Steve Martin is a local DJ based on Merseyside who has had a passion for DJ'ing since he was a spotty teenager (just kidding). He currently has a show on Merseyland Alternative Radio (MAR) on a Saturday night from 8PM to 10PM. Here we talk to him about his love of music and how he became a DJ and his love of music. DLW: So Steve how long have you been DJ'ing? STEVE: Well Dave probably not as long some people think. Some think I've been around forever. I remember as a teenager sending off loads of demos to pirate stations hoping to get involved, but nothing really came of it apart from a station called J1000 that used to put out listeners programmes on a Sunday afternoon, so my first radio show probably went out around September 1981, my first live gig was around December 1982 at the Joeys club in Birkenhead, it was probably some sort of youth club gig, hard to remember it was so long ago! After that I didn't really do any radio until years later and had a brief flirt with DJing live in the late 80's, but I was a bit of a party animal in the 80's, so preferred to be at the bar in clubs rather than in the DJ booth, I didn't really get back into it until about 2004 when one of the local pirate stations were struggling for DJs so I offered to help out. Although I hadn't done much DJing in between, I'd always stayed in touch with the local pirate scene. DLW: Is it something that you have been into since you were a kid? STEVE: Yes always. At school I never really knew what I wanted to do when I left, apart from DJing, and then ironically I actually didn't do that much when I actually left! DLW: What is it about being a DJ that you enjoy? STEVE: These days I enjoy the instant interaction with listeners. Back in the 80's you had to wait a week for letters to arrive, or send someone down to the nearest phone box. Now the feedback is instant via text, email or Facebook. I still like to find new stuff, but these days, in the days of stations like Greatest Hits having such small playlists, I like to dig out some of the old stuff that just doesn't get played on the radio. The biggest compliment that I like is when someone says I haven't heard that for ages. Last Saturday I played a single from The Tourists from 1979, and another DJ messaged me and said that was the first time he'd ever heard it. DLW: What were your favourite stations to listen to back in the day? STEVE: Well when I was a kid I'd listen to Radio 1 during the day and Luxembourg at night, but as I got older I started finding all the local pirate stations and there was so much going on, it was like a soap opera at times, with squabbles, practical jokes, it really was compulsive listening. At the time I was always looking for new music and new bands to listen to, So the likes of John Peel, Dave Fanning at RTE Radio 2 and Mike Stand on MAR were always a good listen. But probably the greatest radio station these islands have ever seen was Radio Nova from Dublin. It was on the air from around 1980-86, with 50KW of power from the hills around Dublin it was the loudest and clearest station here in NW England on the AM band. I don't think any station has come close to how good it was. Some people have probably never heard of it but there is a great documentary on Youtube. DW: Now I believe that Merseyland Alternative Radio started back in 1979, what was the local radio scene like? STEVE: MAR started in October 1979, I was just a listener back then, it was on air at the weekends from 10AM-Midnight on 266m/1125khz, it basically played top 40 music during the day, when other stations were doing sport, country, classical etc. And in the evening it had a more indie type format with stuff from local bands etc. At that time there was also another station called Radio Jackie North which was a rock station broadcasting from Cantril Farm, then basically as we entered the 80's there were literally dozens of stations on the air, probably some of the most well known were Storeton Community Radio and Radio Merseywaves. DLW: Is it safe to assume that MAR promoted a lot of local bands and give them radio airplay? STEVE: Yes. All the Skeleton releases used to get loads of airplay, many others too. DLW: Were there any other 'pirate' radio stations that you used to listen to and/or got involved with? STEVE: I basically listened to them all, right from the 80's right up to present day, and I've certainly been involved in a few. Probably the maddest experience I had was with a station called Weed FM. Now you can imagine with a name like that it attracted quite a lot of attention. It got to the point where we were basically waiting for the weekly raid at 5pm on a Sunday afternoon! DLW: When did you start your own shows with local radio and is it true that John Weaver (Skeleton Records) used to send you stuff to play and in return you advertised his (most excellent) shop on your shows? STEVE: John Weaver used to advertise on MAR back in the early days, and supply records. When MAR came back regularly from around 2007, we were always trying to get some of the original guys to do stuff again, even if it was just at Christmas or Easter. The one guy I was always trying to track down was a guy called Mike Stand, speaking to people that knew him, they said he's always working away, he's hard to track down. The mad thing was, I used to go to a quiz night every Thursday, got to know all the other teams quite well. One particular night there was quite a difficult music question, which obviously I got right, one of the guys from another team came over and asked if we'd got it right. My mate Jonesey laughed and said of course we got it right, we've got a DJ in the team. This guy then tells us he used to be a DJ and his name was Mike Stand! I nearly fell off my chair. I'd been trying to get hold of this guy and I'd been drinking in the same pub as him for years! Anyway, I invited Mike to do some shows, and we became a sort of double act, Mike is really good mates with John Weaver, so even in more recent years we've borrowed stuff from him to play. DLW: With reference to your own show and your own musical taste, do you play what you like or do you try to accommodate your audience? STEVE: Down the years I've been on numerous different stations, playing various types of music, rock, reggae, indie, dance, soul, 70s & 80s. I pick all of the music that I play, I have a system for the oldies I play, where basically each song can only be played once a year! Obviously I'm live most weeks at the moment, so people can request stuff, some of the listeners request some really rare stuff, I think as a challenge, last week one of my regular listeners requested a track by Ex Post Facto, a band I hadn't heard for ages, but I managed to find it! DLW: And with reference to your own musical taste, what bands or genre of music do you personally listen to and is there any form of music you detest, personally I'm not a fan of jazz, I just don't get it? STEVE: It depends what sort of mood I'm in, one day rock, another punk, another 80's or maybe even a bit of dance music. Not into jazz, other stuff I hate is rap, hip hop, stuff like that, although I absolutely love Rapper's Delight. DLW: With you being a local DJ, do you go out and watch local bands when you can? STEVE: My day job can lead me to work some strange hours, nights, weekends etc. But if someone suggests a decent gig I'll pop along. DLW: In the past you've supported local bands, Bob Bob Bob & Bob, Afraid of Mice, Attempted Moustache and more recently The Dry Retch by playing them on your shows, how important is it for you to give local musicians the chance to have their music played? STEVE: Afraid Of Mice and Attempted Moustache got loads of airplay on MAR in the early days, a bit before my time. But I certainly like playing local bands, there just aren't that many outlets to get stuff played on the radio anymore. Basically all the local stations have been swallowed up by the big radio groups and been turned into semi national stations, only really leaving community/internet radio as possible outlets. DLW: One local musician who you supported was Duffy when she released her single Rock Ferry, is it true that you were the first DJ to give her song some airplay? STEVE: Yes, my old boss Carl gave me a cd, from his wife's best friend's daughter, and asked me to play it, long before it made the chart. It eventually got to number 45. I started playing Mercy, and I'm still unsure whether it was me plugging the single or her appearance on Jonathan Ross that got it to number 1! DLW: I imagine now that we're in semi-lockdown that less people are going out for obvious reason, have your listening figures increased? Can you monitor if they have or not? STEVE: I have noticed an increase in texts/emails, and our techie guys say there is a slight increase in listening figures, but it isn't massive. DLW: And also, how far does Merseyland Alternative Radio reach out to? Is it locally, nationally or even global in its audience? STEVE: All three. We still have some of the people that listened back in the 80's, they are mainly local. I've certainly seen emails from other parts of the country, places like Stoke and Bristol I seem to remember, and we certainly have regular listeners in places like Holland, Belgium, Germany, USA and Australia which is quite nice, although I often wonder what they think when myself and Mike are waffling on about places like Ma Bakers and The Jimmys, or talking about groups such as Orchy Manoeuvres! DLW: Finally, what is in store for Steve Martin in the future? Would you like to one day do mainstream radio or is your heart in supporting the local scene? STEVE: I think much of the same hopefully. I enjoy the freedom MAR gives me, the audience isn't massive, but it's very loyal. I was once offered a job on mainstream radio in Scandinavia. I was sort of in between contracts on my day job, as tempting as it was it was autumn time and I really didn't fancy heading up to some remote island in the middle of nowhere in the freezing cold, luckily my old boss phoned me and offered me a new contract. To be honest I don't think there is any fun in mainstream radio anymore, and if I'm honest I'm probably not good enough, but more importantly I probably couldn't afford the pay cut! These days you could probably earn more DJing in a pub than what you would get for a radio show. Words DLW Merseyland Alternative Radio Web: http://www.mar.me.uk/
