about us

  
 

 
 
 
   
   
   
   

Life and Living is a radio show that we hope has served as a place to play and display quite a variety of audible stuff, composed largely of sounds made by people who have experienced distress in their lives, are maybe there right now or who might still have that pleasure to come. Our London-wide team of contributors is augmented by our United States department, who have consistently breathed fresh air into our shows from across the pond. Long may this local/ global mix bloom and grow.

Our show’s now been broadcast on FM radio and streamed on the internet quite a lot – in excess of 134 episodes of ‘Life and Living’ at the time of writing, and that number can’t get any less… Shows are regularly transmitted again as part of the night loop on Resonance, and New York’s East Village Radio have recycled our early episodes too. We like recycling.

During the time we’ve been in existence - two years - we’ve put on an acclaimed mixed media artshow, done a roadshow in a punky London venue, put on a few fascinating performances and gigs, ushered in the New Year for Resonance Radio listeners the last 3 years and been out and about amply recording other people’s successes and failures. Future projects include the release of groundbreaking or simply pleasant Apple sessions made at our little Studio 9 and out on location. Two independent dramatic productions for radio - Jacob Stringer's 'Terror Infection' and Fatma Durmush's 'Nothing Sacred' are receiving our active support.

As our listeners will know, we have a special penchant for the arts, whatever they are, and our past and future collaborations include The Other Side Gallery, future gallery home of outsider art in London, Mental Fight Club and a ton more. We hope very soon to be actively involved in helping to set up an exciting new radio project for London psychiatric service users and others.


We’re grateful to South East London Community Foundation and Awards for All for their support of our work. Details of how you can contact us may be found elsewhere on this site.

last updated 8 february 06

 


  
Below is journalist Chloe Diski's recent article for SELF (click their logo below for more information)  

MAKING WAVES
LIFE AND LIVING
 
In a cosy dishevelled room, lined with guitars and various contraptions for making and recording music, comes a message that can be heard by the whole world. It is in this office in Waterloo that Life and Living, a weekly radio programme is produced by a team of 25, including a number of psychiatric service users. Mick Hobbs started the programme in order to give people with a history of mental illness freedom to express themselves. ‘Our motto is that we’re not the BBC; we are free to present things in our own way,’ says Mick.
 
The shows are aired on Resonance FM 104.4 and feature an eclectic mix of music, visual arts programs, comedy and interviews; all presented in a style that is sensitive to the workings behind the subject. So, for example, an interview will have a sound or music setting, perhaps simply the background noises of the street. It is a technique that Mick has developed from the start and has proved a powerful way of communicating. Life and Living have a dedicated fan base and their audience is global, as many people listen to the show online, and talk to each other via their new website lifeandliving.net.
 
Mick has always been a musician but he has also worked as a teacher and has lived abroad for a number of years. He returned to Britain in 2000, and after a period of stress, tipped over the edge into an episode of hypomania. Five years on, he is sitting in his new office next to a shiny new Mac computer (both made possible by a grant from SELF), having completed the 100th anniversary show of Life and Living. He reflects on that difficult period of his life, ‘That episode gave me a consideration of distress related things that I hadn’t had before in my life because everything had always been okay up till then.’ The experience brought Mick into contact with a lot of the people he saw needed a voice. ‘They wanted their piece of the action on this radio thing, and they very much had something to say. Yeah, we’re on the peripheries of life in some way, but if you look at painting or music or poetry or any artistic discipline, there has always been a history of the most influential works being produced by people who are one sandwich short of a picnic.’
 
Mick and his team are very grateful for the support provided by SELF. ‘As an organisation I found it very approachable. They’re refreshingly hands on, and I’ve got to know a few of the staff because I’ve been there for training. They’ve also made me aware of other things happening on a local community basis. We’re really pleased that they’ve given us the opportunity to make a serious mark on broadcasting.’