The second UCL band to grace the Rare Sessions was the energetic The Joker and the Thief, who played two songs for us. The first was the band's cover of the classic 'All Along the Watchtower' (from which, we assume, the band's name derives).



After that they played an original song called 'The Worm'.



Hear more Rare Sessions here, and more of The Joker and the Thief here.

Building on the success of the first few Rare Sessions, we hooked up with UCLU Live Music Society to bring you exclusive sessions from three UCL bands. The first comes from The Bizets, who also played Rare's Pensioner's Yacht Club club night back in December. Make sure you also watch the sessions with The Joker and the Thief and Dave Dixon.

The Bizets, normally a three-piece, brought stripped-down acoustic versions of their songs, the first of which was 'Radio'.



This was followed up by 'Too Much To Ask'.



If you enjoyed what you've heard, then check out the band's Myspace page.

Continuing with the success of the Rare Sessions, Sam and Chuk from The Radio Show hooked up with folk-hop musician Gideon Conn, for an interview and a session. Gideon played seven songs for Rare in the 45 minute chat, including 'Londonderry', his new track 'Mighty Lightning' and his cover of Outkast's 'Ms. Jackson'. This session is a great chance to discover an emerging British talent.



You can hear more from Gideon Conn on his Myspace. Tune in to The Radio Show with Sam and Chuk on Saturdays from one o'clock.

The wind whistled through the UCL quad this Tuesday as three sixths of Canadian band Hey Rosetta! took to the stairs to perform two tracks for the second Rare Session.

The first song, 'I've Been Asleep For a Long, Long Time', came from their most recent album Into Your Lungs (and around in Your Heart and on through Your Veins), which was shortlisted for this year's Polaris Prize.



The band rounded off their flying visit to UCL with 'Death Is Quick' from their 2006 album Plan Your Escape.



Hey Rosetta! are playing The Borderline in London on Friday 27th November, before jetting back to Canada to tour there. Into Your Lungs (and around in Your Heart and on through Your Veins) is available on Sonic Records.

You can find out more at Hey Rosetta's! official website and Myspace. Don't forget to subscribe to the Rare Sessions Youtube for more music.

It is with great excitement that we proudly present the first ever Rare Session, featuring the fantastic Dan Mangan. The Canadian musician joined us on a slightly chilly day to perform three songs in the UCL quad from his album Nice, Nice, Very Nice (read the Rare review here).

The first song was 'Sold'.



A small (three) but appreciative crowd gathered on the benches to watch Dan's set, whilst others wandering around the quad stopped to have a look at was going on as he performed his second song, 'The Indie Queens Are Waiting'.



Dan brought this wonderful afternoon's music to a close with his third and final song, 'Tina's Glorious Comeback'.



If you enjoyed this then you can catch Dan Mangan live at The Lexington on Wednesday 18th November. For more information on Dan, check out his Myspace and website. Don't forget to subscribe to the Rare Sessions Youtube channel for more sessions.

Presenter of T.V. greats such as the UK version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the Jules & LuLu Show and Help! My Dog's As Fat As Me get's the Blonde Bimbo treatment from Brooke, officially London's ditziest DJ.

Join the pair as they discuss the more hilarious aspects of Julian's social life, and hear his experiences of working with them rich and famous types, from Richard and Judy to everyone's favourite, Paris Hilton.

Oh, hear about his dog too. Ain't he cute...



Broadcast January 24th 2009 on the Blonde Bimbo Show, Rare FM

Tigers, elephants, coconuts and vending machines all kill more people each year than sharks do. Yet the shark is still seen as one of nature's most terrifying predators.

Joe chats to Rob Stewart, director of ground-breaking documentary 'Sharkwater' a film which is aiming to show the world the truth about sharks and the threat they are under from finning - a fishing practise in which sharks are pulled from the water and their fins removed before their carcasses are thrown back in the water.

On his own journey to find out more about the true nature of sharks, Joe also speaks to Neil Clutterbuck, aquarist diver at the London Aquarium and Richard Pierce, chairman of UK-based conservation charity Shark Trust.

^ Click Play To Listen To The Feature ^
You can also download the feature here here (13.7Mb, 15 minutes). Simply right click and select 'Save Target As...'. An edited version of the feature can be found here (6.61Mb, 7 minutes).

Why not subscribe to the Live On Rare podcast to have all our interviews and sessions sent straight to your computer? Exactly, you can't think of a reason. The feed address is...
http://www.rarefm.co.uk/shows/live/rss.xml

About 'Sharkwater'

For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.

Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.

Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

In an effort to protect sharks, Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their unbelievable adventure together starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives.

Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.

Stewart's remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world's sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind.

'Sharkwater' is showing in cinemas in London and across the UK from 22^nd February. It will be released on DVD on 19th May 2008, priced at £12.99 and will be available in all good retailers. For more information visit... www.sharkwater.com

Why not go and see some sharks for yourself? www.londonaquarium.co.uk

To find out more about the work of the Shark Trust and how you can help sharks visit... www.sharktrust.org

On 13th February I was fortunate enough to see Nizlopi (Luke Concannon and John Parker) at an album preview showcase at Soho Revue Bar. They were nice enough to have a short interview with me backstage.

Their new ablum 'Make it happen' is released on March 31st

^ Click Play To Listen To The Show ^
On 5th November 2007, The Duke Spirit came down to the Bloomsbury Basement to play an exclusive acoustic session for Rare FM. The band played Into The Fold from their forthcoming album Neptune as well as Dog Roses and Lassoo from 2007 EP Ex Voto. They also had time to chat to Ida Stenhagen and Nat Raha.

Download the podcast by clicking here.

Simply right click and select 'Save Target As...'.

Why not subscribe to the Live On Rare podcast to have all our interviews and sessions sent straight to your computer? Exactly, you can't think of a reason. The feed address is...
http://www.rarefm.co.uk/shows/live/rss.xml

For more on The Duke Spirit, visit... www.myspace.com/thedukespirit