This excellent tune was found when compiling a shortwave mix, a great spoof of The Normal on a festive tip. We hope even Daniel Miller would have a chuckle at it while he’s listening to it around the open fire.
Category Archives: non-gardening business
Keep this frequency clear
It was very sad to hear about Benjamin Zephaniah who passed away this morning. Thanks to Gerry Hectic for letting us know about this great tune. RIP Benjamin Zephaniah.
Bass and drum plus some gurgling and groaning
Last night we found a wonderful track on Bill Laswell’s Trojan Dub Massive Volume One compilation on Bandcamp. It’s a version of Delroy Wilson’s Have Some Mercy (first heard on the John Peel show many years ago) and George Faith’s To be a Lover called Lovers Skank (Spanglers Clap) by The Upsetters. Crazy minimal dub with all sounds of strange things over the top.
This track also appears on the vintage King Tubby’s Hometown Hi-Fi recording from Jamaica in 1975 (Thanks to Who Cork The Dance for cleaning the tape up) at 11 minutes in. As the great U-Roy says while the track is playing “It’s kind of scratchy, very very scratchy but the brother asked to play…” Tune!
Here’s an excellent interview with the great U-Roy where he talks about King Tubby’s electronics wizardry at 11 minutes in.
Evening all

Cheers to Rich R in the Lake District for sending us his pic of the Halo moon (“and is that Jupiter to the right?” said in the best Patrck Moore voice) taken at 10.30pm on Saturday night. We were well tucked up in bed at that time knackered after that little bit of work in the garden, the lightweights that we are. Cheers for that Rich, it’s a great photo!
And talking of Patrick Moore here’s possibly one of the best youtube clips ever, apologies as we do roll this out a few times a year as it love it so much. The handwriting part is excellent. “Keep watching the skies” as they say.
COOL down the pace
Last weekend’s transmission of Imaginary Stations (the show that features music you probably won’t hear elsewhere on shortwave) is now up on Mixcloud. This episode is the station COOL “Cool tunes for Summer moods” featuring some music that evokes sunshine even though London last weekend wasn’t experiencing much of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81HZ89xXlGc
23 minutes into the broadcast in is a mix from One Deck Pete called a “Seven Inch Single Summer Special” featuring
Earl Brown – Get Together
Stereolab – Miss Modular
Freda Payne – Unhooked Generation
Anthony Johnson – Zuggi Zeng Version/Roots Radics Dedication To Flabba Holt 2 Martel Robinson – Follow you
So get out in the garden, perch yourself on a deckchair, stick some headphones on and blast the show for maximum pleasure. “Summertime and the living is easy” as Our ‘enry once sang.
Thursday night version excursion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx84OjVx-CQ
The other evening found a different cut of this fantastic cover version of the reggae classic “Queen of the minstrels” by Mr Day and we now love this happy snappy mix. It’s very soulful and upbeat with still a hint of the original in there. A tune and a very catchy one at that.
Calling all Wallies, calling all Wallies

What with all this great weather we’re having at the moment, we’re reminded of the old free festivals that used to be about. Festivals like Stonehenge and Deeply Vale where The Fall used to love to play and also where The Ruts were formed. If you love all that free festival business have a look at this site here. It’s a brilliant documentation of when festivals didn’t have 30 or so big name DJ’s/Bands playing each day and where you weren’t searched for cans of Carling Black Label on your way in. There were certainly no artisan bread stalls and WI tea tents selling home-made victoria sponges in those days though there was some alternative home-baking going on. RIP to Wally Hope (above on flyer) who was a part of getting the punk band Crass together and the nude dancer William “Jesus” Jellett. There’s a great bit in Paul Gorman’s blog where “Jesus” is pictured dancing at an early Sex Pistols gig here.

Sort of related to all of this Free Festival malarkey, Imaginary Stations bring you WHPY this Sunday 18th June 2023 at 2200 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz via WRMI. They’ll be broadcasting a special programme live from the Skybird mobile studio van parked up in a free festival in a car park in the hippy haven of Woodstock. They’ll be a mix from One Deck Pete called “For all the Wallies out there” featuring tunes by Can, Bongo Isaac, Itekted and Dread I Benji, Emma-Jean Thackray and original Woodstock artiste Richie Havens.
So don your best 1970’s long afghan coat even in this heat, grab something strong to drink if there is anything still left in the communal fridge and play your imaginary recorder or shake a home-made tambourine along to the far out sounds of WHPY.
Another page in your diary
A couple of events to stick in the old diary. The first is a Seed Swap in the Corbett Community Library, Torridon Road, Catford, London SE6 1RQ on Saturday 25th March 2023 from 10am to 3pm. More on the event here. Thanks to @LewishamGardens for alerting us to this!

And on WRMI this Sunday 5th March 2023 Imaginary Stations presents a KBIN mix up special with WSTL versus WELK. Expect some whistling, yodelling and squeezebox classics at 2300 UTC on 9395 kHz. Get that accordion at the ready!
Yesterday once more

Here’s the studio audio from last night’s KTAB, the latest in the Imaginary Radio Stations series transmitted to the world via the valves and wires of WRMI.
At 24 minutes into the recording is One Deck Pete’s “I’ve got those broadcast blues”. Here’s the full track listing of the 15 minute mix complete with the Bandcamp sites the tracks were obtained from. Do check them out as there were a lot of interesting stuff on the labels, Death is not the end feature tons of tunes from Jamaican Doo Wop to Pirate Radio Adverts from the Acid House days and as for Canary Records, there’s a truck load to explore there!
One Deck Pete presents “I’ve got those broadcast blues”
Japanese Movie 1940s-1950s – A1 Senri Records
Washboard Sam and His Washboard Band – Broadcast Blues Putz Disc
Keith & Enid – Worried over you Death is not the end
Charlie Barnet – Ogoun Badagris (Voodoo War God) Swingin’ Dick’s
Kishor Kumar – Eena Meena Deeka Canary Records
Japanese Movie 1940’s-1950’s – B1 Senri Records
Using your modern day computer, take a step back in time and enjoy an hour of old time business that comes back again!
Thanks but no thanks

We here at Weeds are always up for anything gardening related found in skips, out on the street or put out for the binmen but sadly had to pass of this treasure trove yesterday.
There was a three pronged garden fork with matching flip-flops (a great idea, co-ordinated gardening/tool wear!) and a pair of well worn deck shoes. We’re well into the keep ’em peeled ethic and all that but you are allowed to say no and keep on walking.