Celtic Connections Live!

Alex is a founder director and Chairperson of Celtic Music Radio. For many years Alex was involved in his local community serving several terms as a Johnstone Community Councillor and was Vice-Chairperson of his local Johnstone Tenants and Residents Association for eight years. Alex’s link with Scottish traditional music goes back to his great uncle, Pipe Major Bill Denholm who wrote the El Alamein. Alex was also involved from the launch of Paisley area local commercial radio station station Q96 when it launched in September 1992 until the station was taken over in 1996. Alex is also a qualified radio amateur (mm0oil) and he has responsibility for the maintenance of transmissions of Celtic Music Radio on 95FM. Alex presents the Morning Mix Monday to Friday 8.00am to 12noon and he is also part of the outside broadcast and live events team.

When I retired I worked for Inverclyde Radio. I joined Celtic Music Radio about two and a half years ago and have loved doing my Wednesday “Jukebox” since then.

Gordon first developed an interest in folk music during the folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s.  From then, he became involved with the music scene, meeting enthusiasts and performers and developed a deep understanding of his national heritage of music and song. He plays the Concertina and for many years was a member of  The Whistlebinkies then the Auld Howff Band and also performed in a few duos and as a solo artist touring throughout the UK , Canada, France, Germany and Russia with appearances on television and radio. During that time he was the Traditional Music & Song Association – TMSA -champion on five occasions and first in the Ceoltas All Britain Fleadh Ceol competition on Concertina. He is also known to give a song or two. He has also been a director of the Falkirk Folk Festival, The Glasgow Tryst Folk Festival and Glasgow International Folk Festival. In 1984 he began broadcasting for a number of years with ‘Hotchpotch’ on local commercial radio station Radio Clyde ‘261’ in Glasgow featuring traditional folk music. During that period he gained both a UK National Sony award and a Scottish TRICS commendation for best radio specialist music programme –  the Oscars of British and Scottish radio broadcasting. He is also a noted photographer. Since around 1990 he has collected an archive of  over 100,000 images of musicians including a continuous coverage of the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow since its beginning in 1994.  His photographs were exhibited in a major exhibition of his work during Celtic Connections in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2005.  His work has been used by magazines such as Metal Hammer, FRoots and Living Tradition and featured on publicity and CDs by many organisations, record companies and  artists including Dougie MacLean, Phil Cunningham, Brian McNeill, Arthur Johnstone, Mick West, Adam MacNaughton, Allan Taylor, Ken Campbell Ideal Band, Archie McAllister and Ross Kennedy, Back o’ The Moon, Wendy Weatherby, Lori Watson, the TMSA and Lismore, KRL and Skipinnish records. A selection of Gordon’s photographic work can be viewed on his website. Broadcasting with Celtic Music Radio from its first day as a trial showcase at Celtic Connections in 2006, Gordon now presents Hotchkiss Hotchpotch featuring mainly Scottish and Irish artists and music on Wednesday at 7.00-10.00pm and also repeated at 1.00am and 12 noon on Thursday. Gordon also presents Homeward Bound  programme showcasing a wide range of music on Fridays at 3.00-6.00pm. Another passion is his support of ‘The Bairns’ – Falkirk Football Club.  A love affair full of disappointment and a source of mirth at the radio station.

Mike Ritchie loves music in the Americana, alt.country, roots, bluegrass, rock, singer/songwriter fields: so there is no shortage of great tracks for his show, which is a mix of music, news, reviews and him blethering (says Mike) about gigs, albums and artists in general.

I came to join Celtic Music Radio by a strange route, “They won me in a Raffle” and I stayed. That in 2010 and since then I have had a great time either on air doing a show or out on live broadcasts, or even just trying to help with fundraising to keep the station […]

Frankie Farrell was one of the original managed Acts in Scotland having appeared on Opportunity Knocks and several TV and Radio shows here in the UK and abroad. Frankie has appeared in all major theatres In Scotland as well as the Royal Albert Hall in London. Frankie is one of the most successful acts in Scotland with great positive feedback wherever he performed.

Bob Liddle is a musician from Kelso, his main instrument being accordion but also plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums and is also a piper with Kelso Pipe Band. Having started playing in bands at the age of 14 with the late well-known Frankie Mallen’s band “The Border Wanderers” from Kelso, Bob started his own band “The Ace Of Clubs” which played very successfully throughout the Borders in the 70s and 80s. More recently Bob plays solo throughout the area doing both ceilidh and modern music with accordion, guitar and vocals and also is the leader of the “Blackthorne Ceilidh Band”, which includes accordionist Charlie McIntee from Kelso and fiddler Louise Douglas from Stow. Bob has also 4 CDs to his name, the most recent “Softly Flows The Tweed” and thereafter “Kale Water” having both been exclusively written by Bob and both CDs being nominated in the top 6 at their respective yearly Accordion & Fiddle Awards Ceremonies. Bob is a relative new-comer to radio presenting, his “Bob Liddle’s Box and Fiddle Show” is less than a year old.

Bob has been presenting the Transatlantic Conversations show on Sundays from 2 pm - 4 pm since October 2017. He is also a practising musician, singer, and songwriter.

I have ben presenting a radio show for a short time, started on Celtic Music Radio one Bank holiday to cover for Alex Jenkins, before that I was looking after technical things to keep the station on air. Since covering for Alex he hasn’t had his show back on a Friday morning at 8am where […]

He regularly presents the Lunchtime Selection on Wednesdays from 12 noon till 2 pm and you may also hear him deputising for other presenters when they’re on holiday.

I have been involved in hoochter teuchter music since I was at school, spending many years playing in pipe bands in villages and towns all round Scotland.  Many weekend afternoons were happily spent marching behind horses and carts in the rain, eating chips on coaches, fending off midges and heroically navigating through crowds of drunken tourists and locals at the annual Cowal Games in Dunoon with my sporran intact.

Having been a huge radio fan all my life, I’m now looking forward to stripping your willows for you on Sunday mornings. 

Paul is involved with Celtic Music Radio both behind-the-scenes and occasional presenting.