Mark Riley Biography
Marc Riley is a former music mogul and English radio DJ who specializes in alternative rock. He is presently a DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music.
How old is Mark Riley? – Age
He is 62 years old as of 14 September 2022. He was born in 1960 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.
Mark Riley Education
Riley was in a school band called the Sirens with Craig Scanlon and Steve Hanley (both of whom eventually joined the Fall).
Mark Riley Wife
Riley married Tracy Magee on December 24, 1982.
Mark Riley Shirehorse
Riley and Radcliffe formed the spoof band Shirehorses, who performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1997 in what they dubbed the headline slot, starting at 10 a.m. They also performed in other parts of the country, including three performances with Blur. Under the guise of the Shirehorses, they recorded two comedy/parody albums: The Worst…Album in the World…Ever…EVER! (which peaked at number 22 on the UK Albums Chart) and Our Kid Eh, the latter an appreciative parody of Radiohead’s Kid A (which peaked at number 20).
Mark Riley BBC Radio
Riley is best known as one half of the pair Mark and Lard, together with fellow DJ Mark Radcliffe, who hosted “Hit the North” on BBC Radio 5 (at the time a children’s, comedy, and drama network). During this time, Riley also hosted Cult Radio on Radio 5 and wrote and produced Glitter and Twisted, a BBC Radio 1 series hosted by Noddy Holder. Mark and Lard went to Radio 1’s 10 p.m. slot in 1993, then to the breakfast program in February 1997, and ultimately to the 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. position in October of that year. Their last broadcast on the station occurred in March 2004.
After departing Radio 1, the team parted ways, with Riley heading to BBC Radio 6 Music and Radcliffe to BBC Radio 2. Mark and Lard reassembled in 2009 to headline radio commercials for Manchester City in North West England (Riley is a long-time supporter of the team).
Mark Riley Career
Riley was a fan of the Fall from the beginning and worked as a roadie for the band. In May 1978, he was added as a bassist to the lineup. The Fall’s debut album Live at the Witch Trials and their second single, “It’s the New Thing,” were Riley’s first recordings.
In 1979, Riley made the switch to guitar and keyboards, where he remained with the Fall until his disagreement with Mark E. Smith in 1982, while the band was on their first tour of Australia and New Zealand. Smith, according to Smith, fired Riley on the day of Riley’s wedding. Actually, Riley got married on Christmas Eve 1982. The marriage lasted until January 1983, when Smith met Riley in the Old Garratt pub in Princess Street and told him that the group was going on a European tour without him and would ask him back if it didn’t work out.
“Joining The Fall was the second best thing that ever happened to me in my working life,” Riley is quoted as saying. Being kicked out was the best thing. Later in 1983, Riley started recording with The Creepers (later known as The Creepers) under the name Marc Riley. While remaining Fall members, Steve Hanley, Paul Hanley, and Craig Scanlon contributed to Riley’s first solo single, “Favourite Sister.” In the years that followed, Riley put out a number of albums.
Both bands’ songs continued to be influenced by Smith and Riley’s animosity. This included the rewritten version of Bo Diddley’s “Hey Bo Diddley” by The Fall, “Hey Marc Riley,” which has only been available on live bootlegs. In response, Riley released the single “Jumper Clown” in 1983, which was a reference to Smith’s then-love of jumpers from the 1970s. He also released “Snipe” on the 1985 EP Shadow Figure and wrote his own rewrite of a Bo Diddley song: ” “Marc Riley is a savage.” From 1983 to 1986, Riley managed the In-Tape label, which he co-owned with Jim Khambatta until it went bankrupt in 1991.
For the comic Oink!, Riley drew and wrote the strips Harry the Head and Doctor Mooney from 1986 to 1989. as well as making a free flexidisc single for the comic. In 1987, the Creepers broke up. The Lost Soul Crusaders, Riley’s new band with former members of Pere Ubu, The Magic Band, and The Mekons, were named after a fictional group in a Columbo episode whose lead singer was Johnny Cash, one of Riley’s heroes. However, before any material could be recorded, the record company that supported the band filed for bankruptcy. To raise money for the Terrence Higgins Trust, Riley and Jon Langford coproduced the Johnny Cash tribute album Til Things Are Brighter in 1988.