BBC Radio 6 Music is proud to announce that this year’s annual T-Shirt Day will take place on Friday 4th November 2022. The station will invite listeners to dig out their most treasured band tee - whether old or new - and wear their love for their favourite artist. From 5am-7pm, presenters Chris Hawkins (5am-7.30am), Lauren Laverne (7.30am-10.30am), Mary Anne Hobbs (10.30am-1pm), Craig Charles (1pm-4pm) and Steve Lamacq (4pm-7pm) will be taking requests, playing music exclusively via ‘Requests from your Chests’. They’ll be bringing the music community together, playing only the tracks by the artists on your tees. Listeners can send in requests by sharing a picture wearing their band or artist T-shirt on social media, using the hashtag #TShirtDay.
For this year’s 15th anniversary special, Steve hosts his show live from the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios, London, before a live audience of band T-shirt wearing listeners and the brilliant Sports Team as his house band.
Fresh from releasing their second album – Gulp! – Sports Team will perform a selection of classic T-shirt related covers, plus a set of their own tracks as a programme finale. This year, for the first time, a panel of specially invited judges will judge “The Polyester Prize” to find the best design, from a shortlist of iconic band T-shirts put together by Steve, team and listener suggestions. The lead judge on the panel will be Jo Whiley, arguably Radio 2’s best-dressed person in Wogan House, home to Radio 2 and 6 Music. Also judging is musician and artist Orlando Weeks, who studied illustration at Brighton University before spending a decade in the band, The Maccabees. Orlando released his graphic novel The Gritterman in 2017 and his second solo album Hop Up earlier this year. Musician Róisín Murphy, known for her repertoire of extravagant and avant-garde on stage outfits, will also be a judge. She has been mixing fashion and music since she first came to prominence as part of Moloko in the 90s and released her fifth solo album, Róisín Machine, in 2020. Róisín headlined the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival that year with a stage show that featured a number of outlandish stage outfits and her costumes throughout her set are as much a part of the show as anything else. Completing the judging line-up is Lee Widdows, author, trend consultant and strategic adviser for Fashion and Textiles at the University of the Creative Arts.
Steve will also be joined by special guests.
Famous names who have taken part in previous years, showing their love for their favourite artists, include Jodie Whittaker, Kate Moss, Helena Christensen, Fearne Cotton, Chrissie Hynde, Noel Fielding, Simon Pegg, Johnny Marr, Owain Wyn Evans, Nadine Shah, Hey Duggee and Lizzo.
Steve Lamacq says: “T-Shirt Day has become a special moment in the 6 Music year, where we can all show off our favourite music-related T-shirts which we’ve acquired over the years, whether they were bought online last week or been stuffed into a drawer since our teens. Whatever the shirt, they all tell a story or say something about the people we are. And it’s lovely to spend a day sharing those tales and reliving the memories they conjure up. Once again, we’re going to be throwing out the playlist for the day and playing nothing but music by the artists who appear on listeners’ shirts. And as it’s T-Shirt Day’s 15th Anniversary, we’re going to finish the day with a special show at the BBC Maida Vale studios with live music and guests and a look at some of our favourite iconic music T-shirt designs.”
Sports Team says: “We’re stoked to get back into Maida Vale studios to celebrate 15 years of T-Shirt Day with our pal Steve Lamacq. Off on the European tour the next day so will be enjoying a last night of freedom in London too. Amyl & The Sniffers tee ready to go.”
Listeners can attend the live broadcast at Maida Vale by entering the ballot for tickets
here.
Steve’s programme will be available on BBC Sounds for 30 days.
With a record reach of 2.85 million listeners (Rajar Q2, 2022), 6 Music brings a broad range of music and culture beyond the mainstream to music lovers with a curious spirit, combining the cutting-edge music of today with the iconic, ground-breaking sounds of the past 50 years.
Presenters include: AFRODEUTSCHE, Amy Lamé, Cerys Matthews, Chris Hawkins, Craig Charles, Don Letts, Gideon Coe, Gilles Peterson, Guy Garvey, Huey Morgan, Iggy Pop, Jamz Supernova, Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Mark Radcliffe, Mary Anne Hobbs, Steve Lamacq, Stuart Maconie, The Blessed Madonna, Tom Ravenscroft and Tom Robinson. 6 Music is also home to programmes hosted by artists themselves. Loyle Carner, Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES, Arlo Parks, Wolf Alice and St. Vincent have all presented Artist in Residence series on the network since November 2020.
