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Episode 9 of Alternative Colchester revisits the years when punk was more than just a sound — it was a statement. Hosted by Steve Green and Tim Young, with guest Professor Jules Pretty, the episode blends nostalgia, attitude, and fresh insight as they explore how punk and environmentalism intersected from 1976 to 1981.

The episode explores how punk, between 1976 and 1981, became a tool for resistance and social commentary. Jules selects five tracks that highlight punk’s ecological undercurrent, while Steve and Tim each bring four of their own. Their thirteen-track playlist captures the era’s turbulence and creativity, reflecting both social unrest and the desire for renewal.

Jules draws parallels between punk’s defiance and the green movement’s challenge to neglect, showing punk was about more than destruction — it was about awareness. From The Clash to Joy Division, The Cure and Siouxsie & The Banshees, the tracks reflect unrest and hope.

Jules’ picks highlight the tension between decaying cities and fragile landscapes, between chaos and the hope for change—issues that feel relevant today. His selections form the thoughtful backbone of the episode.

Steve leans into classic punk’s energy with Suburban Studs, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Dole, while Tim picks Wreckless Eric, The Skids, The Flys, and, naturally, Stiff Little Fingers, showing how punk’s chaos was underpinned by a desire for transformation.

A single modern track, “Operation Underground” by Hi‑Fi Spitfires, fits seamlessly with the classics, its punk-reggae raw energy and lyrics proving punk’s spirit is still alive. Its DIY ethics and anthemic power bridge past and present.

Beyond music, the show is about memory and community. Steve and Tim’s chemistry and football banter evoke how youth culture, sport, and music shaped the era, conjuring a vivid picture of the seventies when creativity flourished amid hardship.

Jules provides an intellectual perspective on sustainability and rebellion, showing how punk bands were early environmentalists, railing against pollution and alienation even if not in those words.

The episode’s arc moves from chaos to consciousness, with early tracks channelling punk’s fire, later songs adding nuance, and with Hi-Fi Spitfires' Operation Underground, injecting fresh blood. The playlist is a story of endurance and evolution.

The blend of scholarship and spirit keeps the pace lively. Jules’ insights invite listeners to hear familiar songs differently, while Steve and Tim bring humour and the sensibility that shaped punk’s first wave.

This isn’t just nostalgia, it’s re-evaluation. By linking the music of that era to today’s environmental issues, the show proves rebellion can still teach us about hope.

Whether you’re a lifelong punk fan or new to the scene, this episode guides you through punk’s deeper meaning, linking crashing guitar chords to protest and renewal. Jules Pretty makes it clear: music and environment both thrive on urgency and truth.

With its humour, insight, and energy, Alternative Colchester #9 shows the past isn’t done speaking. Punk and environmentalism combine in one loud, human conversation. So turn it up — punk’s still alive, and Alternative Colchester is proof.

www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

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Episode 8 of Alternative Colchester sees Steve Green and Tim Young welcome Ben Howard from Keep Colchester Cool to the show. Ben fits into the Alternative Colchester setup like a well-worn leather jacket — comfortable, sharp and full of character, with plenty to say about football and punk rock in equal measure.

The football chat is particularly rich this week. Colchester United's anticipated takeover by a John Terry-led consortium provides plenty of optimism and excitement, while the Tractor Boys' derby win at Norwich is dissected by Tim and producer Luke alongside broader football chat that keeps the banter lively throughout.

The music is the real star though, with a tracklist that reads like a love letter to first wave punk. John Cooper Clarke opens with Suspended Sentence, The Boys follow with Cast Of Thousands, and The Damned deliver the gorgeous Love Song. The Germs bring LA punk fury with Lexicon Devil, The Saints make a long overdue appearance with This Perfect Day, and The Stranglers deliver their gloriously menacing take on Walk On By. XSLF contribute Here We Are Nowhere, Crass — much to Steve's objection — arrive with the uncompromising So What, and Sweden's Dead Pollys tip their hat to a certain Mr Strummer. A classic Monty Python interlude keeps things delightfully unpredictable, before the obligatory Stiff Little Fingers track Mr Fire Coal Man and The Clash's Protex Blue round things off perfectly. Essential listening.

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Episode 7 of Alternative Colchester is a slightly longer and particularly special edition, as Steve Green and Tim Young are joined by Dr Anthony Roberts, Director of Colchester Arts Centre and committed Watford fan. Anthony brings not only a wealth of knowledge and passion for the arts but also an extremely eclectic record collection, and it's his choices that help shape one of the most musically adventurous episodes of the series so far. The episode runs a little longer than usual but when the conversation is this good and the music this interesting, why would you want it to end?

As Director of one of the country's most respected independent arts venues, Anthony has spent his career championing creativity and individuality with values that sit perfectly alongside everything this show stands for. His passion for music runs deep and broad, and his record selections take the show to some genuinely exciting and unexpected places, sitting beautifully alongside the punk touchstones that Steve and Tim bring to proceedings.

The football chat remains a cornerstone of the show, and with Anthony in the room there is plenty to get stuck into. Colchester United's latest exploits are examined with the usual mixture of passion, frustration, dark humour and undying loyalty, while Ipswich Town receive their customary thorough and entirely one way optimistic assessment. The Watford allegiance adds an entertaining extra dimension to the footballing banter, and the extended running time gives the conversation room to breathe and wander in the most enjoyable fashion.

The music is simply outstanding. Anthony's influence is felt immediately, as the selection stretches the boundaries of what Alternative Colchester listeners might expect while never losing the raw spirit that defines the show. The Yachts bring razor-sharp melodic new wave, while Pere Ubu represent the darker, avant-garde edge of the late seventies underground, a bold choice that speaks to Anthony's adventurous taste. The Cortinas represent the grittier, street-level end of the spectrum, Tom Robinson Band arrive sounding as urgent and vital as ever, and the wonderful Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers provides one of the episode's most joyful moments. The Clash need no introduction, and obviously Stiff Little Fingers are here too, because some things are simply non-negotiable. You'll need to listen in full to hear what else makes the playlist this time around.

Episode 7 is Alternative Colchester at its most expansive and culturally rich. The chemistry between Steve, Tim and Anthony is warm and natural throughout, and this is an episode that will delight long-time listeners and win plenty of new ones.

www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

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Episode 6 of Alternative Colchester sees your hosts Steve Green and Tim Young back in their natural habitat — no guests, no frills, just two mates with strong opinions, a pile of classic punk singles and plenty to say. The football chat is as passionate and unfiltered as ever, with the latest Colchester United and Ipswich Town fortunes dissected in forensic detail alongside the customary "friendly" rivalry banter, delivered with the kind of impartiality you'd expect from this show, which is to say, none whatsoever. There's wider football chat too, covering whatever has caught Steve and Tim's eye across the game that week and with input from producer Luke, another tractor boy!! The music, as always, is absolutely on point, with a cracking selection of punk classics from 1976 to 1981 including tracks from The Unwanted, The Stiffs, The Vibrators, Chelsea, The Shapes and inevitably and gloriously, Stiff Little Fingers. Episode 6 is warm, funny, opinionated and completely unpretentious. Just two blokes who love their football clubs and their punk rock, doing what they do best.

www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

Request a record from 1976-1981

In Alternative Colchester episode #5 we're joined by actor, comedian and punk rock fan Tony Gardner. Best known as Brian Johnson in My Parents Are Aliens, Michael in Lead Balloon and Professor Shales in Fresh Meat, Tony has also appeared in Last Tango in Halifax, The Thick of It, Midsomer Murders and much more — oh, and he's a qualified GP. Multi-talented doesn't cover it. But Tony's here because he's one of us: a Colchester United fan, classic punk lover, and a man of impeccable if slightly tragic taste who also supports Manchester United. We won't hold that against him. The show is packed with listener requests, Colchester United and Ipswich Town banter, a cracking punk playlist featuring Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, The Adicts, Vice Creems and many more, plus the usual dose of Monty Python absurdity. Whether you're a Col U fan, a Tractor Boy, a punk purist or just someone who knows Inflammable Material is one of the greatest albums ever made — Episode 5 has something for you.

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Joining Steve Green and Tim Young in this week’s episode is David Philp of Automatics fame. David has lived in Los Angeles since the early 80’s and Steve was visiting him so it made sense for Tim and producer Luke Fitch to record as usual from the University of Essex media department in Colchester and hook up with Steve and David in LA. The wonders of modern technology hey!

This episode of Alternative Colchester is an extended one in order to find out what David is doing musically these days and to hear stories of his time in London in the late 70’s. It is 48 years since the classic, Steve Lillywhite produced “When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again” was released on Island Records and although we touch on that of course, we also discuss their brand new “Britannia” album which is available now on splatter coloured vinyl via Label 51.

Also in this episode are the usual 10 punk nuggets from 1976-1980, Col U and Ipswich football banter and even a bit of cricket thrown in for good measure.

www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

Request a record from 1976-1981

Another hour of football chat (mainly Colchester United and Ipswich Town) with 10 classic punk tracks from the first wave 1976-1980 as chosen by punk purists Steve Green (Col U) and Tim Young (Tractor Boys) with producer Luke Fitch (Another Tractor Boy) "pitching in" about players and matches that Steve has no recognition of!! For fans of original punk rock music, Stiff Little Fingers, Colchester United and Ipswich Town football clubs.

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Request a record from 1976-1981

Alternative Colchester is where football rivalry meets punk rock passion. Join Tim Young (Labour councillor, former Colchester mayor, and long-suffering Ipswich Town fan) and Steve Green (Special Duties founder and die-hard Colchester United supporter) as they prove that two blokes who disagree about football can agree that 1977 changed everything.
They were both in the room when Stiff Little Fingers supported Tom Robinson Band at Essex University in 1978 - they just didn’t know it until 2023. Now they’re bringing that shared punk spirit to the airwaves with fierce football debate, classic tracks from 1977-1980, and the kind of authentic banter that can only come from forty-plus years of living the life they’re talking about.
One show. Two teams. Four decades of passion. No nostalgia without nuance. This is Alternative Colchester - because like the best punk songs, local football deserves to be loud, honest, and impossible to ignore.

www.alternativecolchester.co.uk