For the last few years I’ve usually done a Christmas special radio show, and this year I’ll be doing four of them – three on Bedford Radio, and one just on Mixcloud.
Below, however, you’ll find all my previous Christmas specials since I got back on the radio at Cam FM in 2014 – enjoy! I’ll add the new ones on as they become available, so if you miss any of them you can check back here.
Here they are, all in one place – every episode of the latest summer series of John Kell Vs Satan!
This is a compilation of all the editions of one of my favourite features from my radio shows over the summer – my TV Times, which was basically a showcase for lots of great TV theme tunes, with some blather about them afterwards from me. It wasn’t deliberate, but with hindsight I was almost certainly taking inspiration from TV Cream’s long-running theme tunes vote-off, and the inimitable Dream Themes.
All the editions were put together by category, some looser than others. Here’s a run-down of all the themes featured (for proper credits, see the Mixcloud listing).
June 29th – all the Bs
Bergerac
Blockbusters
Bugs
July 13th – children’s shows
Round the Twist
The Wind in the Willows
Dark Season
The Secret Service
July 27th – railway-related shows (Indietracks special)
The 8:15 From Manchester
The Train Now Departing
6:05 Special
August 10th – sitcoms
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Shelley
The Two Of Us
Dream Stuffing
Reggie Perrin
August 24th – 90s US drama
Due South
The X-Files
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
September 7th – gameshows
Interceptor
Mastermind
Gladiators
The Krypton Factor
Treasure Hunt
September 21st (1) – 90s UK drama
Jeeves and Wooster
Class Act
Hamish Macbeth
This Life
Neverwhere
September 21st (2) – anything goes!
The Man from UNCLE
UFO
Hi-De-Hi
Howards’ Way
Agatha Christie’s Poirot
Miss Marple
As a special treat for the final show of the series, I’ve uploaded it as recorded off FM, with thanks to my brother, complete with authentic hiss. This was a rare show where I thought the first hour was better – the second hour was a bit dominated by that extra edition of the TV Times, with a few too many themes crammed into it. There’s a preview track from the forthcoming album by MJ Hibbett and the Validators in the first hour too.
Actually there was a reason why I chose that last song, I just forgot! “Don’t paint the Devil on the wall,” indeed. To make up for the crashed vocal, I’ve blended the full length of the song into the end, beyond the fade out at 10pm as broadcast.
I was very pleased to be able to play an exclusive new track from the forthcoming Frankie Machine album in this show (in the first hour, if you’re just looking for that). Otherwise it has the usual features, including the answer to the previous Final Analysis and a new (and final!) question (at the bottom of this post if you just want to listen to that), a TV Times focusing on gameshows, and a double bill of Since You’ve Been John. Kirsty MacColl is the Gone But Not Forgotten artist… and beyond that, I’ll just say that I hadn’t realised quite how much of the show all those versions of Watching the Detectives would take up…
The Heartbreak Half Hour makes an unwelcome return in the second hour of this show! Otherwise, it’s all the usual features: Gone But Not Forgotten (The Crimea this time), the answer to the previous Final Analysis and my TV Times in hour 1; Since You’ve Been John, a new Final Analysis Question (at the bottom of this post if you just want to hear that again) and more Gone But Not Forgotten in hour 2.
This was a trouble-free show compared to the previous edition… until ten minutes from the end when gremlins struck again! The Gone But Not Forgotten artist was Jason Molina, and the TV Times turned to sitcoms…
This week’s Final Analysis question is at the bottom of this post, if you just want to listen to that on its own. The answer to last week’s is given in the first hour.
Here’s the Indietracks special edition of the radio show, broadcast immediately after this year’s festival. If you heard it live you’ll know there were numerous problems with the studio that evening that turned it into a bit of a shambles – I’ve managed to take the worst of it out and it sounds quite good now!
Below it you can find the latest Final Analysis question – leave a comment here, on Soundcloud or on Mixcloud if you think you know the songs, artists and sequence, and can suggest a fourth song, or just tweet me.
Here’s the second show in the current run of JKVS. Unfortunately I was delayed getting to the studio, so the first part is about 50 minutes rather than the full hour. Below is the clip for this week’s Final Analysis – leave a comment here or tweet me if you think you know the songs, artists and sequence, and can suggest a fourth song!
John Kell 