My guest in this episode is friend and colleague Mike Palmer. 

A Middlesborough lad, Mike moved to Manchester in 1984 to study Computing at UMIST where his degree supervisor was Bernard Richards, one of Alan Turing’s last students. Mike has never left the Northwest and he and his family have become committed ‘Mancophiles’, not least because of the great environment the city provides for music and the arts.

Mike is a passionate music lover but it’s words that really impact him and as per the title of the episode on occasions make him cry. Similarly, recorded music is great but for him it’s all about the live performance. He inherited this love from his parents (who met Ella Fitzgerald!) and he and his wife Gerri have passed that on to his two daughters Emily and Anna.

Consequently, each of his song choices are from bands he has seen live. 

Mike has a wealth of great stories including: 

·         The Clash at Manchester Apollo in 1981

·         Bowie at Murrayfield in 1983 on the Let’s Dance Tour 

·         The Smiths at Middlesborough Town Hall Crypt in 1984

·         Chatting with Michael Stipe at Leeds Warehouse in 1984 

·         Asking Don Letts to move out of his seat at a Big Audio Dynamite gig in 1986

·         Radiohead at Glastonbury in 1997

·         The XX at a secret venue under Victoria Station with 60 people in 2013

·         The joy of attending Green Man every year with about 20 family and friends

Mike’s song choices are: 

70’s        (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais         The Clash

80’s        New England                                                             Billy Bragg

90’s        Fake Plastic Trees                                                   Radiohead

00’s        One Day Like This                                                   Elbow

10’s        Make Me Feel                                                           Janelle Monae 

20’s        The 345                                                                         Self Esteem