The Something Wicked Podcast

Paul Sykes was a heavyweight boxer, career criminal, and self-proclaimed expert in violence — who once battered a shark. David Charlton, on the other hand, preferred soiling himself and making life hell for everyone around him. Both found fleeting fame through two unforgettable prison documentaries and left indelible marks on numerous lives, faces and bed sheets.

Saxon are true heavy metal survivors. For 50 years, they've powered through setbacks and changing trends, led by no-nonsense Yorkshireman Biff Byford. With classic Spinal Tap moments, dodgy hair (and hairpieces), a disgraced bassist, and endless cups of tea, their story is as loud and proud as their music.

In the 70s and 80s, kids' TV wasn't afraid to get weird. Shows like The Phoenix and the Carpet, Blake's 7, Chocky, Children of the Stones, and Gerry Anderson's sci-fi epics threw us into dark, strange, and unsettling worlds. No patronising, no sugar-coating — just bold, brain-bending stories that stuck with a generation.

We take a nostalgic look at the imported shows we loved as kids—from the heartfelt drama of The Incredible Hulk to the high-energy action of The Six Million Dollar Man and the confusing, chaotic madness of Monkey!

The deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife certainly left us puzzled, sparking a look into other mysterious celebrity deaths. Did Hollywood icon Natalie Wood fall into the water, or was she pushed? And was Jill Dando murdered by a Serbian hitman or a former roller-skating daredevil?

Whether you were a Tiswas or Swap Shop kid, preferred Magpie to Blue Peter, there was plenty of memorable kids TV in the 70s and 80s, an era defined by the boundless enthusiasm of John Noakes, Johnny Ball, Roy Castle and Cheggers. There was also the escapades of 'Murphy's Mob', the self-defeating 'Why Don't You?' and the boring chaos of 'We Are The Champions'

We take a nostalgic, Clangers-like trip through the arched window, celebrating the programmes we grew up with, from the tatty charm of Pipkins and the enduring adorability of Sweep to the horror of fun sponge Bungle.

When police arrested David Fuller for murder they uncovered a secret life they could barely believe. A bizarre link to an 80's soft rock band leads us to other rock and pop perverts such as Tam Paton, manager of the Bay City Rollers.

The 90s was a great decade for movies and we celebrate some lesser-known ones which we consider underrated or undervalued.

We pick our favourite Christmas songs and films whilst trying not to repeat what we said last year. As you'd expect, there's plenty of bah-humbug and middle-aged moaning.

From 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' to 'From Beyond the Grave' we explore the wonderful world of Amicus and choose our favourite stories from the seven Portmanteaus.

We speculate who will get Lineker's job on Match of the Day and also get into the Day of the Jackal remake, Clarkson, Prescott and the Trump circus.

The internet had a good day when Gary revealed his massive son to the world. We also discuss other celebrity off-spring which leads to Richard Pryor, John Williams, Roy Kinnear and then the US election where another massive son helped his Dad become president again.

Is Arthur Leigh Allen really The Zodiac or a victim of harassment and lies? We examine the claims in the new Netflix documentary and take a look into this fascinating case.

Roll up your jacket sleeves and dance like a prick as we look back at 80s chart music, with the likes of Level 42, Spandau Ballet, Hue & Cry and the magnificent Mr David Van Day.

There's no shortage of actors and presenters churning out music so we couldn't resist 'reviewing' the likes of Nick Knowles, David Hasslehoff, Chris Kamara, Bernard Manning and many more.

The Omen is a horror classic which combines intrigue and terror with a tightly-written plot, stellar performances and great set-pieces, thrilling and chilling in equal measure. We also discuss the sequels, remake, recent prequel and the fabled Omen curse.

Oasis are back, prompting a lively chat about great songs, cocky walking, lairy fans and other mad f'rit Mancs. As to whether we'll be going, there's a 'definitely maybe' and a 'definitely not'.

Sherlock Holmes, Huw Edwards, George Orwell, Graham Thorpe, great books and films... just a few of the subjects we gassed about.

From fleeting pop stardom and feature film roles to casual racism and drainage, we explore the curious and weird stuff footballers have got up to. We also discuss the dying art of the football song and wonder what the hell's Beckham done to his face.

We choose our favourite 5 episodes and celebrate the genius of Pemberton and Shearsmith.

After two fairly crap performances in the Euros Gareth and the boys are under pressure but we're still backing them to go all the way to the quarter finals.

A meandering chat covering Yacht Rock, Roger Daltrey, Comedy Double Acts from the 80s and a bizarre obsession with Peter Cetera.

The PDC took darts to a new level with the likes of MVG, Jackpot, Snakebite and of course Phil Taylor but has The Power gone sour as he checks-out of his brilliant career?

We celebrate the glory days of bullseyes and beer bellies, with big-mouth Bristow and not-so-cocky Jocky plus a supporting cast of Sid Waddell, Jim Bowen and The Pembrokeshire Serial Killer.

What about ye, listeners. We celebrate Big Jim McDonald and re-live his finest violent moments before conjuring up new roles for him as a TV detective, a pissed-up wrestler, bi-sexual cult leader and a fearless NewYork vigilante. It's great craic, so it is. 

40 years ago Britain came close to civil war as the Miners stood against Tory vandalism that devastated their communities and changed the nation forever.

We review 'The Long Shadow', ITV's drama covering the Yorkshire Ripper case, after which we get into Steve Coogan's portrayal of Sutty's perverted pal in the BBC's 'The Reckoning'.

We discuss the recent shocking episode where a pub fight and injured male pride leads to the senseless murder of two men.

As temperatures plummet and UK boilers break down, we huddle round a warm mic to discuss freezing films such as 'The Thing' and 'The Shining', as well as 'Alive' which sparks chat about the tastiest parts of the human body.

Scaling the heights of Chat-mandu whilst high on Clarky Cats, we celebrate Partridge and Brass Eye. We also discuss how the comedy of old was often misinterpreted and led to the sanitised output we have today.

Discussing the excellent 'Scarred For Life' podcast led us to down a very dark, danger-filled alley full of our own childhood scars such as Public Information Films, ghostly photographs and the weird and nasty TV anthologies.

If you love Spinal Tap you'll love this episode as we explore bizarre firings, uncontrollable egos and the petty jealousies in the wonderful world of Rock N' Roll. Who got fired for having clean feet? Who shamed his band by getting engaged to a mass-murderer? And what's with the brown M&Ms?!  Featuring Hall & Oates, Megadeth, Deep Purple, The Fall, Van Halen, Simon & Garfunkel, Anthrax and The Smiths.

Forget The Snowman, this is Raymond Briggs's masterpiece, a sad and haunting tale about a naive elderly couple trying to survive the initial onslaught of a nuclear war.

Having attended the Manchester premiere of Jake West's brilliant documentary on Cliff we thought we'd have a little chat about it.

Plenty of hot topic/career suicide chat in this one - Ben Kissel's sacking from The Last Podcast, the cancellation of Graham Linehan and Israel-Palestine. We've done cheerier episodes it's fair to say.

We examine the classic nuclear thriller written by Troy Kennedy Martin, dissecting the intricate plot lines and compelling characters. To paraphrase the late, great Darius Jedburgh: "100 minutes, ladies and gentlemen! Get it whilst it's hot!"

We weigh in to the Russell Brand saga, like you knew we would. Is he guilty-wilty or the victim of a conspiracy-wiracy?

We look at Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' and discuss the man whose work and legacy gave new meaning to the term 'Well, that escalated quickly'.

In our first episode on the nuclear threat, we discuss growing up in the 80s, the hellish prospect of living under three doors for two weeks and the bleakest, most devastating drama ever made.

More relaxed chat and righteous rants about what's been occurring. We discuss the 50th Anniversary celebrations of The Wicker Man, the UAP hearings, Sinéad O'Connor and jacket potato-fearing enemy of the state Brian Harvey.

From the masterful acting and smartly-drawn characters to the laugh-out-loud-lines and magnificent swearing, Succession is an exquisite family drama which astonishes on so many levels and even makes you sympathise with the rich and detestable.

There was a man called Huw A church man through and through At home on a pew with a nice hair-do A respectable man it was true But allegations flew And caused a hullabaloo There was a surprise rear view Which left him in a stew We didn't have a clue That he could be so blue Had he just had a few? Or got bored with virtue? Oh it's a right old to-do Poor old Huw!

We discuss our personal highlights of this year's show which include Axl's teeth, Elton's walk and Rick's Morrissey tribute act.

In 1991, a 1978 cover version by metal band Judas Priest was the subject of a bizarre subliminal message trial, with the Brummies accused of inserting malevolent hidden messages into their music that caused two young fans to kill themselves. As they say, only in America!

It's all gone wrong for Pip Schofield and this time it's even more serious than the queue jumping scandal. We also get into celebrity shoplifting with Worrall-Thompson and Madeley.

In a Dominic Littlewood-heavy episode, we (yet again) berate the state of modern TV and come up with our own far superior shows, such as The Dominator, Aintree Harriot and Caine & Disabled.

Blimey, this is a long one. Aldi beers, Audiobooks, Britpop, Tribute Acts, Shaun Hutson, Cowell, all discussed with the same amount of respect and humour you've come to expect from us.

No one would have believed that in the last years of the 1970s, a concept album based on the H.G. Wells novel would have such a profound and lasting impact on those who heard it. Few men even considered the possibility that it would it re-emerge in the 21st century as a live theatrical experience, featuring Russell Watson and Marti fucking Pellow. And yet, across the gulf of 4 decades, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this record as a peerless masterpiece, whilst Gary Barlow slowly and surely drew his plans against us. 

Enjoy a long scotch whilst playing with your dart as we review the unintentionally hilarious 2018 documentary 'After The Screaming Stops' featuring twin turnip-heads Matt and Luke Goss.

There was Tucker's coolness, Baxter's sarcasm, Zammo getting smashed on smack, Gripper starting a race war and Bronson's wig. And who could forget poor put-upon punchbag Ro-land? We remember one of the best shows of our childhood.