DJ Old Rat

Steven John Barker, known as DJ Old Rat, began presenting Spin Off, the first alternative music show on Radio Blackburn, in 1980, which evolved into On the Wire, first broadcast on BBC Radio Lancashire on September 16, 1984. The show aired the first UK radio plays of Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and 808 State's "Pacific State," and became the longest-running alternative music show in UK radio history, eventually moving to Slack City radio after BBC cuts ended its run in 2023.