John Kell

Maybe it's been big on TikTok at some point...

@samholloway.bsky.social Independent Love Song? 5s, I think.

Since from the Boo Radleys, onstage at Bedford Esquires, smiling broadly.

The Boo Radleys: Now That's What I Call A Career-Spanning Set!

Freya Beer performing on stage at Bedford Esquires

Support comes from Freya Beer, whose parents' CD collection, I would be willing to bet, was decidedly heavy on Suede, and almost as heavy on Placebo.

The illuminated sign above the entrance of Bedford Esquires, which reads in part: "Tonight - Room 1 - The Boo Radleys".

Re-formed Britpop bands at Bedford Esquires; an occasional series.

@samholloway.bsky.social I do indeed remember that F1 crash! Didn't get it from just the audio, to be fair...

@samholloway.bsky.social Can never remember if Golden Brown is 80 or 82, but Stay must be 1992. Maybe No More Heroes was 1980 and that's what trips me up...

John Virgo. Firmly in my column of 'genuinely nice celebs I've worked with'.

Had a lovely conversation with him about how he got Big Break and how Davidson encouraged and coached him to do more in front of camera. He was supposed to be the ref. He ended up as the straight man in the act. RIP JV.

Goodnight JV.

@samholloway.bsky.social Probably going to be guessing on the Goldbug alone... 1996, was it?

YouTube video by i0sinh Tracyanne & Danny - It Can't Be Love Unless It Hurts (The Quay Sessions)

Oh goodness me, terrible news that Danny Coughlan has died. Tremendously talented man.

His Crybaby album is one of the great heartbreak records. Here he is on (slightly) more upbeat form with Tracyanne Campbell. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU8J...

The Just Joans performing on stage at the Lexington

The Just Joans performing on stage at the Lexington, with band members gathered at the front for Friday Afternoons Down the Union

Carla J Easton and her band performing on stage at the Lexington

Just Joans! On such good form. Very good to see them again. And with an encore - how long since I last saw them do Friday Afternoons Down the Union, a decade? Also really looking forward to Carla J Easton's new album - very glad she was on the bill too.

Fightmilk performing on stage at the Lexington

Fightmilk performing on stage at the Lexington

Fightmilk performing on stage at the Lexington

Forgot to post excitedly yesterday about my first gig of the year, but anyway - Fightmilk! Great!

I am not grateful to have been told this.

@samholloway.bsky.social Only song 1 gives me any idea this week, but I have a nagging feeling I might have got it wrong before... So, with low confidence: the 5s.

So I forgot to do a running commentary on this. Finished this evening - devoured it. Just such a satisfying 13 episodes of television. Not sure it's on any of the streamers, but the DVD is 11.99 or it's on YouTube if you're cheap. The best of that crop of short-lived 00s shows by a mile, IMO.

ZOMG!

@samholloway.bsky.social I feel sure the Big Show will want to mark this!

Stairs in my flat, with spindles exposed, in dark Victorian wood stain, in contrast to the teal gloss paint on the banister.

Liberated the spindles this weekend. They had 60 or so years in use before they got covered up, so there are some knocks and scuffs on there. Will need some work before they're ready for painting.

This is a sensible time to watch Team America for the first time in 20 years, right?

@samholloway.bsky.social I definitely remember hearing Jakki Brambles playing this Jesus Jones track when I used to listen to her on Radio 1... In 1991, maybe? Or possibly it was the year before but hung around on the radio for a while...?

Everyone else's Instagram feed full of cats in North America demanding to be let outside then meowing in protest at the cold and walking away once the door's opened? Just mine?

The inner face of the stairs, with the panel fully removed and spindles visible, viewed from the bottom.

The inner face of the stairs, with the panel fully removed and spindles visible, viewed from the top.

Full set of spindles, all in good nick except from minor damage when the board was nailed on (and, er, also when it was taken off). That's the original Victorian wood stain still on them.

I'll get to the second board next weekend, and start sanding and filling ahead of painting it all.

The top of the inner panel being held back, after I've detached it using the crow bar in shot. The original spindles are visible underneath.

Or rather, there was. I'd always guessed there might be spindles missing or some other problem that meant it needed boarding over. But I'm a bit more confident with DIY these days, and I'd started to wonder... So today, off it came!

My staircase, with the banister painted in teal and the other wood elements white. Viewed from downstairs, on the hall side.

Seem to have started a new DIY project. The stairs in my flat have always had this wooden panel where you'd expect to see spindles. In fact it's some sort of modern-ish fibre board - I know because I stripped all the paint off when I repainted it all. There's another one on the inside face.

This year's January re-watch: Wonderfalls. Already seen it through many times (5-6 years last?), so doubt there's much I'll have forgotten, but... three minutes in and a) gosh they look young, and b) yep, those big fast-forward camera moves date it to the mid-noughties. Still look cool, mind.

Very well observed, this. If I try a new podcast and just hear minutes of blah at the start without getting to the thing I'm interested in, I invariably conclude it's a bad podcast, switch it off, and never come back.

Radio programmes know they have to fit in a schedule so tend not to do this...

John Kell Vs Satan First Quarter Results, part 2 - 31 December 2025 The Secret History - Sergio Jenny Lewis - You Can’t Outrun ‘Em / She’s Not Me Alabama Shakes - Gimme All Your Love / Don’t Wanna Fight Angel Olsen - Never Be Mine / Those Were The Days The Just Joans - Big Blue Moon / No Longer Young Enough Tigercats - Eucalyptus I / Stay Out of Limehouse Ex Hex - No Reflection / Another Dimension Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes - For Ezra / Future Is Dance Nick Waterhouse - Very Blue / Place Names Courtney Marie Andrews - Loose Future / These Are the Good Old Days Laura Groves - Sky At Night / D 4 N Desperate Journalist - Afraid / 7 Sweet Nobody - Finally Free / Driving Off To Nowhere www.bedford.radio/listenagain

Here it is, then - part two of my rough digest of what I've been listening to over the past quarter-century. Last show from me for a while, but more in 2026... at some point. www.mixcloud.com/bedfordradio...

Experiencing slight dissonance this morning from all the accounts giving good wishes for 2026 to be better than 2025, and nobody mentioning the inevitable massive global recession and decade of terrible consequences. Oh well.

John Kell Vs Satan First Quarter Results, part 1 - 29 December 2025 Murry the Hump - Colouring Book / The House That Used To Be A Ship Lamchop - Caterpillar / Is A Woman Songs:Ohia - I’ve Been Riding With The Ghost / Just Be Simple The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy / Out of Africa Sleater-Kinney - Entertain / Modern Girl Junior Boys - Count Souvenirs / When No One Cares Misty’s Big Adventure - Serious Thing / The Long Conveyor Belt Sons and Daughters - Darling / Iodine Blue Roses - Does Anyone Love Me Now? / I Am Leaving I Am Kloot - It’s Just the Night / The Moon Is A Blind Eye The Go! Team - Secretary Song / Yosemite Theme Shrag - Show Us Your Canines / Flinching at Forever The Secret History - Johnny Panic (Forget Everything) www.bedford.radio/listenagain

Here it is, if you missed it last night: part 1 of a show 25 years in the making. Going through the first quarter of the century, one album per year. Part 2 is on New Year's Eve, but will be available on catch-up if you're busy that night for some reason. www.mixcloud.com/bedfordradio...