The return of The mystery train with John Kelly

School Socks

After 11 years it's back ! MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4 https://mobile.twitter.com/johnkellytweets/status/896023080031723521

School Socks

Rumour is Rick O shea to get afternoons on Lyric

Expunge

So, a show deemed a failure over a decade ago on Radio 1 is to be revived but on lyric???

I'm glad Kelly is moving off the daytime coz he's crap and makes zero effort but this means no more Lyric Concert, I presume.

And now talk of Rick O Shea coming to Lyric and reports of the ailing Gay Byrne demanding a gig?

And of course the daily train wreck that is Marty in the Morning.

For fecks sake! The national arts and classical music channel is little more than a state funded dustbin for the has beens and never weres.

Mr Snow

what type of show is the The mystery train

School Socks

Mr Snow wrote: »

what type of show is the The mystery train

Kind of a broad church music show, not too different from the John Creedon show but less mainstream tracks.

Expunge

Mr Snow wrote: »

what type of show is the The mystery train

Yes, similar to the JC Show with a host who's self consciously 'cool', afraid of being found out as a bit of a chancer and doesn't have the same sunny and charming disposition as Creedon.
And, it seems both shows will overlap.

What is the ****ing point?

Rumpy Pumpy

Expunge wrote: »

Yes, similar to the JC Show with a host who's self consciously 'cool', afraid of being found out as a bit of a chancer and doesn't have the same sunny and charming disposition as Creedon.
And, it seems both shows will overlap.

What is the ****ing point?

That's a fair assessment. Kelly always comes across as a bit of a self-regarding muso. Creedon's show strikes a far better balance between playing obscure stuff with some radio friendly requests thrown in. There's no doubt that Creedon is a serious musichead himself, but his show is far more approachable. He also has a lovely manner about him.

Strange to have the two shows clashing.

Beechwoodspark

Is it going to be on radio 1 or lyric

Expunge

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Is it going to be on radio 1 or lyric

Lyric. Sunday to Thursday 7-9 pm, according to RTÉ.ie

School Socks

There was a lot of online upset at the time in Summer 06 when the mystery train got axed, there was a big save the mystery train MySpace campaign at the time. It is rather bizarre to bring it back now, 11 years later when it has been long forgotten and having it on what is meant to be a classical music station is equally bizarre.

sligojoek

I'm usually driving between 7 and 8. I'll proably give it a listen from 7 as very little on "Arena" interests me. When I get home around 8 it'll be Creedon as usual.

hullaballoo

I've never been able to stomach John Kelly. Self-satisfied doesn't do him justice.

As above, this is good news across the board. Shunting JK off to 7-9 means Lyric should remain a safe harbour from the dross on other stations during the day without the dread that I might accidentally switch over to John Kelly's I'm-so-hipster-listen-to-this-Transnistrian-mesolithic-nasal-singing.

dball

Cant wait: Just heard the ad on Lyric. An absolute classic, didnt know it was a failure - I always loved it - genuinely found it to be more listenable than anything else on radio.

Basal

Tonight's the night. The Lyric concert is moving to Midnight, that's going to annoy classical music fans.

8mv

Good to have it back - I don't like everything he plays, some of it I hate, but you're guaranteed to take away something from it you didn't know you liked. Tonight was LCD Soundsystem, Broken Social Scene and Allen Toussaint. Hope it does well.

Basal

This question is why didn't they just allow him do the mystery train on lyric since 11 years ago like ?

dball

he mentioned something about "this type of music is what got us in trouble" on Tuesday night
Would they stop the show because of complaints?????????

strewelpeter

dball wrote: »

he mentioned something about "this type of music is what got us in trouble" on Tuesday night
Would they stop the show because of complaints?????????

He would have been joking about that. In any case experience shows that Lyric management have little or no concern for what listeners think, its all about numbers for them. The formula is simply to get the maximum number of listeners for the lowest cost.
I'm sure there are some people who aren't happy about hearing drums and electric guitars on Lyric but I would expect that even being up against Creedon the Mystery Train will be a success.

IMO its been great listening so far, the time slot could be better for me so have been listening on their radio player. The stream doesn't sound great off Android, does anyone know what bitrate they are using?

ziggyman17

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

Basal

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

It's hard to believe that it used to be on Today FM

ziggyman17

Basal wrote: »

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

It's hard to believe that it used to be on Today FM

Today FM is unrecognizable today compared to years gone by.. it has been bitten by the 2FM bug..

ziggyman17

Basal wrote: »

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

It's hard to believe that it used to be on Today FM

Today FM is unrecognizable today compared to years gone by.. it has been bitten by the 2FM bug..

ziggyman17

Basal wrote: »

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

It's hard to believe that it used to be on Today FM

Today FM is unrecognizable today compared to years gone by.. it has been bitten by the 2FM bug..

real rocker

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Today FM is unrecognizable today compared to years gone by.. it has been bitten by the 2FM bug..

We heard you the first time.

ford fiesta

Basal wrote: »

It's hard to believe that it used to be on Today FM

called the Eclectic Ballroom

yosser hughes

Donal Dineen had a better show on Today FM. Not a pretentious insufferable chancer like Kelly either.
Lyric is farce at this stage.

Expunge

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Loving the first week of this show.. have listened to it all week.. Great mix of music.. I know some music snobs will be offended but I cannot think of any other station were this show would fit..

Radio 1?

Today FM?

2XM?

Flicking around the dial last night, there are a lot of shams pushing eclectic shows, like it was 1998, between Creedon, Kelly and McLoon. The Mystery Train on Lyric is followed by Blue of the Night with, guess what? More 'eclectic' musical posturing.

What's wrong with an evening concert of mainstream classical music on the station set up and funded to do so?

pinkypinky

I'm enjoying Mystery Train so far. Haven't listened to the Blue of the Night since Carl left, and it fills a similar but more mainstream hole.

I do wish there was an alternative to Marty - still find his brand of banter too irritating for the morning (the flirting with AA Roadwatch, Hugo, incessant Nevin Maguire). Something with quiet gentle music to wake up slowly to.

cbreeze

pinkypinky wrote: »

I'm enjoying Mystery Train so far. Haven't listened to the Blue of the Night since Carl left, and it fills a similar but more mainstream hole.

I do wish there was an alternative to Marty - still find his brand of banter too irritating for the morning (the flirting with AA Roadwatch, Hugo, incessant Nevin Maguire). Something with quiet gentle music to wake up slowly to.

I'll give the mystery train a go. I am more into Classical music myself and its great that you can access the UK's Classic FM and BBC Radio Three on the internet. Tip: if you get a message on their website saying sorry its for UK listeners only just tap in any UK postcode and you are in. This arises if using a desktop , not with the stations' mobile app.

Joe_ Public

I remember the last Midnight Train all those years ago and the sadness and sense of disbelief tuning in. From memory a few high profile artists called in (unsolicited) to pay their respects, one of whom included Bono. Of course, that will only confirm to lots of people why they hated it so much, the sense of cool, the pretentiousness etc. So it goes anyway.

But when they talk about the show as a failure, do they mean listenership figures or something else entirely? For me, the real failure was Radio One director, Ana Leddy, whose other decisions included the firing of Donal Dineen, the very popular Arts Show, Val Joyce and Vincent Browne. In their stead she promoted the likes of Derek Mooney and Joe Duffy. Dumbing down was her middle name. I don't think she lasted long in the job.

I guess I'm glad its back but it doesn't lessen the anger that it was taken away at its peak. They probably could have changed the name because I believe things rarely work so well second time around.

Expunge

I think it was Helen Shaw who axed The Mystery Train (and possibly gave the Liveline gig to Joe Duffy), not Ana Leddy.

Her company, Athena Media, makes commissioned programmes for the national broadcaster and she is on the board of the Arts Council.

Basal

Expunge wrote: »

I think it was Helen Shaw who axed The Mystery Train (and possibly gave the Liveline gig to Joe Duffy), not Ana Leddy.

Her company, Athena Media, makes commissioned programmes for the national broadcaster and she is on the board of the Arts Council.

No Helen Shaw was long gone when the mystery train was axed

Expunge

Basal wrote: »

No Helen Shaw was long gone when the mystery train was axed

Apologies, it was indeed Anna Leddy. The memory is failing me.

ArtSmart

Ah, RTE, you do make me wonder, ye really do.

John Kelly on the radio lyric at same time as The John Creedon show.

Why take a God and place him in competition with a nudder God?

Why?

WHY????

ArtSmart

AND Blue of the Night has become 'lyric-through-the-night' ie all standard classical music. ie, Cheap.

ETA. Ok, seems to have picked up a bit tonight from 10ish.

But this doesnt resolve the John V John issue!

ArtSmart

ArtSmart wrote: »

AND Blue of the Night has become 'lyric-through-the-night' ie all standard classical music. ie, Cheap.

ETA. Ok, seems to have picked up a bit tonight from 10ish.

But this doesnt resolve the John V John issue!

Ok, so tonight 'Blue' is good.

But well, the john v john remains unresolved.

ArtSmart

pinkypinky wrote: »

I'm enjoying Mystery Train so far. Haven't listened to the Blue of the Night since Carl left, and it fills a similar but more mainstream hole.

I do wish there was an alternative to Marty - still find his brand of banter too irritating for the morning (the flirting with AA Roadwatch, Hugo, incessant Nevin Maguire). Something with quiet gentle music to wake up slowly to.

Yeah, the flirting wit the young girl is hugely off-putting.

ETA. Also, Carl a massive loss. Current guy (tonight anyway 6oct 17) is pretty good, has to be said...

AlekSmart

Expunge wrote: »

So, a show deemed a failure over a decade ago on Radio 1 is to be revived but on lyric???

I'm glad Kelly is moving off the daytime coz he's crap and makes zero effort but this means no more Lyric Concert, I presume.

And now talk of Rick O Shea coming to Lyric and reports of the ailing Gay Byrne demanding a gig?

And of course the daily train wreck that is Marty in the Morning.

For fecks sake! The national arts and classical music channel is little more than a state funded dustbin for the has beens and never weres.

Ah here,for me at any rate,Gay Byrne's Sunday Afternoon Jukebox show was a real Gem.

I would never class myself as a Gay Byrne "Fan",but in Irish Broadcasting terms his contribution,and lifetime in the game,all count for something a tad more than the likes of Dil Wickremasinghe's decade of never ending "celebrations" of minority issues on Newstalk.

On his Lyric Sunday Show,He was a totally different presenter than in his other roles,and his liking for,and knowledge of the Jazz,Blues,Swing genre's certainly came across to me.

Give me a couple of hours of Benny Goodman/Art Blakey or Josef Locke (:)) ahead of never ending tales of oppression,misery and various ,ism's anyday

Expunge

I respect the man and his achievements as Ireland's most successful broadcaster, no question for me.

But his Sunday afternoon Jukebox was far from a Jukebox.
He could never shut up! What Kathleen and Gay got up to this week.
I also respect the fact that he brought his love for Grandad Jazz to the show, except he ended up playing Daniel O'Donnell sometimes - and Aonghus McAnally doing an impression of Christy Hennessey!

Like much of the Lyric output, it was a mess of a show. But fronted by our greatest broadcaster. It was only on Lyric because of Lyric's status as the dustbin for presenters and format not wanted elsewhere. And no RTE middle manager was going to tell Gaybo he's not wanted.

Anyway, October has come and there's no sign of him , so I guess he's not well enough at the moment.

Gloomtastic!

Loving this show! The guy has got a great ear for a chune.

Elmer Blooker

I listen to the first hour and switch over to Creedon at 8.
An hour of Kelly's dreadful elevator muzak is more than enough for me.

real rocker

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I listen to the first hour and switch over to Creedon at 8.
An hour of Kelly's dreadful elevator muzak is more than enough for me.

I accept that John Kelly is not for everyone but I have never heard any of his chosen tracks in an elevator or lift for that matter.

Brian Scan

real rocker wrote: »

I accept that John Kelly is not for everyone but I have never heard any of his chosen tracks in an elevator or lift for that matter.

Perhaps Elmer is referring to the 13th Floor Elevators.

I've never been in an elevator that played music. What kinds of fancy-ass elevators are you guys taking?

real rocker

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I've never been in an elevator that played music. What kinds of fancy-ass elevators are you guys taking?

Some retail outlets pipe their music into elevators & even toilets. Others may have cut back due to IMRA costs. The chosen soundtrack is usually very bland & appealing to a very wide audience something that Mystery Train choices would not generally be.

Never Say Never Again

Michael D higgins is co hosting the show with jk on new years day, if anyone is interested.

Beechwoodspark

This track from the comet is coming is heavy

Kewreeuss

The memory of what it was like keeps me checking in.
Over the last six months he has slowly moved away from decent indie to obscure pfaffers.
Then there was a period where he played Kamasi Washington every evening. Oh sweet divine
Now he is on this trip with spoken lyrics against a musical background that last for 10 mins. And all that 70’s style funk music!!!

Kewreeuss

Well, it wasn’t too bad this evening at all at all.

Kewreeuss

Kewreeuss wrote: »

The memory of what it was like keeps me checking in.
Over the last six months he has slowly moved away from decent indie to obscure pfaffers.
Then there was a period where he played Kamasi Washington every evening. Oh sweet divine
Now he is on this trip with spoken lyrics against a musical background that last for 10 mins. And all that 70’s style funk music!!!

I wonder is that John Kelly's choice or is management interfering?

Gloomtastic!

Johns nephew wrote: »

I wonder is that John Kelly's choice or is management interfering?

He’s home alone in his attic. No management about to interfere.