Seeking some soulful sounds to soundtrack your Christmas Day and beyond? Siobhan’s here for you. Listen live tonight on BBC Radio Ulster from 8 or anytime on BBC Sounds App. A McLean Media production. Merry Christmas y’all! X www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

You’re all invited over to ours for #ChristmasWithTheMcLeans on BBC Radio Ulster & Sounds tonight from 8. Xmas eve chat & music and a chance to sample Kerry’s mother’s famously boozy Christmas cake*. Hope you can join us. *Obviously I have put myself forward for this task!

Very sad to hear of Chris Rea’s passing. I’m not on air tonight but I’ll be paying tribute to Chris and many more of the amazing musicians who left us in 2025 in a special show from 8pm on Monday 29th December. I hope you can tune in then.

It’s cold outside..g’wan and let little Ralphie in! Getting in early with the festive greetings folks. Merry Christmas from Chateau McLean, here’s hoping you all have a happy holiday season and a peaceful, happy 2026 ..and oh yeah..don’t forget..keep those windows locked! Lol x

Rounding up my top #boxsetsof2025 on tonight’s radio show. This beauty is my No 1. The #SmallFaces #autumnstone A once cool but slightly slipshod comp has become, in the hands of #robcaiger & #NiceRecords, an essential purchase for fans. @roomforravers.bsky.social

I’m looking back at my favourite records of 2025 on the radio show this week. Tues it’s boxsets and reissues of the year, Wed it’s country and Americana and tonight it’s the best new release albums of 2025. Starting with a track from this gem by #TheWaterboys. See you at 8. @mickpuck.bsky.social

Rounding up my favourite releases of 2025 on the radio show this Monday to Wednesday from 8. What’s are your best of the year selections? Let me know here. #bestalbumsof2025

Need some Soul Christmas vibes to up your Xmas spirit? Siobhan Brown got you covered! It’s available on the BBC Sounds app right now. My company McLean Media produced it so I’m biased but I still think it’s great. Get on it people! #soulchristmas #bbcsoul www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Putting together my special radio tribute to #SteveCropper for tonight and realising I could fill ten hours at least with great tracks he’s played on. Some player. Some man. Tribute from 8 on #bbcradioulsterand anytime on @bbcsounds.bsky.social

Pink Floyd a plenty tonight! Talking with Floyd historian and Mojo scribe Mark Blake on the radio show from 8 about what might just be the greatest book ever written about the band. Come join us if you can or catch up on BBC Sounds App whenever suits. #pinkfloyd

Fancy a soulful seasonal treat? #TheSiobhanBrownSoulShow is up on the BBC Sounds app from..right now! Just click. Aretha, James Brown, Al Green and more plus live crackers from Siobhan and the gang. A #McleanMedia production. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

So The Colonel has left us. A sad day indeed. Steve Cropper was a legend. Will never forget the hours I spent with Steve in a BBC studio looking back on that incredible career. A true Southern gent. Full radio tribute this coming Tuesday. #SteveCropper #masterofthetelecaster

Heads up to Paul Weller fans. Should be a great show. 2pm Central time and available via TuneIn and other streaming sources…

Giving this great 1978 45 a spin on the radio show tonight..among many other spiffing #PaulWeller tracks from #TheJam to #TheStyleCouncil and solo years. Talking with Dan Jennings about his brilliant new tome #DancingThroughTheFire on @bbcradioulster & @BBCSounds from 8pm. #downinthetubestation

Going deep on #TheBeatles Anthology Volume 4 on the radio show tonight from 8 if you fancy it. #thebeatlesanthology

Digging Dylan’s country roots on the radio show tonight. Seems fitting.

An early Dylan treat for all the Bobcats out there on the radio show tonight from 8. Hope you can join me live or listen again whenever suits via the BBC Sounds App. #bobdylan

Exploring, and enjoying, the new Dylan archive boxset on his earliest years. No radio show on Monday (off for football coverage) but will dedicate Tuesday’s show it to mark Bob’s big Belfast return next Wed and Thurs. #bobdylan #throughtheopenwindow

Saying happy 80th to #NeilYoung on the radio show tonight. Some roots flavoured tunes from the man himself and a few classy covers from #CowboyJunkies #DollyParton #kdlang and more. #bbcradioulster & #Sounds from 8. #neilyoung80 #neilyoungbbc #ralphmcleancountry

Our #NeilYoung At 80 show is off and running. First 2 tracks..Tonight’s The Night and Birds. NP Down By The River. Gotta a feeling this is going to be quite the show! Come join me on the BBC Radio Ulster airwaves. #NeilYoung80

Great chat just now with #danjennings about #DancingThroughTheFire, his new “oral history” of #PaulWeller It deserves all the acclaim it’s getting and at 700 odd pages it’s a proper labour of love. Full BBC radio special coming soon!

@ralphmclean.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... This was fascinating with a superb playlist. Had to dig out Rei Momo specially

The great #NeilYoung hits 80 next week. Let’s celebrate with a radio birthday party shall we? Fav NY songs and stories please!! #neilyoung80

I’ve brand new music from #RodneyCrowell, #LucindaWilliams, #GreazyAlice and more on the radio show tonight plus an in-depth look at Two Sides To Every Story by the great #GeneClark from 1977. 8pm on the BBC airwaves fellow roots ramblers! #ralphmcleancountry #highmoonrecords

Exploring the revolutionary side of #JohnLennon & #YokoOno with an in-depth exploration of #PowerToThePeople boxset with Steven Cockcroft of @beatlespod.bsky.social on the radio show tonight from 8. Come together over this! @johnlennonofficial.bsky.social @yokoono.bsky.social #mercuryrecords

Nice two page spread in today’s Sunday Life for my chat with #JonBonJovi about his recent health issues, his love of Ireland and what we can expect when #BonJovi return to Croke Park next year.

On Monday night’s radio show I’ll be joined by Steven Cockcroft of @beatlespod.bsky.social to discuss this beauty of a boxset. Come together….over this! #powertothepeople #JohnLennon #JohnAndYoko

A Brucey bonus for you on the radio show tonight. Going deep into the new #BruceSpringsteen #Nebraska boxset. BBC Radio Ulster & Sounds from 8. Spread the word Boss fans! @brucespringsteen.net

Right now! Hit the BBC Sounds App if you want to check it out later. #BonJovi

RADIO: The Divine Comedy Two Hour Special with Ralph McLean. LISTEN AT: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... 👉 More info in alt text. #TheDivineComedy #NeilHannon @ralphmclean.bsky.social

Great piece on #LucindaWilliams in the new @mojomagazine.bsky.social by my mate #AndyFyfe. Lucinda is one of the most honest artists in music today and a true survivor. Will dig out a few classic tracks for Wednesday’s country show.

Great and informative show I went to see the deep blue last night The harmonies were superb and the Show is full of enthusiasm and joy As you say something special is happening with this group Keep up with the great tunes

I’ve a bit of a #TalkingHeads special on the radio show tonight on @bbcradioulster & @BBCSounds I’ll be talking history with author #JonathanGould and playing some classics alongside some lesser heard gems. Hope you can join me from 8. @harpercollins.bsky.social #burningdownthehouse

Unbelievably 2026 will mark 10 years since #BapKennedy left us. A collection of previously unheard songs is set for release soon. It is, unsurprisingly, beautiful. I’m going to be playing a couple of tracks from it on the radio show tonight on BBC Radio Ulster & Sounds from 8.

I’m putting together a 2 hour #NeilHannon #DivineComedy special for the end of the month. I’ll be talking with Neil, there’ll be exclusive session tracks and lots of DC classics of course..which is where you come in. Let me know your favourite Neil numbers here! @divinecomedyhq.bsky.social

No radio show tonight folks. Off for football coverage. Back Tuesday night with some Prince magic for you.

Happy 85th birthday John. #JohnLennon

The #LongRyders have been confirmed for #KilkennyRoots next May so I’m celebrating with an indepth look at the band’s debut album Native Sons on the radio show tonight. Join me and band leader Sid Griffin for a journey back into the 80s Paisley Underground LA scene from 8.

Only the very finest record collections can boast a Spinal Tap Stonehenge picture disc you know! #spinaltap #onelouder #toomuchperspective

In tribute to #ChrisDreja, who passed away last week, I’m having a bit of a #Yardbirds rave up on the radio show tonight from 8. Five Live Yardbirds from 1964 is my #ClassicLiveAlbum of the week with Chris and a young Eric Clapton on top form.

On #ralphmcleancountry tonight #MaryChapinCarpenter talks about her latest album Personal History. Also new music from Willie Nelson, Joan Shelly, Josh Ritter and more. It’s going to be a good un, I can feel it in my bones and they never lie! 😂

You’ve seen him on #BlueLights now hear him behind the decks on Radio Ulster! My old mate #MichaelSmiley is back picking all the tunes with me tonight from 8 on BBC Radio Ulster & Sounds and he’s chosen some real gems. Spread the word people!

The Zombies arrived in #AbbeyRoad studios just after the Fabs in 1967 and recorded #OdysseyAndOracle perhaps the ultimate slice of baroque and roll heaven. I’m talking with singer #ColinBlunstone about it and his life in music on the radio show tonight from 8. @bbcsounds.bsky.social #TheZombies

A great programme celebrating the career of Danny Thompson. Thx as always, Ralph @ralphmclean.bsky.social @tomstewart1984.bsky.social @folkloresociety.bsky.social @whisperingbob.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Can’t wait to get back to #RalphsRecordClub in Lisburn on Friday night after the summer break. Queen’s A Night At The Opera is the vinyl we’ll be playing and discussing. Tickets in link. I hope to see you there on Friday from 8pm. islandartscentre.com/book/vinyl-i...

Finally got to listen to this yesterday just before it disappeared from BBC Sounds. It's a remarkable box set that has been the soundtrack to my summer. Your show was wonderful and you gave the set the appraisal it deserves. Superb broadcasting, and thank you.

Hearing bass legend Danny Thompson has left us. From Pentangle to Nick Drake, John Martyn to Kate Bush there’s no one he didn’t elevate with his groove. Will pay tribute with a track on the radio show tonight from 8 on BBC Radio Ulster & Sounds. #DannyThompson

Celebrating #JimCapaldi of #Traffic on the show tonight from 8 with tracks from #DearMrFantasy, a tribute boxset that features the likes of @paulwellernews.bsky.social @joewalsh.bsky.social #yusufislam and @stevewinwood001.bsky.social 20 years gone but not forgotten. @cherryredrecords.bsky.social

Spending a little quality time with the greatest music mag ever. I mean come on who else has the gonads and indeed good taste to put garage punk legends #TheMonks on the front cover? @shindigmagazine.bsky.social rocks!

Both as lead singer of #TheZombies and as a solo artist #ColinBlunstone has made some truly beautiful records. I’m talking with Colin later today about the peerless #OdysseyAndOracle and a beautiful new Zombies doc #HungUpOnADream. Will share on the radio show soon.