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Alternative Colchester

Alternative Colchester

Written by: Steve Green & Tim Young
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Alternative Colchester is where football rivalry meets punk rock passion.


Join Tim Young (Labour councillor, former Colchester mayor, and die hard Ipswich Town fan) and Steve Green (Special Duties founder and long suffering Colchester United supporter) as they prove that two blokes who disagree about football can agree that 1977 changed everything.


They were both in the room when Stiff Little Fingers supported Tom Robinson Band at Essex University in 1978 - they just didn’t know it until 2023. Now they’re bringing that shared punk spirit to the airwaves with fierce football debate, classic tracks from 1976 -1980, and the kind of authentic banter that can only come from forty-plus years of living the life they’re talking about.


One show. Two teams. Five decades of passion. No nostalgia without nuance. This is Alternative Colchester - because like the best punk songs, local football deserves to be loud, honest, and impossible to ignore.

© 2026 Alternative Colchester
Music
Episodes
  • Alternative Colchester S2 Ep3
    Oct 7 2026

    Request a record from 1976-1981

    Tim and producer Luke are once again flying the flag for Ipswich Town, while Steve remains firmly in the Colchester United camp — and refuses to accept that the Tractor Boys are any more important than the U’s. Expect plenty of football banter between the three, with the usual good-natured arguments about who really matters in the blue corner of East Anglia.

    The music this time starts with The Sports’ Who Listens To The Radio, before taking in Menace, The Members and Plymouth punks Sabotage, whose When The War Is Over provides a reminder that the punk scene wasn’t confined to London.

    The Dils bring the Class War, while the obligatory Stiff Little Fingers track arrives with Fly the Flag. Tubeway Army’s That’s Too Bad follows, before The Clash deliver Garageland and Social Distortion bring things to a close with 1945.

    The soundtrack, in order:

    1. The Sports – Who Listens To The Radio
    2. Menace – Last Year’s Youth
    3. The Members – Goodbye To The Job
    4. Sabotage – When The War Is Over
    5. The Dils – Class War
    6. Stiff Little Fingers – Fly the Flag
    7. Tubeway Army – That’s Too Bad
    8. The Clash – Garageland
    9. Social Distortion – 1945

    Football loyalties, punk records and the continuing question of whether Colchester United deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Ipswich Town. They do, according to Steve. Tim and Luke may have other ideas.


    www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Alternative Colchester S2 Ep2
    Sep 17 2026

    Request a record from 1976-1981

    More football banter and punk rock gems including three tracks by Sham 69, an obligatory SLF classic and other nostalgic bursts from 76-81 by the likes of Alternative TV, The Shapes, The Dickies and others.

    www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Alternative Colchester Season 2 Episode 1
    Aug 25 2026

    Request a record from 1976-1981

    We're back! After a three month break, Alternative Colchester returns with season two. Tim and Steve are joined live from California by Philip Peters of 1978 punk band The Roomates (Yes one m!!). Usual football chat and general nonsense with classic tracks by the likes of Wire, Modern English, Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers and more.

    www.alternativecolchester.co.uk

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    1 hr and 35 mins
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