The Classic Rock Hub

Well hello dear listeners and website viewers! Welcome to my first ever blog post!
First of all, thanks to everyone all over the world, who has supported me and the show over the past couple of years, it is fantastic and humbling.
Of course a major thanks to the talented Mr.Ripley, Mr. Royce and the rest of the FAB organisation for allowing me to do this, it’s an absolute blast.

Manchester, is of course, one of the world’s leading cities when it comes to music. From The Hollies to The Buzzcocks, from Joy Division to The Smiths, it is a city that has always been a beacon of alternative music.
What is less understood, sometimes, is how much ‘traditional’ rock music is loved in the city. Over the years we have had legendary clubs like Jilly’s Rockworld and The Banshee that have had huge followings and are still sorely missed by many. Currently we have the iconic Satan’s Hollow, the city’s leading rock and metal venue.

A few years ago when I still lived in my hometown of Stockport, you could be forgiven for thinking that people in Manchester only ever listened to ‘Indie’ bands. In 2010, I went to Download Festival in Castle Donington, where AC/DC were headlining. There were something like 80,000 people there, a large majority wearing t-shirts of bands like Metallica, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana and Iron Maiden. It had somehow felt like I was the only person still listening to this music and yet, here were thousands of people, from all over the country, for whom this music had never gone away.

As I went to a few more Download Festivals, it also became apparent that there were so many current bands who weren’t ‘Classic Rock’ in vintage but certainly were in sound and ethos. New, exciting bands who were inspired by the classics that we all love, be it Queen, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones or whoever. Bands like The Struts, Greta Van Fleet, Dirty Honey, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry , all wearing their Classic Rock influences proudly on their sleeves.
I wanted to combine the classics and also perhaps introduce Classic Rock fans to the newer bands that don’t necessarily get a lot of exposure on mainstream radio in the U.K.

We have also been very lucky to have been joined by some great guests on the show over the past couple of years including:
Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)
Spike (The Quireboys)
Luke Morley (Thunder)
Greg Hart (Cats In Space)
Tim Staffell (Smile – the band that later became Queen)
Eddie Howell
Danielz (T.Rextasy)
Robby Valentine
Gary James (presenter from Channel 4’s seminal 80s music programme The Tube)

The Classic Rock Hub has additionally been fortunate enough to cover some great events. For two years we have had VIP access to The Official International Queen Fan Club Convention featuring interviews with organisers Jim Jenkins, Andy Bacon and Jacky Smith, as well as the bands most dedicated fans from all over the world.