Solid Gold Sounds with Chris Pitchford
Sundays 1pm Western / 2.30pm Central / 3pm Eastern
About Chris (what he’ll admit to anyway..)
Since inheriting his sister’s records when he was knee-high to a grasshopper in the 70’s, Chris knew music and communications was the life for him, and the more buttons, levers, switches, faders and general gadgets involved the better, with his first “DJ kit” being a Bush Cassette Recorder and a Bontempi Organ, for his 4th Birthday.
Since inheriting his sister’s records when he was knee-high to a grasshopper in the 70’s, Chris knew music and communications was the life for him, and the more buttons, levers, switches, faders and general gadgets involved the better, with his first “DJ kit” being a Bush Cassette Recorder and a Bontempi Organ, for his 4th Birthday.
Starting with a modest collection of MFP and K-Tel compilations and a few Beatles 45s mostly more battered than your average cod, he’s never looked back. In the early days it was the joy of spending 85p for this week’s hot single from WH Smith, and still having 15p pocket money left for a small scoop of cola cubes.
The 80’s was Chris’s “Golden Age” of music, and despite a brief dalliance with railways and the idea of becoming a station announcer (don’t panic, no numbers were ever collected, and anorak status was rightly reserved for the wonderful world of radio jingles), he continued doggedly with the weekly vinyl pilgrimage, through to the late 80’s - when he was a relative late-comer to CD, after having been told that he didn’t “need” one of those, he stubbornly saved up the 90p an hour earned as a Saturday lad at the Oldies Unlimited Record Shop for the next 675 years, and finally had enough deposit to buy his first Hi-Fi.
c.1988
Chris has now been a Presenter and Sound Engineer with the East Shropshire Talking Newspaper For The Blind, for the last 32 years, having joined at its inception in 1990 before leaving school.
Chris has now been a Presenter and Sound Engineer with the East Shropshire Talking Newspaper For The Blind, for the last 32 years, having joined at its inception in 1990 before leaving school.
c.1992
Despite the minor irritation of having to earn a living for the next few decades (working for 2 Government Departments and 2 IT Companies over that time), he has continued as a Presenter, Engineer, and Committee Member with the Charity, which provides a free weekly 80 minute USB memory stick of local news and features to subscribers with an eligible visual impairment. This includes items from the local press and other local/national publications, alongside content produced in-house by the ESTN team; covering a wide range of subjects and interests. Chris sees the role of Talking Newspapers as endeavouring to help level the playing field as much as possible for those who have difficulty reading printed publications, and he has always been pleased and proud to be a part of this much valued service.
Music Radio has always remained his true passion, starting with involvement in Community Radio in the 90’s, where he was inspired to buy his first pro mixer, a classic Seck 242, just slightly smaller in size than a cathedral, with the transformer being more like an electricity sub-station !
Despite the minor irritation of having to earn a living for the next few decades (working for 2 Government Departments and 2 IT Companies over that time), he has continued as a Presenter, Engineer, and Committee Member with the Charity, which provides a free weekly 80 minute USB memory stick of local news and features to subscribers with an eligible visual impairment. This includes items from the local press and other local/national publications, alongside content produced in-house by the ESTN team; covering a wide range of subjects and interests. Chris sees the role of Talking Newspapers as endeavouring to help level the playing field as much as possible for those who have difficulty reading printed publications, and he has always been pleased and proud to be a part of this much valued service.
Music Radio has always remained his true passion, starting with involvement in Community Radio in the 90’s, where he was inspired to buy his first pro mixer, a classic Seck 242, just slightly smaller in size than a cathedral, with the transformer being more like an electricity sub-station !
c. 1998
Chris showcases his perennial penchant for 70’s and 80’s music and it’s modern contemporaries on Solid Gold Sounds, where he is just as happy with forgotten 45s as their well known air-play and chart counterparts, so expect an eclectic and original mix of both on the programme.
He can surprise too and drop an odd track in from before and beyond, but 70’s and 80’s is the main order of the day, along with regular features and occasional themed specials; so if you love that wonderful era too (even if you weren’t there..) - there’s a warm welcome for all to enjoy the classics and maybe even a few you missed !!!). “Relax” T-Shirt, flairs and platforms entirely optional ! The comical and sometimes surreal goings on at Pitchford Towers can also provide for a good titter when they arise.
Chris showcases his perennial penchant for 70’s and 80’s music and it’s modern contemporaries on Solid Gold Sounds, where he is just as happy with forgotten 45s as their well known air-play and chart counterparts, so expect an eclectic and original mix of both on the programme.
He can surprise too and drop an odd track in from before and beyond, but 70’s and 80’s is the main order of the day, along with regular features and occasional themed specials; so if you love that wonderful era too (even if you weren’t there..) - there’s a warm welcome for all to enjoy the classics and maybe even a few you missed !!!). “Relax” T-Shirt, flairs and platforms entirely optional ! The comical and sometimes surreal goings on at Pitchford Towers can also provide for a good titter when they arise.
c. 2021
Chris is married to a published author, and when not busy editing her latest novel, he enjoys landscape photography, and can often be found alongside the dustiest box of vinyl in any remaining record shops, hoping to unearth a hidden gem, or failing that, at the nearest purveyors of unhealthy food !
Chris’s Music Trivia
First Single : Blondie - Heart of Glass
Favourite Single : Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile
(Chris was honoured to interview Steve, his musical hero, in 2019 - just before the best concert he’s ever seen ! )
Favourite Album : Genesis - Invisible Touch
(He describes every track as a masterpiece, but for maximum appreciation, the album MUST be played in the proper order, like wot we used to do with LPs in the old days like..)
Favourite 12 Inch : Queen - Breakthru
(Great for giving your headphones a work-out !)
First CD : Madonna - Like A Prayer
Favourite Music Video : Adam and The Ants - Prince Charming
(Chris still remembers trying to sneak out of the house wearing the full war paint - he didn't get far !). We’ve told him to stop swinging off the studio chandelier - it’s just not the same !)
Favourite Genres : Power Pop, Disco, 70s/80s Electronic, Modern Country, Punk/New Wave,
Early 90s Indie, Motown, Soft Rock and Power Ballads, Classical, Ambient/New Age, Harp, Instrumentals
(Just Some of.. Chris’s) Favourite Artists : The Adventures, Lily Allen, Blondie, Carter USM, The Christians, The Clash, Dua Lipa, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, The Hooters, The Human League, Billy Idol, Joy Division, KLF, The Lilac Time, Kirsty MacColl, Magnum, Manic Street Preachers, Martina McBride, Men at Work, Ryan Paris, The Alan Parsons Project, Pet Shop Boys, Poco, Psychedelic Furs, Pulp, Rogue, Roxy Music, Slade, Smiths/Morrissey, Billy Jo Spears, Al Stewart, Teenage Fan Club, Ten CC, T-Rex, Wonderstuff, Yazoo, ZZ Top.
(Disclaimer : Mr Pitchford accepts no responsibility nor relatives’ wrath for any mass purchases inspired by the above list.. 😂)
Chris is married to a published author, and when not busy editing her latest novel, he enjoys landscape photography, and can often be found alongside the dustiest box of vinyl in any remaining record shops, hoping to unearth a hidden gem, or failing that, at the nearest purveyors of unhealthy food !
Chris’s Music Trivia
First Single : Blondie - Heart of Glass
Favourite Single : Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile
(Chris was honoured to interview Steve, his musical hero, in 2019 - just before the best concert he’s ever seen ! )
Favourite Album : Genesis - Invisible Touch
(He describes every track as a masterpiece, but for maximum appreciation, the album MUST be played in the proper order, like wot we used to do with LPs in the old days like..)
Favourite 12 Inch : Queen - Breakthru
(Great for giving your headphones a work-out !)
First CD : Madonna - Like A Prayer
Favourite Music Video : Adam and The Ants - Prince Charming
(Chris still remembers trying to sneak out of the house wearing the full war paint - he didn't get far !). We’ve told him to stop swinging off the studio chandelier - it’s just not the same !)
Favourite Genres : Power Pop, Disco, 70s/80s Electronic, Modern Country, Punk/New Wave,
Early 90s Indie, Motown, Soft Rock and Power Ballads, Classical, Ambient/New Age, Harp, Instrumentals
(Just Some of.. Chris’s) Favourite Artists : The Adventures, Lily Allen, Blondie, Carter USM, The Christians, The Clash, Dua Lipa, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, The Hooters, The Human League, Billy Idol, Joy Division, KLF, The Lilac Time, Kirsty MacColl, Magnum, Manic Street Preachers, Martina McBride, Men at Work, Ryan Paris, The Alan Parsons Project, Pet Shop Boys, Poco, Psychedelic Furs, Pulp, Rogue, Roxy Music, Slade, Smiths/Morrissey, Billy Jo Spears, Al Stewart, Teenage Fan Club, Ten CC, T-Rex, Wonderstuff, Yazoo, ZZ Top.
(Disclaimer : Mr Pitchford accepts no responsibility nor relatives’ wrath for any mass purchases inspired by the above list.. 😂)