Music writer, consultant and friend of the show Daryl Easlea sits down with Paul and Steve to explain how a request for 500 words on a budget CD launched his sleevenotes career. His first subjects were Sergio Mendes and the exclamation-mark incarnation of Ultravox!, which is a respectable range by anybody’s standards.

From his arrival at Record Collector to his enduring love of The Fall, Daryl reflects on being a musical generalist, finding the melody in Status Quo and searching patiently for the appeal of death metal.

Recorded live at Futures and Pasts, this special episode of Oh! Brother sees Paul and Steve joined on stage by the Poet Laureate himself, Simon Armitage. Simon looks back on discovering The Fall as a teenager, his early gigs, and what it is about Mark E. Smith's lyrics that has captivated so many writers.

There's talk of poetry, songwriting and life as Poet Laureate, a few brief encounters with Mark, and a moving poem written after his death. Thanks again to Simon and everyone involved with Futures and Pasts, hope you enjoy!

This week Paul and Steve welcome Liverpool musician Barry Sutton, former Fall roadie and founder of Beatnik Hurricane. Barry recalls hearing Slates at 15, abandoning prog on the spot and beginning his long association with The Fall.

He also covers the drum stands he may or may not have set up, his expulsion from school and his family's habit of setting off fire alarms. Paul and Steve also ask him about Beatnik Hurricane's film Sketches of Skem. Hope you enjoy!