大象传媒

( pic by Suzi Blackstock)

I've had the most amazing day. I started "work" at 8am this morning as one half of the commentary team at this year's Great Scottish Run. If I sound a little hoarse on the show tomorrow it's because I have spent four hours shouting encourgement at 18,000 athletes.

Being part of the build-up of Scotland's biggest mass participation sporting event is great fun, but standing on the pavement talking while all your mates are running is a bit frustrating. So, this year I decided to perform my commentary duties until 9:59am and then join the field for the 1/2 marathon.

The Glasgow 1/2M is significant for me as it was the first race I ever ran. I love the course which goes over the Kingston Bridge, through Bellahouston Park, into glorious Pollok Park before finishing on Glasgow Green.



I got some fantastic encouragement from family and friends who turned out to cheer me on - even one dressed head to toe in a Spiderman outfit! There was great support all along the route. Special mention must go to the good folk of the south side of Glasgow and the Scottish Sikh community, who set up their own unofficial water stations to help keep the 18,000 runners hydrated.

As my race commentary was unbiased, I felt I couldn't draw attention to the amazing support from my own running club (C'mon Bella!) and I thought it was big of me to plug our rivals, Radio Clyde who had several runners taking part.

大象传媒 Radio Scotland were well represented with myself and Fred both taking part. I also noticed Karen, who produces Let's Do The Show Right Here was lined up on the start line with one of the producers from Smooth Radio. I'm hoping that Karen beat him, but he was dressed as an ostrich, so that should have given her a bit of an advantage.

As for me: I'm a tracksuit wearing, radio DJ who like to run half marathons....OMG, I'm turning into Jimmy Saville!


(Pic by Gordon Ingle)

Tonight:
There's a danger that tonight's show could sound like one big advert. Songs used in commercials is the theme, which was suggested by Richard in Burntisland. I suppose the most obvious example were those groundbreaking Levis ads which shifted shedloads of jeans, started a boxer shorts revolution and brought Sam Cooke back into the charts...

Tuesday:
From Tumbling Dice to Snakes and Ladders鈥� Tonight's show is all about the 'Games People Play'. I read at the weekend that they are planning to make a movie based on the board game Monopoly. I just wonder if anyone's written a song about it? If so, tonight is the pefect night to play it...

Wednesday:
Tainted Love was at number one in the charts on this day in 1981, so tonight we鈥檙e featuring the best of Soft Cell and Marc Almond. I loved the unconventional Soft Cell stuff and Marc Almond has been described as our greatest living torch singer. There's a terrific range of material to choose from, so let's see what you come up with tonight...

Thursday:
It was recently suggested that I do a night of Anti-Thatcher songs. Imagine if you can, me pitching that one to the big boss! Mind you there are probably more songs written about her than any other politician. Stand Down Margaret and Tramp The Dirt Down are two that spring to mind.

In an effort to keep it balanced, tonight we are going to do protest songs of all persuasions. As well as the expected material from Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs it could include anything from Born In The USA to Beds Are Burning.

You can text 80295 or call 0500 92 95 00 during the show, or if you want to get your suggestion in early, send me an e-mail: getiton@bbc.co.uk.


" Oh please, not that bloomin' Elvis Costello song again!!!!"

Big response to our TV ads theme tonight.

Rab in Fife and Graham in Loch Lommond both texted in to ask for the music used by British Airways in their commercials. Neither of the guys could remember what the music was, but as usual Get It On listeners came to the rescue.

Thanks to Norm in Denny, Sue in Moffat, and Janet In Dumfries who told us it was The Flower Duet from Lakme by Delibes, which was later reworked as 'Aria" by Malcom Mclaren. Here's what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:

In 1989 McLaren and composer Yanni arranged The Flower Duet into a work called 'Aria'. The 'Flower Duet' theme, taken from the French opera Lakme by L茅o Delibes, had already been used by composer Howard Blake[2] to accompany BA commercials since 1984. However, from 1989 McLaren and Yanni continued the musical brand identification established by Blake, further arranging the 'Flower Duet' and featuring it in BA's 'World's favourite Airline' global campaign of the 1980s and 1990s. 'Aria on Air' has become synonymous with the airline's brand as a result of the campaign's success.

I thought it was about time to introduce you to the people who work behind the scenes to get the show on air every night. We are a small team so this will be a short series. 'Meet The Team Part 1' will only run till 'Meet The Team Part 2 or maybe 3'.

To kick off - Telephone Jo. If you've ever called in for a request, it's likely that it would have been Jo who would have answered your call. Now, you can put a face to the voice...



My job is: Answering the phones and scribbling listeners requests at high speed! Printing out all the e-mails and texts and taking them through to the studio.

I am currently listening to: Old stuff - Pink Floyd, The Doors, Joy Division, Led Zeppelin. New and new ish stuff - Radiohead, Unkle, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Gallows, Enter Shikari, Gogol Bordello.

Celebrity I most closely resemble: My mates say Edith Bowman/Reese Witherspoon (I think they are just being kind!)

I would describe my style as: Kooky/Weird

I love: Gigs and festivals

I hate: Manufactured music

What I'll be having for tea after the show: Pasta and meatballs with tomato and chilli jam sauce

Thing I enjoy most about working on this show: Talking to people and listening to music

Bryan's most annoying habit: Its more funny than annoying, but I can hear Bryan skirling along to records from my desk!

Once again, I鈥檓 blown away by the response to the show. It鈥檚 brilliant getting so many texts and e-mails and it鈥檚 great to know that people enjoy what they hear.

However, it does mean that some nights I struggle to get round to all your correspondence. My problem is that I feel really guilty if there are lots of people who don鈥檛 get a mention on air. Every text or e-mail we get in does get read, but there鈥檚 just not enough time to mention them all on air.

I got this e-mail from Alan Thomson, a new listener to the show. It made me think a lot about the balance of music and speech on the show and I wonder if we have got the mix right.

鈥淕reat programme and good idea. But I get so frustrated that you only manage to get 10 or 11 tracks played in an hour. Too much chat about what people are asking for - most of which does not get played. We even get a summary of what was played last night! Please less chat and more tracks!!!!!!鈥�

So what do you think about the points Alan has made?

I don鈥檛 want the show to become a jukebox with 鈥渢hat was鈥� and 鈥渢his is鈥� links. For me, part of the fun is hearing about your musical passions and if someone takes the trouble to get in touch with suggestions, I feel they deserve credit for that on air.

Do we lobby for a longer timeslot? Do I cut back on the texts and risk frustrating the people who are texting in? Do you enjoy hearing the montage of stuff from the previous night or could you live without it?

Why don鈥檛 you post a comment and let me know what you think?

This blog does promise to reveal what goes on behind the scenes of Get It On, so today let me introduce you to Paul,the young man who works tirelessly to get the show on air.

You may have heard his voice on air, but did you imagine he was a dead ringer for Hollywood heart-throb, Ed Norton??? (No, me neither.)

Now if only there was a website called ratemyproducer.com. Marks out of ten then?


My job is: Daytime carer for Mr B Burnett and sometime Producer/Broadcast Assistant/General Dogsbody of Get It On.

I am currently listening to: The new Jose Gonzales record, a Martha Reeves & The Vandellas compilation, the latest LCD Soundsystem record, 'On Returning' by Wire, the two Dananananaykroyd 7" singles and, of course, Sparks.

Celebrity I most closely resemble: Ummm... the actor Edward Norton perhaps. With an occasional beard. Or Neil McCann who plays football for Hearts. With an occasional beard.

I would describe my style as: Late 20s Desperation.

I love: Toronto, Glasgow, sushi, my drumkit, badges, Match Of The Day, a certain brand of trainers I can't really advertise, scratchy lo-fi indie rock, Paul Auster novels, my bike, Queens Park on a sunny day, Cary Grant movies, good coffee and the sound of a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar.

I hate: Plastic cutlery, commuting, ignorance and bad grammar.

What I鈥檒l be having for my tea after the show: I'm going to bake some haddock with red chili, flat-leaf parsley and lemon in foil and eat it with sweet potatoes, asparagus and spinach. Better than a bag of chips, right?

Thing I most enjoy about working on this show: Bryan and I have a lot of fun on this programme. It's often frantic, it's almost always chaotic, but it's a joy to work on. I've also discovered that the 80s were, in fact, NOT as bad as I remember!

Bryan鈥檚 most annoying habit: Hmmm... where to start? Bryan's use of apostrophes is... well... improving and he doesn't have nearly as many 'presenter strops' as he used to... However, his worst habit is cranking up the volume in the studio when playing a song he likes and singing what he thinks the lyrics are. It's ridiculous. Seriously, I'm sorely tempted to fade up his mic one day... Still, he's enjoying himself, so who am I to deny him this simple pleasure?

There's just under an hour to go till tonight's show and already we have been snowed under with your suggestions for protest songs. This is one of those themes that has somehow, got loads of you onto the e-mail. Maybe not surprising when you think about the passionate nature of the music.
Anyway, we've made the decision to run this over two nights, so I've rewritten next week's schedule and we'll do Protest Songs part 2 on Monday...
It's going to be a busy night so better head down to the studio to prepare...
Posted at 5:15

I am sitting here looking a folder full of stuff I didn't get time to read out and feeling very relieved that we are going to continue 'protest songs' on Monday. It's been a great theme.

We had a good reaction from people listening online to 大象传媒 Radio Scotland. Hazel Lewry is in Kansas City and "missing Scotland real bad". She said: "Loving every second, but the server is so bad I have to pause every minute or else you go off. How dedicated is that?"

The song that got the best reaction was Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction. Deirdre Mitchell e-mailed: "I'm too young to remember this one first time round but I still think it's one of the best anti-war songs I have heard."

Nancy Cantor in Arizona must have e-mailed 4 or 5 times during the show. She was especially moved by Eve Of Destruction: " I write for the Arizona Republic.....they won't let me write about opposition to the war.....I am sitting in the newsroom now and I have this turned up full blast....my editor is in his office about 25-30 feet from me and he is hearing all of this. YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!"

We had songs about war, politics and equality. I tried really hard to get a range of opinions on the show and remain impartial at all times. This is the after all!

Phil Alcorn made a fair point in his e-mail: "Subject line: Leaning to the left? I appreciate the fact that most protest songs arise from issues the political Left hold dear, but we're not all hippies. In the interests of balance, a track by the Charlie Daniels Band would be welcome. Maybe 'Simple Man' or 'What this World Needs is a few more Rednecks' .Feel free to put this on your blog if you think it might invite a reaction."

I saw Charlie Daniels receive the Freedom of Speech award at the Americana Awards show in Nashville last year. The previous winner was Steve Earle.

Whilst Steve is a fervent opponent of the death penalty, Charlie is pretty clear which side of the fence he sits on: "The good book says it, so I know it's the truth, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth..."

Maybe not a view that some people find that palatable, but there was room for both their opinions on that awards show...and I am sure there is on this show too.

The has posted on this blog in response to your comments about the show. He enjoys Get It On and he's asking some very interesting questions about the shape of the show in the future. Try and post and let him know your thoughts. It's under the posting titled .

Oh, and 24 hours before I am due to present a television insert at Proms In The Park I have just been stung on the lips by a wasp. That's going to look sooo attractive on camera!

was on last night, and I was sent to Cawdor Castle in Nairnshire to host the live relay of the main concert in Glasgow Green. We may not have had the biggest crowd of the night, but in the shadow of Scotland鈥檚 most romantic castle, we certainly had the best backdrop.

The entire event was live on 大象传媒 4 and Janice Forsyth expertly anchored the coverage for our listeners on 大象传媒 Radio Scotland. As I watched the events around the country on the big screen I was reminded that it鈥檚 these big public occasions that the 大象传媒 does so well.



What did surprise me was the rousing reception given to Land of Hope And Glory by our audience in Nairn. I am certain the local SNP MSP, Fergus Ewing would have choked on his hot chocolate if he鈥檇 heard the anthem of middle England being belted out enthusiastically in his constituency.

The 大象传媒 Scottish Symphony Orchestra was magnificent throughout, but cellist Julian Lloyd Webber got the biggest laugh of the night when he quipped that Variations was, 鈥渨ritten by my brother Andrew before he decided to become the next Simon Cowell!鈥�

Monday 10 September - It鈥檚 protest songs part two tonight. This has proven to be a really , so thankfully I've got more time tonight to include your favourites.

Tuesday 11 September - Andy on the M77 suggested 鈥榟orses鈥� for tonight鈥檚 show. Perhaps we could invent a whole new genre of 'equestrian anthems'. I was going to suggest Roy Rogers' Four Legged Friend but looking at the computer screen, I realise I have typed it as Four Legged Fiend which sounds like a much more interesting song. Post a comment and let me know what else you want to hear.


Wednesday 12 September - 35 years ago this week, Slade's 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' was at number one in the charts, so tonight we'll do the best of Slade alongside all the usual stuff. All those misspellings will drive young Paul crazee, as he's set himself up as the Lyne Truss of Get It On. Amusingly, on the main 大象传媒 Radio Scotland website they have corrected the spelling to Mama We're All Crazy Now. I suspect Paul's red pen may have played a part in that.

Thursday 13 September - With all those teenagers leaving home to go to Uni or college, Strathaven Dave has suggested 鈥榤oving out鈥� for tonight鈥檚 show. It鈥檚 bound to be a sad one, so keep the hankies handy. Lets have the best songs about leaving home, and maybe some of those musical life lessons that you would want to pass on to your son or daughter.

You can call 0500 92 95 00 or text 80295 during the show. If you've thought of something right now, why not post a comment below or send an e-mail to getiton@bbc.co.uk.

Tonight - It鈥檚 protest songs part two tonight. This has proven to be a really , so thankfully I've got more time tonight to include your favourites.

Tuesday- Andy on the M77 suggested 鈥榟orses鈥� for tonight鈥檚 show. Perhaps we could invent a whole new genre of 'equestrian anthems'. I was going to suggest Roy Rogers' Four Legged Friend but looking at the computer screen, I realise I have typed it as Four Legged Fiend which sounds like a much more interesting song. Post a comment and let me know what else you want to hear.


Wednesday - 35 years ago this week, Slade's 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' was at number one in the charts, so tonight we'll do the best of Slade alongside all the usual stuff. All those misspellings will drive young Paul crazee, as he's set himself up as the Lyne Truss of Get It On. Amusingly, on the main 大象传媒 Radio Scotland website they have corrected the spelling to Mama We're All Crazy Now. I suspect Paul's red pen may have played a part in that.

Thursday - With all those teenagers leaving home to go to Uni or college, Strathaven Dave has suggested 鈥榤oving out鈥� for tonight鈥檚 show. It鈥檚 bound to be a sad one, so keep the hankies handy. Lets have the best songs about leaving home, and maybe some of those musical life lessons that you would want to pass on to your son or daughter.

You can call 0500 92 95 00 or text 80295 during the show. If you've thought of something right now, why not post a comment below or send an e-mail to getiton@bbc.co.uk.

After two nights of protest songs, we're moving on to 'horses' for tonight's theme. There's no chance of me getting on one tonight as I have just scoffed two jammy donuts and feel a bit heavy in the saddle.

There's no way I am going to make my jockey weight, but then again the ideal weight for a male jockey is around eight stone. Even if I didn't eat for a month I would still not make it. Disc Jockeys on the other hand have no such worries.

Post a comment if you've got any suggestions for tonight. It will give me something to read to distract me from the from the smell of deep fried dough lingering on my desk...

I love it when folk share the stories behind their requests. A great example of this is Gordon Urquhart's e-mail which I wanted to share with you:

Request: Slade 鈥� How does it feel?

I always hated Slade when I was a school-kid - The shouting, the noise, and not least the misspellings. I was a very academic child.

Then I was dragged along to see Slade in Flame, and sat surprised and spellbound, not least for the stunning opening sequence.

The camera flies over an industrial landscape as the piano, plays a simple two-chord sequence. As the song builds, we see inside the Wolverhampton ironworks - sparks, flames, demonic flowing lava. We meet Stoker, played to type by Noddy, and the story starts. Slade as Flame were old-fashioned rockers, caught in the corporate world, and come off worst. In a few years, the industrial landscape of Britain would be changed forever. The smelters, coalmines, shipyards and car factories would be shut, as the economy shifted to services instead of production. The suits and money-men took over.

The song's lyrics tells of change, the temporary nature of everything, and growing up, facing challenges, and the final realisation, that in the end, it all matters, perhaps, not a lot. There are brass bands and Noddy getting a chance to sing. Dave Hill plays bass waay up the fretboard, as the song outros the way it came in, with the simple cyclical two-chord sequence.

It was heady, panoramic stuff for a 16 year old, and still today remains my favouritist song ever. I use it as a tonic whenever I feel thing slipping, though I still hate the misspellings.

This is what makes Get It On stand out from the jukebox request shows on commercial stations. Your recollections of when you first heard a track can turn a fairly ordinary song into an intense musical memory.Don't be shy about sharing yours...

The other Golden Gate - not in Mount Vernon.

A good show tonight and a lot of people with great memories of Slade. Andy Summerston e-mailed to say that before they were famous, Slade had played at The Golden Gates Hotel in Mount Vernon, Glasgow.

I was rather intrigued by the name and wondered what the story behind it was. Ian MacKay in Atlanta was straight on the e-mail and here's his explanation:

"At the foot of the avenue, the London Road that begins at the Glasgow Cross end at the foot of Mount Vernon Avenue, where the Corporation car runs to Uddingston and Glasgow only separates them, there is a beautiful mansion, the last house at the foot of the Avenue and about thirty years ago it was christened the "Golden Gates".

It has a history. Fifty years ago Mr. Christie, Colonel Buchanan鈥檚 Land Estate Factor, lived in it. When he left, Mr. Roxburgh, the Proprietor of the , Glasgow, bought the house and spent a large amount of money in renovating the whole of the estate with the interior and exterior of the whole surroundings, a beautiful new dyke and costly panels and large gates all which were painted gold, hence it was called the Golden gates.

When the Corporation was widening the roads, etc. the dykes, panels, gates etc. were all taken down and replaced many years back."

Thanks Ian.

Running a bit behind with tonight's show, so let me quickly tell you that the most popular song for tonight's 'kids leaving home to go to university' theme is the very appropriate, She's Leaving Home by The Beatles.

I have a feeling it's going to be quite an emotionally charged show tonight. Get on the e-mail to getiton@bbc.co.uk if you have memories of that time in your life, or text in with your suggestion once we are on air at five past six.

Mind you, if I don't get a move on down to the studio then there's every chance we won't be on air at five past six...

I blogged the other about how your personal stories often give songs a greater emotional resonance than would otherwise be the case if I was just playing them 'dry'.

A great example of this is the e-mail that arrived tonight from Alwyn Ferguson. In it she paints a really vivid picture of life as a young student and how a song affected her back then.

"I can remember my first flat after finally leaving home - it looked out over the River Forth, it was winter and the place was draughty and freezing.

"I was standing in the bay window looking out at the lights of Fife in the distance, wearing fingerless gloves and a huge woolly jumper, and there was a one-bar electric fire trying unsuccessfully to heat the room. I was nursing a broken heart after having been dumped by the then love of my life, and I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel singing 'I am a Rock'.

"That was the first time I really appreciated that the rest of my life was up to me and I was an adult!!! The song seemed so significant at the time. Every time I hear it, I am taken back to that era of my life, such is the power of music. Go on, make me cry!!! Play it tonight!!!"

How could I resist? Every time Alwyn hears that song she thinks of fingerless gloves and freezing cold student flats. After tonight, so will I....

music sounds as fresh and exciting now as I guess it must have sounded back in the early '70s. He had a unique and highly influentional sound which you can still hear in bands like The Scissor Sisters and The Fratellis.

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of his tragic early death in a car accident, so tonight I'd like to feature the best of T-Rex. Arthur's been on the e-mail already with his memories of seeing Marc Bolan live:

" I was lucky enough to see Tyrannosaurus Rex as they were at the time at a Glasgow Students Charity Week dance in the Centre later named the Electric Gardens and today the Garage in Sauchiehall Street."

If you were lucky enough to be at that gig or any other then please share your memories with the rest of us...

Tuesday:
It's 'relative rock' for tonight's show. Russ in Aberdeen has come up with the theme and there are loads of good ones to play.Tie Your Mother Down by Queen and Dusty's Son of A Preacher Man would be perfect, but I bet My Perfect Cousin is the most popular track of the night.

Wednesday:
Much to the annoyance of my producer, I spend most of the show singing along loudly and out of tune. Not tonight however as Carol, Greig and Ramsay are just some of the people who have asked for an instrumentals night.


Thursday:
What did the 90's mean to you? For some it was the decade of boy bands, for others it was grunge. Every time we do a 70's or 80's theme we get a huge response from you, but I wonder what you think of the 90's?

As usual you can text in or call during the show, or why not post a comment below and let me know what you want to hear?

I promised that this blog would take you behind the scenes of the show, so today I am introducing another member of the team. When I say another member of the team, it's not like there's a huge squad of them.

Paul is off on his holidays, so Matt is assuming production duties for Get It On this week. I've asked him to fill in the profile that have already taken. Feel free to 'rate my producer' and I wonder if ( like a certain other member of the team) he will be relying on friends and relatives to post comments on his hot-ness.

Anyway, heeeeeeeeere's Matt:


My job is:
Head Keeper, Aberdeen Music Department.Whether they take the shape of angry accordions, grisly guitars, livid lutes or dangerous drum machines, I'm despatched to tame the department's wild musical beasts into groomed and well-behaved hours of sonic resplendence. Or something.

I am currently listening to:
Enjoying my beats at the moment, having recently rediscovered the genius of the Utah Saints, who also prompted me to dust off my Daft Punk and DJ Shadow mp3s. Really loving the current albums from Maximo Park and Editors. Also just discovered Tokyo Police Club and I'm getting really into their EPs, and have started listen to jazz in the gym - Stan Tracey in particular. Give it a try! The Magnetic Fields' masterpiece 69 Love Songs is well due a relisten, so think I'll fall asleep to it tonight. Bless.

Celebrity I most closely resemble:
Craig David. See picture below for the proof. It is me, and I was forced to do it. Kinda.


I would describe my style as:

A bloke with hair that gets in his eyes.

I love:
Going to the gym after producing Get It On. It's perfect because it converts the post-show adrenaline rush into blood, sweat and tears. Well, sweat and tears anyway.

I hate:
Bad parking. I once took a picture of a car outside my house that had parked inconsiderately across two bays. Then immediately deleted the picture when I realised what I'd become. It still bugs me though...

What I鈥檒l be having for my tea after the show:
Something healthy tonight I think. Provided I remembered to get the salmon steak out of the freezer, I'll steam it up with a wedge of green beans and some new potatoes. If I didn't remember, I'll need to try and create something using chilli powder, marmalade and half a sheet of dry noodles. Or go shopping.

Thing I most enjoy about working on this show:
While Paul's away from work I get to inhabit his coop. It's a tiny desk piled to the ceiling with teetering stacks of CDs. When a great suggestion comes in mid-show, I am required to dash upstairs from the studio and conquer these multicoloured musical mountains. It's a bit like playing Jenga, but with a potentially disastrous outcome.

Bryan's most annoying habit:
Not liking cups of tea made the proper way. It's milk first! Isn't it?

It's a been a hectic day as we've been swamped with suggestions for tonight's instrumentals show. On a normal show I can get through 11 or 12 songs. It's now 5:30pm and already there are 20 tracks on the board fighting for a place in the show. Oh well, it's going to be a busy night.

I am feeling a bit anxious about how to fit it all into an hour....or maybe my anxiousness has got more to do with the fact that there's an screwdriver wielding engineer in my studio who has just asked me if I expect to be on air sometime soon!

Don't forget to text or call in with your suggestions....

Another frustrating night in the Get It On world with loads of your texts and e-mails that I didn't have time to mention. There were some quality suggestions tonight as well. We'll definitely return to instrumentals again and I will resume my daily mission to get us more time for the show.

In the meantime, I was particularly impressed by this e-mail from Martin Barton. It shows just how much effort our amazing listeners put into their suggestions.


"Instrumentals - what a great idea - but can you do it justice in one programme?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Shadows were the masters of the genre; so many quality hits, but if it came down to one I'd go for The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt. It has a 'powerful' feel, and some great drumming.

Two ex-members did rather well - Jet Harris and Tony Meehan with the melodic yet punchy Diamonds

This was the heyday of the instrumental, and other favourites of the period are:

The Cruel Sea by The Dakotas (Billy J Kramer's backing group)
Walk Don't Run by The Ventures
Hava Nagila (The Hora) by Joe Brown and the Bruvvers

I saw him play this live at the Worcester Gaumont in 1963. He didn't use his teeth, or set fire to his guitar, a la Hendrix, but he did play it behind his back.

It was also the time of the trad jazz men, and for me the pick of the bunch would be The Green Leaves of Summer by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen

In later years The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band satirised all genres, and they did an hilarious send-up of trad with Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold

A couple of standout tracks from the surfers are two one hit wonders:

Pipeline by The Chantays
Wipe Out by The Surfaris

Very evocative of the pirate ships, the superb A Touch of Velvet a Sting of Brass by Mood Mosaic (please not the inferior Ron Grainer Orchestra version!)

Classical music has been the source for some of the best instrumentals, notably:

Nut Rocker by B Bumble and the Stingers
Sabre Dance by Love Sculpture
Toccata by Sky
I Will Return by Springwater

For something a little off-the-wall, you can always rely on The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Inspired by a crossed line, they added instrumentation to a backing of 'equipment busy tone' and 'engaged tone' to produce Telephone and Rubber Band. They also did a version of Walk Don't Run.

For something with a Scottish connection, there's the brilliant Mark Knopfler's
Going Home (Theme of 'Local Hero').

On the blues front, John Mayall knew how to pick his lead guitarists, and with Peter Green gave us The Stumble, and with Eric Clapton Steppin' Out.

I was amazed to find that The Allman Brothers Band never charted in the UK with Jessica.

And finally, saving the best till last, the Mk I Fleetwood Mac, with Jigsaw Puzzle Blues

I look forward to Wednesday evening; it's a shame that instrumentals don't get much of an airing - please do another one soon.

Thanks for a great show Brian."

Martin Barton

Whether your comments are lengthy e-mails like Martins, or just a brief one line text, I always enjoy reading them so keep them coming...

On air in thirty minutes and not such a big response for tonight's 1990's theme. I am wondering if it's just too wide ranging a subject or are our 30/40/50 something audience just not turned on Whigfield, Culture Beat or Kenny "dope" presents The Bucketheads!

I have picked three terrible songs, but there were actually some cracking records in the decade of R.E.M, Annie Lennox and Oasis.

Get posting, e-mailing or texting with your suggestions. Pick from any 90s year you fancy...well apart from 1996. This is what arrived from the 大象传媒 music library this morning. Someone obviously didn't like the music that year...

As is off air for six weeks, I decided to take advantage of having Fridays off and have just returned from a weekend in Paris with one of my mates.

The food, of course, was amazing. I was impressed not just by the big name restaurants but by the importance Parisians place on getting the simple things right.

In every neighbourhood, it's possible to stroll to the bar at the end of the street to get a good quality cup of coffee and get something to eat that's not a mass produced, plastic wrapped, concoction of chemicals and additives masquerading as baked goods.

I wanted to get some proper bread to take back with me, so I called in at the street market around the corner from our hotel. For a carb guzzler like me it was a wonderful sight.



Imagine being able to get that at home? Contrast the way they French buy their bread with the way we get ours. Whilst most of us make do with a supermarket loaf a couple of times a week, the French shop daily for their freshly baked baguettes and rustic loaves.

Round the corner from the market was a sight that's even rarer in this country: folk queuing up outside a bakers shop. Other than the lunchtime rush for hot pies, can there be many places in Scotland where you see this kind of thing...

Tonight:
On this day in 1961, John Leyton's Johnny Remember Me was number one in the charts, so tonight 鈥楯ohnny鈥� is our theme. Like so many of the memorable songs of the '60s it was produced by Joe Meek. It was Leyton's third crack at the charts. His first was supposed to be Tell Laura I Love Her, but he was beaten to it by Ricky Vallance's version.

Tuesday:
Gordon MacQuarrie has come up with a great suggestion for tonight鈥檚 show: Opposites. I'm looking for you to nominate two tracks each, but the key is that the songs should have opposite meanings. Gordon鈥檚 favourites are Love Will Tear Us Apart vs Love Will Keep Us Together and Sunshine on Leith vs Rainy Night In Georgia. I'm looking forward to this one tonight, but if I get stressed when I can only play 12 people's requests, I don't know how I'll cope with only six.

Wednesday:

"One hopes that people don't ask for that dreadful Bob The Builder song..."

We gets lots of great themes suggested for the show and I'll put some of the new ones on the blog this week as I'd be interested in your comments. It's not just The Get It On listeners who send them in. DIY is the theme for tonight and it was e-mailed to me this week by one of team. Some suggestions to get you started for tonight: Painter Man, White Ladder or something by The Scaffold.

Thursday:
This week in 1983, Culture Club鈥檚 Karma Chameleon ( the biggest selling song of the year) got to number one. Some of the biggest names of the '80s scored big this year so get in touch tonight with your 1983 favourites.


As usual you can text in or call during the show, or why not post a comment below and let me know what you want to hear?

It鈥檚 a weird day in Aberdeen today. (Nothing new there then some of you might say!) One minute it鈥檚 brilliant sunshine, then next it鈥檚 bucketin鈥� doon. Last night the rain was so bad that Paul and I stayed behind at work after the show as it was too wet to go out鈥�. Wouldn鈥檛 want you to think we were pampered media types or anything!

In my defence, I have started cycling to work, so the weather makes a huge difference to quality of life.

When I was in Paris, I was hugely impressed by the new bike hire initiative that鈥檚 been enthusiastically embraced by Parisians. The cycle system was launched earlier this year and aims to have 20,000 people on their bikes by the end of the year.

Its brilliantly simple. You purchase a card, take a bike out of one the Velib stations, ride around the city doing your business then return it to another station at your destination. The first 30 minutes are free, and after that there鈥檚 a charge of one Euro for your next thirty minutes.

The bikes are everywhere and at times it felt like the whole city had gone cycling mad. The fact that so many commuters are using them has led to a bit of shift in attitude, particularly in the way drivers treat cyclists.

That鈥檚 something we could do with here. Maybe the two wee neds who stepped out in front of my bike on Union Street yesterday and threw their fast food carton at me could do with a visit to Paris.

If there are 20,000 cyclists on the streets, you鈥檇 need to be a pretty brave soul to chuck le Big Mac carton at one of them鈥�

When we first came up with the idea of doing Get It On, we used to worry about whether we could keep coming up with themes for the initial ten week run. Nearly a year and a half later the 'future themes' folder is still bulging. There have been some good ones suggested in the past few weeks.

Frank in Denny came up with 鈥榪uestions鈥�, so that could include How Deep Is Your Love? or Would I Lie To You? John in Darvel is after 鈥榩rison songs鈥� and Arthur in Carstairs has come up with two pages worth of stuff. His suggestions include 鈥榞adgets鈥�, 鈥榓griculture鈥� and 鈥榮ongs that are past their sell by date鈥�. e.g.: 1999, 1984, Disco 2000.

I really like the suggestion that came in this e-mail from Mike Whyte:

鈥淚 was listening to Billy Bragg (New England) and to the lyric (he borrowed from Paul Simon) "I was 21 years when I wrote this song, I am 22 now but I won't be for long"... And I thought, what a nonsensical lyric. If he wrote the song lyrics at 21, how can he suddenly be 22 in the same lyric? So how about the theme 'Songs with nonsensical lyrics鈥� ? 鈥�

Post a comment if you like and let me know what you think of these themes, or come up with some of your own. If there are any artists that you think are worthy of a theme night then let's have them as well...

Good fun show tonight. The Saw Doctors were asked for several times tonight, so sorry I didn't get them on - next week I promise. Great puns for this theme including loads of people asking for Jimmy Nail or Chaka Demus and Pliers!

Peter Dantick made me laugh out loud with his suggestions:

Elton John -I'm still sanding.
Whitney Houston - I get so Emulsional (baby)
Billy Idol - Pure Brilliant White wedding
Joan Armatrading - Me, My shelf, I

Off home now for a night on the couch as the best bit about doing an hour of D.I.Y. is relaxing with a cold beer admiring your handiwork....

Good fun show tonight. The Saw Doctors were asked for several times tonight, so sorry I didn't get them on - next week I promise. Great puns for this theme including loads of people asking for Jimmy Nail or Chaka Demus and Pliers!

Peter Dantick made me laugh out loud with his suggestions:

Elton John -I'm still sanding.
Whitney Houston - I get so Emulsional (baby)
Billy Idol - Pure Brilliant White wedding
Joan Armatrading - Me, My shelf, I

Off home now for a night on the couch as the best bit about doing an hour of D.I.Y. is relaxing with a cold beer admiring your handiwork....

It's 83 for tonight's theme. It was the year of Billie Jean, Blue Monday and Breakfast TV. While Frank Bough's pullovers were the fashion statement of the year for some, I suspect I was wearing white slip ons, stonewashed jeans and a big baggy denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up.

Bad hair days for me as well. Tousled is the word that springs to mind, plus a wee bit too much of that bleaching spray you used to get that promised you instant sun kissed streaks.

I thought I looked like David Bowie in his Let's Dance phase but probably looked more like Rod Stewart in his Baby Jane phase.

Looking forward to hearing some of your 1983 memories tonight.

Sunburn and sore muscles on my return from Newcastle, where I have been taking part in the world's biggest half marathon, The Great North Run.

Me and my mate Stewart were running as part of The Daffodil Team to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Our team mates included Countdown's Carol Voderman, Jake Wood from Eastenders and my 大象传媒 colleague, Bill Turnbill who had a terrific run.

If you are into athletics then the VIP area of the Great North Run is like going backstage at T In The Park. Within 1/2 an hour of arriving we had spotted half a dozen former Olympic athletes, including Scotland's legendary Liz McColgan...is it any wonder I was keeping quiet about my modest run!



Biggest story of the day was not winning, which made me feel a little bit sorry for Kara Goucher, the American athlete who will now be known as the woman who denied Paula victory in her comeback race. Kara is the Camilla Parker-Bowles of this story. The fairy tale ending had already been written and she's the other woman who came along and put a stop to it.

It would have been understandable, if after the race, Radcliffe had skulked off back to her hotel room to stew. Instead she was hanging out with us ( well not just with us!) looking amazing, posing for pictures, inspiring younger athletes and showing why she's been much missed in the past 18 months.