Birth. School. ROCK! Death. A fierce panda podcast

I am not a number, I’m a free man! The sixth of the six live Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcasts is here. Recorded in the Tonic Music Lounge at Shiiine On in Miiinehead, this episode sees fierce pandaman Simon Williams talk through the tracks of their tears with an admirably enthusiastic James Atkin from EMF and BRA (but sadly not ELO). In essence: ‘Unbelievable’ was a shiny number one in the US...

It’s 5 alive time as the live episodes of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. reach the fifth stage of proceedings. This time around we change the cultural angle slightly as writer Sarah L Dixon riffs with fierce panda boss Simon Williams in the Tonic Music Lounge at Shiiine On Festival. But the indie vibe lives on, as Sarah’s poetry in the ‘90s was inspired by the lyrics of her favourite bands, and her f...

Go fourth and multiply! Yip, it’s number 4 in the pawful of live Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcasts recorded at Shiiine On in Miiinehead. In this episode Simon from fierce panda riffs with Mark Morriss from The Bluetones, who started out on the panda’s ’Return To Splendour’ EP in 1994. As they prepare to return to the splendour of Shiiine On in Skegness at the end of March, as well as the launch...

It’s the third live episode of the Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcast, recorded in the Tonic Music Lounge at the Shiiine On festival in Miiinehead. This time around singer Andrew ‘Tiny’ Woods from epic rocksters Ultrasound chooses the tracks of his tears. They started on fierce panda in the ‘90s and returned for the ‘Play For Today’ album in 2012. Now Tiny takes to the panda sofa to talk fragrant...

It’s time to launch our second live Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcast, recorded in the Tonic Music Lounge at Shiiine On in Minehead. Joining fierce panda’s Simon Williams is Inspiral Carpets’ organ-groover Clint Boon. As they prepare for a new (re)lease of life on Scruff of the Neck records Clint talks us through the joys of ‘Fireball XL5’, the power of the Pistols, the meaning behind ‘This Is H...

After a bacon’s dozen of episodes of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. at the end of 2025, the fierce panda records podcast returns with a pawful of live pods recorded in the Tonic Music Lounge at the Shiiiine On festival in Miiinehead. As ASH embark upon another blast around the UK first out of the rock blocks is their drummer, which makes this a case of Birth. School. RICK! Death. As Mr McMurray talks...

And so this is Crispmas, and what have we done? We’ve only bloomin’ well recorded a festive edition of the mighty Birth. School. ROCK! Death podcast, that’s all. Joining fierce panda’s Simon Williams this time around is Father Crispmas himself, aka Del Currie, head honcho of the Spudos crisp emporium - think salt’n’shake on steroids. And then hop on board the magic Yuletide bus as Del and Simon tr...

12 pods until Christmas? Yes indeedy, and that twelfth episode of the Fierce Panda Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcast is with us in full effect. Our special guest this time around is DEBS WILD from Team COLDPLAY. Way before the panda released their ‘Brothers & Sisters’ single in 1999 Debs was on the Coldplay A&R case, the first genuine advocate of the quartet’s burgeoning potential. With...

Episode legs 11 of the Fierce Panda records podcast Birth. School. ROCK! Death. brings forth Ivan Proctor, singing guitarist in West Country indie dreamers CHINA BEARS. As the band prepare to headline the panda Christmas party at The Victoria on December 10th and for the launch of the deluxe reissue of the ‘Participation Trophy’ album on the 12th, Ivan talks us through the tracks of his tears. Rat...

It’s Episode Ten of the Fierce Panda podcast Birth. School. ROCK! Death. Just three more panda pods until Christmas! This week label fool Simon Williams is joined by one Jonny Woods, ebullient guitaring force in Belfast bubblegrungers Wynona Bleach. As they gird their loins for the 2026 follow up to their ‘Moonsoake’ album Jonny talks about the highs of touring the USA and lows of coming back home...

It’s Episode 9 of the mighty Birth. School. ROCK! Death. podcast, brought to you by Fierce Panda records. This week label boss Simon conversates with Hackney’s finest alt-soul artiste aLBERT gOLD. As he prepares for the new year launch of brand new material focusing on personal growth and introspection after writing about so much heartbreak and pain, he talks childhood, top tunes and making himsel...

It’s episode 8 of the fierce panda podcast called Birth. School. ROCK! Death. What can possibly go wrong? Nothing at all as this week magazine editor, label boss and frantic muso Jed Morgans hits the SO sofa. Last week he played his wild saxamaphone onstage in Opus Kink at a rampant Electric Ballroom. Last whenever, his Hideous Mink label released the toweringly glowering ‘Hideous Collective’ comp...

It’s the seventh episode of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. and we are smashing through the fourth wall as this week’s Fierce Panda podcast guest is…Simon Williams from Fierce Panda as he prepares to curate the Tonic Music parlour at Shiiine On festival later this week. Jed Morgans from Hideous Mink asks the questions while Simon sits in the hot spot of the sofa to gurgle softly about the highs of ELO...

Episode Six of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. has snuck in through the back door, glowering at the scatter cushions and casting a giant dark shadow over the hearth rug. Because this week’s fierce panda podcast finds Opus Kink singer Angus Rogers in full seething effect as he rattles through the tracks of his tears. With his band of skronking jazz post-punkas preparing to decimate the Electric Ballroo...

Episode Five of the florid Fierce Panda podcast Birth. School. ROCK! Death. crashes in through the conservatory door in the company of Jo Bevan from the mighty Desperate Journalist. Armed with a bionically glowering pre-post-punk catalogue, including current Fierce Panda album ‘No Hero’, the quartet hit the road this week, giving us a fine time for a compelling chat about high art, real indie and...

The fourth forthright episode of the Birth. School. ROCK! Death. Panda Podcast brings forth learned musical student J. Willgoose, Esq. As driving force in Public Service Broadcasting he joins us on the release campaign for ‘Night Flight’, the remix companion to their ‘The Last Flight’ album, to talk instrumental glories, literal literary research and orchestral manoeuvres in the park. Hosted on Ac...

It’s episode three of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. and our guest is one Glenn Smyth (pronounced ‘Smith’), frontman in Brummie psych rock combo Solar Eyes. With their second album, ‘Live Freaky! Die Freaky!’, out right now and a UK tour occurring any minute in the future, the singer chats about hearing his music on Match of the Day, writing a concept record about escaping the clutches of the Manson...

The second episode of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. brings Tim Wheeler and his five fruity song choices to the SO sofa. As Ash head to the stars, and indeed to the stores, with their excellent ‘Ad Astra’ album, the Northern Irish power punk popper spills the beans on breaking America in all the wrong ways and playing onstage with Coldplay at Wembley as well as ruminating over 30something years of ev...

Episode #1 of Birth. School. ROCK! Death. sees Louis Eliot, debonair driving force behind RIALTO, talk about life in a ‘90s band too louche for Britpop and lost on the musical margins for much of this century. Until that is the release of current Fierce Panda album ‘Neon & Ghost Signs’, a poignant return to Noirpop form which warranted a headline Scala show and a slew of springtime Supergrass...