My guest mixer this week is Billy Reeves

Billy 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 down to my usual length as Billy was so engaging and enthusiastic!

My guest mixer this week is Rob Barbato

Rob 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 here) and it was a real pleasure to reconnect with him. You can find his website here.

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.

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).

My guest mixer this week is Daren Garratt

Daren 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).

My guest mixer this week is Simon 'Ding' Archer

Ding not only played bass for The Fall in the early 2000s, he also played a substantial role in much of the group's output in the last 15 years of its existence. He's also played with a wide range of artists such as PJ Harvey, Pixies, Imperial Wax and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry.

We caught up on a Sunday afternoon in mid-May: a bit earlier in the day than I usually do these calls, but he was off to see Dinosaur Jr that evening...

My guest mixer this week is Keiron Melling 

The Fall's final full-time drummer, who occupied the drum stool for the last quarter of the group's existence; he played on the final half a dozen albums, from Imperial Wax Solvent to New Facts Emerge. He then went on to play in the band Imperial Wax alongside Pete Greenway, releasing Gastwerk Saboteurs in 2019 and Tranquilliser in 2024.

My guest mixer this week is Paul Hanley

The second ex-Fall member to appear on this show (but definitely not the last!), he played drums alongside Karl Burns during what many would argue is the classic period of the group.

He is also a successful author, having published Leave The Capital: A History of Manchester Music, Have A Bleedin Guess: The Story of Hex Enduction Hour (which in my view is one of  the best ever books written about a single album) and Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks Changed Manchester Music (and me).

My guest mixer this week is Tim Goodbody

I first met Tim nearly 40 (!) years ago when we were both students at Wentworth College at the University of York.  I am pretty hopeless at keeping in touch with people from school and university, but Tim and I have (very loosely) kept touch due to a shared love of The Wedding Present - both being members of the Facebook  group. He is also the first man of the cloth to appear on the show…

My guest mixer this week is Tommy Mackay

Tommy is an author, comedian and musician. He’s also the man behind the website Daily Reckless (the Bandcamp page is here; there's also a full discography here). The song I use in the intro to this episode is Totally Weird.

As well as a shared love of Beefheart and Ivor Cutler, Tommy and I have something notable in common: we both wrote blogs about The Fall that became books. You can buy Tommy's tome here (and of course you can buy mine here).

Given all this commonality, it's not surprising that we got on very well and had a most enjoyable chat about music and several other things...