OTBT Mix 29 December 2025

Final mix of the year with a cover of a Chris Rea song by Megson. Tune in now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.

Fairport Convention - Come All Ye 

John Renbourn - I Know My Babe 

June Tabor - Grey Funnel Line 

Karine Polwart - Dignity 

Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards 

Megson - Road To Hell (Part 2) 

Kris Drever - Harvest Gypsies 

Richard & Linda Thompson - The Little Beggar Girl 

Show of Hands - Now You Know 

The Bad Shepherds - Road to Nowhere 

The Young 'uns - Three Dads Walking 

Jon Palmer Acoustic Band - Vagabonds & Rogues 

King Creosote - So Forlorn 

Kate Bush - The Big Sky 

Toby Hay - Walks Downhill 

 

Death of a friend

I met Brian Murray in the mid 1990s when I was seconded from the IT Services department at St Andrews to the University Library to look after their expanding numbers of PCs used by both staff and students. 

Brian was one of the full-time book shelvers and he and I would sit together at coffee break time in the staff room in the library basement. He always had a plastic box with sandwiches, one of which he would have with his coffee to keep him going until lunchtime. On Fridays we would often go along to one of the pubs on The Scores for a pint of beer and a bowl of chips. 

I don't know how long he had been working at the Library but I'm fairly sure he had worked elsewhere earlier in his working life, possibly in the armed forces. 

Libraries often employ more women than men and this was certainly true of the university library back in the 90s. I think Brian was pleased to find another bloke to chat to, albeit someone a good 20 years younger than he was. The job of a shelver was quite a solitary occupation, pushing your trolley round the quiet floors of the library. Most shelvers worked part-time, some of them being students, and Brian might well have been the only full-timer. 

I would occasionally bump into him coming out of the lift as I was one of the few other members of staff who had access to the lifts, though for me it was moving computer equipment around the building rather than books. 

When I left the university in 2002 Brian can't have been far off retirement. He was the only person in the library who I kept in touch with - we sent Christmas cards to each other every year with the usual brief messages with bits of news. I was saddened to hear that his wife Jean passed away a couple of years back. I never met her but he always spoke of her with affection. I suspect she made the sandwiches for him every morning and would have his tea waiting for him when he got home after a hard day of shelving books.

I posted a card to him just a few days ago but something told me that I might not get one back this year. I did a search on him today and found that he had indeed passed away in the summer.

It was a pleasure knowing you Brian. You were a real gent. RIP.

Off The Beaten Tracks Xmas Show 2025

A mixture of Christmas tunes and other songs on this show including tracks from new releases by Miranda Sykes & Jim Causley and Alison Krauss & Union Station. 

Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM 

Cara Dillon - Upon A Winter's Night
Emily Smith - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Low Countries - Carry On Xmas
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage - A Winter's Night
Miranda Sykes & Jim Causley - Infant King / December Child
Bellowhead - Sloe Gin
Tom Waits - Little Trip To Heaven
Stevie Palmer - Merry Company
Kim Edgar - Midwinter Song
Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden - I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
Cara Dillon - The Huntsman
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - If I Were A Carpenter
Jerry Lee Lewis - Jesus Is On The Main Line (Call Him Sometime)
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Snow
Jethro Tull - Christmas Song
Lou Reed - Perfect Day 

                      *** Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! ***

Off The Beaten Tracks mix Dec 2025

Carrying on from last week's show I've included tracks from albums released in 2025 along with seasonal numbers from Joni Mitchell, Eliza Carthy and Emily Smith. Also two songs from Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music album including a cracking version of The Easybeats song Friday on my Mind.

Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM

Reg Meuross - Fire and Dust
Emily Smith - Winter Song
Jaywalkers - The Longest Day
I'm With Her - Wild and Clear and Blue
Joni Mitchell - River
Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko - Mournful Moon
Natalie Wildgoose - Hand Me a Piece of Your Heart
Toby Hay - The Skinny King of Nowhere
Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden - In The Bleak Midwinter
Richard Thompson - I Live in Trafalgar Square
Gigspanner Big Band - Sovay
Daphne's Flight - Never Too Late For Romance
Christy Moore - North and South of The River
Cara Dillon - Falling Like A Star
Richard Thompson - Friday On My Mind 

Recommended Releases 2025

It's time to do my usual round-up of folk, acoustic and roots music released this year by artists who I have played on my Off The Beaten Tracks show on Ginger Feather FM. For a change I've done a Top Five favourites followed by ten more recommended releases. 

As for live music, highlights have included The Young 'Uns and SykesMartin at the Victoria Hall in Settle and Chris Wood at the village hall in Ulpha. I was at the Warwick Folk Festival in July and heard excellent sets from Richard Thompson, Granny's Attic, Banter, Benji Kirkpatrick and Fara. 

In these post-Covid days, online gigs are still very much a thing with Folkscape and Live To Your Living Room broadcasting various acts from venues up and down the country. Best live-streamed gig of the year for me was Daphne's Flight. Sadly it was their farewell tour. 

Thanks as ever to Citizen K for keeping things going at Ginger Feather FM and to the promoters who have sent me occasional promo copies of new releases. And thanks to you out there for tuning in to GF FM or listening on Mixcloud and reading what I post on this blog.

So my Top 5 of 2025 is...

Daphne's Flight - Favourable Light
Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko - Our Calling
I’m With Her - Wild and Clear and Blue
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Arcadia
Iona Lane - Swilkie 

...and 10 more Recommended Releases

Culverake - Unto The Sky
Flook - Sanju
Gigspanner Big Band - Turnstone
Granny's Attic - Cold Blows The Wind
Toby Hay - New Music For The 6 String Guitar
Jaywalkers - Move On
Steve Knightley - Positively Folk Street
Reg Meuross - Fire & Dust : A Woody Guthrie Story
Ninebarrow - The Hour of the Blackbird
Natalie Wildgoose - Come Into The Garden 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Colin B
Lancaster, UK
December 2025

https://www.internet-radio.com/station/gingerfeatherfm/

Off The Beaten Tracks 8 December 2025

I'm taking a look back at some of the albums released this year and I will be posting my usual Recommended Listening of the Year list later this month. 

Listen to the show on Mixcloud or from Monday at 8pm on Ginger Feather FM.

Indigo Girls - Strange Fire
Steve Knightley - Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
Benji Kirkpatrick - The Wind Cries Mary
Molly Tuttle - No Regrets
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargeaves - Hurricane Clarice / Brushy Fork of John’s Creek
Jim Causley & Miranda Sykes - The Coldest Winds Do Blow
Culverake - Down By The Seaside
Eilidh Shaw and Ross Martin - Thief of Lochaber
Iona Lane - Staffa
Janice Burns & Jon Doran - Derby Ram
Merry Hell - Not Everything Is Wrong
Ninebarrow - Hey John Barleycorn
Eric Bibb, North Country Far & Danny Thompson - Creole Cafe
Los Lobos - For What It's Worth