Session News

I very rarely get to hear his programmes as they are broadcast these days, but in odd spare moments over the past week or so I've been desperately trying to catch up with a batch of recent Marc Riley radio shows on the BBC iPlayer before they disappear into the ether 30 days after transmission. His session guests have been of a exceptionally high calibre of late. They include marvellous sets from Joan As Policewoman, Peter Perrett, Yo La Tengo, Wreckless Eric and Robyn Hitchcock & the LA Squires. I've attached a handful of individual highlights, but you'll have to dig through Marc's episode guide to check out the rest. Don't delay though.

Hitchcock's full session and between song banter with Marc was a particular joy for this old Soft Boys fan and if anyone out there is able to magically preserve these moments in an MP3 format for me, I'd be eternally grateful. Robyn is in the middle of a UK tour at this very moment, but I'm unable to make it to any of the shows. Bugger.

Mark Mulcahy and Miracle Legion

Yesterday morning, while flicking through a couple of recent Marc Riley 6Music shows that I'd missed, I was surprised to discover that Miracle Legion played a session for him last week. I've been a fan of Mark Mulcahy's songs since picking up the band's 'Backyard' mini-album in (gulp!) 1984 and continued to follow his solo career following the Miracle Legion's dissolution in 1996. I had no idea they were back, though it turns out that Miracle Legion have temporarily reunited to play a few shows to coincide with a 20th anniversary reissue of their final LP, 'Portrait of a Damaged Family'. The Marc Riley session was really great (it's available here for another 3 weeks) and it prompted me to spend the rest of the day listening exclusively to Mark's music - solo, with Miracle Legion and as part of another occasional project, Polaris. Most of my physical music collection remains boxed up and inaccessible, so I was chuffed to find that all aspects of Mark's career are well catered for on Bandcamp. Here are a handful of choice nuggets.