Jock 'n' Roll Radio

Old Jock Radio is a weekly two hour ramble through the minutiae of everyday living and the meaning of Fife. The main man behind the project is the amiable Les Bell, but he is usually accompanied by some or all of his many co-hosts and pals, including Rich Bray, (and the musicians) Steve Mason, and Pip Dylan.

Les explains the mission statement of his project in classic fashion: originating from a dissatisfaction with what is already out there. "Radio is my favourite medium. I'm constantly scouring the airwaves, but very rarely find something that's really for me. I find bits and pieces, but I wanted to create something that I would enjoy on a regular basis, which means chat, music and all the crap that goes along with that. There's a whole world of people out there who feel the way I do, who want to genuinely interact and really feel part of it. They don't want some nob on Radio 1 telling you, 'I'm your pal,' which is what we've got at the moment."

Les reckons being on the radio was always his destiny. "Me and my brother made tapes in my back bedroom when I was ten. We called it 'Old Jock Radio' even back then. I used to have fantasies about doing pirate radio. But you get sent to prison for that, so I never actually got round to it. When the internet came around, all you had to do was plug a microphone into a computer and you were pretty much there. I did that five years ago and have been doing it ever since."

That kind of near lifelong commitment will always affect how you look at something, and Les is passionately disdainful about the current state of mainstream radio in Britain. "Talk Sport, Talk 107 – they're the great Satan. I hate them. What they do is dreadful, but they do a dreadful thing brilliantly. I would like it if there was a radio station like Talk Sport done by people who don't have a right wing bias and who're not in the pockets of the station owners or whoever. Ian Collins on Talk Sport, for instance, does a great show, but he's a right wing tossbag. Whenever talk radio appears, it's always owned by a bunch of cunts."

It's safe to say Les is not a man to mince his words. But such visceral talk is not just for dissing the competition; it's about how you put yourself out there through your own activities. "When we get on the radio, we're completely exposed as human beings. I don't think there's anything I haven't said about myself, good or bad. That makes a huge difference. A lot of people who listen in are incredibly passionate about it and what they get from it."

Old Jock Radio's passionate fanbase aren't just sold on the heart-on-sleeve approach though. For one thing, the interactivity of the show is central, keeping listeners hooked. "We use MSN instant messaging, giving listeners instant comeback. Mostly, it's humour we do, but not forced – in a natural way. We're just a couple of guys having a chat. I know that's a huge cliché, but we really are that. The listeners decide what the show's going to be about. Messages come up saying, 'I want to talk about this...'. So we'll talk about that."

Les's background is in music, having played in bands since the seventies, such as Tribe, Poundstretcher, and Joe Public. More recently, he played bass for King Biscuit Time alongside ex-Beta Band member and OJR co-host, Steve Mason. "I've chucked all that away now, because I can't be arsed moving boxes around the country. I think I've passed the point of reasonable dignity in rock and roll." Such is the kudos of OJR, however, that Les has had punters at music gigs quizzing him about it. "On the last KBT tour there were at least ten or twenty people in every city who would turn up post gig just to talk about OJR, and that was wonderful."

Our interview concluded, Les and Rich invited me on to the show, which featured many skits recorded by Les under several comic guises and an eclectic playlist featuring Ivor Cutler, Richard Cheese and John Shuttleworth among the classic tunes, which included a healthy helping of reggae.

The studio itself is an intimate affair, adorned with Ramones and Clash posters (Les is a huge Joe Strummer fan), which has seen the likes of the Kazoo Funk Orchestra crammed within its tiny performing area. The show attracts some very interesting guests, including one particularly hilarious encounter with American evangelist preacher, Pastor Lionel White.

OJR are also proud sponsors of Carnegie Thistle, Scotland's third best thistle-named football team, who have Old Jock Radio emblazoned across their shirts.

As for the future, Les would like to go mainstream. "I'd love to have a little hole somewhere on XFM where we could create our own little space without completely selling out. I think people would really dig it. That's my belief. Maybe I'm deluded."

Les and Rich's brand of chat, sketches, music and, yes, edutainment, have earned Old Jock Radio a loyal following, now numbering in the hundreds. Laid-back may be the approach, but with its reputation ever growing, the future looks to be upstanding for OJR.