Station News

Listen to new show, win a bike and a climbing outing

Sheffield is a hub for climbers, cyclists and mountain bikers, with fantastic opportunities to enjoy these sports in the nearby Peak district and great facilities in the city. And we are home to some of Britain’s – and the world’s – leading climbers and cyclists.

A new series of four programmes on Sheffield Live, Steel Fingers Steel Wheels, are broadcasting every Saturday at 10am in September.

Featuring interviews with inspirational figures from cycling and climbing, as well as ‘how-to’ features demonstrating how you can get involved in these exciting and healthy activities (at low cost), the shows also include two fabulous competitions:

How do you win?  See below!

Guests on the series include:

  • ‘Big wall’ climber Andy Kirkpatrick. Irreverent and extremely funny, Andy has accomplished extraordinary feats on Alpine faces and the soaring granite walls of El Capitan in Yosemite. Not only that, he’s won the Boardman Tasker prize for mountain literature. But it’s his journey from remedial student to successful climber, writer and speaker that interests his audience most. Brought up on a council estate in one of Britain’s flattest cities, Hull, Andy suffered from severe dyslexia which went undiagnosed until he was 19. Andy was a guest on the show on Saturday 7th September.
  • Remarkable all-round professional climber Lucy Creamer. Lucy has excelled in all disciplines of climbing: bold adventurous ‘traditional’ climbs; gymnastic ‘sports’ climbing, short but intensely powerful ‘bouldering’; mountain routes and ice climbing. She also repeatedly won British climbing competitions and qualified for world-cup climbing finals. She’s a keen mountain biker too between time on the rock. Lucy will be on the show on the 21st September.
  • Down Hill Mountain biking world champion Steve Peat – Peaty – 2009 UCI DH World Champion; 3x World Cup Champ; 2x European Champ and 9x British Champ. Chapeltown-born Peaty also organises the Steel City Down Hill race and is known as one of the nicest guys in mountain biking – but he’s also got that Sheffield Steel that’s made him a winner! Steve will be on the show on the 28th of September.
  • We’ll also feature interviews with the strong climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk, making impressive ascents of boulder problems across the world (and a competitor in the British Bouldering Team); professional cyclist Dean Downing of Rotherham, fresh from competing in the Tour of Britain for Madison Genesis with an impressive track record of results in his professional career (both also in the show on 28th September).
  • And we’ll have guests from organisations working with and representing climbing and cycling; advice on how to get involved
  • And two fabulous competitions:
  • Win a bike: Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative is giving away a Revolution bike to the value of £350 to one lucky winner of this competition. To enter, all you have to do is email comp@sheffieldlive.org with your name and address and the answer to the following question: how many cooperative members are there in the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative as of the 1st of September? Remember, that’s not shops, it’s members. Take a look at the Our advertisers page on the Sheffield Live website if you need a clue!
  • Win a family climbing taster day and a month’s free climbing pass from Awesome Walls when their new climbing wall opens in Sheffield at the end of the month.  To enter, all you have to do is email comp@sheffieldlive.org with your name and address and the answer to the following question: in which other locations in the UK does Awesome Walls operate climbing walls? Clue – take a look at their website.
  • For both competitions, you need to send your answer by 5pm on Friday 27th September and by entering you accept Sheffield Live’s standard competition entry terms and conditions. So get your entry in now!
  • Make sure you listen in – every Saturday in September, 10am on Sheffield Live! 93.2FM and livestream from this website
  • The Steel Fingers, Steel Wheels shows are sponsored by Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative and Awesome Walls Sheffield. Find out more about them and listen to their Sheffield Live radio ads here

What we’ve been listening to this week

Every week Sheffield Live brings you a fantastic, diverse and eclectic mixture of music within our schedule.

Our DJs and presenters (of all shows – not only music, but current affairs, comedy, sport, film reviews and more) love their music – just like you do.

So what have our presenters and volunteers been listening to this week? Here are just a few picks:

Stevlor, presenter of Soul Casino (Thursdays, 5-6pm): Jerry Fuller – Double Life. “From 1966 and one of the finest blue-eyed soul boys.”

And, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs – Being Without You. “More famous for having the shortest song to ever get to number one – northern favourite ‘Stay’, but for my money this one ticks the box just as well.” [Listen to both tracks on the podcast of this week’s Soul Casino]

DJ Cardiac, presenter of Drop the Funk Drop the Bass (every Sunday, 1-3pm): Tomb Crew ft Rubi Dan & Serocee – The Sermon. “The track was definitely geared up towards carnival. The track delivers high energy with ragga influences seeping through from one of Toddla T’s sound boys Serocee and some quick tongue flow from Serocee, this is one to turn up loud and blow your whistles to.”

And: Preditah ft Zoe Kypri- Let’s take it back
“Preditah seems to be sitting on some very serious UK Garage Productions. This one has all the elements of an old skool garage track but pushing things forward with his super slick production along with the impressive vocals of up-and-coming vocalist Zoe Kypri.” Don’t miss DJ Cardiac this Sunday at 1pm! But if you can’t listen live, you can get the podcast here.

Graham Marshall, co-presenter of Spirit of the Wapentake (Wednesdays, 5-7pm): Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – I’m Gonna Booglarize You. “From his ‘Spotlight Kid’ album, it’s a complete one-off.”

Sinead Rankin, co-presenter of Spirit of the Wapentake: The Foo Fighters – All My Life. [Listen to the Beefheart & Foo Fighters tracks on the podcast of this week’s Spirit of the Wapentake].

Laurence Peacock, presenter, each Wednesday, of Communities Live has been listening to a lot of Sam Carter, a folk musician who is playing at the Library Theatre next month.

Sam Hindley co-presents the Thank Goodness it’s Folk show on Fridays from 10am to noon. His pick: Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys‘ – Ragtime Cowboy Joe. “Lively, cheerful and a great start to a radio programme,” and this track was indeed the opener for today’s Thank Goodness it’s Folk show – missed it? Podcast is here.

Danni and Marshall Smith are part of the presenting team for Friday’s Communities Live show. Danni picked John Legend‘s Ordinary People: “a track that makes me cry” and Marshall chose Daft Punk‘s “funky, fresh and feelgood” Get Lucky.

Paul Gregory presents It’s me, PG, every Saturday morning from 8 until 10am. What’s Paul been listening to? Santana‘s Samba Pa Ti, “my favourite track of all time,” says Paul.

Natz Beard, co-presenter of the Local Talent Show (every Friday, 4-5pm): “Local artist Philippa Hanna has just done a collaboration with BCee, ‘Back to the Street’, I can’t stop listening to it! Totally different from her usual releases the track is drum & bass meets Philippa and her amazing vocals. With over 100,000 views on the YouTube video, it’s going down a storm. Philippa has also just released a video for her own song Hollywood which is well worth a watch.”

Dale Le Fevre‘s Max Chance Show (Tuesdays, 5pm) always features an eclectic playlist – Dale’s been playing and listening to a lot of David Wax Museum. Have a listen to the podcast of Dale’s show from this Tuesday.

Andy Cooper – whose Communities Live show on Thursday featured special guest Sarah Taylor – has been listening to Emily Heath, “with more than a passing musical resemblance to the fantastic Sandi Thom, the track Emily says she’s most proud of is Sugar and Sweeteners – Emily’s Soundcloud page is here.”

And Jamie Veitch (poster of this article and soon to present four shows about climbing and cycling in Sheffield) – Payroll Union’s Mary Lamson and, really the entire album, The Mule and The Elephant. “Pete David’s stunning fingerpicking and searing lyrics and the rollicking rhythms of the band combine to create a bittersweet album of americana, bluegrass and folk rock that, once I start, I have to listen to all the way through.”

Just a few picks here from our presenters. Remember, if you miss your favourite programmes on Sheffield Live you can download the podcasts afterwards. And why not discover some new music by tuning into some different shows?

Girlfriends’ Sarah joins Communities Live team

Sarah Taylor [photo: Jamie Veitch]

Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor, star of ITV2’s Girlfriends, joined Communities Live presenter Andy Cooper today to guest present a special edition of our flagship magazine programme.

Sheffield lass Sarah was in the hit TV series last year in which three single ladies met 100 eligible bachelors, then whittled down their potential suitors to try to find Mr. Right.

Sarah and co-presenter Andy Cooper discussed fashion and dating; and Sarah gave Andy some behind-the-scenes gossip from the TV series.

Today’s Communities Live programme also featured an interview with Dave Douglas, MD of new climbing wall Awesome Walls which is opening this autumn in Sheffield.

And Grand Designs’ Naomi Cleaver was interviewed on the show, offering her tips for how to make the most of the space in our homes.

Sarah will be back to co-present Communities Live again soon.

What next?

Girlfri3nds
Girlfri3nds

Scribble and Zero Budget Film Festival on Communities Live

Today’s Communities Live show – broadcasting live from noon until 1pm – has a great lineup of guests.

Presenters Laurence Peacock and Andy Cooper will be joined by:

Sheffield Writer (@SheffieldWrite on twitter), AKA Chris, who runs the Scribble open mic nights, showcasing Sheffield writers, poets, and singer / songwriters; and is organising the Sheffield Short Story competition.

Martin Currie from The Zero Budget Film festival, taking place in Burngreave on 14th September, will also join us.

What next?

A trail of musical moments – throughout city shops!

Leave a comment

More live music treats in store for Sheffield!

This Saturday, 10 August, a host of amazing home-grown talent and high-profile bands will be scattered around Sheffield’s city centre playing acoustic sets in unusual, pop-up buskers’ spots.

The free “City Centre Sessions” event starts at noon at Devonshire Street Market and takes place around a circuit of city centre shops, with bands appearing in sequence around the circuit, finishing back at Devonshire Market’s outdoor stage five hours later.

It features The Crookes, Nat Johnson, Laurel Canyons (Monkey Swallows The Universe), Stuart Faulkner (Pink Grease, The Barnacles) and the BeVox flash mob choir – with more bands coming on board too.

Venture into town and be surprised and amazed at what and who is lurking around each clothes rail and shoe rack. Stop off to browse and indulge yourself in many of the city’s best independent food makers and artisan retailers too.

City Centre Sessions is part of Sheffield’s Summer Saturday’s Programme.

Confirmed locations for City Centre Sessions this Saturday include Devonshire Markets’ outdoor stage on Devonshire Green, Orchard Square, John Lewis, Birds Yard, A New Shop and Costa.

What next?

Blues legend Lil’ Jimmy Reed coming to Sheffield

Alabama blues legend Lil’ Jimmy Reed is coming to Sheffield – and he’ll be a special guest co-presenter on the Keynote Club later this month.

Lil Jimmy Reed. Image: http://www.livebluesworld.com

Every week on The Keynote Club, Bob Hall – one of Britain’s finest blues and boogie pianists – treats listeners to an hour of the best and the rarest in blues and rhythm ‘n’ blues, interspersed with quirky humour from his vast personal collection.

Lil’ Jimmy’s visit will be a treat for all blues fans. 75 year old Jimmy – AKA Leon Atkins – has had a lifelong love of music. He picked up his first guitar, made from an old cigar box, at the age of six.

Jimmy and Bob will be playing together at a gig at the Greystones on 31 August and Jimmy will join Bob to co-present the Keynote Club in an episode to broadcast on Wednesday, 28th August – don’t miss it!

What next?

Keynote Club hits hundredth note

Leave a comment
Bob Hall

Bob Hall

Every week on The Keynote Club, Bob Hall – one of Britain’s finest blues and boogie pianists – treats listeners to an hour of the best and the rarest in blues and rhythm ‘n’ blues, interspersed with quirky humour from his vast personal collection.

This week Bob marked a milestone with the 100th episode of the programme.

Bob commented: “It’s a pleasure and a privilege to share my personal taste in blues and R&B with our radio audience, and I’ve been grateful to many collectors for the use of their rare recordings.  It also helps to blow the dust off my own collection and provides an excuse for spending so much time in second-hand junk stores!”

Acknowledged as Britain’s finest blues and boogie pianist, Bob’s award-winning, elegant piano style and song-writing have influenced generations of piano players and he’s been described as “surely the finest of the British blues and boogie pianists – with a flair for imaginative lyrics” by Blues and Rhythm.

We’re thrilled to have Bob’s programme on Sheffield Live – here’s to the next 100!

What next?

Sun shines on Sharrow Festival

Leave a comment

Sheffield Live at Sharrow Festival 2013

Thousands flocked to Mount Pleasant Park on Saturday to enjoy live music, fun activities, entertainment and visit stalls – including a Sheffield Live! outside broadcast stall – in glorious sunshine for the Sharrow Festival.

The Festival is a flagship event for Sharrow which celebrates the culture and diversity of the area and has been running since 1988. This year’s event attracted over 6000 visitors according to an estimate by Alan Deadman, one of the festival organisers.

Sheffield Live! presenters and team including Lee Price (Vancouver Manoeuvre), Paul Gregory, Kevin Risley (Communities Live!) broadcast live from the festival between 1 and 6pm, with Sangita Basudev in the studio looking after the broadcast of the live feed.

Rust performing at Sharrow Festival 2013 (photo: Jamie Veitch)

Rust performing on the main stage

Sangita commented “it was fantastic that so many people attended this year’s Sharrow Festival – and to get such a great response from listeners to our live broadcasts. It’s a special event for Sheffield Live – the festival is a wonderful, welcoming, diverse and inclusive event, with music, entertainment and activities for all. And Sheffield Live originally started as a two-day broadcast project from Sharrow Festival, before securing our FM broadcast license nearly 6 years ago. We’re all thrilled that there was a record turnout for the Festival this year.”

What next?

Bowie Jane interview

Leave a comment

Bowie Jane and Andy Cooper [Photo: Jamie Veitch]

Bowie Jane & Andy Cooper (photo: Jamie Veitch)

Singer / songwriter Bowie Jane joined us in the Sheffield Live! studio last week for an interview with Communities Live! presenter Andy Cooper.

The London-based Australian musician has been living a double life: by day, a “mild-mannered” criminal lawyer, but by night a musician performing live 5 or 6 evenings per week and developing a successful musical career.

Bowie Jane’s secret double life captured the world’s interest earlier this year with TV, radio and press attention leading to more than 10,000 hits a day on her YouTube site.

Her lyrics tell the story of real-life situations with honest grit and candor, but with a sharper edge:  “I write about things that aren’t normally talked about, looking at things from the perspective that you’d probably ‘think’ about, but wouldn’t feel confident to ‘voice’.”

The interview coincides with the release of Bowie Jane’s new single, “Bad Boy” which “points the finger at celebrity bad boys with a reputation.”

What next?

Sheffield Doc/Fest reviewed

Van Connor

Van Connor

Van Connor presents Slam Dunk Cinema, Sheffield’s flagship film programme, which broadcasts live every Saturday from noon to 1pm on Sheffield Live.

Last month Van attended Sheffield Doc/Fest which “brings the international documentary family together to celebrate the art and business of documentary making for five intense days in June.”

Over to Van for his commentary on this year’s Doc/Fest:

Launching with the usual fanfare, Doc/Fest returned to Sheffield this month with a veritable bevy of docs covering every possible taste. Continuing the trend of previous years, the festival seemed to have evolved more in scale than anything else; meaning it was impossible for any one person to have seen everything on offer, somewhat of a shame but we’d all agree it’s better to have too much choice than too little.

Shockingly, this was the twentieth year for the festival and saw less of a focus on the fashionably artsy content – don’t be alarmed fanboys, there was still at least one film about an Eastern European mining community – and more of an easygoing vibe to the selections.

Comedy seemed to be the added ingredient this time around. One particular doc, the utterly superb climate change film Thin Ice: The Inside Story of Climate Science, was downright hilarious in places; let down only by its bizarre relegation to the Library Theatre, which it still managed to fill to capacity.

Meanwhile, over in the Crucible, Adam Buxton popped along with a live edition of his ongoing internet series Bug, adding a much-needed stand-up style of brevity that never felt out of place with the rest of the festival.

The guest speakers in some regard lacked the “cool factor” of previous years (not having Adam Curtis in attendance feels like Christmas without your wacky uncle), but the festival managed to hold its own with the attendance of Walter Murch (ostensibly, the godfather of contemporary editing); who made his presence felt in every room in which he even peered and managed to evoke the nostalgia of every great director with whom he’d ever collaborated (and believe me, that’s a hell of a list).

Cherry on top

Also for the Hollywood fanbase was Celluloid Screams’ contribution to proceedings, a double bill of The Fear Of God: 25 Years Of The Exorcist, followed by The Exorcist itself and wrapped around a Q&A with the BBC’s Mark Kermode and director Nick Jones. An evening of tremendous enjoyment with a great atmosphere and top notch guests (Kermode never fails to elicit the requisite five laughs), the Exorcist evening was the playful cherry on top for this year’s Doc/Fest and the perfect example of the fine work Celluloid Screams have pulled off in their (surprisingly) short time on the local film scene.

Horrific, haunting insight…

Another documentary worth singling out was the superb (Channel 4 commissioned) hour long The Hunt For Britain’s Sex Gangs, an horrific yet terribly haunting insight into the police investigation of one of the biggest child sex abuse cases in the UK. A very precise and focused story, its director Anna Hall was able to address several people in attendance who were directly affected by events similar to those depicted, and did so with tremendous poise – until the event was spoilt by the bizarre onstage presence of Hardeep Singh Kohli, who saw it as the ideal platform to make presumably hilarious remarks about Channel 4 and crack jokes about Daily Mail readers in a fashion usually reserved for the sort of lazy comedians you find in working men’s clubs. Without fail, there is always one swaggering blowhard at Doc/Fest each year, and it’s safe to say Kohli took it to crescendo for this year.

Seduced by great selection of films…

Overall, the festival was a solid effort. Sure, the food was rather poor and overpriced, the delegates’ desk sat atop the narrowest staircase known to man (and, thanks to the crowds, took about fifteen minutes to climb every single time), and the festival’s increasingly massive spread saw most of us hauling our way across Sheffield City Centre at full speed once every two hours; but in the end, that’s part of the charm of Doc/Fest – a seduction built upon a great selection of films and leaving you fulfilled enough to return again the following year.

What next?