S40time (pronounced "Showtime") is a new Youtube channel/podcast celebrating the music, arts and culture of Chesterfield, Derbyshire and The Peak District. It's the brainchild of singer/songwriter Aaron Brown - formerly of legendary Chesterfield bands The Dazy Age and The Chasers, who now sings with The WonderWhys, who've twice played The Ally Pally to over 6,000 in London, recorded with Arctic Monkeys' producer Alan Smyth and supported The Happy Mondays when they came to Town in December 2018!
The pilot episode, aired in June, saw Aaron interview his first guest, David McPhie, taking him back to the very place where he recorded Joe Cocker's demo reel on Chatsworth Road (his old flat, but now Palfreyman's Music Shop), which secured him his record deal in 1967 and shot Joe to stardom. With over 15,000 views at the time of going to print, Aaron’s debut is proving rather popular.
David McPhie also championed the music scene in Chesterfield in the 60's and 70's by bringing world class acts like Pink Floyd, Free, Bill Haley, Fleetwood Mac, Little Richard and Jethro Tull to town. As well as running his own vinyl shop, 'Some Kinda Mushroom', he somehow found time to manage seminal Chesterfield band, Shape of the Rain. David will have his own future episodes on S40time - interviewing some of the most prominent musicians and figures from the town's past, and featuring local jazz pioneers Al Needham and Denny Lawson have already been recorded over the summer, along with Jonathan Rowlands - who managed Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck, and now runs Bakewell Music Festival. He also sat down with John Cuttriss - who wrote a book about the Carlton Club down on Whittington Moor in the 60s.
Aaron, however, will stick to what's happening in the here and now, and the first episode to air sees him in conversation with Chesterfield film-maker, Kai Undrell, whose film 'Stand Up' is available on Amazon Prime. Infectious Matlock dance outfit Patawawa is the following show, where singer Sam Wilmot joins Aaron ahead of their imminent album release to talk about their recent session on Tom Robinson's show on 6 Music and Radio 1, as well as a tour of Japan.
In the pipeline are interviews with Stevo, of the area's best-known live music venue - Realtime Music; Liam Walker, who appeared on The Voice last year; and Trash's, Daniel Longmore.
Having earned a regular prime slot at Elastic FM, the region's latest and growing FM station, Aaron will also be previewing all his guests for S40time on there, as well as here (S40 and S41 Local magazines), and hopes S40time can provide a much-needed boost to musicians and artists who are especially struggling at this time.
With a presence on all major platforms including Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, S40time promises to bring Chesterfield and Derbyshire up to date by delivering a slick digital experience, showcasing even more reasons to be proud of our town.
Facebook: s40time
Youtube: s40 time
Words: Simon Paterson
Image: S40time
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