Simon McLean
@simonmclean.bsky.social
Currently on the wireless in various places, occasionally voiceovering
Two things I love about this:
Ken Jones and the band gradually picking up their instruments and ad libbing a backing which ends up sounding pretty decent
Su Pollard yelling 'VERY GOOD!' at the end like she's his mum
Ken Jones and the band gradually picking up their instruments and ad libbing a backing which ends up sounding pretty decent
Su Pollard yelling 'VERY GOOD!' at the end like she's his mum
Not to be confused with the different improvised 'Wild One' he sang on his notorious Aspel appearance.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=boeX...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=boeX...
Oliver Reed drunk on Aspel
YouTube video by Jonathan Brown
www.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Two things I love about this:
Ken Jones and the band gradually picking up their instruments and ad libbing a backing which ends up sounding pretty decent
Su Pollard yelling 'VERY GOOD!' at the end like she's his mum
Ken Jones and the band gradually picking up their instruments and ad libbing a backing which ends up sounding pretty decent
Su Pollard yelling 'VERY GOOD!' at the end like she's his mum
Reposted by Simon McLean
MUM: What's wrong, Stan? You ain't eaten your fry-up
STAN: Blimey mum, I'm an actor, comedian and pianist, but every time my mush pops up all people mention is that bleedin' cash machine
ARTHUR: Serves you right
OLIVE: Arthur, don't be mean!
BLAKEY [face at window] Who's driving the Number 11 then?
STAN: Blimey mum, I'm an actor, comedian and pianist, but every time my mush pops up all people mention is that bleedin' cash machine
ARTHUR: Serves you right
OLIVE: Arthur, don't be mean!
BLAKEY [face at window] Who's driving the Number 11 then?
From 1976 and the last album released by Reg Varney – A Variety Of Varney
February 13, 2026 at 12:49 PM
MUM: What's wrong, Stan? You ain't eaten your fry-up
STAN: Blimey mum, I'm an actor, comedian and pianist, but every time my mush pops up all people mention is that bleedin' cash machine
ARTHUR: Serves you right
OLIVE: Arthur, don't be mean!
BLAKEY [face at window] Who's driving the Number 11 then?
STAN: Blimey mum, I'm an actor, comedian and pianist, but every time my mush pops up all people mention is that bleedin' cash machine
ARTHUR: Serves you right
OLIVE: Arthur, don't be mean!
BLAKEY [face at window] Who's driving the Number 11 then?
Poor old Frank Windsor used to be sick with nerves before every live Z Cars episode - I think his colleagues have just found out where
I shudder to think what Brian Blessed has just put in that bin
February 9, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Poor old Frank Windsor used to be sick with nerves before every live Z Cars episode - I think his colleagues have just found out where
February 9, 2026 at 7:43 PM
February 4, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Currently in the big easy chair on www.serenade-radio.com playing the instrumental sounds of Syd Dale, Ronnie Aldrich, Keith Mansfield and many more - join me if you dare....
Serenade Radio | The Best in Easy Listening
Join our presenters for a variety of nostalgic music and friendly chat. | From Frank, Ella, Sammy and Bing right through to the softer side of the 60's & 70's. | 24 hour online radio station.
www.serenade-radio.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Currently in the big easy chair on www.serenade-radio.com playing the instrumental sounds of Syd Dale, Ronnie Aldrich, Keith Mansfield and many more - join me if you dare....
Oh no, that's a shame, I used to love The Organist Entertains, I even had a request played on it when I was 14.
There's a great episode of Granada's This England where three chaps have a disused theatre organ installed at their house in Manchester, and one of them is a young Nigel Ogden.
There's a great episode of Granada's This England where three chaps have a disused theatre organ installed at their house in Manchester, and one of them is a young Nigel Ogden.
With news that organist and broadcaster Nigel Ogden has died here's a chance to enjoy a 1990 edition of Radio 2's The Organist Entertains
youtu.be/ZaiShZqOpms
youtu.be/ZaiShZqOpms
The Organist Entertains
YouTube video by RandomRadioJottings
youtu.be
January 29, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Oh no, that's a shame, I used to love The Organist Entertains, I even had a request played on it when I was 14.
There's a great episode of Granada's This England where three chaps have a disused theatre organ installed at their house in Manchester, and one of them is a young Nigel Ogden.
There's a great episode of Granada's This England where three chaps have a disused theatre organ installed at their house in Manchester, and one of them is a young Nigel Ogden.
Shot in portrait mode, for people watching on their phones
1967 30 line recreation of Pirandello's "The Man With The Flower in His Mouth", Originally produced on the 14th July 1930, this version was overseen by the original producer, Lance Sieveking. This version was sufficiently low-band to be captured on a stereo audio tape recorder, which astonishes me.
The Man with the Flower in his Mouth - 30-line Baird TV
YouTube video by TVDawn
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Shot in portrait mode, for people watching on their phones
Emma was best solo Spice Girl - exhibit B, no further questions, m'lud
TIL that the arrangement on this was by Nick Ingman, which makes total sense.
January 21, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Emma was best solo Spice Girl - exhibit B, no further questions, m'lud
Flashbacks to my first radio job where this was one of the highlights of the playlist - today was the first time I'd heard it in about twenty years.
With hindsight, there is a case to be made for Emma being the best solo Spice, but then I probably secretly thought that at the time as well
With hindsight, there is a case to be made for Emma being the best solo Spice, but then I probably secretly thought that at the time as well
Happy 50th to Emma Bunton and I think on balance, despite two or three Mel C contenders, this is the best solo Spice Girls single. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HevE...
Maybe
YouTube video by Emma Bunton - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Flashbacks to my first radio job where this was one of the highlights of the playlist - today was the first time I'd heard it in about twenty years.
With hindsight, there is a case to be made for Emma being the best solo Spice, but then I probably secretly thought that at the time as well
With hindsight, there is a case to be made for Emma being the best solo Spice, but then I probably secretly thought that at the time as well
Doing this again right now!
I'm on Serenade Radio till 9pm playing the easy listening instrumental muzak I love, drawn from the charity shops and bargain bins of Europe - have a listen if you like that kind of thing: www.serenade-radio.com
Serenade Radio | The Best in Easy Listening
Join our presenters for a variety of nostalgic music and friendly chat. | From Frank, Ella, Sammy and Bing right through to the softer side of the 60's & 70's. | 24 hour online radio station.
www.serenade-radio.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Doing this again right now!
The director of this also did the video for Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush
Circa 1985, Knorr decided to advertise their range of soups with a new mascot: a turnip-headed scarecrow worthy of Worzel Gummidge's Crowman, dancing to Singin' in the Rain. Sweet and wholesome or pure nightmare fuel? You decide!
January 15, 2026 at 3:58 PM
The director of this also did the video for Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush
Reposted by Simon McLean
A thing I genuinely didn't realise - Roger Whittaker used to do a radio show where he invited listeners to send poems in and he'd make songs out of them. Silversmith Ron Arthur Webster from Birmingham sent one in, which became "The Last Farewell". Blimey!
January 14, 2026 at 10:35 AM
A thing I genuinely didn't realise - Roger Whittaker used to do a radio show where he invited listeners to send poems in and he'd make songs out of them. Silversmith Ron Arthur Webster from Birmingham sent one in, which became "The Last Farewell". Blimey!
One of the greatest records ever made, and belting video too - the reason why they're at Tintern Abbey is I believe because this was made for a Dave Cash TV series which featured pop acts filmed at locations in the HTV region
While we wait for clarification, let’s enjoy the Flirtations belting out Nothing But a Heartache amidst the ruins of Tintern Abbey. youtu.be/CMUrgjcAThk?...
The Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache (Official Video, HD, Stereo)
YouTube video by Geoff Peters
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 1:47 PM
One of the greatest records ever made, and belting video too - the reason why they're at Tintern Abbey is I believe because this was made for a Dave Cash TV series which featured pop acts filmed at locations in the HTV region
Nice recovery when he completely screws up the lyrics on the middle eight - what a pro
Dennis Waterman at the 1983 Logie Awards is very VERY clearly drunk, and he's got a feme tune to sing
January 10, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Nice recovery when he completely screws up the lyrics on the middle eight - what a pro
Me trying to be mindful at 3am
My brain:
And now my brain and its Orchestra presents an hour of the hits of 1993 in Tijuana style
My brain:
And now my brain and its Orchestra presents an hour of the hits of 1993 in Tijuana style
Me trying to be mindful at 3am
My brain:
- How would you die if you fell into a volcano
- Do pigeons think the world judders
- Are there any blue spiders
My brain:
- How would you die if you fell into a volcano
- Do pigeons think the world judders
- Are there any blue spiders
Me trying to be mindful on the way home
my brain:
oh that’s why the drumming in Melt the guns like that it’s a sonic metaphor for a time bomb going off ……. Oooh pomegranate juice ….. when parrots speak in English are they then speaking a new language ….. eyebrows are moustaches of the eyes…..
my brain:
oh that’s why the drumming in Melt the guns like that it’s a sonic metaphor for a time bomb going off ……. Oooh pomegranate juice ….. when parrots speak in English are they then speaking a new language ….. eyebrows are moustaches of the eyes…..
January 9, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Me trying to be mindful at 3am
My brain:
And now my brain and its Orchestra presents an hour of the hits of 1993 in Tijuana style
My brain:
And now my brain and its Orchestra presents an hour of the hits of 1993 in Tijuana style
Getting a telling off in my first job for leaving the internet connected overnight
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Getting a telling off in my first job for leaving the internet connected overnight
Reposted by Simon McLean
Sparks (Les Sparks) on the french version of Celebrity Squares
www.facebook.com/academiedesn...
www.facebook.com/academiedesn...
3.8K views · 83 reactions | L'académie des 9 avec les Sparks | Academie des 9
L'académie des 9 avec les Sparks
www.facebook.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Sparks (Les Sparks) on the french version of Celebrity Squares
www.facebook.com/academiedesn...
www.facebook.com/academiedesn...
January 7, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Somebody needs to tell Ian Katz this is the kind of thing Channel 4 should still be showing now
STREET OF CROCODILES (1986): Startling, terrifying stop-motion animation by the Brothers Quay, loosely based upon the short story by Polish writer Bruno Schultz. Channel 4 aired it in one of their animation strands and it blew my mind.
January 6, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Somebody needs to tell Ian Katz this is the kind of thing Channel 4 should still be showing now
I'm on Serenade Radio till 9pm playing the easy listening instrumental muzak I love, drawn from the charity shops and bargain bins of Europe - have a listen if you like that kind of thing: www.serenade-radio.com
Serenade Radio | The Best in Easy Listening
Join our presenters for a variety of nostalgic music and friendly chat. | From Frank, Ella, Sammy and Bing right through to the softer side of the 60's & 70's. | 24 hour online radio station.
www.serenade-radio.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I'm on Serenade Radio till 9pm playing the easy listening instrumental muzak I love, drawn from the charity shops and bargain bins of Europe - have a listen if you like that kind of thing: www.serenade-radio.com
I cannot find any information on The Wotsit From Whizz-Bang at all - it's just there, like we all know what it's about and we don't need an explanation
December 27, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I cannot find any information on The Wotsit From Whizz-Bang at all - it's just there, like we all know what it's about and we don't need an explanation
Reposted by Simon McLean
Wish there were still TV programmmes interviewing French critical theorists
December 24, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Wish there were still TV programmmes interviewing French critical theorists
Reposted by Simon McLean
The 1972 French pressing of Little Darlin'. I have no idea who the guys in that sleeve photo are, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's almost definitely not Adge Cutler & The Wurzels...
December 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The 1972 French pressing of Little Darlin'. I have no idea who the guys in that sleeve photo are, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's almost definitely not Adge Cutler & The Wurzels...
Say what you like about the film, but this is the definitive version of this song
December 15, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Say what you like about the film, but this is the definitive version of this song