Late Night Tales: On The Record

Shop worker, film director, DJ and songwriter are just some of the hats Don Letts likes to wear. And boy, does Don love a good hat. He made his name as the King's Road's coolest shop worker at Acme Attractions. He was resident DJ at the short-lived but influential Roxy on Neal Street, and he made the seminal The Punk Rock Movie. Later in his career, his Clash documentary Westway to the World won him a Grammy. He was a member of Mick Jones's 80s band B.A.D, and since 2009 he's hosted a show on BBC 6 Music, where his eclectic taste is on display every week. More recently he released Version Excursion for Late Night Tales, an album full of reimagined dub. In a wide-ranging conversation, we talked to Don about selling weed to Bob Marley, being endlessly followed by the police, directing music videos, his long relationship with The Clash and his jaundiced view of streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Somewhere Soul is the alter ego of social media influencer and music evangelist Josh Mason Quinn. Dissatisfied with the machinations of the music industry, Josh started a blog over 10 years ago before adding TikTok and Instagram to his portfolio. He's also an active club DJ and A&R for the label Deep Matter. He became a full-time influencer in 2024 and now has a following teetering around 1 million on Instagram. He's a regular presence on social media with curated posts recommending everything from left field pop to modern jazz, cementing his reputation as a curator with the acclaimed compilation Rituals Vol. 1. We enjoyed a lively discussion covering taking on the algorithms, the fast-evolving world of music promotion and the definition of good taste. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On our first episode of Late Night Tales: On The Record, we chat to Zakia Sewell, writer, BBC presenter and DJ. Earlier this year, her first book Finding Albion was published, and it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction. Our discussion took in the complicated life of folk godfather Cecil Sharp, hanging out with druids at Stonehenge, the roots of Morris dancing and whether grime qualifies as folk music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we've selected a cluster of musical enthusiasts to interview in a brand new podcast series, Late Night Tales: On The Record. These interviewees range from radio DJs, composers, comedians, influencers and ex-pop stars, all with the same things in common: a passion for great music and a knack for vivid conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.