Passport Control because we can’t just let them all in… The Proclaimers’ Charlie Reid: Vital import, or excess baggage? Rob Wright dons the latex gloves of fate and prepares to pass judgement. Reason for visit? Gigs in Sheffield and Leeds Business or pleasure? A complete pleasure. Will you be visiting friends? A few thousand, I hope. Do you have any liquids or canisters with you? Beer, wine and Macallan whisky. Any fruit, vegetables or meat products? Road Crew
Have you ever been a member of any political or cultural movements in opposition to the Yorkshire philosophy? None but have visited Lancashire. Will you be going on Ilkley Moor and, if so, will you be wearing a hat? Yes, First world war German helmet. Anything else to declare? Yorkist solidarity. You may now proceed through passport control. Please enjoy your stay in West Yorkshire.
Is that definitely a musical instrument in that case? Ask the above.
Introducing @ BBC Leeds As Alan Raw and team headed West for the first ever West Yorkshire Raw Talent – part of the BBC Introducing network that Raw himself effectively pioneered – Vibrations’ Sam Saunders was on hand to see the story unfold on the show’s debut recording. As Alan Raw and team headed West for the first ever West Yorkshire Raw Talent – part of the BBC Introducing network that Raw himself effectively pioneered – Vibrations’ Sam Saunders was on hand to see the story unfold on the show’s debut recording. On Monday October 26th, BBC Leeds recorded the first ever West Yorkshire Raw Talent Introducing programme. I was there looking over shoulders and being nosey. The pattern is that Alan Raw, Kate Prothero and Graham Albans put the material together on Mondays at the Leeds BBC Studios and broadcast the show on Wednesdays between 7 and 10 on all Radio Leeds' frequencies and on DAB in the West Yorkshire area, streaming on the web and available as an iPlayer repeat throughout the following week. That first night was under lots of pressure to do well. On top of that, a first-choice acoustic act couldn’t make
it and a brand new eight piece Leeds College of Music band SoulDelic were drafted in. Not all of them could fit in the studio set aside, so there was a running search for a way to capture their sound. In the end (keyboard and EWI players sitting out) they were just soooo good. Stars already. With the uncertainties of new working environments and untried formats it was a miracle that, Kate, Graham, and Alan kept everyone sweet and the job got done. In the middle of it all Gary Stewart popped in on his way to another gig and recorded three impeccable tunes and a pro-standard interview. I stumbled through my bit: Graham Albans edited it to make it seem like I had been talking sense. The music was the thing though. CDs and BBC Introducing Uploader tracks provided Grammatics, Micky P. Kerr, ODi, Heads We Dance, Breaking The Illusion, Silverlode, Ellen and the Escapades, Trapdoor Minotaur, I
Concur, Kinch, Maggie8, Sketches … and heaps more. The very first tune played was the window-rattling pomp of "Misadventure" by The Scaramanga Six. Perfect start. It had always felt odd that BBC Leeds has not honoured its own gold mine when Radio 1 and 6Music have been plundering it for years. All should now get themselves vigorously involved. It's like the last piece in Leeds' independent music jigsaw. Every artist with something to hear should get onto that Uploader with their best. They should also take the gig listings seriously - Kate Prothero does a big call and Camille Ainsworth did a great preview for this year's Brainwash Festival. Labels, promoters, Dadagers, Mumagers, friends who help - get on the case! Above all, make sure you listen, and send feedback. www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing
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