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Baker's Dozen

Pitch Perfect: Pat Nevin's Favourite Music
Richard Foster , June 2nd, 2021 08:17

Footballer, DJ and now writer, Pat Nevin talks Richard Foster through his 13 favourite records, including the time he got the fear from Delia Smith being at John Peel's birthday party, and being asked to write lyrics for Vini Reilly

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Grinderswitch – 'Pickin' the Blues’
There can only be one last song! As a deejay you have to have something to end the night and I just stole it from John Peel. He always started the show and ended it with this one. And the reason for this is, every time I heard the Peelie show, I knew I was in for something special. The way some people feel about the Match Of The Day theme tune, which has no effect on me whatsoever, I feel about this. It's a great track to use when it's time to put the lights up. It's terrible when you put the lights up and there's no music! But this is a beautiful track and the memories of all the tracks I ever heard that came from John. 

And I remember the terrible day he died; after John went it was devastating for everyone. Just before this time, Peelie had played a Fall track, 'Blindness'. A great Fall track, one of the really great ones. I remember going into the record shop to buy the Fall album which had 'Blindness' on. And I remember thinking, that is the last time I will ever do this, buy a record because I heard a track on Peelie. And I was welling up when I walked in the shop. In fact even now I feel emotional now thinking about it. How many important moments happen in your life when you heard something, you loved it and then you've done something else, like a chain reaction? I could have picked 'Blindness' for this last track. I love The Fall, I have watched them hundreds of times. Mark was definitely a very intelligent man. We were supposed to do a TV programme together about architecture but he didn't turn up. He was “otherwise engaged.” I had to do both sides of the interview, and talk about both the architecture of Manchester and the architecture of Glasgow. I remember thinking, “ach I always wanted to meet him”, but afterwards thinking, maybe it's right that I didn't. [Laughs.]