Doctor Digital - Astral Thighrider from Beyond the Eighth Dimension

[vin_petrol]

I let slip recently that I used to have an alter-ego called "Doctor Digital". He used to broadcast a radio show on University Radio York in the late 1980s. I was quite fond of him, and I do still possess a tape with a recording of one show from that era. Today I finally got the necessary cables and software together to make an MP3 from it. So, if you're interested in hearing a terrible Zodiac Mindwarp impersonation from 1989, there's the first three minutes of a show online at:
http://toybox.twisted.org.uk/~vincent/stuff/doctor_digital_intro.mp3
Pop quiz: what's the music I've used as the intro? Plus, what is the very tenuous reason why I used it, apart from the fact it goes on for ages with no vocals (hint: geography and origins)?

Comments

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

I'd left York Uni before this aired. And it sounds like I had a narrow escape!

I remember the guy who used to do the Rock Show in the mid eighties had a poll for a top ten show. We rigged it so they were all at a minimum twenty minuters. Give him his due he played the lot from Suppers Ready to Grendel to 2112 (the whole album).

I quite often ran the last hour of the Rock Soc Bop myself and I have a tape somewhere of most of the singles the soc owned. I feel the need for a one off seventies/eighties rock night comming.

[vin_petrol]

I'd left York Uni before this aired. And it sounds like I had a narrow escape!

IIRC your last year was 87-88. That was my first year, and I did broadcast a few shows right at the very end of that year, but I was new to radio, and the full horror of Doctor Digital was yet to be unleashed on the world. Hardly anyone actually listened to the show anyway - my audience was usually just a load of people sat around in the studio. I met *one* actual external listener in two years of doing a weekly show. I always figured URY wasn't actually about broadcasting to listeners per se, but more about being able to put "worked on radio" on your CV. :-)

I have a tape somewhere of most of the singles the soc owned

I recall rooting through that collection in the late 80s myself. Lots of mainstream 70s and 80s rock. I do recall a very scratched copy of Led Zep IV, and we finished a lot of rock nights with Stairway to Heaven.

Re:

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

I do recall a very scratched copy of Led Zep IV, and we finished a lot of rock nights with Stairway to Heaven.

I always finished with Hurry on Sundown by Hawkwind. Do you think that a Rock Night for smallish numbers would work. Would you be interested in helping? I know Molly is always bemoaning that there's no evenings that she's interested in. I would love to recreate a Rock Soc Bop in so much as the type of music being played.

[vin_petrol]

Do you think that a Rock Night for smallish numbers would work. Would you be interested in helping?

I've no idea. I know there's lots of old rockers out there bemoaning the lack of nights out that cater for their tastes, but I don't know if they would actually *go* to one if it existed.

Although I have a soft spot for music from that era, I personally wouldn't be interested in helping to create, or attending, a night that harkened back to those days.

Thinking about it, isn't there a night in Leeds called "Rock of Ages" which is pretty much old style metal. I have a vague memory of a fundamental "no nu-metal" rule being applied there. (googles). I've found a web site:

http://www.rockingfish.com/pages/ra-what.html

but it seems to be a little out of date.

Re:

[cyberspice.livejournal.com]

Although I have a soft spot for music from that era, I personally wouldn't be interested in helping to create, or attending, a night that harkened back to those days.

Oh well. Never mind. Like most of my ideas it's a bit crap. But it has at least prompted some to put forth some ideas. I have to admit that my memories of those nights are probably through the haze of alchohol and narcotics. That broom cupboard off of the Alcuin room was extremely useful.

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[echo-echo.livejournal.com]

I don't have that much from the 80's but my 90's collection isn't too bad as I was DJ'ing alternative clubs then...and it pretty much became my full time job. Depends what you class as rock? Things were heading into a Senser, Faith No More, White Zombie, Machinehead, Coal Chamber, Pantera, kind of direction when I started going to rock clubs.

[everild.livejournal.com]

Do you think that a Rock Night for smallish numbers would work.

I think there definitely would be interest. I notice that the three token rock tracks that get played at Wendyhouse always have absolutely loads of people on the dance floor, despite the fact that it's always the same three songs! I have been to Rock of Ages, but it was much better when it was on campus. The venue that it's in in the middle of Leeds is really shit and I wouldn't go back unless it was somewhere bigger and better. In general there is definitely a market for proper big rock nights though. Recently I've been to monthly nights at http://www.roackatthearena.co.uk in Newcastle and a night called (inventively!) Brighton Rock in Brighton, both of which are held in big venues and have really sizeable crowds consisting of older and younger people. And both of them do a good mix of classic metal and nu-er stuff, which really suits me as I like both. Although of course both places had famous rock clubs back in the 80s & 90s (the Mayfair and Hungry Years respectively) whereas Leeds didn't really. I guess Bradford Rios was the nearest to that, and Saturday nights there are still old rock fun, in fact some of us are going there in a few weeks' time :-)

PS

[everild.livejournal.com]

Sorry - just realised that the Newcastle night happens every Saturday, so it's even more popular!

[mister-ed.livejournal.com]

/*Boooo!*/ :-)

Such talent... so why did you stop?

[vin_petrol]

Such talent... so why did you stop?

I got a sore throat... :-)

I did a couple of years on URY, but I was never really interested in doing it long term. Plus, there weren't really the channels on mainstream radio then to cater for the kind of show I was doing. Simplistically, I have a lazy streak which means I like other people to actually *want* my skills and talents, so I don't have to sell myself to any great degree. Being a programmer in IT, and an actor in a local theatre group fulfil this well. Had I wanted to seriously DJ a rock show I would have had to have done a lot more self-promotion (and lost the silly voice). I just didn't want it that much...

And believe me, some of the DJs on URY were *appalling*. I remember one woman who had the charisma of a pile of mud. Her style was simply "that was [song 1] by [band 1], and here is [song 2] by [band 2]" - for two hours. Or a bloke who would go "here is [song] by [band]" (ten seconds of dead air then song starts). At least my show was fun for the 10 people in the studio...

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

I really must hijack a cassette deck (I'm entirely digital these days ;)) and mp3-ize the pile of tapes of Rubbish On The Radio that an elderly me and a very young thecesspit did.

We enjoyed it anyway. ;)

And if anyone has any of minusbat's shows on tape - "and now the time on URY on wonderful 999 kilohertz is.... er, let me take the difference between the times on my two calculator watches and split the difference... er, I'll put a record on while I work this out...." - let's hear them too ;)

[vin_petrol]

mp3-ize the pile of tapes of Rubbish On The Radio

Oooh, please do. I don't recall listening to it first time round...

I'm afraid I don't have any of -bat's shows on tape. I think I *may* have the rock night I refer to in my program on tape (somewhere). I'll have to hunt that out too. :-)

Was it -bat who did "and now for a century check on URY: it's the 20th"?

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[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

It was after your time (and nearly after mine) towards the end of my time working in computer science - and even after when I was working at shitey.com. Chris did four years from 1993-4, after a guest appearance I joined him semi-permanently somewhere in '94-5.