COLIN JAMES 2025

Letters with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 6th January, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: TIME FOR SOME ZZZZs
Are there really enough songs with titles starting with Z to fill an hour long programme? Colin thinks there are... but he's keeping quiet about what they are probably because they're a bit off the wall... we can think of one called Zombies, another called Zanzibar and some body suggested Zoot Suit Riot... but who knows if those are included - you'll just have to listen to find out...

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Letters with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 13th January, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: AYE AYE SIR, IT'S I
Yes Colin's decided to do an entire programme dedicated to songs that start with the first person singular. Carmen Miranda overdoes it slightly with "I,I,I,I,I, I Love You verry Much", Dusty Springfield isn't so sure as she sings "I Don't Know" and Helen Shapiro snarls "I Don't Care". There are dozens more - I can't Get no Satisfaction, I Am a Walrus and I Got Stung - listen and prepare to be amazed!

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Letters with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 20th January, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: ANOTHER EYE
I might have guessed! One I would never be enough for Colin so here's his second collection of songs starting with I - like "I Wanna be Loved by You" from Marylin Monroe, "I Love Mary" by Paddy Roberts and "I put a Spell on You" from Nina Simone. Brenda Lee's here with "I Wonder", Roy Orbison with "It's Over" and Mel Blanc with "I Taut I Tau a Puddy Tat" - I did!

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Letters with Colin James. First Broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 27th January, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: EYE EYE EYE!
I say, I say, I say - what's got three eyes and Tessie O'Shea? I don't know. What has got three eyes and Tessie O'Shea? This week's letters programme - it's the third in the I series and it's full of fun and songs like "I Love Custard" by Strawberry Milkshake, "Itchykoo Park" from The Small Faces and "I Did What I Could With My Gas Mask" from George Formby. Turned out nice again!

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Letters with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 3rd February, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: FOUR EYES?
Old four eyes is back! Yes, it's Colin - bursting out of a giant cake wearing nowt but an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and shouting "I'm a Tiger!"... All part of his efforts to promote his latest programme full of songs starting with the letter I. His heart's in the right place but Brenda Lee is embarrassed into singing "I'm Sorry" and Peter Sellers, of all people, says "I'm Ashamed" - but Marti Wilde thinks "It's Been Nice"...

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Classical Swansbrook with Chris Fletcher. First broadcast on Swanbrook Radio on 3rd February, 2025.
ROMANCE AND MELTING SNOW
A lively start this month - a rumbustious organ piece to get your sledge moving as we glide from tune to tune in Chris's February selection of gorgeous music by Liszt, Mahler and Respighi as well as Ibert, Beethoven and Schoenberg. It may be a short month but you get full measure in this musical delight!

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Letters with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 10th February, 2025.
THIS WEEK'S LETTER IS: IVY 
If you were an ancient Roman this programme would be the Vth in a series - but you're probably not - so we'll call it I the 5th - in which Colin finds even more songs beginning with the letter I. A programme in which Elvis needs your love tonight, Paul Anka is just a lonely boy and Anthony Newley is idle on parade. 
There's a big change coming next week - watch this space!

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Banned! with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 17th February, 2025.
BANNED!
The BBC has always been a bastion of good taste but sometimes it took things a bit too far and banned tracks that wouldn't cause anything more than a sharp intake of breath. Colin's been rooting around in Auntie's bins and has pulled out a selection of the juiciest ones - like The Rolling Stones suggestion for nocturnal activities, George Formby's Little Ukulele and Jane Birkin and her heavy breathing... and many, many more - listen if you dare!

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Banned by The BBC with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 24th February, 2025.
BANNED AGAIN!
The Vault of The Banned at the BBC is like Pandora's Box - once it's opened there's no way of stopping the filth pouring out. It is with a heavy heart and an eye out for the rozzers that we announce that Coin James will present another hour of the songs you weren't supposed to hear. Listeners of a nervous disposition should retune to Classical Swansbrook...

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 3rd March, 2025.
5-4-3-2-1
This is the first of a brand new series of shows made up of songs with numbers in the title which Colin will create using a slide rule, a magic formula and a glass of Robinson's Barley water. The results for this programme come out roughly like this: 5-4-3-2-1 = Manfred Mann; 2/3 = Meatloaf; 1 x 16 = Craig Douglas; 9-5 = Dolly Parton... and so on. Give it a listen - you'll soon get the hang of it...

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on 10th March, 2025.
NUMBER TWOS
The Second of Colin's exploration of his abacus. Featuring various numerical steps, coins, years, eyes, seas, stars and miles as sung about by Eddie Cochran, Norah Jones, Will Hay, Queen, Patsy Cline, Billy Fury and Winifred Atwell (though Winifred doesn't sing - she just tinkles). Tune in for more combinations of musical numbers and a few sums that don't add up...

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 17th March, 2025.
COUNTING TO THREE
Is a half a number or two numbers halved? Colin avoids this tricky question and plays tunes with a half in their titles in this, the third in his series of numbers. Twenty Tiny Fingers, One Dozen Roses, One Hundred Pounds of Clay and Halfway to paradise also feature along with artists like Gene Pitney, The Stargazers, Bobby Darin and Amen Corner - just proving that there's variety in Numbers...


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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 24th March, 2025. 
TWO TWOS ARE....?
This is the fourth in Colin's series of number based shows. Every song features a number prominently in its title... which gives our erudite DJ the chance to play things like Cocktails for Two by Spike Jones, Cloud Nine The Temptations and Seventeen Come Sunday by Gerry Temple. You will of course be familiar with Can't Do Sixty No More by the Du-Droppers and Beat Me Daddy Eight to The Bar by Will Bradley...no? Well, listen - we aim to educate!

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook radio on 31st March, 2025.
A HANDFUL...
Assuming that we can count the thumb as a finger we can say that Colin has reached his first handful of programmes concerning numbers in song titles - which means that he can count his total on one hand. Will he continue to two hands worth? Who can tell - but this week's clutch contains the Rolling Stones having their 19th Nervous Breakdown, Neil Sedaka on a One Way Ticket and Danny Kaye with an Inch Worm... and many more!

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 7th April, 2025.
25th PRIZE
Now... this is either a stroke of genius or an act of madness - we leave it to you to decide.... Colin has looked up the top 100 records for the years from 1952 to 1980, and taken the 25th best selling record for the each year and played them... as a result we have a programme containing such gems as The Cowpunchers Cantata by Max Bygraves as well as tunes by the likes of John Lennon, Lonnie Donegan and The Teddy Bears.

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Numbers with Colin James. First Broadcast on 14th April, 2025. 
10 out of 10
By the Magic formula of Professor James it is now time to hear the tenth place songs from the Hit Parade. This mystic number reveals High Noon by Frankie Lane, Do Wah Diddy by Manfred Mann and Roulette by Russ Conway. Also in there are songs by Nat King Cole, Ronnie Hilton, The Beatles and Slade - and many, many more.

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 21st April, 2025.
65 FOR BEAUTY
65 is the name of a beauty salon in Barnstaple... but that has nothing to do with Colin's decision to play tracks that were in 65th place in the Top 100 between the years 1952 and 1979. Although this seems strange it works out remarkably well because every track is either on the way up or the way down - and there are some gems - just listen and marvel! Anyone for a facelift?

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 28th April, 2025.
OPUS 87
87 is the Opus Number of the 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich...but Colin isn't playing any of those. Colin is playing tracks that were at number 87 in the Top 100 way back when. This strange choice reveals a number of numbers on their way down as well as up - things like I'm Walking Behind You with Dorothy Squires, I Can't Explain The Who and Hey Joe by Jimmi Hendrix... Listen - you'll love it!

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 5th May, 2025
THREEDOM!
Everything happens in threes or so they say - well there's certainly plenty happening in this programme. Colin takes us on a tour of songs that were at number three in the top 100 - and there were a lot of them - including Help from The Beatles, Honky Tonk Woman from The Stones and Moulin Rouge by Mantovani - but surprisingly not I Want to Be Three by Queen...

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Numbers with Colin James. First broadcast on Swansbrook Radio on 12th May, 2025.
45 REVOLUTIONS
This week's number is 45 - which just happens to be the number of revolutions per minute required to play the singles and EPs that make up this programme. 45 rpm was the speed your Dansette or Decca Stereogram turntable turned at. No need for a turntable to listen to this programme of records that lodges at position 45 in the Top 100 - it's all digital... even Ken Dodd!