Andrew Marston introduces the Very Best Of 2011
Just before we dig into the pile of CDs that have been sent in over Christmas, we're going to pick out our favourites of last year and give them a spin in our annual top ten round-up.
Just before we dig into the pile of CDs that have been sent in over Christmas, we're going to pick out our favourites of last year and give them a spin in our annual top ten round-up.
Plus - this Sunday afternoon, you can be in the audience for our ±«Óãtv Introducing recording session! We'll be at Evesham Arts Centre, in Victoria Avenue, bringing you a selection of the very best unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar music from across the two counties. Here you'll be able to witness the recording of four different acts for broadcast every week throughout January and February. As a member of the studio audience you'll have a chance to see what it takes to perform live on the radio with presenter Andrew Marston introducing the acts. The performances are at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm. There’s a fully licensed bar with tea and coffee available plus a lounge area. The venue is just minutes from Evesham town centre with a large, free well-lit CCTV controlled car park. So join us – and witness live radio being made – this Sunday from 2pm – at Evesham Arts Centre. It's free to get in!
Last on
Music Played
-
Here's the order, as broadcast
-
![]()
FTBean
Cider
-
![]()
The Audacity
Your Call Is Important To Us
-
![]()
P***cracher
How I Learnt To Stop Worrying & Love The Plough
-
![]()
5parks
Fade Away
-
![]()
The Crooked Empire
Pretty Lips
-
![]()
Inca Hoots
Sleeping Lions
-
![]()
Calm Like A Riot
Robot Song
-
![]()
Lil Dre & Diggy Stylus
Weekend
-
![]()
The Cohen Brothers
Stars
-
![]()
Goldman
Don't Forget To Breathe
-
![]()
Stompin' On Spiders
Kuranda Brake
-
![]()
Zophia
Possibility
-
![]()
The Fiction
The Fiction - Too Many Bears
-
![]()
Ronda
Single Status
-
![]()
God Save The King
Coast To Coast
-
![]()
Fraxure
Simon Says (Grab Your Sax) (Radio Edit)
-
![]()
This Wicked Tongue
The Last Syllable
-
![]()
Natalie PYT
Let It Go
-
![]()
New Chapter
Haze
-
![]()
Muchuu
On Beyond
-
Andrew Marston's Top Ten
Ìý
2) 'Let It Go' by Natalie PYT - a steaming hot track by a steaming hot woman! Natalie joined us for a ±«Óãtv session in Leominster earlier in the year stripped back to just vocals and an acoustic guitar and gave Jessie J a run for her money on a glorious cover of 'Price Tag'. Here she is, proving that you can't put a price tag on such a great track.
Ìý
3) 'Simon Says (Grab Your Sax)' by Fraxure - one word - banging! This is a MASSIVE MASSIVE tune that should be played in clubs everywhere. If 2011 was the year of anything - it was the year of dubstep. But, not everybody's a fan, and this Upton musician (who's also in Bash:Roland) made it completely accessible by mixing it with some funky house and a fab of phat sax!
Ìý
4) 'Single Status' by Ronda - a cheeky song by a cheeky band. Ronda have played alongside Belinda Carlisle, Bananarama, The Human League and Heaven 17 as well as doing their own band-aid attempt - but there's no skipping the fact that this is just one of their all time greatest songs.
Ìý
5) 'Possibility' by Zophia - this girl only started playing music after leaving college - and what a fine job she's done of it! She's already toured America and has one of the most "grown up" sounds around. Think Nashville. That's where she played - and that's where her sound is from. She caught the attention of the Worcester Warriors, too, and sang in front of a 10,000 capacity Sixways welcoming our favourite local team back into the premiership!
Ìý
6) 'Don't Forget To Breathe' by Goldman - a surprise discovery by a group who are based all over the country, but written and edited together in the middle of nowhere out towards Ross-on-Wye. Goldman have been producing amazingly catchy commercial tracks for a couple of years and firmly deserve a place in our top ten - despite the fact they've now missed about four opportunities for a live session!
Ìý
7) 'Weekend' by Lil Dre & Diggy Stylus - some great commercial sounding tracks by the Evesham guys who've featured on the Clubland albums. We put them on at the Big Chill Festival - but they ended up singing over their already produced tracks which sounded a little messy and off-key. But on their recordings, they're razor sharp and their tracks are production masterpieces.
Ìý
8) 'Sleeping Lions' by Inca Hoots - I've let Andy O'Hare concentrate more on the live element this year and feature a lot of bands - but this group just wrote one of the most catchiest tracks of 2011. Inca Hoots are a good fun band who aren't frightened to play to small audiences but still achieve a big sound. There's got to be a great future for this great bunch of guys.
Ìý
9) 'Fade Away' by 5parks ft Jemma 'Pixie' Hixon - Marc Churchfield packed in an amazing performance during his live ±«Óãtv session at the University of Worcester and his tracks have just been epic all year around. Marc is like a little production factory - much to the annoyance of his neighbours (he nearly had his kit confiscated by the police). He worked with Jemma on these tracks who suffers from agoraphobia and achieved nearly three million hits on YouTube after her story was featured on ±«Óãtv Breakfast and ±«Óãtv Midlands Today.
Ìý
10) 'Your Call Is Important To Us' by The Audacity - a great fun track by production geniuses! The Audacity are humorous duo from Kidderminster who can churn out songs like butter - and on any subject (the more bizarre, the better). One admits that his mum "doesn't really understand" his tracks and is more into "church music"! We put them onto our ±«Óãtv stage at Nozstock a couple of years back and they blew the organisers away and landed themselves an invite back. They also turned down a visit to ±«Óãtv Maida Vale after they thought the email was spam!
Andy O'Hare's Top Ten
Ìý
2) 'The Last Syllable' by This Wicked Tongue - just about every genre of rock music rolled into this song - starts off with a bit of a ballady sound before erupting into stoner rock - there's even a bit of ska in the middle. This is the version before they 'restuctured' half-way through the year - but This Wicked Tongue and front-girl Tina V are without doubt the act to watch out for in 2012.
Ìý
3) 'Coast To Coast' by God Save The King - I have to declare an interest in this two-counties-based outfit - but as Adam Daffurn and Pete Adams have been pretty much the driving force behind the great Hereford and Worcester scene over the last umpteen years it's not surprising that between them, Mike and Ben they've come up with an absolute local classic. Best version of course is the one recorded at the Hatch session with Andrew, Flo and yours truly on backing vocals.
Ìý
4) 'Too Many Bears' by The Fiction - a storming number from the Hereford four-piece who played a superb set for us at Nozstock. Also involved in one of my gigs of the year at the Black Lion in Hereford with Tramps Like Us - and I absolutely love their cartoon figures logo.
Ìý
5) 'Kuranda Brake' by Stompin' On Spiders - one of the breeziest numbers I've heard this year from the duo Gary Tolley (aka The Abbot Of Unreason) and Noor Ali (newly reformed Highway 5 frontman) - I'd tag this number under 'Australiana' as it's about a railway journey in Queensland - which is Gary's spiritual and musical home-from-home.
Ìý
6) 'Stars' by The Cohen Brothers - some great appearances over the year from the Pershore-based bunch of possibly the finest technical musos doing the rounds - their production and quality is never less than first-rate and this number (featuring the delicious vocals of Abby Brant) is off the 'This Is Life' album - which was launched with a wonderful gig at the Prince Of Wales in Ledbury.
Ìý
7) 'Robot Song' by Calm Like A Riot - yeah, there's been a few 'novelty' records this year - none more so than this one from the Worcester hip-hoppers which sparked a nationwide dance craze over the summer months - well, very nearly. A record was set for the number of participants at BridgeBash (the previous record was five) - a real fun ditty from the mostly oh-so-political four-piece - I still haven't quite mastered 'The Turn' yet though.
Ìý
8) 'Pretty Lips (Live)' by The Crooked Empire - another 'unmentionable' song, but one of my favourites from the Droitwich trio. This song in its original form would never have made the airways - but this version was recorded at Mockfest in Droitwich during the summer and they modified the lyrics for a mid-afternoon audience. Now expanded to a four-piece - The Crooked Empire are an outfit who are ticking all the right boxes on the promotion front and these pure rock 'n' rollers have a promising year ahead of them.
Ìý
9) 'How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Plough' by Plane Crasher - another wonderfully off-beat slice of pure power-rock from the Hereford outfit that changed its name from the controversial Tastyhead to an even more contentious monicker earlier in the year. Trouble and strife seem to follow this outfit - who've been with us in one form or another since the show started seven years ago. Besides their session with us at the Tardebigge in Redditch - their other claim to fame was playing so loud that the Mayor of Worcester complained that they spoiled his function at the Guildhall.
Ìý
10) 'Cider' by FTBean - without doubt the song that I think should become the title tune of this show - thoughtful lyrics that provide outsiders with a cultural guide as to what really makes our two counties tick. Plenty of breezy ska-punking gigs throughout the year from the Worcester three-piece - just a shame we can't even dare to speak The Beans' full bandname!
Broadcast
- Fri 6 Jan 2012 19:00±«Óãtv Hereford & Worcester
Gigs
Chloe Mogg's daily list of live music.
History
Tales of epic gigs and local legends.
Masterclass
Top tips for new musicians.
Sessions
The best live performances since 2005.