Fred’s Jukebox

Fred’s Jukebox is a personal selection of songs that mean something to me. Each week I pick a track that takes me back to a particular time, place or moment – whether that’s growing up, discovering new music, or just a song I’ve heard on the radio that I enjoy.

It’s not about chart positions or big hits, but the songs that have stayed with me over time. Each one has its own story, and together they build a picture of the music that’s shaped my journey.

I put a new entry in to Fred’s Jukebox on my Saturday morning programme, just after 10:30 each week.

  1. The Stereophonics – There’s Always Gonna Be Something: One of their more recent songs, I think it sounds lovely.
  2. Pink Floyd – Another Brick In the Wall: A playlist favourite of mine – I feel it is a song I’ve known all my life!
  3. Del Amitri – Always the Last to Know: I heard this song on the radio this week, reminding me what a great song it is!
  4. Robbie Williams – Forbidden Road: The song is all about how in life you may take wrong turns and make poor decisions, but also the idea that those choices are part of who you become.
  5. Dolly Parton – Coat of Many Colours: A song I’ve loved for a long time, it is about a coat her mother made for her as a child. Parton’s mother also told her the bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colours as she sewed, a storyline which appears in the song.
  6. Cat Stevens – Rubylove: I remember Johnnie Walker played this a couple of times when he sat in for Terry Wogan on Radio 2. It’s a lovely song and it keeps the Greek sound going – fresh from my holidays in Greece!
  7. Take That – This Life: It is a song about how life isn’t easy – it throws challenges your way. It is positive, without being over the top about it.
  8. Mary Chapin Carpenter – Down at the Twist and Shout: Simply because it is a good song!
  9. Cat Burns – People Pleaser: Like me, Cat Burns is autistic. She often sings about her experiences as an autistic person – relateable songs about mental health – so her songs speak to me.
  10. Bobby Darin – Beyond the Sea: Listening to Sunday night Radio 2 back in the 2000s, David Jacobs used to be on air from 11pm-midnight. I remember him playing this song on his show once, as well as other Bobby Darin songs. I just love the song!
  11. The Shires – A Good Life: The Shires have been one of my favourite UK Country artists for a number of years. This new release sounds great, and I look forward to the full album coming out in a few days’ time.
  12. Steve Earle – Guitar Town: Chosen for Bob Harris, who recently stepped down from his shows at Radio 2. I’ve loved this song ever since I first heard it on one of Bob’s Radio 2 shows a few years ago.
  13. Womack & Womack – Teardrops: A great song from the 1980s which I love. Time to add it to my jukebox as it is one I enjoy listening to and playing on the radio.
  14. Steve Winwood – Valerie: My favourite decades for music are the 60s, 70s and 80s. As my upcoming show on Monday 1st June is a 1980s special, I thought I’d pick a song from the ’80s to go in to the Jukebox this week.
  15. Skipinnish – Steer By the Stars: Scottish (Celtic) Folk music: One of my favourite bands, I’ve enjoyed their music for many years.
  16. Cammy Barnes – Let Me Down: Scottish Country music: A nod to my Scottish (Napier) ancestry.
  17. Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker: Corinium Radio started broadcasting in 2006, and I remember this song being played by a couple of our presenters back then, when this song was big in the charts
  18. Vera Lynn – We’ll Meet Again: This is a song that reminds me of my grandparents and their generation – music that has always been part of the background growing up, and still carries so much warmth and history.
  19. George Ezra – Budapest: This song takes me back to 2014. I remember it being big on Radio 2, and it has always been one my sister’s loved too, so I played it for Corrie as well.
  20. The Beatles – Yellow Submarine: The Beatles were one of the first bands I got in to, when I was around 9 or 10. I love their music and Yellow Submarine is one of my favourite songs of theirs.
  21. Tim McGraw – Just to See You Smile: The song which got me in to Country music properly – I played it extensively on the radio during my student radio says.
  22. Don McLean – American Pie: A song I’ve loved since childhood, one of the first I learnt to play on guitar, and a record that really shaped my love of music.
  23. The Scissor Sisters – Mary: From the time I was starting secondary school, when I was really beginning to find my own taste in music and fall in love with radio.