Hospital Radio: Shaking off the tinsel and turning up the volume

It was great to be back in the studio after Christmas and New Year, all the seasonal songs have been put back in the vault for another 11 months and the Hospital Radio Christmas Tree has been packed up for another year. 

My first show back coincided with twelfth night, that lovely moment when the world is still shaking off the tinsel, the decorations are almost back in the loft, and we’re all trying to remember what day it is.  It prompted me to play the Twelfth of Never as there was a loose connection. 

As for the rest of the show, I based it around the concept of new beginnings. Planning a radio show is always a challenge, trying to come up with something new and I was thinking about fresh starts, clean slates with a little January sparkle thrown in. 

I am a big fan of the obvious so I thought January by Scottish band Pilot, a 1975 number one was a good way to get things going. The song strangely is not about the month, but about a girl named January, the name being taken from a female protagonist in a book one of the song writers David Paton’s wife was reading at the time. 

For anyone who is intrigued by this, there’s no confirmed source from Paton himself - but based on publication date, availability, and the rarity of the name, the most plausible book his wife was reading is January Tale (1964) by Helen Bevington. The book features a female protagonist named January. It’s not certain, but it’s the strongest candidate by a long way.

Anyway back to the show, there are some wonderful tunes that could be included and my choices changed on the night, but one sure fire winner was New World Coming by Mama Cass. This is a gorgeous, hopeful track released in 1970, which is 56 years ago, it’s all about the sense that something better is just around the corner and is ideal for early January. It is still as relevant today as when it first hit the record shops. 

There’s a lot of history surrounding this number. The song was written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and Gerry Goffin who were three of the most influential songwriters of the 1960s. 

They also wrote classics like You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin’ and We Gotta Get Out of This Place. The singer Cass Elliot truly believed in the song’s message. She said in interviews that she wanted to be linked with positive, uplifting music after the Mamas & the Papas split. It was not a huge hit and never even made our charts, but the song should not be underestimated.

I do like to look forward at this time of year and consider which bands may get their big break in the year to come, a new beginning if you like. As a person of a certain age, who remembers the 1970’s fondly you might expect me to play it safe, but I do have some tips for the top you may not expect.

Firstly, I see The Molotovs as a band that could go well, they have a raw energy and a piece of mod culture that I fancy could see them doing exciting things.

Second up, Girl Tones, if their website is to be believed “Girl Tones, of planet Earth, are a high-energy rock duo brought to life by two sisters named Kenzie and Laila. Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.” That said I rather like the music they are producing.

There you are choices old and new to celebrate new beginnings, whatever your preferences are I hope you all will have a safe and peaceful 2026, there’s always something to look forward to.