Col Ford was having a break from putting his show together for Friday night. As a DJ for Warrington Radio he now does three shows; a Tuesday afternoon chat show and Friday and Saturday nights, dance music on the Friday and Indie on the Saturday. Ford was a product of the Manchester dance scene in the late 80s/early 90s, cutting his teeth in various clubs as a DJ before getting a resident spot on various local stations. He still remembers the vitality of the era with a smile “There was new music everywhere, a new scene, vibrant and intense, a lot of people got burnt out quickly”. That vitality is still captured in Ford’s choice of music, his mixes and in his show.

While chatting we stumble across waste ground filled with abandoned fairground rides. “This reminds me of how those classic clubs like Legends and the Hacienda have been pulled down” says Ford, “I don’t want those to be forgotten…”

I’ve been interviewed by Ford twice on his show, and I’m due to drop in for another chat in the next few weeks, our paths having crossed in those dance clubs in the late 80s and early 90s. “I want to inject the essence of those clubs into my shows” Ford puts forward, “the Hacienda, Legends and the Rave scene, I like to think a small piece of that culture and that feeling is in there” he finishes. His mixes certainly reflect the authenticity of the era; raw, energetic and eccentric pieces from the ‘old skool’ period.

His chat shows cover the local music scene, which is where my background in the local indie scene came into play, having released an album over ten years ago on the Liverpool Probe-Plus label. That interview can be heard here. The Col Ford Mixdown show on Friday 8-10pm and his Saturday evening Indie show at the same time can be accessed online from here.

Col Ford contemplates life, death and rebirth while finding a tree growing out of a grave. “Think I’ll play I Am the Resurrection on my show on Saturday night” he says.