NME Radio's Shows

Claire Sturgess

07:00 - 10:00 Monday to Friday, 17:00 - 21:00 Saturday

Music news, gig guides and the best indie alternatives past and present.

From production assistant on the Simon Bates' show to Radio 1’s Evening Session, The Rock Show and now NME Radio, Claire Sturgess has done it all. She’s been on tour with U2, worked with John Peel on the BBC World Service, helped launch XFM (where she was regularly insulted by Ricky Gervais), and worked on MTV2.

What can we expect from your show?
"Some songs you’ll recognize and love, some songs you’d forgotten you loved, and some new songs you’ll grow to love - all put together with a smile."

What kind of music will you be playing?
"The people involved at NME radio have a wide and diverse taste in music, and that will be reflected in what you hear. We’ve gone way back to the 50s with ideas for our music database, and I’m getting excited about raiding my own collection for little gems that I’ve rarely heard on the radio. Also with the benefit of the NME journos and their passion for emerging bands, I think we’ll get the perfect mix of old and new."

What else do you have lined up?
"I’m working on my ideal show right now: An acoustic session with Thom Yorke; an interview with Larry David to plug the new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm and a competition to win a round the world trip visiting every major festival on the planet for a whole year. Unfortunately it’s proving quite tricky to implement at the moment."

What was the first album you bought?
"It was some dodgy disco compilation. I was convinced I had found my inner funk at the tender age of 8 or 9, and was going off to dance school to become a member of Hot Gossip on 'The Kenny Everett Television Show'."

What would you be doing if you weren’t a DJ?
"I'd be boring people with my outrageous stories of life in a raunchy dance troupe of course! Or maybe trying to follow my other dream of getting into Marine Biology. Trouble is I was always rubbish at science."

What’s the strangest thing that’s happened in your DJ career?
When I worked on Radio 1, I mentioned in passing (on-air!) that I'd like to have a go at 'wing walking'. And within two weeks I was standing on top of a bi-plane over the Surrey countryside. I was mic'd up too - but they couldn't any of the recording because most of it was just me going "..JEEEEZZZUS F******KING CHRIST"."