Mark ‘Rock Em Dead’

Punk rock obsessive. Accidental radio presenter. Self-confessed multi-talentless musician. Alleged grumpy Northerner.

Mark ‘Rock Em Dead’ has spent decades championing music that deserves to be heard, whether anyone asked him to or not.

His radio show comes with just one warning: bring an open mind, expect the unexpected and don’t complain if he plays something that lasts seventeen minutes.

🎸 The Rock ‘Em Dead Show — Mondays at 10pm

🔁 Repeated Thursdays at 11pm

📧 Email Mark directly

An Accidental Radio Presenter

Mark never actually planned to become a radio presenter.

It all began when he was interviewed for Chris Stagg’s Punkified show on Surrey Hills Radio. Shortly afterwards, Mark was invited to present a one-hour guest show on Rocking Fox Radio.

The idea was to promote a vinyl LP he’d released to raise money for suicide prevention and youth mental health charities.

The guest show went down so well that Mark was offered his own regular one-hour slot.

Naturally, being someone who never does things by halves, he opted for a two-hour show instead!

A Lifelong Love Affair with Punk Rock

Mark’s musical journey began at thirteen when a friend’s older brother introduced him to the UK Subs and Generation X through a handful of singles.

There was no turning back.

What followed was a lifelong obsession with punk rock, particularly the New York punk scene of the 1970s.

Along the way, Mark developed what could reasonably be described as an unhealthy fascination with Johnny Thunders and everything connected to the New York Dolls.

And that fascination shows no signs of disappearing!

Rock Em Dead Records — The Multi-Talentless Musician’s Solution

Mark describes himself as multi-talentless rather than multi-talented, having mastered the art of playing several instruments rather badly.

A successful career in a band was therefore looking unlikely.

So, what better alternative than starting his own record label?

What began as a small, cottage-industry DIY punk operation eventually developed into Rock Em Dead Records, an independent label releasing music by established and lesser-known bands from around the world.

The label grew from humble beginnings into a professional operation, all driven by Mark’s passion for independent music.

His journey actually began with Potatoe Print Records in the late 1990s, before the Rock Em Dead Records name arrived in 2000.

Music Journalism and an Unexpected Encounter with John Lydon

Mark’s musical adventures haven’t been confined to running a record label.

He’s also written extensive gig reviews and record reviews for the BrumLive music webzine.

One particularly memorable assignment came when he was given just a couple of hours’ notice to conduct a supposedly short interview with punk legend John Lydon.

What followed was a conversation lasting more than an hour, covering everything from music to non-league football.

Not a bad afternoon’s work!

The Myths, the Music and the Man

There are plenty of myths surrounding Mark.

Apparently, he’s a grumpy Northerner.

Some claim he’s musically narrow-minded and only interested in New York punk between 1973 and 1978.

Others have accused him of being a musical elitist.

As one critic memorably put it:

“You like Coltrane but not Courtney Pine, Lee Scratch Perry but not UB40, Robert Johnson but not Robert Cray. Your problem is you’re a musical elitist!”

According to Mark, only one of those accusations is actually true.

We’ll leave listeners to work out which one.

The Rock ‘Em Dead Show — Expect the Unexpected

With Rocking Fox Radio already home to an excellent dedicated punk show, Mark decided to do something different.

The Rock ‘Em Dead Show refuses to be restricted by musical genres, conventional radio formats or the length of a track.

If Mark thinks a piece of music is worth hearing, there’s every chance he’ll play it.

Punk, rock, jazz, reggae, blues, alternative music and the downright unexpected are all fair game.

Mark’s unofficial alternative title for the show is:

“How to Lose Listeners and Alienate People.”

He isn’t afraid of challenging musical tastes, playing unusually long tracks or occasionally annoying his audience.

All he asks is that listeners arrive with an open mind, a reasonable attention span and a willingness to embrace the weird.

Mark will happily sort the wheat from the chaff.

Whether everyone agrees with his choices is another matter entirely!

Listen to The Rock ‘Em Dead Show

Catch Mark on Rocking Fox Radio every week.

🎸 Monday at 10pm

🔁 Repeated Thursday at 11pm

Expect great music, unexpected discoveries and absolutely no guarantees about what might come next.

Listen to Rocking Fox Radio

Get in Touch with Mark

Have a track suggestion, some feedback or music you’d like Mark to hear?

You can contact him directly at:

rockemdead@rockingfoxradio.co.uk

You can also explore Mark’s independent record label at www.RockEmDeadRecords.co.uk.

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