Blog Archive: July 2026

It Was 20 Years Ago Today... When We Were On Radio One!
It seems impossible, but I have been informed by Mr F A Machine that our live session on Radio One was TWENTY YEARS AGO to this very day!

Twenty years!! That can't be right can it? It seems like only... well, maybe a couple of years ago, but not two whole decades. CRIKEY.

The whole thing came about because Steve Lamacq was coming to the end of his time on The Evening Session and decided that, as nobody else was likely to give us a session, then HE flipping well would. Some have suggested that this was an act of REVENGE against Radio One for ending the show, but I personally cannot see how that would make sense? Surely putting US on, rather than one of those bands people actually like, was REITHIAN in its public service?

As you can tell from my blog about the day it felt HUGE at the time, and to be honest it still does - I got nervous all over again just reading about it! There's several bits about the day I don't remember (Mark Lammar?) but also some I DO recall that I didn't mention back then, notably the fact that the lovely studio team asked if we'd like to come for a drink with them (which was apparently A Thing) but we said no because we had to go and see our pals in the pub. Is there an alternate universe where we DID go, and now we're on tour with SONIC YOUTH?

I do distinctly remember doing the interview bit with Steve, him asking me to introduce the next song, and me suddenly realising that I was now broadcasting LIVE, on my own, with nobody to tell me what to do, to at least a MILLION people! As the original blog says, I'd been doing this sort of thing in my head my whole life, so actually doing it in reality felt sort of natural... until it was all over, at which point the ENORMITY of it all hit me.

There may be a few other alternate universes where we properly CAPITALISED on it, but actually having typed that I can't think of what we could actually have DONE. As it was we went on tour the following week and at most gigs there were approx TWO additional people who'd heard us on the radio and come to see what we were like, but that was about it in terms of audience. The main thing was having GRATE fun being able to SWAN AROUND for the rest of the year saying "Oh yes, when we were on Radio One" at any opportunity, and it did FEEL like we were slightly more likely to be asked to do gigs for a while, but two decades on it's become something ASTONISHING (like Hey Hey 16K going viral, or us getting into Rolling Stone) that doesn't seem like the sort of thing that SHOULD happen to a band like us, but totally DID.

It was a fab day and a LOVELY thing for Mr Lamacq to do for us - he could have got somebody on that would make him look cool (or cooler), but instead gave us a leg up that we didn't necessarily take advantage of, but certainly enjoyed. I don't think the session's online anywhere anymore, and ASTOUNDINGLY nobody has tried to licence it for re-release, but you can always enjoy the photo gallery of our time there. It was brilliant, I just can't believe it was so long ago!

posted 17/7/2026 by MJ Hibbett
(click here for permanent link)


The Final Pop At The Lock
At the weekend I headed once more to distant MIDDLEWICH, there to play the final (EVER) edition of Pop At The Lock.

The day got off to a HIGHLY auspicious start when I was greeted at Euston by a voice behind me saying "I bet you're going to the same place I am" and LO! it was Mr M Oliver, heroic gig-goer and all-round good guy who indeed WAS going to the same place as me, and more specifically the same HOTEL as me too. Thus, after a highly productive train trip to CREWE during which I wrote a whole CHUNK of my Judge Dredd book (or at least the first of many drafts of said CHUNK) we emerged from the station and hopped into a TAXI together for the Middlewich Travelodge. This was a whole lot more fun than my original plan, which was to wait ages, get another train, wait ages, get a bus,and then have a HIKE to get there, and was so successful we managed to arrive before even Early Check-In had begun, although they let us in anyway. WINZ!

After a pleasant couple of hours lurking around (and finishing off reading the excellent When There Are Wolves Again) I strolled down to The King's Lock. It was a nice walk, full of memories of the several other times I have wandered along to play there over the years, ending with me going to the SPECIAL PEOPLE table at the festival entrance to get my SPECIAL PERSON wristband. I also got an envelope containing DRINKS VOUCHER which I spent immediately, thereby breaking my own record for firmly saying I wasn't going to have a drink before playing and then having a drink.

I watched Baby Arms, who were v good (although I may have a pro-Media Studies PhD BIAS as Jen from them mentioned having finished hers) and then got myself set up with Mr G Williams at the Gazebo Stage for my own set, where I done THIS:

Clubbing In The Week

Bad Back

I Think I Did OK

20 Things To Do Before You're 30

It Only Works Because You're here

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Boom Shake The Room

I had a BLOODY LOVELY time - as I've said previously, it's SO nice to do a Normal Gig where I can change the setlist and make up new JOKES and DIVERSIONS, rather than having to stick rigidly to an order due to the SLIDESHOW that goes along with it. Also, the crowd were DELIGHTFUL and up for it, notably BOOING correctly when I said I was having a Hydration Break, and to my surprise included lots of people who clearly had not heard some of the songs before. It was ACE.

The rest of the day was spent saying hello to various pals both new and old, BEER, some delicious GRUB and some excellent bands. I was keen to see Mt. Misery and The Cords as I had both their albums but had never actually seen them - they were GRATE, and I was especially impressed by the a) pedals b) MOUSTACHES of Mt. Misery.



Francesca's Word Salad, as Liz from The School pointed out, was UTTER FILTH, and The School themselves were fab, as were The Sunbathers. I missed most of the other bands due to the aforesaid chatting, drinking and eating unfortunately!



INDEED, such were the levels of the above that by the time The Cords had finished I was DONE IN. I could have stayed for The Darling Buds and the Indie Disco, but THE WISDOM OF YEARS told me that if I left NOW I would be able to walk home fairly successfully and get to BED, rather than verging on TIPSINESS (hem hem) and the very real danger of falling asleep/over on the way home. In my defence I'd been up late the night before watching Argentina vs Cape Verde in THE FOOTBALL, so was KNACKERED.

Hence I went back to the Travelodge for a much needed KIP, rising fairly bright and sort of breezy next morning to meet Mike again for our taxi back to the station. Thanks VERY MUCH INDEED to Team Pop At The Lock for having me, it was a FANTASTIC day out all round - it's just a shame it was the last one!

posted 6/7/2026 by MJ Hibbett
(click here for permanent link)