EDNA O'BRIEN

We open with haikus, and hear about the design of the Statue of Liberty. Novelist Edna O'Brien joins Jarvis to talk about her memoir, Country Girl. She discusses her fraught relationship with Irish Catholicism, and reads an excerpt about the stifling atmosphere of religion in her youth. She describes how Joyce moved her as a budding writer, and remembers her first book causing scandal in Ireland. She talks about moving to London in the 1960s and taking LSD with RD Laing. Plus, she reads her poem about Barack Obama. The Peel H is Half Man Half Biscuit. To get us in the mood for Hallowe'en, there's a clip of Boris Karloff reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Birthdays: Gershon Kingsley, Hank Marvin, William Reid, Francis Bacon (on painting the mouth, and crucifixion imagery), Julia Roberts (on her unique smile), Evelyn Waugh (on his worst feature), Frank Ocean and Joaquin Phoenix. 

Art and Lux

 

Clips from Lux Interior's 1984 Purple Knif radio show feature throughout the programme. Guest Art Garfunkel unfortunately couldn't make it, but Jarvis still shares related facts and tracks, and reads the poetic sleevenotes from Garfunkel's retrospective new record The Singer. Today is both National Apple Day and International Day of the Nacho: could the two be combined? The Peel G is Gallon Drunk. Sheffield's Site Gallery has an exhibition by Pilvi Takala — there's audio from one of her films, a Finnish professional poker player describing his life in Bangkok. And do you regard Jarvis as a part of the furniture? If so, he hopes you find him comfortable. Birthdays: Lux Interior, Leonard Rossiter (his daughter considers Rigsby), Julian Cope (on his bad eyesight), Georg Solti (on peace), Steve Cropper, Rose McDowall, Peter Mandelson (is politics like showbusiness?) and Matthew Friedberger.

Celebrating The Velvet Underground

Jarvis explores the early years of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground to celebrate the anniversary of their first album release. But first: today in 1926, AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh was published. The publisher discusses Pooh's international success, and Alan Bennett reads 'In which Eeyore has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents'. Also On This Day: the first 50p coin, Ronald Reagan declared War on Drugs, and the Battle of Hastings - Marriott Edgar performs a monologue about it. Velvet Underground biographer Victor Bockris explains the influence of LaMonte Young on the band's early sound. John Cale also pays tribute to Young and recalls their Beatles-inspired beginnings. Lou Reed talks about songwriting, describes tough early gigs in Greenwich Village and remembers how Andy Warhol invited them to accompany underground film screenings. Brian Eno considers their lasting influence. Birthdays: Lillian Gish, Jules Rimet, LaMonte Young, Roger Moore, Steve Cram and Steve Coogan.

Sheffield Sunday

It's Sheffield Sunday on the station, so tek yer jesses off and fly free. Jarvis reads HV Morton's The Call of England. Plus, as it's spooky October, we hear an Edgar Allan Poe poem set to music. There's a lesson in Yorkshire dialect titled 'Teach Thissen Tyke'. Jarvis considers his hometown's definition of fishcakes. We hear from Turner Prize topic RD Laing, and On This Day the dark side of the moon was first photographed. The Peel F is for Fairport Convention. Richard Hawley pops in and plays Digital Roulette. And over music created for Forced Entertainment (see also), Jarvis reads Bill Drummond's Sheffield Sparrows. Birthdays: Tim Minchin, Jayne Torvill (on ice skating), Judee Sill, Simon Cowell (on feeling overwhelmed), Thom Yorke, Flying Lotus, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (on being a rabble rouser), Vladimir Putin, RD Laing (remembering his father's breakdown), Luke Haines and Ulrike Meinhof. Valete: Edgar Allan Poe. (See also)