Sarah L Dixon Writer

Plus radio interview podcast 1

So, I came back from Shiiine and decided I didn’t want to wait as long as I was supposed to be doing for a gig. The next weekend I decided to go over to Hull to see The Frank and Walters. I do have a previous post about their album ‘Trains, Boats and Planes’ and when I met Paul very briefly in February in Manchester.

Since that meeting we have chatted quite a bit through social media and Paul agreed to be my first interviewee on a podcast. I interviewed Paul late September and after two hours of chatting on Zoom it felt like we knew each other a lot better. This was a lovely chat and once I had the meeting assets I then began the steep learning curve of radio editing. I reckon it took me about 60 hours to edit down 93 minutes of chat to 44 minutes. My friend, Matt Panesh, who feeds my self-belief every time we meet up, organised for my podcast to be aired on Beyond Radio on the revived Morecambe Fringe Festival podcast.

My Paul Linehan podcast link

Morecambe Fringe Podcast December 2025 – The Morecambe Fringe Festival Podcast – Beyond Radio

Radio Edit

We are the parts cut from the chat.
We are all the imperfect noises of humanity,
the throat clearing,
the snorts of genuine laughter,
the son hug interruptions. 

We are the times
when words tumble over each other
in enthusiasm to connect. 

We are the ‘sad bastard’ who cannot be heard.
We are the ‘kind ofs’, long ‘uhmmmms’,
drawn out ‘ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhs’
and ‘y’knows’. 

She learns to recognise our shapes in the waves 
before she hears them,
the way we crash through ideas. 

We sit like bulbous conkers waiting to be collected up. 
While Lowry Matchstick men, women and children
dance on without us,
rehearsing until radio ready.

She is aiming for the essence, 
to trim all that is unnecessary,
but imagine us…

…we are pure sighs and pauses,
rustles and thinking spaces. 
We are the honesty and poetry
of a mobile running out of power
mid-recording.

We are all the imperfections 
that add up to truth 
and we are telling. 

We alone hold much affection, connection and hope.
We hold together the conversation
and it is lesser without us.

We know when she listens back
it will be to the vulnerable, unedited, authentic version
with all the mess and beauty included,
with every gentle swear, gasp and gap.

Hull gig wonder

I arrived in Hull too early and the whole of the town seemed to be very loud, like 3am loud at 5pm and nowhere felt the right place to chill before a seated acoustic Frank and Walters gig. I arrived at Wrecking Ball Press first as all I wanted was to be in a gentle, quiet, warm space full of books, music and connection.

I met Paul before the gig and he gave me a hug and a grin. We had a brief chat and it was brilliant to meet in real life after connecting through music, poetry, social media and our zoom chat. Then, after being insulted for wearing a bright hat and scarf (there is a new Trainspotters poem but I am saving that for the next book) by some scallies who were passing and trying to be cool. Paul and I talk about not caring about being cool any more in the interview. We also talk about donkeys like teddy bears, deer, herons, affection and sons. None of these were things we planned to talk about. Paul also told us a lot more about the new album than I expected him to be able to tell us. I can’t wait to hear the new album now!

Making new friends

I met people who had been at Shiiine the weekend before who missed my set and asked if I would be performing at Skegness. I also made two new friends on the front row, Tom and Angela and got to meet Rob on the merch desk. Half of a dozen of us had a great chat and exchange of hugs at the end. Paul was hugging the audience in February and I didn’t ask for one having already given him my book. I made up for it in Hull and we had a hug or two and it was great to catch-up in real life. We wore each others’ merch and my nails were painted to match the book and the album – I really love the colour-coordination in the photos of us below.

I am looking forward to a full band set in Manchester in March at The Star and Garter. This gig has now sold out but as far as I know but there is an acoustic set at Hyde Park Corner in Leeds in September 2026.

One thing I did notice going to a gig so soon after the interview is that I got even more out of it having heard the stories behind the lyrics, the songs, Paul’s thinking and process.

More radio podcasts to come soon…

I am not announcing any others yet until these have happened because I am a little superstitious and disbelieving these will happen until they do… …however, there are exciting chats going on ahead of my next zoom interviews!

More blogs very soon

New blogs coming soon:

Spontaneous gig 2 – EMF secret gig
My year in 10 t-shirts, 3 badges, 2 hats and a flyer (or similar title!)
Jesus Jones – Doubt – Inspired by my first albums – 4
2026 gigs list
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – Are you normal? – Inspired by first albums – 5