The Transmissions are a sonic meeting between Cathi Unsworth and electronic composer Pete Woodhead.
These Transmissions came out of Bad Penny Blues, a book inspired by three true stories. The initial seeds of the novel were planted while reading Jack of Jumps by the late David Seabrook, a true crime account of the unsolved Jack The Stripper murders of prostitutes that happened in West London between 1959-65. Like his Whitechapel forefather, this Jack created the biggest manhunt in Metropolitan police history, yet was never apprehended. His reign ended suddenly in 1965, without explanation, and since then, these crimes seem to have faded from public memory.
The Captain Swing Quartet was originally intended as one of four Prologues for each of the quarters of Weirdo, that explained a little of The Captain’s story in this part of Norfolk, including the trial and subsequent execution of Richard Nockolds, whose crime had been to try and teach the weavers of St Augustine's in Norwich how to read. It morphed into a collaboration between myself and the composer and musician Paul A Murphy, who vividly brought alive a haunted landscape with an eerie musical score fashioned by his Orchaostra, featuring Michael Meekin on acoustic Flying V and the stunning vocal talents of Rosie Howell.
In an exclusive release for the esteemed Tapeworm cassette-only series, Cathi and musical co-conspirator Pete Woodhead are delighted to present Johnny Remember Me. An original short story by Cathi, read on the A-side by the author and on the flip by Pete, is a trip back in time to the cellar clubs of Fifties Soho, populated by rock'n'rollers, music moguls, gangsters, working girls, beatniks and art students.
The story spun out of research for Bad Penny Blues, in particular the life and times of Joe Meek and the Number One hit single Johnny Remember Me that he created for television star John Leyton. A song that is so evocative of ghosts and curses that it lent itself perfectly to the creation of a little urban myth.
Flipside Radio's maestro of music and murky history Aidan McManus asked Cathi back on his radio show to talk about That Old Black Magic. Last time she chose a Flipside Five – this time it's Five From The Other Side: spooky sounds to get lost in the woods to… Listen in HERE… if you dare!
The podcast for the Hollingsville transmission Wounds – Blood on the Tracks is now available to listen to HERE Cathi and fellow guest Ross MacFarlane of the WELLCOME LIBRARY discuss everything from Wound Men and Medieval iconography to the city of London as one big crimescene with ever brilliant host KEN HOLLINGS. The show also features some suitably menacing musical interludes from the wonderful UNICAZÜRN.
Listen to Cathi's recent appearance on Resonance's wonderful LOST STEPS, the radio show hosted by Malcolm Hopkins and produced by Nick Hamilton, that investigates the best of London writing. Cathi discussed BAD PENNY BLUES in depth with Malcolm, as well as the inspiration that other London writers, such as Derek Raymond and Patrick Hamilton, have had on her work.
Cathi was a recent guest on BBC London's Robert Elms show. Use the player below to listen to this interview.
Cathi was a guest on BBC Radio 4's obituary show 'Last Word' on 19/09/08 where along with crime historian James Norton she discussed the amazing life of Harry 'Tanky' Challenor, a key figure in the Metropolitan Police force in the 1960's. The host is Matthew Bannister.
Cathi was a guest on Radio Gorgeous in November 2015. Click HERE to hear her talk about Without The Moon, Forties fashion and the Portobello Road, amongst other hot topics, with Gorgeous host, Josephine Pembroke.