Dr Tom May
@dreamcargoes.bsky.social
Television historian, writing a book about Play for Today (BBC1, 1970-84). Associate Lecturer, Northumbria University. Book Reviews Admin for Critical Studies in Television journal.
Here is my LATER WITH... INTRODUCING... UNCLASSIFIED playlist, including two songs per show I watched or listened to over the past six weeks from BBC Two's Later With Jools Holland, Theo Johnson's BBC 1 Xtra show and Elizabeth Alker's BBC Radio 3 show, UNCLASSIFIED. (1)
Later... with Introducing Unclassified
open.spotify.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Here is my LATER WITH... INTRODUCING... UNCLASSIFIED playlist, including two songs per show I watched or listened to over the past six weeks from BBC Two's Later With Jools Holland, Theo Johnson's BBC 1 Xtra show and Elizabeth Alker's BBC Radio 3 show, UNCLASSIFIED. (1)
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Exactly right.
"The Bullingdon Club elites don’t respect our national institutions because they’ve never had to use them. They’ve built their own – private schools, private hospitals, private members’ clubs – a parallel Britain sealed off from the plebs."
"The Bullingdon Club elites don’t respect our national institutions because they’ve never had to use them. They’ve built their own – private schools, private hospitals, private members’ clubs – a parallel Britain sealed off from the plebs."
The ‘patriots’ who loathe Britain
They claim to love our country, but want to destroy all its institutions...
writesbright.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Exactly right.
"The Bullingdon Club elites don’t respect our national institutions because they’ve never had to use them. They’ve built their own – private schools, private hospitals, private members’ clubs – a parallel Britain sealed off from the plebs."
"The Bullingdon Club elites don’t respect our national institutions because they’ve never had to use them. They’ve built their own – private schools, private hospitals, private members’ clubs – a parallel Britain sealed off from the plebs."
#TOTP October 1998 eps: why wasn't Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing)' featured? It was at #3 & #6, & the 09/10 episode only ran to 24 minutes. Twas an insult to such good music. A brilliant lyric & video, showing the side of RnB that wasn't becoming overly individualistic: youtu.be/T6QKqFPRZSA?...
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) (Official HD Video)
YouTube video by laurynhillvevo
youtu.be
November 15, 2025 at 12:56 PM
#TOTP October 1998 eps: why wasn't Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing)' featured? It was at #3 & #6, & the 09/10 episode only ran to 24 minutes. Twas an insult to such good music. A brilliant lyric & video, showing the side of RnB that wasn't becoming overly individualistic: youtu.be/T6QKqFPRZSA?...
Here's the updated HIT THE NORTH podcast playlist, featuring all the tracks from yesterday's Episode 2 with special guest Ruth-Ann Boyle:
open.spotify.com/playlist/5jf...
open.spotify.com/playlist/5jf...
HIT THE NORTH podcast playlist
open.spotify.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Here's the updated HIT THE NORTH podcast playlist, featuring all the tracks from yesterday's Episode 2 with special guest Ruth-Ann Boyle:
open.spotify.com/playlist/5jf...
open.spotify.com/playlist/5jf...
Reposted by Dr Tom May
No matter how far right some politicians drift, the BBC continue to court them, it’s incomprehensible to me. Michael Gove never seems to be off their guest list. I’ve heard him twice this week alone and he’s never asked awkward questions about approving racist articles like these. #r4today #bbcpm
November 15, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Dr Tom May
So the Trump regime now says UK is no longer its ally. That's why so many of us warned it was a mistake to court him so crassly. The thing about madmen like Trump is, they only accept 1,000% devotion. Even the smallest criticism is seen as betrayal. Marjorie Taylor Green just found that out, too.
Homan: "I don't think the UK is a friend to this country and friend of the president"
November 15, 2025 at 11:23 AM
So the Trump regime now says UK is no longer its ally. That's why so many of us warned it was a mistake to court him so crassly. The thing about madmen like Trump is, they only accept 1,000% devotion. Even the smallest criticism is seen as betrayal. Marjorie Taylor Green just found that out, too.
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Young Punctum blog update - this week it's the hits and miscellanea of June 1977. "Silver Jubilee" by Neil Innes is not included because I didn't want to include it:
funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/11/june...
funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/11/june...
JUNE 1977
All that needs to be said about this month is that Silver Jubilee Week in Uddingston was another early reminder of how utterly fenced-off ...
funthirty.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Young Punctum blog update - this week it's the hits and miscellanea of June 1977. "Silver Jubilee" by Neil Innes is not included because I didn't want to include it:
funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/11/june...
funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/11/june...
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Catchpenny Twist (w Stewart Parker, 1977)
Two Belfast songwriters work their way up from penning sectarian martyrdom ballads, through jingles for frozen chicken meals, to the giddy heights of Eurovision.
Two Belfast songwriters work their way up from penning sectarian martyrdom ballads, through jingles for frozen chicken meals, to the giddy heights of Eurovision.
August 21, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Catchpenny Twist (w Stewart Parker, 1977)
Two Belfast songwriters work their way up from penning sectarian martyrdom ballads, through jingles for frozen chicken meals, to the giddy heights of Eurovision.
Two Belfast songwriters work their way up from penning sectarian martyrdom ballads, through jingles for frozen chicken meals, to the giddy heights of Eurovision.
Reposted by Dr Tom May
I see the press have begun turning out their lists of Play for Today episodes, which inevitably skew towards the predictable. So here are some alternative choices. NB: inclusion doesn't necessarily imply wholehearted endorsement, though they're guaranteed to be at the very least interesting.
August 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I see the press have begun turning out their lists of Play for Today episodes, which inevitably skew towards the predictable. So here are some alternative choices. NB: inclusion doesn't necessarily imply wholehearted endorsement, though they're guaranteed to be at the very least interesting.
Reposted by Dr Tom May
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FYI: The BBC has revealed the charities #TheCelebrityTraitors were all competing for, with links so that you can donate.
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Reposted by Dr Tom May
"There is more realness in Dennis Potter’s weirdness than in the majority of overwrought series striving for authenticity" An excellent @thequietus.com long read by Darran Anderson on one of the greatest writers ever to work in television
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
How Dennis Potter's TV Plays Were Guides to the Purgatory of the Modern Age | The Quietus
Darran Anderson gets to grips with the brilliant body of work created by revolutionary television playwright Dennis Potter
thequietus.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
"There is more realness in Dennis Potter’s weirdness than in the majority of overwrought series striving for authenticity" An excellent @thequietus.com long read by Darran Anderson on one of the greatest writers ever to work in television
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
Reposted by Dr Tom May
I have reviewed Jeff Young’s most excellent Wild Twin in the new edition of Tribune (out in the shops this week)…
@littletollerbooks.bsky.social
@wildtwin.bsky.social
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/rimb...
@littletollerbooks.bsky.social
@wildtwin.bsky.social
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/rimb...
Rimbaud of Maghull
Liverpool writer Jeff Young has attracted a dedicated readership in recent years, following publication of two books that powerfully and hypnotically catalogue late-1970s Europe and his native Merseys...
tribunemag.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I have reviewed Jeff Young’s most excellent Wild Twin in the new edition of Tribune (out in the shops this week)…
@littletollerbooks.bsky.social
@wildtwin.bsky.social
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/rimb...
@littletollerbooks.bsky.social
@wildtwin.bsky.social
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/rimb...
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Lovely to see my piece in the new issue of Tribune alongside other great articles on protest + power ✊🏼
November 11, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Lovely to see my piece in the new issue of Tribune alongside other great articles on protest + power ✊🏼
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Check out @racheljcollett.bsky.social's fantastic article on the Women's Liberation Movement in Merseyside, and radical regionalism, in the latest issue of Tribune - out today!
November 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Check out @racheljcollett.bsky.social's fantastic article on the Women's Liberation Movement in Merseyside, and radical regionalism, in the latest issue of Tribune - out today!
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Play for Today helped launch the careers of Ken Loach, Ray Winstone, June Brown and Kenneth Branagh. Now Channel 5 is bringing it back…
Why the return of Play for Today is good news for British televisio
www.bigissue.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Play for Today helped launch the careers of Ken Loach, Ray Winstone, June Brown and Kenneth Branagh. Now Channel 5 is bringing it back…
Reposted by Dr Tom May
One bit of the BBC story that needs more scrutiny - and which might be the most important - is, why did Michael Grade look at the 'report' produced by Michael Prescott and demand the BBC act rather than, as an independent regulator would have done, toss it in the bin?
November 14, 2025 at 1:21 PM
One bit of the BBC story that needs more scrutiny - and which might be the most important - is, why did Michael Grade look at the 'report' produced by Michael Prescott and demand the BBC act rather than, as an independent regulator would have done, toss it in the bin?
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Reposted by Dr Tom May
The Guardian secretly despises popular culture but is aware its readership feels itself to be more invested in popular culture than the readership of e.g. the Telegraph. So it fulfils the brief grudgingly, until the journalist concerned gets to move on to something more becoming of their education.
November 14, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The Guardian secretly despises popular culture but is aware its readership feels itself to be more invested in popular culture than the readership of e.g. the Telegraph. So it fulfils the brief grudgingly, until the journalist concerned gets to move on to something more becoming of their education.
This is a really good piece by @adey70.bsky.social for The Big Issue. An accurate assessment of what to expect of Channel 5's new Play for Today, which mentions some of the less often trumpeted greats from the original strand, like Destiny (1978), Sorry (1981) &, actually, The Spongers (1978).
Play for Today helped launch the careers of Ken Loach, Ray Winstone, June Brown and Kenneth Branagh. Now Channel 5 is bringing it back…
Why the return of Play for Today is good news for British televisio
www.bigissue.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This is a really good piece by @adey70.bsky.social for The Big Issue. An accurate assessment of what to expect of Channel 5's new Play for Today, which mentions some of the less often trumpeted greats from the original strand, like Destiny (1978), Sorry (1981) &, actually, The Spongers (1978).
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Is the Telegraph finally acknowledging that Thatcher wrecked British society?
November 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Is the Telegraph finally acknowledging that Thatcher wrecked British society?
Sunderland-born singer Ruth-Ann Boyle is my guest on HIT THE NORTH this week! Known most for her work with the band Olive, this interview explores her life & work deeply enough to unearth, say, her 1994 collaboration with The Durutti Column. open.spotify.com/episode/42de... (1)
#002: Ruth-Ann Boyle
open.spotify.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Sunderland-born singer Ruth-Ann Boyle is my guest on HIT THE NORTH this week! Known most for her work with the band Olive, this interview explores her life & work deeply enough to unearth, say, her 1994 collaboration with The Durutti Column. open.spotify.com/episode/42de... (1)
Reposted by Dr Tom May
This whole miserable affair could have a silver lining in that it's dragged Gibb out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
I suspect many more people now know about him and his entrenched bias and control-freakery than was the case this time last week.
I suspect many more people now know about him and his entrenched bias and control-freakery than was the case this time last week.
Bectu, the biggest union in the BBC, has written to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Chair of the BBC Board Samir Shah demanding the removal of Robbie Gibb from the BBC Board.
"Many BBC staff are concerned that Gibb is a direct block to the BBC maintaining its chartered objective of independence."
"Many BBC staff are concerned that Gibb is a direct block to the BBC maintaining its chartered objective of independence."
November 14, 2025 at 9:22 AM
This whole miserable affair could have a silver lining in that it's dragged Gibb out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
I suspect many more people now know about him and his entrenched bias and control-freakery than was the case this time last week.
I suspect many more people now know about him and his entrenched bias and control-freakery than was the case this time last week.
Reposted by Dr Tom May
This is a fantastically important and timely initiative from Channel 5 and one I hope will be emulated by the other UK channels. New stories and fresh voices are so needed right now - and so are opportunities to enable people to survive in a crumbling industry.
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
Play for Today: The revival hoping to save British TV from a class crisis
‘Play for Today’ one-off films were a seminal moment in television in the Seventies and Eighties, writes Hannah J Davies. Decades later, Channel 5 is bringing them back, and aiming to diversify small-...
www.independent.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 12:27 PM
This is a fantastically important and timely initiative from Channel 5 and one I hope will be emulated by the other UK channels. New stories and fresh voices are so needed right now - and so are opportunities to enable people to survive in a crumbling industry.
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
Reposted by Dr Tom May
Channel 5 relaunches Play for Today tonight – & I'm really intrigued to see what the do with it. Incidentally I watched one that my dad directed for the 1st time this week (Baby Talk, 1981) – with a young Pauline Quirke no less! – & boy, they really went for it. I hope this new incarnation does, too
November 13, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Channel 5 relaunches Play for Today tonight – & I'm really intrigued to see what the do with it. Incidentally I watched one that my dad directed for the 1st time this week (Baby Talk, 1981) – with a young Pauline Quirke no less! – & boy, they really went for it. I hope this new incarnation does, too
Reposted by Dr Tom May
I wrote one of the episodes for the newly relaunched Play For Today, which starts tonight (my episode is on in a couple of weeks). This is an article about that .
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
Play for Today: The revival hoping to save British TV from a class crisis
Play for Today’s one-off films were a seminal moment in television in the Seventies and Eighties, writes Hannah J Davies. Decades later, Channel 5 is bringing them back, and aiming to diversify small-...
www.independent.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
I wrote one of the episodes for the newly relaunched Play For Today, which starts tonight (my episode is on in a couple of weeks). This is an article about that .
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...