// News from The Rock Service

3rd December 2024

Christmas 2024: Live Shows coming over the Christmas and New Year period. Keep checking our Schedule Page for details.......

1st October 2024

.....and so it did happen, we got to see LP once again after SOOO many years. Emily totally owned it and we're really excited for their future. It was so very emotional hearing all those songs but with a new singer (and a new drummer too let's not forget). She nailed it though.

Here are a few examples:

Linkin Park - In The End @ The O2, London - 24th September 2024

and we were so very surprised to see them play this

Linkin Park - My December @ The O2, London - 24th September 2024

WOW!!!!!


6th September 2024

OMFG OMFG!!!!!

It's actually happening :) :)

Linkin Park are back !!!!!!!


21st March 2024

It's been a while since we posted here. Of course, this time it's extremely sad news, with the passing of Steve Harley. We saw him perform countless times over the years and took some great videos of his live performances (see the YT channel).

He was one of the good ones. He was someone who's style was truly unique. The way he orchestrated his band on stage, the anecdotes he would always regale the audience with, his passion and commitment to music and the industry. Wow, just wow.

We gave up with our own obituaries page ages ago, but here is a collection of thoughts and comments from his fans, which will surely grow in the weeks and months ahead:

Steve Harley 

R.I.P Steve. You will be greatly missed but never forgotten. You will live on through your wonderful music.

It's impossible to watch this video of ours without welling up with tears:

Best years of our lives

8th January 2024

Happy New Year!

Normal schedule resumed.

21st December 2023

Christmas schedule is coming together. Check the Schedule page........it's W.I.P and might change

13th December 2023

Christmas schedule coming soon - keep checking back on the Schedule page. 

23rd October 2023

Special live shows coming on Halloween this year. Tune in from noon UK time on October 31st, 2023.

5th October 2023

Live programming coming over the Christmas and New year period 2023 into 2024. Check the schedule page for programming information nearer to Christmas...:)

31st December 2022

Many of our Christmas 2022 pre-recorded and live shows are now available to listen to and for download on the PJCasts page.

Enjoy :) and Happy New Year from the Rock Service.

28th December 2022

Recordings of our Christmas output will be available on the PJCasts page in due course, when we get round to doing it.

20th December 2022

Listen to us over the Christmas and New Year period online and in parts of the UK on 87.9MHz VHF and 1377KHz medium wave.

19th December 2022

Our Christmas programming schedule is now available on the 'schedule' page.

18th December 2022

You can now listen to The Rock Service on Alexa. 

First you need to enable the Radio Feeds Alexa skill - just say 'Alexa launch radio feeds'.

Then, after that, you can simply say 'Alexa play TRS from radio feeds' to play us any time you like.

6th December 2022


25th November 2022

Christmas schedule will be published shortly in early December. This year we'll feature some longstanding Rock Service DJs as well as a couple of new ones. Check back for details in early December....

28th October 2022

Schedule updated with details of Halloween live shows. Christmas 2022 live show and schedule details coming soon.....

2nd August 2022

I am so sorry to hear your news. I am thinking of you and transmitting my condolences to you. Stay strong and take care, always.

PJ

7th March 2022

Apologies for the slight downtime of The Rock Service over the last 10 days. We had a few technical issues.

All is slowly getting back to normal now.

5th January 2022

Our Christmas/New Year live shows are now available to listen to via the PJCasts page.

5th January 2022

Happy New Year to all our listeners !!!!

20th December 2021

Our final Christmas schedule is now live here.

Merry Christmas !!

15th December 2021

Our videos from Raging Speedhorn / Earthtone9 @ The Dome, London are now on our YT channel.

Also, the tentative Christmas schedule has been published here

5th December 2021

Christmas 2021 playlist is now live !!!!

Also, we have a new studio phone number - 

+44 (0) 7470 176215

Cheers !


26th October 2021 - BIG news !!!

Last weekend we spent a wonderful time with As Night Falls near their home town of Katowice in Poland.

Our videos of the gig are on our Youtube channel now

The Rock Service YT channel

What was truly awesome though was this song. It was a very strange feeling hearing/seeing a song that we wrote being performed live - and it wasn't actually on the setlist and was only added shortly after we turned up at random :) :). It was certainly a moment though, that's for sure.

As Night Falls - A place in space and time

and if anyone needs reminding of the lyrics, you'll find them here - 

Lyrics

19th October 2021

Our videos from the Autumn / Vetrar Draugurinn gig in Zaandam, NL are now on our YT channel. How nice to be back to International live music again :)

The Rock Service - Youtube

16th October 2021

No news :)

2nd September 2021

Gig guide updated - there's lots happening, finally !!! Let's hope it stays that way and we don't get shutdown again.

16th August 2021

Well, what a weekend that was :). Bloodstock was totally awesome and it was SOOOO good to be back at a proper festival seeing proper bands again !!!! You can check out some of the action on our Youtube channel - 

TRS Youtube channel

14th August 2021

If you'd like to hear PJ doing something slightly different (different genre of music, different radio station) you can check this out !!!!

PJ on Point Blank Radio London

14th August 2021

It's a historic weekend in the World of radio. There's no live broadcast from us this year but if you want some offshore radio nostalgia, you can check out our friends at the LV18 moored in Harwich, UK.

LV18 Broadcast

28th July 2021

THANK YOU :) :) :)

26th July 2021

EXCITING NEWS !!!! Here is a full length video of the As Night Falls performance @ Castle Party in Bolkow, Poland on the 8th July 2021.

As Night Falls @ Castle Party

What was most impressive is the fact that most of their set was all new tracks from the new Album, Awareness.

Great job guys :) :)

Set list - 

- Before we go (new)

- Before we go blind (new)

- Shackles of the mind (new)

- Firebrand (new)

- Eternal dance (last album) - they opened with it in Leicester

- Whispering (new)


26th July 2021

Gig guide updated - there's actually lots happening, finally :) :)

Gig Guide

23rd July 2021

Came across this from Dave Grohl this week - not seen it before or heard the story behind the song. We totally LOVE Mr. Grohl here at TRS !!!!!

Dave Grohl - Everlong (acoustic)

12th July 202

As Night Falls debut on UK radio (other than The Rock Service of course :)).

On Saturday night, the latest As Night Falls single was played on BBC Radio Northampton. We might have had something to do with making it happen but we're super pleased that they actually played it.

You can check out the 'moment' here - 

As Night Falls on BBC Radio Northampton - 10th July 2021

16th June 2021

We are really pleased and excited to reveal the new As Night Falls single - Never Look Back.

You can check out the video here - 

As Night Falls - Never Look Back

This announcement is extra special and the reason for that will be evident from the 'Song Lyrics' page on this website :) :)

Enjoy !!!!!

31st May 2021

We attended our 2nd gig of the year last Wednesday. It was another seated event, which was quite weird when watching a melodic hardcore band :) :). However, it was a great gig and it really feels like things are almost back to normal....kind of !

Check out Video page for some content from the show.

21st May 2021

As Night Falls - New single released !!!!!

After a long wait, As Night Falls have finally finished their brand new studio album. This is the first video/single released from the album, premiered this morning.

As Night Falls - Awareness

19th May 2021

LIVE MUSIC IS BACK !!!! F*CK YES !!!!!!

We attended our first gig in over 18 months tonight and it was truly wonderful !!!! The gig featured Hannah White and supported by Robbie Cavanagh - both great artists. Check out our Video page for some content from the evening; well worth a watch....

26th April 2021

Still in the same place it's been since it arrived :)


6th April 2021

Get well soon Steve Martin !!! We wish you all the best and hope you're not sick of that hospital radio !!! It will be time to have a drink at a gig very very soon.......

3rd April 2021

Live show with PJ - Easter Sunday @ 7pm (ish)

16th March 2021

Easter broadcast schedule being worked on - check the schedule page soon......

16th March 2021

So, not tracks of the month exactly, but 3 really good (and all quite different) tracks we've come across in the last few weeks. They are all well worth a look/listen - 

Starting with a bit of Finnish death metal/doom - 

Marianas Rest - Pointless Tale

And moving onto some Greek gothic/melodic metal - 

Scar of the sun - I am the circle

Finally, some Australian metalcore :) :)

Among the ruined - Death of perseverance

8th March 2021

New track of the month for March 2021. Check it !!!!

TOTM For March 2021

20th February 2021

Happy Birthday to my awesome little man :) :). 14 today.

19th February 2021

It's been a bit quiet around here recently :).

Here's a great cover from a small Hungarian symphonic metal band - 

Meteora - Numb

12th January 2021

All the Christmas and New Year shows are now available to download and listen on the PJCasts page.

4th January 2021

So, we kick of the new year with an absolutely awesome 'Track of the Month'. In fact, this could be track of the first few months :).

If you like a bit of doom, then this will be right up your street !!!

The band are called Draconian and are from Sweden (where a lot of dark, death metal comes from).

Check out this bad boy !

Track of the Month

Draconian - Sleepwalkers

30th December 2020

New Year schedule updated....

New Schedule

26th December 2020

Schedule updated to reflect changes to Boxing Day.

New Schedule

25th December 2020

Merry Christmas from The Rock Service !!!!

8th December 2020

Christmas schedule updated.....with more shows !!!!!

23rd November 2020

New track of the month !! Yes, just in time for the end November, we've got a track of the month for you. Check it out - 

Tracks of the Month

20th November 2020

Christmas playlist now up and running !!!!! A bit early but we're more organised than normal this year for some reason.

2nd November 2020

Christmas 2020 schedule updated.......

Christmas 2020 schedule

30th October 2020

Live Halloween Show tonight and Saturday night @ 6pm UTC/UK.

22nd October 2020

Really pleased with this :). Radio Feeds opens us up to more listener potential and makes us accessible on virtually any device, anywhere, any time !!!!




19th October 2020

Exciting news :)

We are now available on a much wider variety of devices and platforms, courtesy of Radio Feeds !

This link will take you to a home page where you can choose your device and listen wherever and on whatever device you may be on (now including iPads and iPhones).

Listen Live via Radio Feeds


19th October 2020

Caroline Community Radio launches today on 94.7MHz FM in parts of Essex and the Essex coast. Also available online -

Listen Live - Caroline Community Radio

Info on Caroline Community Radio

We wish them all the very best !!!!!!

18th October 2020

Lots of news today :) :)

  • Halloween Live Show coming Friday 30th October 2020
  • New Automation/Playout software being trialled - all in the name of improving your listening experience :)
  • Finally, we'll be accessible (and listed) on Radio Feeds very shortly !!!

9th October 2020

New music show tonight - LIVE on the Rock Service !!!! 6pm UK time. Be there or.....don't be...:)

Tune In

6th October 2020

Eddie Van Halen RIP

What a tragic loss and waste of life and talent :( :(

Very sad today.

4th October 2020

New Studio Phone Number

Yes, we've changed the studio phone number to one that we just couldn't resist when it came available !!!!

07587 195 666 :) :)

27th September 2020

Full Christmas 2020 Programming schedule coming soon. We're going to be bigger and better this Christmas (mainly because it's likely we wont be allowed to do anything else :)). More details to come on the 'Schedule' page very soon.

27th September 2020

Live show this Friday evening - PJ's New Music Crypt !!!!! Showcasing some of the best new music over the last few months along with revisiting some classics we discovered over the years !!!!

7th September 2020

Live show this Friday evening - Iron Maiden Special !!!!!!!

28th August 2020

We said we'd do it and we have ! Our new Twitter Account is live. 

It's taken us 20 years to get out of the dark ages but after early experiences with social media in the experimental days in the mid 90s and then into the early 00s when things went mainstream we decided we'd leave it well alone and not waste our time. However, times change and we now feel the time is right to allow ourselves to be contacted via this mechanism.

You can reach us @TheRockService1

The Rock Service On Twitter

27th August 2020

If you are a DJ or have any related radio experience and would like to submit a regular 2-hour show for broadcast on The Rock Service, please get in touch via the Contact page and submit your details and a demo. We'd love to hear from you !!!

26th August 2020

14th August show  uploaded now. You can listen or download from the PJCasts page.

22nd August - Another One Gone

Today we've lost another rock legend - R.I.P Jack Sherman of the RHCP.

Jack Sherman passes away

We've decided to abandon the Obituaries page - we're simply not going to have enough time to keep it updated the way things are going and we'd rather spend time living our own short lives rather than writing about other people's ! 

14th August 2020

It's the 53rd anniversary of the Marine offences Act, which is a very important period in radio history. At midnight tonight, 53 years ago, all of the offshore pirate radio stations closed down, with the exception of one, Radio Caroline.

We're live from 4pm commemorating and celebrating the events of that day along with the usual other nonsense that goes on during a PJ Rock Show !!!!!

You can listen live via the usual channels.

LISTEN

10th August 2020

Oh dear. We really seem to have moved into another tragic period of losing rock music icons. So many have passed in recent days but one really left us feeling gutted.

R.I.P Martin Birch

For those who didn't know, Martin Birch was a legendary Rock / Metal Music producer, perhaps best known for his 'metallic' and 'bright' soundscape on most of Iron Maiden's albums during the 1980s and into the early 90s with the last one being Fear of the Dark. He also worked with many other legendary musicians and bands during this period and another highlight of ours was his work on Black Sabbath's 1980 epic masterpiece Heaven and Hell where Dio took over vocal duties from Ozzy for a couple of albums.

Martin retired from music production a long time ago but his unique sound and highly refined skills will go down in Rock / Metal history as being one of the driving forces of the New Wave of British Metal.

We will be featuring a couple of appropriate tracks that Martin worked on during our Friday 14th August broadcast.

9th August 2020

What a tragedy we've seen in Beirut in recent days. Thankfully, all of my colleagues who live and work there are safe and well, as are their families, but many weren't so lucky. They were already struggling with a corrupt government and country, broken infrastructure from decades of war and terrorism, most recently they've suffered from Covid-19 and done all they can to protect their fragile hospitals and healthcare system from collapse and done their best to protect each other on the streets, but then this happens, something totally reckless and unforgivable. As with the Covid-19 disaster still gripping this fragile rock we call home, we hope someone is going to be held to account for what happened in Beirut and punished to the full extent of the law such that it can prevented from ever happening again.

All our wishes and thoughts are with you brothers and sisters. Take care........

8th August 2020

R.I.P Nigel Grant. We think it's 11 years now. But, well, the important message is that you're still thought about a lot, and missed in equal measures. We do wonder what you would have made of 2020 so far - we think we know though !!!! 'Boris Johnson can f*ck off' and 'Let's nuke China' are some of the quotes we would expect.

R.I.P Man - we're keeping the dream alive, somehow and in some form.

7th August 2020

Contemplating bringing the Twitter feed back. Not sure we can be bothered though - or whether we can deal with the negativity or uninformed commentary and criticism !!! Maybe one to look at when we get bored or have nothing else better to do.......:)

2nd August 2020

Been playing with the sound, again :). We think it's never sounded better, but we're biased :). Big respect to Leif Claesson - you've really built an awesome tool !!!!

GO GO GO the British drivers in the British GP today. It's going to be a very different event to the norm but we're still mega excited.

28th July 2020

Thank you very much dear listener for your Birthday Wishes :).

PJ hopes you are safe and well, as always.

Take care,

PJ

28th July 2020

Live show coming 14th August 2020 in recognition of the 1967 Marine offences Act. We kind of do it every year now :) and they don't get any better :) :) :)

9th July 2020

Who would have thought Homer Simpson listens to The Rock Service :) :) :)

Download it here Homer - 87.9 FM

Or watch on our Youtube channel - 

Homer Simpson Tunes To The Rock Service

8th July 2020

Is this THE best thing we've seen/heard all year ? Perhaps but perhaps not. We enjoyed it anyway and it somehow just works !!!

'In The End' - performed by the 'Quarantine Mob'

3rd July 2020

No News today....:)

1st July 2020

The long-awaited Rock Service Android App is coming SOON !!!!!!!! It's long-awaited because it's taken us years to do it :), not because anyone actually wants or needs it :) :)

Here is a sneak preview of how it is going to look - 


Coming to an Android device near YOU very soon.......(read 'quite' soon :) :))


21st June 2020

Tohuwabahu Festival - Live online but on a REAL stage from a REAL venue in Switzerland !!!!

Please donate as all the money goes straight to the bands and their crews.

Kassogtha are a great band and the rest of the line up is also interesting !

Tohuwabahu Festival

11th June 2020

New 'obituaries' page now live.

Obituaries

11th June 2020

We're having some technical difficulties with our live stream (story of our lives). We hope to be back soon.

6th June 2020

Another rock icon sadly lost :(

"The Sweet bassist Steve Priest dies aged 72, Blockbuster, Hell Raiser, Ballroom Blitz, Teenage Rampage, and Action all great singles back when a 45 rpm was front and centre to many teenagers lives. British punk was largely people who had grown up watching the glam-era TOTP, underlined when the Damned covered Ballroom Blitz. The Sweet were one of influences on 80s metal: Axl Rose claimed they were his favourite band, Def Leppard covered Hell Raiser and Action. You don't have to look at hair metal too hard to see the Sweet’s ghost, the photos show straight boys covered in makeup, possessed by a desire to shock, every one of them metaphorically Steve Priest’s offspring."

R.I.P

6th June 2020

PJCasts page updated with the Lockdown show and some Rock 106 shows from 1994 with Nigel Grant and Barbarella !!!

Enjoy !!!!

6th June 2020

Thanks to those who tuned into our live lockdown show last night !!

It's on repeat playback for the next few days and will be uploaded to the 'PJCasts' page shortly - 

PJCasts

Another show coming before the end of June 2020, all things going well !!!!

4th June 2020

*** Live show Friday 5th June 2020 @ 19.00 BST UK time. Join us for a UK Lockdown special !!!! ***


28th May 2020

Well, who would have thought it.......The Rock Service is going to talk about Barry Manilow !!!! Secretly, we've always been a fan of his work (one of those artists I couldn't escape when growing up in the 80s).

And guess what ? It seems he wrote an almost perfect song for right now, back in 1973, two years before PJ existed !!!

This just works on so many levels and brings some hope.

Barry Manilow - When the good times come again

27th May 2020

Hoping to do a 'Lockdown' live show next week - stay tuned.....:)

Also need to get the studio rebuild finished. There's not too much more to do but it just needs doing before we can do the live show.

Maybe 87.9 FM will be on too.......

26th May 2020

Crewed spaceX launch from the Kennedy Space centre (Cape Canaveral) to the ISS tomorrow night (27th) at around 9.33pm UK time. NASA will be streaming it live and I'm sure other outlets will be as well.

Very exciting !!!!!!

If you have a clear view West / South West, you can even see the rocket leaving Earth's atmosphere around 20 mins after launch. It will appear low in the sky to the West and become visible South / South-West at around 50 degrees above the Southern sky.

25th May 2020

No 'tracks' of the month for a while. However, maybe we've got a 'band' of the month. Check the 'Tracks of the month' page for details......

Tracks of the month page

12th May 2020

A really great piece from the (this time) living legend Dave Grohl - 

The Irreplaceable Thrill of Live Music.....

We hear you Dave and cannot agree more !!!!

We're all missing things at this challenging time, but my god, how much we miss live music !!!!

What a great thing to get yet another insight into the World of one of our greatest band founders and front men. We have always said what a true Gent he is and what a lovely person he is and what a superb ambassador for Rock and Roll he is and what an awesome performer and song seamstress he is, but to read how passionately he misses being on stage and connecting with his fans, it's actually quite moving to read. It's also a huge ray of hope and makes us look forward to the feeling when we finally can go to a live show again. We do have some planned but it's not yet clear whether they will happen or be postponed. Here's PJ with everything crossed.........

9th May 2020

Maybe we should rename this page to the 'Obituaries'.

We seem to be losing another Rock and Roll icon every day at the moment.

Today we lost Little Richard, another music pioneer. In a similar way to other trend-setters we've lost recently, Little Richard changed the face of music and inspired so many other artists; even the Beatles took some inspiration from Little Richard.

With so much death around at the moment, it's hard to see many green shoots or to find much hope. But, where there is an end, there is a beginning. Everything that dies goes to the Earth, which fuels new life and therefore, one who cannot find hope in such circumstances has perhaps lost their way.

We seem to have lost our way temporarily ! But, we will find it again.

RIP little Richard.

7th May 2020

More sad and bad news this week. Two more music icons have departed this World; one due to Coronavirus.

Neither of the bands that these Gentlemen were involved with were of huge interest to PJ in the past but certainly both were bands I was well aware of growing up in the 80s. Both were certainly pioneers in their respective fields.

First we have Dave Greenfield, keyboard player with The Stranglers. 

Dave Greenfield RIP

They were often (wrongly some would say) associated with the 70s Punk Movement that nudged its way into the 80s but their sound was quite different to what would pass as 'core' punk around that time. Most people will know their biggest hit Golden Brown, but The Stranglers had a diverse catalogue of other material that unless you were a die-hard fan, wouldn't ever get aired. Our favourite is Always The Sun - 

Stranglers - Always The Sun

Second we have the sad news of the passing of Florian Schneider, co-founder of Kraftwerk.

Florian Schneider RIP

They were absolutely pioneers in their genre and made electronic music popular. They also made it 'cool' to sing in German ! Their most famous tracks were Model and Autobahn but some of their other non-mainstream material was extremely experimental and certainly changed the face of popular music forever. It could also be argued that they paved the way for all of the genres of electronic music we have today.

RIP Florian and Dave.

25th April 2020

Wow !! What a set list this was !!!!

Metallica @ Munich Olympiapark, 31st May 2015

Some tracks here that hardly ever get played these days.

Starts around 3:30.

Enjoy !!!!

20th April 2020

For anyone with an interest in the history of radio broadcasting or for fans of Radio Caroline (past or present), it's a very sad day indeed. This man was truly inspirational and did something that totally transformed radio broadcasting Globally, forever. The path he set the industry on back in the early 1960s can still be seen alive and well today.

RIP Ronan O'Rahilly

You will be missed but never forgotten and every time you hear a song on the radio, or hear the presenter talking, or hear an advert or jingle or any other radio program-related content, think back to how it all started and Ronan should be at the front of your mind as one of the pioneers of it all. Start a pop music radio station based on a passenger and cargo ship, moored in the North sea ? Are you crazy !!! Nope - he did it !!!! Sure there were some dodgy dealings and money was at least one of many motivating factors, but it totally transformed the radio industry and paved the way for what we have today.

As soon as we get out of this Covid-19 situation, we will be putting together a tribute show to be aired on the Rock Service - it may even go out live, who knows.

Tribute to Ronan O'Rahilly

RIP

17th April 2020

So, it's been a bit quiet around here recently !!! The Rock Service has been on and off but I think we're back on now, hopefully without interruption.

PJ has been living a different life for a few weeks but we're back. Well, we're all living different lives right now but PJ's has been just a little bit weirder.

Those of you with a sensitive pair of ears will notice we sound a bit different. We think we always used to sound OK but now we've turbocharged our sound !!! We hope you like it.

17th April 2020

We came across this earlier. A very good gig indeed. Well worth a watch.

Metallica - Live At Outside Lands

11th February 2020

Awesome new live performance by As Night Falls, with a gospel choir !!! It somehow just works !!! Most of the band seem to have new hair cuts too :). Can't wait to catch up with them shortly and I hope to be able to announce some big news too !!!!!! Stay tuned (as my American colleagues say).

As Night Falls - Live show (with choir)

11th February 2020

Great new track of the month for February !!!!! See the 'Tracks of the month' page.

Track of the month for February 2020

13th January 2020

R.I.P Neil Peart.......a true drumming legend

Neil Peart in action

22nd December 2019

Live shows coming over Christmas and into the New Year. Stay tuned to our online channels and on 87.9MHz if you are lucky enough to live in the reception area.

20th December 2019

There is a severe backlog of gig reviews to do and truth be told, I doubt I will get to them now. There have been some highlights over the last month but Leaves' Eyes in London was one of them and Alter Bridge in Nottingham was another. Both awesome gigs.

10th November 2019

Let us never forget those who gave everything for us, for our parents, for our children, for a civil way of life, for our democracy and for our safety and security.

There's a special set of tracks of the month for November 2019.

4th November 2019

Back to 'normal'......

25th October 2019

Live Halloween Show - 31st October 2019.


27th August 2019

WOW, WOW, WOW !!! That's all that can be said. Why oh why did I decide not to go to Reading this year !!! Watching the Foo Fighters headline on TV over the weekend - WOW ! It doesn't matter how many times I see them, live live or live on TV, they just get better and better; it's really quite remarkable. 

What a front man, what a band, what a collection of awesome songs and what a performance, every single time. They simply must go down in history as one of the best Rock bands of all time and be remembered most for their explosive live shows. I could write pages and pages of superlatives and adjectives to describe how they make me feel but I have other things to do :).

15th August 2019

Thought for the day (maybe even the year !!) - 

The Meaning of Existence
 
Everything except language
knows the meaning of existence. 
Trees, planets, rivers, time
know nothing else. They express it 
moment by moment as the universe.

Even this fool of a body
lives it in part, and would 
have full dignity within it 
but for the ignorant freedom 
of my talking mind.

By Les Murrary.....

14th August 2019

Happy MOA day !!!! (not that it was a happy day by any means)

26th July 2019

Can't believe @ 20th July 2019 it was 2 years since was lost CB. RIP CB and to all the others who didn't make it.

7th July 2019

A big 2nd Half of 2019 for gigs. Check out the latest Gig Guide. More to come regarding Vetrar Draugurinn too.......

Gig Guide

7th July 2019

Moving into the 21st Century :

Coming to a Smart Phone near you soon......the New Rock Service App !!!! Yes, we thought we'd copy everyone else and have our very own Phone App.

More new to come as this develops.......

19th June 2019

Last night was a 'WOW' night. Just, fucking WOW !!! It was of course Metallica at the Etihad in Manchester. Check the Gig Reviews section for more......

20th May 2019

ANF - Bad luck at the FemME qualifying on Wednesday last week. I'm sure you gave it everything and I saw how graceful and respectful you were in defeat from your FB posts. Roll on to the Bloodstock qualifying on June 15th !!!!

Looking forward to hearing the new material too !!!!


11th May 2019

Great gig at the Fiddler's Elbow last night. Metaprism headlining with support from Evyltyde and The Loved and Lost. Metaprism have yet another new Male singer (they had another girl for most of last year but clearly that didn't work out). The new guy is great and possibly better than the original when we first saw them a few years back in Leicester at the Firebug.

Metaprism stole the show though, of course. Check out these 2 tracks - the first recorded by myself and the 2nd by Steve Martin (my favourite track of theirs, Firesoul) - I can be briefly seen headbanging to Steve's left at one point :)

Metaprism - Reload @ Fiddler's Elbow

Metaprism - Firesoul @ Fiddler's Elbow

11th May 2019

As Night Falls - The very best of luck on Wednesday at the FemME battle of the bands in Dusseldorf. I would have been there to support you if it hadn't been for work commitments. My flight is booked for Rotterdam in July though, to see you win the semis - I have faith :)

28th April 2019

OMFG !!!! We are SOOOOO loving Vetrar Draugurinn right now !!! We said before that this track was epic, but check out the live version courtesy of Steve Martin. Simply F*cking WOW !!!!!!

Vetrar Draugurinn - Twelfth Night (live in Netherlands)

and also check out this track, which our 2nd favourite on the album. Here is the live version of 'Death will come for  us' -

Vetrar Draugurinn - Death with come for  us (live in Netherlands)

Can't wait to see them myself at FeMME in October !!! Bring it on !!!!!!!


6th April 2019

One of the bands we follow quite closely, Vetrar Draugurinn have just released their latest album, Hinterlands. It's an absolutely great album and we like it a lot. But, there's one track that stands out amongst the others and it's the one called Twelfth Night. Wow Wow !!!! We simply cannot wait to hear this live (and we're sure Steve Martin is even more eager than we are !!!!).

Check out the video here -  

Vetrar Draugurinn - Twelfth Night

Awesome !!!!!!

6th April 2019

Absolutely brilliant night at Kayak !!! Check our Gig Reviews for a full run down. What made the evening even better was bumping into some old friends, Bill and Jodi. It's so good to see Bill back on his feet again, getting out and about. Apparently it was his first gig North of Greenwich in 30 years !!!! We only met him a handful of times in the past but spent many many hours listening to him on RFL over the years (late 80s into early 90s). Big respect to you  my friend. 

We also discovered a new track we'd never heard before, from Kayak of course. We know the classic well-known tracks but this one was new to us somehow (but one of the band's classics). Love the lyrics - simple but effective and with a relatable message.

Kayak - To an End

4th April 2019

Mike and the Mechanics delivered a brilliant performance at the Albert Hall on Monday. 'Living Years' was always going to be a personal highlight, as it will have been for so many people, but the set was littered with golden tracks I never even knew where his/theirs !! There were many covers too, but some good ones !!

Now we look forward to Kayak this Friday - first time seeing them. However, 'them' isn't really Kayak anymore and so we'll be seeing the modern incarnation of the band, trying to play the classic songs. Should be interesting......

15th March 2019

Awesome show by As Night Falls in Elblag, Northern Poland last night. Finally, we managed to nail capturing the live sound more naturally, due to some new equipment :).

Check out Eternal Dance for example - 

Eternal Dance

We also discovered another new band (new to us as usual). Arshenic were the headline and put on a really good show - very enjoyable. Here's one track from their set - 

Arshenic

11th March 2019

As Night Falls news !!!!!!!

After a spectacular show in Warsaw on Saturday night (check out our vids on the YouTube channel), there is some big news coming out of Poland today :).

First of all, As Night Falls are confirmed to be in the qualifying rounds for the famous FemME metal festival later in 2019, with the first qualifying round in Germany on the 15th May. Best of luck guys !!!! 

Also, hot off the press. As Night Falls are also confirmed as contenders in the M2TM Battle of the Bands qualifying event for a place at Bloodstock 2019 !!!! Wouldn't that be something if they can pull it off !!!! We hope to see them at the qualifying rounds and who knows, maybe another date in London is on the cards !!!!

Onwards this Friday to Gdansk :) for the band.

5th March 2019

R.I.P Keith Flint. Another one lost to suicide. 'Charly says, always tell your mummy before you go off some where'. You'll be sadly missed.

24th February 2019

A last minute decision saw us jet off to Gibraltar today so we could see Angelwings live, for the first time since April 2018. They've been through a lot of changes and problems but they are back. Check out the Gig Reviews section for full details !!!!

15th February 2019

Big As Night Falls news !!!

As Night Falls have won a place in the Battle of the Bands to win a set at FemME 2019 in October and to play alongside Imperia, Vetrar Draugurinn and many others to be announced.

Good luck in the qualifiers guys ! We'll be there for the final on the 7th July and I'm 100% confident you will be too :)


30th January 2019

Gig guide updated - it's going to be a busy year......

21st January 2019

'About Us' finished, well, as finished as it's going to be for now.

2nd January 2019

Happy New Year to all of our listeners.

Sadly, the As Night Falls / Cellar Darling tour is NOT happening. However, they will be touring with Imperial Age during January and February 2019. Dates to be confirmed.....

23rd December 2018

Christmas 2018 Broadcasting Announcement

Live on 87.9 MHz FM Stereo 

and FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.........

Live on 1494KHz Medium Wave (AM) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Detailed schedule to follow...................

9th December 2018

Absolutely awesome night in Nottingham with Def Leppard. PJ dreamed of seeing the Hysteria album played in full and well, it happened !

Many, many highlights. Review will follow shortly, once the backlog is cleared.

Videos available on the YT channel as usual, including this one, which was special.

Def Leppard - Love Bites @ Nottingham Arena_8th December 2018

and this one, which is one of my favourite DL tracks ever (with special tribute to Steve Clark) -

Def Leppard - God's of War @ Nottingham Arena_8th December 2018


8th December 2018

Really liking this 'new' Polish Doom/Death band - Spatial

Spatial - Silence


5th November 2018

Breaking News ! As Night Falls to tour Europe with Cellar Darling in March 2019 !!! Well done guys, you totally deserve a break like that and I hope it works out for you. I'll be there of course, at least for a couple of the Poland shows.

5th November 2018

Following on from the VooDoo Club evening.......here's a video of Animations, who are from the same part of Poland as As Night Falls. Really REALLY like this band.

Animations - Silence

Also check out some of their older material - this is a complete studio run-through of their first album from 2018 - 

Animations - Private Ghetto (Album)

Another one of those bands who are technically awesome. Really like these guys !!! Hope to see them again live one day......soon......

4th November 2018

Great evening @ The VooDoo club, Warsaw on 2nd November. 4 bands on the bill - Killsorrow, Animations, As Night Falls, Chimera.

Sadly the attendance wasn't great but all 4 bands gave their all and put on a great show.

Here's the end of As Night Fall's set here -

As Night Falls - Burn

Check out our Gig Reviews page for a full review of the evening (as fullish as we can muster !). Unfortunately, all videos are from the camera phone, which isn't too bad, but we did miss the proper 4K video camera (it will be back for Angel Nation this coming week !).

Busy week for gigs coming up - Slayer, Angel Nation and Pendragon on consecutive evenings - yikes !!!!!

14th October 2018

As Night Falls live @ Klub Alive - Wroclaw, Poland. Videos on our YT channel now (shortly)....

As Night Falls - From Grace to Oblivion

14th October 2018

FM and Medium Wave news coming soon..................

1st October 2018

We've decided this is one of our favourite tracks of the last 10 years, maybe of all time !!!

Angelwings - Embracing Fantasy

Sadly it looks as if they are about to break up - it's funny how that always happens when PJ discovers a band he likes !!!!

15th September 2018

Check out the new album from Temperance. It's called Of Jupiter and Moons. Absolutely awesome piece of work !!!

Here's one example of the quality of the album. Check out the full album on our 'Audio' page.

Temperance - We are free

7th September 2018

Saw a brilliant band supporting Serenity on Wednesday 5th @ The Underworld, London. They are called Temperance. Very very impressed !!!!! Very excited about them.

One of the examples we recorded is here (but there are far better videos and audio tracks on YT and elsewhere).

Temperance - Of Jupiter and Moons + Way Back Home

31/8/18

Gig guide updated - lots of exciting new gigs recently announced - will be a busy end to 2018 !!

21/8/18

As Night Falls release their new video 'Haven' based on footage from their London show in March 2018. Check it out !!!!! Very professional guys - well done !!

As Night Falls - Haven (official video)

20/8/18

You can now listen to The Rock Service via Tune-In Radio. Check out the 'Listen' page or go to Tune-In Radio.

20/8/18

We've had an upgrade ! More bandwidth and more capacity.

*** New 320kbps stream added - see the 'Listen' page for details.

*** The 64kbps for slow speed users is also back after a long absence.

15/8/18

PJCasts coming shortly - awaiting something in the post !!!!

14/8/18

Here we go again - August 14th once more !!! Re-live the 14th August 2015 - 6 hour marathon show playing now !!!! Hoods up in Harwich later !!!

Check out some of the photos on the 'Photos' page

8/8/18

R.I.P Nigel. Can't believe it's been 8 years now.

5/8/18

***Maintenance*** - scheduled maintenance happening over the next few weeks - don't be surprised if there are interruptions in service.

Big week of gig action. Maiden in Birmingham on Tuesday, Al Stewart in London on Thursday and Bloodstock Friday/Saturday !!! Watch out for gig reviews of all of these (when we remember to do them).

4/8/18

This is very exciting !!

LV18

We'll be putting our anoraks on (even in the current heat) and paying a visit

27/5/18

Another stunning version of this from Angel Nation - never get tired of listening/watching and living this song.

Last Time Together

20/5/18

The Rock Service Metal-Fest all-dayer ? Early 2019 ?

19/5/18

Metal To The Masses event tomorrow night @ The Big Red, London. Serpentyne competing in the finals for a place on the stage at Bloodstock !! Good luck guys !!!

19/5/18

New ANF material coming soon ?? We certainly hope so :)

30/4/18

Great gig @ The Dome, London on Saturday night. Leaves' eyes were great but the surprise of the night was Mayan. How many singers does one band need ?? It somehow works though. Really really good !!!!

Mayan - Human Sacrifice @ The Dome, London

22/4/18

Probably our favourite moment from the As Night Falls UK tour.

Beyond the Hatred @ Leicester

7/4/18

Great gig @ Rock on the Rock club in Gib last night. Angelwings were superb !

Check out our vids on our YT channel, including this one -

Angelwings - Wonderland

11/3/18

During the As Night Falls mini-tour, we discovered a new band from Leicester, called Hell's Addiction. Check them out !! They are awesome !!!

Hell's Addiction

10/3/18

More thanks, this time to the people who made the effort to attend the Leicester show on the 4th March. See our Gig Review section for full details !!!!

9/3/18

A MASSIVE Thank You to Serpentyne for Supporting As Night Falls in London and Leicester. You guys are truly awesome and it was a pleasure spending time with you !! You've certainly got a mega new fan here at the Rock Service. THANK YOU !!!!

2/3/18

Thank You so much to all the people who braved the weather to come to the Venue 229 show on 1st March - there was NO way that show was being cancelled :) :)

Next stop - Leicester tomorrow night, 4th March :)

10/2/18

Short Promo Video Released -

Promo Video

7/2/18

New promo material released for the March shows !!!!

2/2/18

British Symphonic Rock/Folk band Serpentyne are now confirmed as support for As Night Falls for the 1st March London and 4th March Leicester shows !!!! Updated flyer/promo coming soon........

Serpentyne Facebook Page

24/1/18



As Night Falls

Nowy rok, nowe plany i przede wszystkim nowe KONCERTY! :) Z dumą przedstawiamy plakat do pierwszych 2 koncertów w tym roku \m/

UK! We are coming! \m/

17/1/18

Breaking News !!!!

The Rock Service is proud to announce that 'As Night Falls' will tour the UK in 2018. Confirmed dates so far include London on 1st March and Leicester on 4th March, with others being planned. The band hail from Katowice in Poland, and will be bringing their unique blend of Symphonic Rock and Metal to UK shores !!!! Support bands will also be added to the line-up in due course. Check back for details !!!!

21/12/17

Radio Caroline starting live transmissions on 648kHz Medium Wave from Orford Ness @ 7am Friday 22nd Dec 17 !!!!!

21/12/17

Live shows coming over Christmas and New Year online and on 87.9MHz VHF in selected areas.......

21/12/17

The Rock Service is now (at least) 20 years old !!! We've existed as a temporary radio station on FM in parts of London since 1997 and online around the World @ therockservice.co.uk since 2004.

20/12/17

The Rock Service has had a minor upgrade !!! Unlikely anyone will notice the difference !!!!!

19/12/17

Great Gig by Angel Nation @ The Boston Music Rooms last week on Thursday. Vids on our YT channel, like this one -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-1p36Zekos

19/12/17

Great Steve Harley Gig last Friday - managed to capture some great vids from a good vantage point, like this one -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBQP5gEYWVQ


17/12/17

R.I.P Geoff - my dear friend


1/12/17

Back on after a short maintenance period.......


20/07/17

To Chester.

R.I.P

Nobody but you can ever know why. Only people who have suffered any kind of mental illness, no matter what, can have a glimpse as to what you went through and how you were feeling in the final moments. Even then, for one to take their own life, how bad could it have been ? None of us will ever know unless it happens to us too. Anyone else who speculates or gives opinion or makes judgement can go fuck themselves - they won't know anything.

You were an inspiration and your music helped me through hard times.

In the end, it doesn't even matter ? Well guess what ? It matters a lot and I think you knew that all along.

The Rock Service.


22/6/2017

As Night Falls gig - AMAZING !!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhr1UWp9kYE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgccKA3kfG4

18/5/2017

RIP Chris Cornell

On Thursday, Tom Morello paid tribute to his late friend and Audioslave bandmate Chris Cornell on Instagram. "Thank you for your friendship and your humor and your intellect and your singular and unmatched talent," the guitarist's post read.

That same night, he wrote a poem in tribute to Cornell, which appears in full below.

You're a prince, you're a snare, you're a shadow
You're twilight and star burn and shade
You're a sage, you're a wound shared, you're masked
You're a pillar of smoke, you're a platinum heart
You're a brush fire, you're caged, you're free
Your vision pierces, you do not see
You are pieces strewn on the hillside
You're open armed, you're armed, you're true
You're a revealer of visions, you're the passenger, you're a never fading scar
You're twilight and star burn and shade
You're the secret veiled, you're the secret revealed, you're surrounded no more
You're not there, now you're always here
You're a handsome groom, a loving father, a haunted stairwell
You're the clear bell ringing, the mountains echo your song
Maybe no one has ever known you
You are twilight and star burn and shade

RIP

13/12/2016

Live shows coming over Christmas and New Year, online and on 87.9MHz FM in selected areas.......

25/9/2016

HOT OFF THE PRESS - GREAT NEW BAND !!!!

Polish Symphonic Metal band 'As Night Falls' released their debut LP today, and all the tracks are featured on the Rock Service playlist.

Check out this example of their work from their 2015 EP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkoVEpdHQLI

and this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkJjvLi4EQ

Artwork from the new album -



R.I.P Lem  - the World feels like an even darker place today

22nd January 2016 - Check out this 'new' band we've discovered here at the Rock Service

http://www.metaprism.co.uk/

and especially tracks like this !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09YfHFWRxtU

12th November 2015 - R.I.P Philthy Animal Taylor

6th November 2015 - New W.A.S.P - WOW !!!!! Nothing to say.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq5UQ8gWU-A#action=share

10th August 2015 - We're live on 14th August 2015 24/7, online and on 87.9MHz FM in parts of South Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire in the UK. Special programming commemorating the anniversary of the Marine offences Act, 14th August 1967

26th July 2015 - Sometimes in life, things don't turn out quite the way you expect. I could give countless examples, but one from yesterday was when I satisfied one of my life-long dreams, to see The Scorpions play the UK. Some of our videos are available on our Youtube page now:

 http://www.youtube.com/user/therockservice

11th May 2015 - We're absolutely LOVING this band. Recorded @ the Dames of Darkness festival 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTQsVFRkf98&feature=youtu.be

GREAT band, GREAT singer, GREAT song with GREAT lyrics. Totally STUNNING !!!!!!

24th April 2015 - We have a new, more reliable server. Enjoy :-)

24th April 2015 - Check out this band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbDdn7CJ6m0/

(great lyrics for that song)

3rd March 2015 - Gig guide updated !!!

December 2014: Christmas Live Shows coming......online and on 87.9MHz FM in Leicestershire

01/9/14: We're working on getting an archive of shows available on the web-site - watch this space......

01/9/14: Remember, get your requests and dedications into the studio for next Sunday's Rock Show. Text/SMS to +44 (0) 7927 891 794 or email: info@therockservice.co.uk

18/8/14: Live Shows coming !!!

The Rock Service is pleased to announce the start of regular live shows every Sunday evening, starting 24/8/14, hosted by Paul Johnson.

These shows will be broadcast via the 64K / 128K livestreams (and on 87.9 FM time to time).

Tentative show time is 22.00 - 00.00 CET, and may be varied and/or extended in future weeks.

7/7/14: Apologies to those affected by this (all back up and running now):

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-grabs-no-ip-websites-2014-7