployed with helped him finance his war mongering.

As long as we continue with the Party System and First Past the Post, we will always be at the mercy of clever marketing, ruthless politicians and our own weakness. Its time to introduce PR as in the Scotiish Parliament and make it possible for more independent candidates. Only then will we be able to lecture the rest of the world on the meaning of Democracy and of course restore the badly needed trust in our political and financial system.

ON THE WIRE, BBC RADIO LANCASHIRE 25th BIRTHDAY PARTY

Here's the final reminder that on Saturday 19th September the long running and unique program for real music and real fans, will celebrate 25 years of shaking the North of England with its unique blend of Musics. Special studio guests should include Lee Scratch Perry, the true Genie of Reggae Music and Dub, Jah Wobble and Legendary music producer and operator of On-U-Sounds Adrian Sherwood music journalists and special dub mixes from the USA furnished by Doctor Strangedub and Andy Swiss at The Echo Chamber on KFAI Minneapolis and St Paul, and Terry Collins aka the Turntable Terrorist at Echo Beach from WLUW Chicago.
Normally On the Wire can be heard on BBC Radio Lancshire on FM in the North of England and of course Worldwide via the Internet. For this special the normal slot of 10 PM till Midnight on Saturdays will be extended to 2 AM which gives us four whole wonderful hours of fun and tunes. So to be on the bus rather than under it. tune in at 10 PM and Join presenter Steve Barker, Fenny and Jim Ingham and their guests. If you cannot be there, it should be on BBC Radio Lancashires Listen Again list for the next seven days. I will be there with my video camera hoping to catch some highlights from the occasion which will then be available on You Tube and also on this Blog and the BBC web site.