A HOMAGE TO MARK RADCLIFFE
BY NOW YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING EITHER -
1 - WHO THE BLOODY HELL'S MARK RADCLIFFE
2 - WHAT ARE THESE GUYS DOING FEATURING A RADIO 1 DJ ON A HAWKWIND WEBSITE
WELL IF YOU WILL JUST READ ON THEN I WILL EXPLAIN -
MARK AND HIS TRUSTY SIDEKICK LARD (A.K.A MARC RILEY) HAVE BEEN BROADCASTING ON THE BBC FOR WELL OVER 10 YEARS AND CURRENTLY OCCUPY THE 13.00 - 15.00(BST) SLOT ON RADIO 1. BY THE VERY VIRTUE OF THIS THEY COULD NOW BE CONSIDERED HOUSEHOLD NAMES IN THE UK. I CAN STILL HEAR YOU SAYING TO YOURSELF "THIS IS ALL WELL AND GOOD BUT WHAT THE HELL HAS THIS GOT TO DO WITH HAWKWIND". WELL IF I WAS TO TELL YOU THAT THE FIRST RECORD THAT MR RADCLIFFE EVER PLAYED ON THE BBC WAS "MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE" THEN MAYBE YOU WILL START TO TAKE INTEREST.
BACK IN THE EARLY NINETIES MARK AND LARD HAD A LATE NIGHT SHOW ON RADIO ONE AND HAWKWIND APPEARED ON HERE ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT RICHARD CHADWICK DID AN INTERVIEW FOR THEM AFTER A MANCHESTER GIG (THERE IS A TRANSCRIPT OF IT ON THE WEB SOMEWHERE) AND THE BAND ALSO PERFORMED A LIVE SESSION FOR THE SHOW. IF MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT ONE OF THE TRACKS WAS "RIGHT TO DECIDE" AND THE BAND FOUND IT MOST AMUSING WHEN LARD DID A RENDITION OF "BRAINSTORM" ON HIS STYLO-PHONE (THAT HAND HELD KEYBOARD THINGY THAT ROLF HARRIS USED TO ADVERTISE!). TALKING OF "RIGHT TO DECIDE", IT WAS GIVEN A LOT OF AIRPLAY ON THIS SHOW AROUND THE TIME OF IT'S RELEASE
IN 1998 MARK PUBLISHED HIS FIRST BOOK - SHOWBUSINESS (DIARY OF A ROCK AND ROLL NOBODY) AND INCLUDED IN THOSE PAGES WAS THE FOLLOWING AMUSING LITTLE TRIBUTE TO OUR HEROES -
IF LIKE ME YOU LIKE THE WAY THIS IS WRITTEN, THEN FIRST AND FOREMOST I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YOU, THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER REFERENCES TO ROCK AND METAL GROUPS, MANY THAT ARE FAR LESS FLATTERING THAN THE HAWKWIND PIECE AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE BOOKS THAT YOU FIND YOURSELF LAUGHING ALOUD TO!
HOPEFULLY BY NOW IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW ALREADY YOUR THINKING "NOT A BAD BLOKE AFTER ALL" SO WHY NOT TUNE IN AND HAVE A LISTEN FOR YOURSELF. REMEMBER IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE UK THAT THE BBC ALSO BROADCASTS ON THE NET, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE RADIO 1 SITE, THEN FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO LISTEN TO LIVE SHOWS. MARK ALSO HAS A FEATURE WHERE PEOPLE SEND IN REQUESTS VIA E-MAIL AND TEXT TO SUGGEST SONG TITLES THAT ARE APPROPRIATE TO A TOPICAL NEWS STORY OF THAT DAY. SO WHY NOT GIVE IT A LISTEN, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO THINK OF A HAWKWIND TITLE THAT FITS THE BILL, IF SO THEN SEND IT IN AND WHO KNOWS WE MAY BE LISTENING TO THE HAWKS ON DAYTIME RADIO!!!! (NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT)
CLICK HERE FOR MARKS INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD CHADWICK