The playlist for Shock Treatment is very broad, but the common elements are rock, usually with a heavier edge which can vary from full-on punk and metal, to garage, to weird low-fi blues, to more classic rock. The music I like was born in the fifties, but probably what I like most is from the seventies and eighties.

During the eighties I started accumulating a large collection of records when Phil MacDougall, host of Sunglasses After Dark, suggested I should do a show, because I was frequently out seeing the top bands of the week. I didn't think I could do it at first, but with growing confidence I found that I really liked doing it. Again it was the love of music (mostly punk in those days) mainly that got me into it.

These days, nearly all I play is from the non-popular side of things. I wouldn't have a clue about most of the so-called pop artists of today (if they're so popular how come most people I talk to don't know who they are?), but then again I don't need to, there is so much music that I like, that money-driven, so-called ‘artists’ with nice images are irrelevant to me! I play mostly new music, plenty of demos, interviews most weeks and, more often than not, I have live bands playing. There is always a brief gig guide relevant to my genre.

Ultimately, my strength these days is in the demos I get from artists and I love having them play live on my show!