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On June the 4th, 1976 four young men took to the stage of the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. The noise they made changed everything. To mark the 50th anniversary of the night the Sex Pistols came to town and changed music forever, I'll be doing some spoken word events in London and Manchester, so here are some dates for your diaries: Walthamstow Rock n Roll Book Club, London - Monday, 25th of May (evening) Nudie, Northern Quarter, Manchester - Thursday, 28th of May (ev

I've just finished running the TV Training for the BBC's Apprenticeship Scheme - or BBC Get In. I do it twice a year and I love it. Because I get it . I was an apprentice too. In 1981 I somehow got a trainee place on a magazine... and it changed my life. Everything that happened to me over the next decades can be traced back to that one, amazing opportunity. It changed my life, so I know that #bbcgetin will change these apprentices lives too.

At the start of the year I headed north - REALLY north - to do training work for BBC Alba, the Scots Gaelic service. As ever, I was prepared and started each day by introducing myself in Gaelic. They appreciated the gesture, I think. I hopped by plane and train from Glasgow to Stornoway, then to Inverness and then back to Glasgow. There were a few dramas with bad weather and stranded planes but the welcome was warm wherever I went and the food was great. Slàinte mhath!

Training now is – like it or not – a mix of online and face to face.  Online training makes things fairer – anyone can join in from...

Some amazing news for 2024… Manc Noir is heading for your TV screens.  Free@Last TV has bought the rights to all three books and they are...