For four years between 2006 and 2010, “Moanin’ At Midnight” by Howlin’ Wolf heralded the plugging in of God’s Jukebox and the start of the three most engrossing, enriching and enjoyable hours of my week.
It had always been a dream of Mark Lamarr’s to have a radio show with “Moanin’ At Midnight” – and Wolf’s unmistakable low groan intro – as its theme. When God’s Jukebox was commissioned, his dream came true. That the show started at midnight (Saturday, 12 till 3am) made it all the more perfect.
Lamarr joined BBC Radio 2 in 1998 and hosted a number of specialist series on the network: he shared his enviable stash of 7-inch records and extensive knowledge of rockabilly – his first love – on the award-winning Shake, Rattle & Roll; The Reggae Show began with him dipping his toe into the world of reggae and ended with him as something of an authority on the subject, interviewing virtually every key figure in Jamaican music along the way; Alternative 60s was an exhilarating journey into the outer reaches of the 1960s.
With God’s Jukebox, he had the ideal vehicle for his Catholic tastes; a showcase deserving of his remarkable record collection. Each show featured a dizzyingly diverse selection of music – blues, soul, reggae, punk, funk, gospel, country, jazz – much of which I hadn't heard before. Little Willie John into The Sonics into Hank Williams into Irma Thomas into Dr. Feelgood into The Maytals into Sister Rosetta Tharpe into Nat King Cole. All the good stuff jumbled together - just as, I trust, the Good Lord likes it.
For all of its punk “anything goes” spirit, God’s Jukebox was structured and meticulously assembled. One regular segment (Featured Artist) saw Lamarr playing six tracks by or connected to a particular singer or group – a fantastic way of demonstrating that artist's range and influence, of opening your ears to someone you perhaps thought you knew or had preconceptions about. Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Nina Simone, Dexys Midnight Runners, Candi Staton, Slade and Roxy Music are all former Featured Artists who I now consider favourites. Bob Dylan wasn't the only person doing themed radio shows in the 2000s – Mark could also be found riffing on a range of subjects from family and flying, to the moon and (yes) midnight.
Every week, to the disgruntlement of some, Lamarr would slip in a hip-hop track (it’s safe to presume he’s responsible for 100% of the plays Ludacris has received on Radio 2) and a raucous gospel performance – from the original vinyl, naturally. No show would go by without him playing something by one of his biggest heroes, Tom Waits - it seemed only right to me that I buy a Waits album a week to keep up.
New talent was given its time to shine, even if the majority of the new music to catch Lamarr’s ear was clearly indebted to the past (something I find increasingly with my own listening tastes as I get older). He would joke that the artists he tipped for the big time were destined for a career of obscurity, and he kind of had a point – Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Candie Payne, The Heavy, Chicken Legs Weaver and The Dials were just a few to not receive the support or success they perhaps deserved. Many of these acts performed live sessions on the show, as did legends including The Monks, The Zombies, The Congos, Allen Touissant and Paul Weller.
Every God’s Jukebox would end on something pre-war – something crackly and reflective to waltz you into the wee small hours, towards the land of nod.
It’s easy to forget that for the first couple of years of the show’s run, at least, there was no iPlayer. If for whatever reason you missed the show going out live - that was it, no catch-up, no second chances. I know it may sound melodramatic, but on the rare occasions that I did miss a show it really did feel like I’d missed out on some valuable education, on some new doors being opened to me. In those four years, I listened to, bought (albums, greatest hits, compilations, Proper box sets) and devoured more music than I ever had before or have since.
Not everything played on the show was great. Garage and punk bands, clearly beloved of the teenage Lamarr, would be invited in for sessions, sometimes way past their sell-by date. He, like many avid record collectors, had a penchant for the novelty song – some of which you probably didn't need to hear even once in your life. An annual special, three hours of obscure Christmas records, would have tested the patience of Saint Nick. But this all felt like part of the discovery.
The Mark Lamarr on God’s Jukebox was very different to the Mark Lamarr on television. The jaded, sneering quiz master of Never Mind The Buzzcocks felt less like a persona as the series stacked up (Someone really needs to put that rock dinosaur of a show out of its misery). On the radio, he was always relaxed, incredibly passionate and knowledgeable, funny but in a less showy way. He had the best job in the world, he’d say. Waspish comments were saved for a few choice targets: Elton John, Robbie Williams, Radio 2 bigwigs.
And so it went that Lamarr left BBC Radio 2 in 2010, following one last row with bosses regarding the show’s graveyard slot. “We have a greater commitment than ever before to specialist music genres and feature an extraordinarily broad range of music…we plan to replace his shows with equally distinctive content in 2011", a BBC spokesperson said at the time, which looks even more like bollocks now than it did then. The final God’s Jukebox went out on Christmas Eve/Day. Last I heard, Mark was doing some on-flight radio shows for British Airways and curating a stage at the Latitude festival.
6music have some superb stuff in their schedule – Gilles Petersen; Craig Charles’ Soul & Funk Show; Cery’s Matthews’ splendid Sunday morning show, which is probably the closest to God’s Jukebox in terms of its rootsy diversity – but surely they could find a slot for Lamarr. I can understand why musicians like Guy Garvey, Jarvis Cocker and Ricky Wilson are given their own shows – they’re recognisable and popular personalities with ready-made audiences.
But no one on radio has as big a personality as Mark Lamarr: I don’t think I’ll ever forget the glee with which he introduced “Duppy Conqueror” by Bob Marley (“duppy” is the Jamaican word for “ghost”, meaning that “Duppy Conqueror” is essentially Marley’s version of Ghostbusters!), or the warmth and humanity with which he, obviously choked up, dedicated one show to Charlie Gillett – his friend and fellow DJ and record obsessive who had passed away earlier that week – and played Barbara Lynn’s “You’ll Lose A Good Thing”. Even setting aside his musical expertise and taste, there just has to be room on the BBC for a broadcaster like that.
Thanks Mark. Happy trails to you, till we meet again.
One gallant warrior has compiled this Two Week (!) long Spotify playlist of music featured on God’s Jukebox. If that seems a little intimidating, I have put together my own selection - some tracks I vividly remember hearing in the early hours of Saturday, ear pressed against the side of my radio. I hope it gives you a flavour of this incredible show.
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