Steve Lamacq
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Steve Lamacq (born October 16, 1965), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is a British disc jockey who has been broadcasting for several years on the popular BBC radio station Radio 1. He presented the Evening Session with Jo Whiley from 1993 to 1997, and then on his own until December 2002, when the programme was cancelled. Colin Murray served as a temporary replacement for six months until Zane Lowe's contract with the London station XFM ended in June 2003, where he took up a permanent position. Steve still presents the indie radio show Lamacq Live every Monday evening. Lamacq Live began in late July 1998. His homepage (diff) on the BBC's website describes this programme as "the UK's most influential indie radio show". He also has a programme on the BBC's digital station, 6 Music, which is currently on Sunday afternoons. From April 2005 he has presented a daily show on 6 Music.
He was born in Bournemouth in the county of Dorset. His family soon moved to Essex and he grew up in the Colne Engaine area. Steve's journalistic career began as a junior reporter at the West Essex Gazette. It was during his time at the New Musical Express that he began DJing on XFM, when it was still a pirate radio station.
It is obligatory that all music journalists have had a fanzine during their teenage years. Steve Lamacq's fanzine was called A Pack Of Lies. He formed a record label in 1992 with Alan James and Tony Smith, called Deceptive Records. Their most successful signing was Elastica. Most of the label's releases shared a punk- pop sensibility. Deceptive Records folded in 2001. Steve Lamacq has written an autobiography, entitled Going Deaf For A Living.
In 1991 Steve was unwittingly involved in one of the most infamous events in British rock music of recent times during a post-gig interview at the Norwich Arts Centre with Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for the NME. After repeated attempts by the bands co-lyricist Richey James Edwards to convince Lamacq that they were "for real" (the Manics had been making outrageous statements in the music press), Edwards gave up and carved 4 Real into his forearm with a razor blade. The publicity this created nearly single handedly launched the Manics into the superstar bracket. The editorial meeting in which the story was discussed, was recorded for a BBC Radio 5 documentary, "Sleeping With the NME".
External links
- The homepage of Steve Lamacq (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/stevelamacq/) on the BBC's website
- The 6 Music homepage (http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/)
- The website for Deceptive Records (http://www.deceptive.co.uk/)
- MP3 Blog for bands that featured on the Evening Session from 1993-2002 (http://jamiesrunoutgroove.blogspot.com/)