Steve Lamacq (born 16 October 1965), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is a British disc jockey who has been broadcasting for several years on the popular BBC radio station Radio 1. He presented the Evening Session with Jo Whiley from 1993 to 1997, and then on his own until December 2002, when the programme was cancelled. Colin Murray served as a temporary replacement for six months until Zane Lowe's contract with the London station XFM ended in June 2003, where he took up a permanent position. Steve still presents the indie radio show Lamacq Live every Monday evening. Lamacq Live began in late July 1998 but it will be ending in September 2006 as part of a makeover in Radio 1's schedule, in order to present a "younger image" to Radio One Listeners. Colin Murray will effectively take over his slot, but Lamacq will still present documentaries for the station and will be hosting John Peel night later this year. His homepage on the BBC's website describes this programme as "the UK's most influential indie radio show". He also has a programme on the BBC's digital station, 6 Music, which was on Sunday afternoons, but from April 2005 he has presented the daily teatime show on 6 Music, taking over from Andrew Collins.

He was born in Bournemouth, which was then in the English county of Hampshire. His family soon moved to Essex and he grew up in the Halstead area in a village called Colne Engaine. Steve's journalistic career began as a junior reporter at the West Essex Gazette. It is obligatory that all music journalists would have started a fanzine during their teenage years. Steve Lamacq's fanzine was called A Pack Of Lies.

It was during his time at the New Musical Express that he began DJing on XFM, when it was still a pirate radio station. He formed a record label in 1992 with Alan James and Tony Smith, called Deceptive Records. Their most successful signing was Elastica. Most of the label's releases shared a punk- pop sensibility. Deceptive Records folded in 2001. Steve Lamacq has written an autobiography, entitled Going Deaf For A Living.

In 1991 Steve was unwittingly involved in one of the most infamous events in British rock music of recent times during a post-gig interview at the Norwich Arts Centre with Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for the NME. After repeated attempts by the bands co-lyricist Richey James Edwards to convince Lamacq that they were "for real" (the Manics had been making outrageous statements in the music press), Edwards gave up and carved 4 Real into his forearm with a razor blade. The publicity this created nearly single handedly launched the Manics into the superstar bracket. The editorial meeting in which the story was discussed, was recorded for a BBC Radio 5 documentary, "Sleeping With the NME".

Steve is arguably the most famous fan of Colchester United.

External links

• Steve's Radio 1 show homepage on bbc.co.uk
• Steve's 6 Music show homepage
• The website for Deceptive Records
• MP3 Blog for bands that featured on the Evening Session from 1993-2002

1965 births | Living people | British radio personalities | BBC Radio 1 DJs | BBC 6 Music DJs | Natives of Hampshire | Radio DJs in the UK

Steve Lamacq