Stephen Doyle, the Salford DJ , Sonic Diarist and Native Legend, died on 13 December 2024. His funeral shall be held at Agecroft Cemetery & Crematorium, Swinton, Salford on Tuesday 14 January at 10.20am and afterwards on the Robin Hood in Clifton.
Right here, a few of his pals and native musicians pay tribute to the nice man who when Louder Than Battle interviewed him again in 2017 stated… “There’s a great deal of nice bands enjoying in bars, golf equipment and pubs – one million occasions higher than bands which might be filling the arenas … There’s a lot extra thrilling stuff on the market to find.”
Stephen Doyle 1961 – 2024 (by his buddy Ian Moss)
Steve or SD as he was generally identified was a folks particular person full of heat and a need to unfold just a little love wherever and each time he might. He was additionally, I’m proud to say, one of many closest pals I’ve had in a lifetime the place I’ve been blessed with many friendships. He was steadfast in his loyalty, trusting, reliable and trustworthy. What extra might anybody ask? Add to those qualities his mischievous humour and boundless enthusiasm for music primarily but in addition Movie, Comedy and Manchester United and it’s little shock that we bonded so properly.
Steve was passionate concerning the issues he cherished. Household and pals got here first in his priorities. He was a bodily huge man and not using a trace of aggression in his coronary heart. A person unafraid of showing his feelings, he would cry unashamedly when touched by a track for example. I’d tease him relentlessly till he rewarded me along with his enormous smile.
He was born in Hulme however relocated to Salford as an toddler the place he remained for the remainder of his days. His mother and father Tess and Jim had been of stable hardworking inventory and instilled in Steve the values of decency and integrity that had been the cornerstone of his being. He was a brilliant boy though it’s honest to say simply distracted and his essential distraction was music. By his early teenagers he had develop into besotted by the sounds of Slade, Skinny Lizzy and Standing Quo however by his mid teenagers he discovered himself swept up within the tide of Punk Rock that was rising. He devoured the music as a vital part of his being, shopping for data and regardless of his youth attending a number of gigs at venues giant and small. He cherished Pleasure Division, The Distractions, The Freshies, Buzzcocks, Armed Power and a bunch of Mancunian bands in addition to these from additional afield, most notably The Conflict who not solely excited him however mirrored and reaffirmed his values. Justice for the downtrodden in society and no persecution of minorities being central to that.
Steve was no fan of Margaret Thatcher and her depraved assault on the working lessons and his tastes and opinions had been shared by way of letters to the nice Manchester fanzine Metropolis Enjoyable. As issues moved on Steve embraced the submit punk sounds but in addition Disco and Reggae – he was true to his tastes and by no means merely jumped on the following bandwagon. As a person he met and married his nice love Yvonne and have become the daddy to her three kids. A shared ardour for the music of Kate Bush and The Smiths in addition to a vegetarian weight loss program made them excellent companions, soulmates in actual fact.
An opportunity encounter with Tony Thornborough and a visitor look on Tony’s radio program led to Steve starting his close to legendary radio exhibits on Salford Metropolis radio. He and I had crossed paths throughout the years as we adopted Manchester United and Steve would enthuse about my punk period band The Hamsters: now he invited me to visitor on his programme and a friendship between us flourished. He championed a number of acts on his present who had beforehand acquired scant encouragement or airplay though by no means ploughed them into an obscurist area of interest. Their music rubbed shoulders with the likes of The Beatles, ABBA, Stevie Marvel on his present , no obstacles , as he stated typically , ‘ if I prefer it I’ll play it ” . I’m happy to say he performed a variety of my music, he attended a variety of my performances typically performing as DJ and MC for the night, he even received to report and launch music on The German Shepherd Data label that Bob Osborne and that i ran he was there for me all through my well being struggles at all times exhibiting real concern and providing encouragement. I attempted to reciprocate when his beloved Yvonne handed away in tragic circumstances. Steve by no means recovered from that blow though he tried to current to the world a cheerful courageous face his damage was evident to those that actually knew and cherished him. For a decade or extra I’ve been blessed when not in his firm to obtain virtually every day phone calls that might run for an hour or extra. ‘I ought to report these as radio exhibits’ he would say as our conversations pinballed from topic to topic. Now there shall be no extra calls.
I’ve misplaced my expensive candy buddy as have many others touched by this lovely soul and gigantic presence. We salute you SD: Punk Zelig, Teenage Propshaft, you allow an enormous sized gap in our lives. (Ian Moss 15/12/2024)
Tony Thornborough writes… 
It was a Saturday afternoon in early 2009 once I walked right into a Swinton pub and heard my identify being referred to as out as I used to be ordering a pint. Earlier than I circled to see who it was I already knew. How might I not! I’d not heard that voice in years, nevertheless it was a voice I knew properly, an excited, barely excessive pitched voice for a giant man. At that second I knew I wouldn’t be ‘simply having the one’ as I’d deliberate. “Good to see you pal, what you having? I’ll get this, that is Yvonne, Yvonne that is Tony an previous mucker of mine, I’ve not seen him in ages, what you as much as mate? Come and sit down, how’s your good girl? are you out for a sesh? We’re simply having a pair, been doing the purchasing, having a little bit of a moist lip, you know the way it’s, sit down lad”
And that’s how SD unknowingly auditioned for Salford Metropolis Radio.
I’d been on the station for about six months and I knew that presenters got here and left after a short while. I wasn’t in any place to recruit him myself, however I might positively put a phrase in for him if he was . Which he wasn’t but, however that was about to alter within the subsequent couple of minutes.
As we sat ingesting and rekindling our 25 yr friendship the dialog ultimately got here round to what I used to be as much as. “I’m on Salford Metropolis Radio” and after one other 20 query I received to say “Sure, I’ll put a phrase in for you, I believe you’d be nice since you by no means shut the fuck up and silence is your enemy when doing radio” And that’s how the story begins.
The way it ends, is why your studying this now…..or is it?
Stephen “Sonic Diary” Doyle will dwell on so long as folks take heed to his exhibits. He was a tremendous radio persona with a lot charisma. I assumed I knew lots about data and music, however I might at all times be taught extra by listening to SD. I like many others, will dearly miss him, however he’s left a lot for us. So, I’d wish to ask you all, particularly for those who’ve by no means heard him earlier than. Please test him out on Mixcloud. You would possibly simply be taught one thing and you’ll most definitely be entertained.
Could he relaxation in peace, however hold making noise. (Tony Thornborough)
Bob Osborne of Half Edge Data paid his tribute to Stephen Doyle on his Completely different Noises Substack. Right here is an extract.
It’s protected to say that German Shepherd Data and subsequently Half Edge Data wouldn’t have existed with out the help and intervention of Stephen Doyle. Stephen handed away abruptly, at far too younger an age, yesterday and I needed to acknowledge his contribution to the Salford Music Scene and to every thing we’ve got accomplished as a label through the years….
Stephen was a beneficiant, humorous and type colleague with an abiding love for the punk rock period, particularly The Conflict, and had an encyclopaedic information of bands, with related anecdotes from throughout the musical spectrum. He was additionally an avid gig goer and notably was well-known on the native scene for his rallying cry “I Was A Teenage Propshaft” at gigs. He additionally was eager to have his {photograph} taken with the nice and the great of the punk period and past and developed a popularity because the Punk Zelig. (Bob Osborne)
Matt Davies & Susan O’Shea from the band Manufacturing unit Acts
Manufacturing unit Acts are shocked and saddened to listen to of the passing of our nice buddy Stephen Doyle. We regularly referred to him because the John Peel of Salford / Manchester, due to his absolute dedication to selling new music on his many radio exhibits – most notably for Salford Metropolis Radio – and his encyclopaedic information of punk, post-punk and pop on which he appeared to have an infinite retailer of information. Ever since Manufacturing unit Acts began gigging he was a part of the furnishings both as a punter or DJ at a lot of our favorite haunts – The Crescent (now sadly closed), The Peer Hat, The Fortress, Gullivers, The Eagle Inn, and lots of others. We knew we’d managed to tickle his musical tastebuds when he made one in every of our songs Quantity One in his annual high 50 tracks. However, after all you knew you’d actually made it when the cry of “I used to be a teenage propshaft” rang out in between your songs at dwell exhibits – a badge of honour! And he was chargeable for considerably boosting our CD gross sales at gigs. His never-ending enthusiasm for and open-mindedness about music was infectious, enjoying and waxing lyrical about something from Abba to Zappa and all in between, disregarding music snobbery and tribal attitudes to genres. We frolicked with him on the Revolt punk pageant in Blackpool in 2022 the place he would sit outdoors the Rose and Crown pub in between units and be welcomed by a cavalcade of previous punks who couldn’t wait to speak and have their picture taken with him.
He would commonly telephone us out of the blue to ask for recommendation or simply natter about all issues musical. Our final contact with Stephen was a few weeks in the past, when he phoned for a “fast chat” to ask Matt “what’s your favorite Fall album?”, a dialog that was by no means going to final a few minutes. And that’s how we’d like to recollect him – as an awfully passionate, extraordinarily articulate working-class bloke blessed with the reward of the gab whose tireless championing of latest music won’t ever be matched. (Matt Davies & Susan O’Shea from the band Manufacturing unit Acts)
Singer, songwriter & musician Tim Lyons
Steve Doyle knew me earlier than I knew him, appears odd? Nicely he advised me he used to see me on the Russell Membership with John The Postman, amongst others. it opened in might 1978, Steve was 17. He additionally stated he was too shy to talk to me, regardless that he lived across the nook from me in Ordsall Salford! We received the identical bus he stated. He was a fan of the band I used to be in in 1979..The Issues. Nevertheless, I didn’t get to know him till he got here to see one other band I’m in.. The Sandells. I believe that was in all probability early 2000’s. We performed on the Crescent pub in Salford. He was a DJ with Salford metropolis radio and the SCR DJ,s used to have conferences on the Crescent and likewise promote gigs there.
Steve used to speak concerning the previous days of Punk and the venues and the bands we’d each seen and we turned pals. His enthusiasm for music was boundless and utterly addictive and loving! But it surely was the way in which he made me really feel like I used to be simply speaking to an excellent buddy that was endearing about him.
Steve suffered an enormous bereavement when his spouse Yvonne handed and it affected him profoundly! However his love and assist for native artists and music typically appeared to assist him. He would ring me sometimes and communicate in a really private manner, the one manner I can describe it was virtually brotherly and I really feel privileged to have these reminiscences. It was a top quality I sense that Steve shared with a lot of his pals and it was lovely and distinctive to him.
Steve had an trustworthy manner about him which allowed most individuals and naturally inventive varieties to open up.
He did lots to assist artists by enjoying their music on his sonic dairy exhibits, his solely proviso “If I prefer it, I’ll play it”. Sandells are privileged to have a track featured on Steve’s final Sonic Diary!
I’ll miss his onstage intros for me and his rock stable trustworthy assist however principally I’ll miss the attractive soul that Stephen Doyle was RIP my buddy x (Tim Lyons)
Ged Babey (Louder Than Battle author)
Steven Doyle was a buddy I by no means met in particular person, however because of the web, I felt like I knew him. We shared a ardour for the music and for telling anybody who’d hear how good it was. I write, he DJ-ed. In later life we turned ‘lively’ members within the music scene. Evangelists. Obsessives. And the most effective feeling on this planet is when somebody says: I purchased that album. You had been spot-on, it’s wonderful. Thanks. We discovered our position and met like-minded folks and funky folks in bands needed to shake our arms. Though I by no means met him I’ll miss his on-line presence.
On this video beneath, (58 minutes in) he asks our hero Pete Shelley the query all true followers needed to ask. Politely, tentatively so to not trigger any upset…. Beginning with ‘the final time I met you was on the 37 bus….’. Pure magic and I’d say, his most interesting second. God Bless You SD. (Ged Babey)
Love and condolences to Stephens shut family and friends. He received’t be forgotten.
Stephen Doyle’s SonicDiary and Noize Annoize podcasts are archived on Mixcloud HERE
Compiled by Ged Babey for LTW
Images taken from SD’s Fb. Photographers credited on request.
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