The Beatcroft Social on 60 North Radio - 5 November 2016. Absolute Beginners please!

Back live after a week awa' sooth, and back into the battle with Facebook Live. We ARE legal, here at 60 North, or as legal as the antiquated, sheet-music system of music licensing can allow. We have all the licences we can obtain. Get with the programme, guys! I see Facebook are advertising for a 'Global Music Licensing Executive' who will doubtless be negotiating with the likes of Sony and Universal, and be immune to the wishes of tiny wee outfits like 60 North. Just get on with it, Markie.

So, the Facebook stream has been removed, without explanation, and that took all your valuable and much appreciated comments as well. Sorry, but we cannot control the Mighty Zuckerberg and his algorithms.

Thank goodness for Mixcloud, an entity which understands music and how it should work on the web. Here's the link to Saturday's show. A full playlist follows. Back next week for more adventures in visual radio, and hopefully some better weather.

Oh, and as I write, Sunday Teas in Gulberwick Hall this afternoon. Thanks to John Hunter for that information. I should also say that the track which just leaps out at me from the show is the long, soundtrack version of Absolute Beginners, by David Bowie, played off cassette. It's a truly awesome song, and an amazing performance with fabulous piano from Rick Wakeman and one of the all time great saxophone solos by Don Weller.

Other highlights: Kid Canaveral off 45rpm single; James Taylor's still-stunning guitar playing on You Can Close Your Eyes, probably the best solo acoustic accompanist there has ever been. And the news (via Michael Craig) that ALL the late Michael Marra's recordings will be issued digitally, for the first time, in January.

This week's show has more cassettes and vinyl than ever before, including some very rare tunes indeed.



Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Into Your Arms
Yvonne Lyon: We Were Not Made for the Shadows
XTC: Love on a Farmboy's Wages
Steely Dan: Dallas (from the Probe/MFP sampler 'Spirit of Rock'. Vinyl)
World Party: When the Rainbow Comes
Teenage Fanclub: Kylie's Got a Crush on Us (Select Magazine Cassette 1992, live at King Tut's)
Staple Singers: If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)
Dougal and the Blue Cat: Excerpt from the original soundtrack (vinyl).
Andy Fairweather-Low: Wide Eyed and Legless
David Bowie: Absolute Beginners (full film soundtrack version; cassette)
Lindi Ortega: Ashes
Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle: This One's From The Heart (Vinyl; full soundtrack version)
Half Man Half Biscuit: Adam Boyle Has Cast Lad Rock Aside
Ramones: Blitzkrieg Bop
Kathleen Edwards: Sidecar
Tony O'Neill: Throw Away Your Guns (1986 cassette demo)
James Taylor: You Can Close Your Eyes
Michael Marra: O Fellow Man (from the cassette Candy Philosophy)
Kid Canaveral: Low Winter Sun (from 45rpm vinyl single!)
Amazing Rhythm Aces: Third Rate Romance
The Walkabouts: Murdering Stone (from NME 'Fort Apache' cassette)
Linda Ronstadt and Anne Savoy: King of Bohemia
Jennifer Warnes (with Stevie Ray Vaughan): First We Take Manhattan
Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows

With thanks as ever to Iain Waddell and Bo Anderson (and Andy in Singapore!)

Fresh for 2016: New Beatcroft Social from Tom Morton as heard on Radio Vera Ireland - stream anytime

This is the playlist for the last two-hour Radio Vera Ireland Beatcroft Social (it will be going to 1-hour as of next week, and as I'll be on holiday the next two will be repeats of the earliest Mixcloud-only Beatcrofts). This  new show was originally broadcast on Vera on 2 and 6 January.

You can go the website and hear the full programme on Mixcloud here

And the Spotify playlist is available to stream here

Or play the show direct from this blog:

Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social - broadcast on Radio Vera Ireland, 2 & 6 January 2016 by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

There She Goes – The La's

Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds

Wild Horses – The Flying Burrito Brothers

Common People – Pulp

Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) – The Hollies

Marrakesh Express – Crosby, Stills & Nash

Running On Empty – Jackson Browne

Last train to Memphis – The Band

Sweet Thing  – Van Morrison

Runnin' Down A Dream – Tom Petty

Alright, Alright, Alright – Mungo Jerry

Tired Of Being Alone – Al Green

Small Town – John Mellencamp

Who'll Stop the Rain (with Bob Seger) – John Fogerty

Turn the Page (feat. Kurt Van Meter) – Bob Seger, Kurt Van Meter

Rock And Roll Never Forgets - Live – Bob Seger

Rock 'N Me – Steve Miller Band

Rock & Roll Band – Boston

Fool For The City – Foghat

La Grange  – ZZ Top

Let It Rock – George Thorogood

Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughan

I've Been to a Marvellous Party – The Divine Comedy

Tonight The Streets Are Ours – Richard Hawley

Black Fang – Cherry Ghost

Man Of Aran – British Sea Power

No Fear Of Falling  – I Am Kloot

Grounds For Divorce – Elbow

This Is Music – The Verve

Rocks – Primal Scream

Beatcroft Social Volume 12 on Mixcloud (with talking) and Spotify (without)

Latest Beatcroft Social now available on Mixcloud, and featuring the Everly Brothers, Richard Hawley's new single, The Saints, the terrible obscure (but not terrible) Stewart and Kyle, Pulp, Mike Scott and New Celeste. And if you don't want to listen to me talking, you can stream the entire playlist on Spotify here.

Beatcroft Social Volume 12 - from Honeybus to The Everly brothers, The Saints to Richard Hawley by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

The Beatcroft Social Volume 11: Iceland to Wales via Leith and various parts of the USA. Also approximate Spotify playlist

Here's the latest Beatcroft Social show on Mixcloud, featuring The Beat, King Creosote, The Proclaimers, Steely Dan, Wilco and more. The link to an approximate Spotify version (substituting King of the Road for Get Ready by the Proclaimers and Quicksilver Messenger Service for Help Yourself) is here.

The Beatcroft Social Volume 11: Iceland to Wales via Leith and various parts of the USA by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

Beatcroft Social Volume 8: whisky, Oor Wullie off the rails, crunchy guitars and sweet melancholy piano...

Here's Volume 8 of the weekly Beatcroft Social Cloudcast on Mixcloud. Remember you can listen not only on your computer but on your phone or tablet by installing the excellent Mixcloud app (good buffering!).

And if you want to support the show, why not buy a T-shirt, bag, hoodie or sweatshirt? Only available for the next 10 days or so here at Fabrily. All sizes! Well, most.

This week there's a tasting of the final two releases by Shetland Reel, the Unst gin company now ventuing into whisky bottling. It's Glenglassaugh, by the way, young but aged in very week casks. A poem about the dark future of Oor Wullie and his dissolute chums. And music from Bryan Ferry, Maria Muldaur, The Primevals, The Hives, Clifford T Ward and Sister Sledge. Among others.

Oh, and the opening Bryan Ferry Track, a cover of Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, is not only of the best cover versions ever, it has some truly phenomenal drumming from the great Andy Newmark. And it's a song which, in this current political and economic climate, is still steeped in pertinence and power.

Here we go!

The Beatcroft Social, Volume 8 by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

The Beatcroft Social, Volume Five: Bushmills edition!

Bushmills Distillery will always have a place in my memory as location of my worst motorcycle crash (so far).

A borrowed Triumph Street Triple, a degree of tiredness, restrictive leather trousers and a protruding tailpack on the bike combined with the distillery car park's camber to ensure that getting off the lovely wee thing was a disaster. I caught my foot on the tailpack, fell to the ground and brought the bike down on top of myself.

I was undamaged. But when the bike was taken back to Triumph (it was a press trip, my first and last courtesy of a motorcycle firm) that broken indicator and scarred engine casing, plus a bit of scratched panelling, amounted to £2000 of repairs. The press department were, let's say, not amused.

So by way of penance, I have since then owned not one, but two Triumphs. And occasionally tippled at Old Bushmills.

Music this week from Tom Petty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Angel Corpus Christi, The Hold Steady and much more. Plus a wee dab o' whiskey of course!

The Beatcroft Social Volume 5: Bushmills edition! by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

From Unst with chocolate and some quite good music

As I write I'm in Unst, northernmost island in Shetland indeed the UK, where I have a contract to do some tourism development work. I have just had lunch at a chocolate manufacturing facility, or at least in the room next door. And very nice it was too! This week's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud features four Unst-related pieces of music, from spoof power-hair-metal through choral traditionalism to a beautiful piano-led Unst Bridal march. And of course whisky. Or in this case, Whiskey.

Lots of other great stuff too, I think, from Robin Trower to JJ Cale, King Creosote to Tuff Love. I hope you like it.

The Beatcroft Social Volume 4 (Unst tendency) by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

Sun, stents, peats and motorcycles

Thinking today of friend, music fan and motorcyclist Hugh Docherty, of Kilmarnock via Aberdeenshire, who has had a very similar cardiac experience to myself (two stents to my one) following a heart 'incident' at an East Fortune motorbike race meeting. He's in good spirits, but this angioplasty business is different for everyone. I had a dreadful time for the first month, then a worse time, and then a slow recovery over the past six weeks until now I'm feeling almost normal. Not liking the drugs, but they're non-optional if the heart is to keep pumping and the blood flowing. Which is generally desirable. At least for me.

Our back garden tonight

Work today has been mostly to do with the Destination North Isles Project, which aims to put together a three-year tourism development plan for the Shetland islands of Unst, Fetlar and Yell. I'm currently doing some tourism development work for Unst, but a combined 'Great Northern' campaign would I think benefit all the communities. I'll be in Unst tomorrow (two ferry rides and an hour in the car). Very busy there at the moment with UnstFest. Check out the programme at www.unstfest.org

 I've also been relaying accommodation vacancies on the island for the weekend, which is set to be the busiest of the summer. unstnorthernmost.co.uk if you're interested. The afternoon brightened into a lovely evening, which saw Martha and Susan at the hill to raise our peats (the first process of drying after cutting). Mysteriously, they already have been raised. Nobody knows who's done this, or if they do they're not saying. But whoever you are, thanks a million.

Folk seem to like my Beatcroft Social Mixcloud music radio show (number three in Mixcloud's 'Classic Rock Chart!') Did a little work on a new show for Monday, with a high and rather beautiful Unst element. Dedications to Hugh (probably something about bikes; I'm getting twitchy during my first summer without one for a very long time)and for Gerry McGarvey, the only Shetland parliamentary candidate to have a song written about him by the Pearlfishers! Check the three current shows out at www.mixcloud.com/tom-morton2

 Oh, and I'm reading Daniel Woodrell's The Maid's Version, which is southern gothic so crisply written you can smell the Ozark dust.

New Beatcroft Social - Volume Three is now live on Mixcloud.

....This week we're tasting Auchentoshan American Oak whisky, and here's the playlist.

Pete Droge: If  You don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)

Frankie and the Heartstrings: Think Yourself Lucky

The Cardigans: For What It’s Worth

Deke Leonard: What Am I Gonna Do When The Money Runs Out?

Sidney Bechet: Viper Mad

Lola in Slacks: Tramlines

Cocteau Twins: Pearly Dewdrops Drops

The Hold Steady: The Swish

Fairport Convention: Meet on the Ledge

The Lost Soul Band: You Can’t Win them All, Mum

Paolo Nutini: Scream (Funk My Life Up)

Declan Sinnott: It’s Just the Noise It Makes

Flying Burrito Brothers: Farther Along

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Dig! Lazarus,Dig!

Elvis Perkins: Ash Wednesday

Taste: Same Old Story

The Beatcroft Social, Volume 3 by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

The Beatcroft Social Volume Two: Alcohol Special (with whisky tasting!)

The great thing about this making-your-own-radio-programme stuff is the absolute freedom to mess about with things like poetry and, well, drink. So, possibly not on publication (it's 8.25 in the morning here in County Tyrone) here's the second Beatcroft Social, with every song somehow related to ethanol and its effects. As those nice people at Gordon and Macphail recently sent me samples of the two Benromach single malts currently available easily, I've "conducted a comparative tasting" (swigged them and talked nonsense). You can get them relatively easily, though the 15-year-old ispretty expensive. But good value I think, and I'm not being paid to say that. Anyway, the experiment continues. Thanks for all the nice comments about the first Beatcroft Social. Another one next Monday!

The Beatcroft Social, Volume 2: Alcohol Special! by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud