Balearic Breakfast | Episode 251 | Driving Home For Christmas...

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 251st episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on December 23rd 2025.

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Sometimes, it takes only One song to put together a set, to start a musical journey, to find a story to tell. One song, nothing less, nothing more. I spent the last 20 years crafting mixes under Wavelab, and also cueing up records for fun when night was coming in my shed, a little place full of Crown amps, loudspeakers, with loads of records and of course two Technics turntables... To say that music is a passion is an understatement; it's just another beat of my soul, another beat of my heart...

Chris Rea's passing hit me hard, and generally speaking, every artist that leaves our planet reminds me how much we lose every time, and how much, in these lost times, we need that artistic connection, how essential it is to our lives...

In this beautifully driven episode, one leading us to a place we know nothing about, Colleen paid tribute to two of these musical heroes we love so much... So, close your eyes, feel the sorrow, feel the pain as the car drives through the snowy landscapes, and, while you feel tears rolling down your face, don't ever lose sight of the road... You know, the curse of the traveller got a hold on you...

I wish my bones could form a bridge

And carry you to the other side

I wish my bones could form a bridge

To our home, our homeland, to our path

This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud and features tributes to two Balearic kingpins, Chris Rea and Claudio Rispoli known as DJ Mozart of Soft House Company and Jestofunk. And no I didn’t play ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ as I’m sure you will hear it elsewhere. But I couldn’t resist another Christmas song.

There’s also new music, reissues, remixes, reworks and the new charity single from Together for Palestine. Swipe for the tracklist. Thanks to all who joined in the Mixcloud Live chat this morning, too. You make the live stream special.

I’ll be back in the record room on Tuesday, streaming the last Balearic Breakfast of the year and this will the last request show of 2025. On Saturday, the request line will go up on my socials and please request songs that set your intention for 2026. Matt Raistrick already suggested ‘Stayin’ Alive’ which sounds about right!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, a (belated) Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and a peaceful holiday. Thanks for listening.

Listen back to the 251st episode of Balearic Breakfast:

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THE PLAYLIST

I'll complete this post in the coming days, after Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you all!

(2025) Together for Palestine, Nai Barghouti, Leigh-Anne & Neneh Cherry – Lullaby

(2025) Cantoma ft Gizelle Smith – Drifting (Ambient Version)

(1976) Yoshiko Sai – Haru

(1973) The McCrary – Emerge

(2025) E.R. Thorpe – Red Dust (Generalisation Red Dub)

(1987) Chris Rea – Curse of the Traveller

(2019) Chris Rea – It’s All Gone’ (Pete Blaker Edit)

(1985) T.C. Curtis – You Should Have Known Better

(XX) Matsubara – S.0.S. (Prins Thomas Rework)

(2003) Chris Rea – Tennis (SIRS CUT)

(1990) Soft House Company – A Little Piano

(1994) Jestofunk ft. Cece Rogers – Can We Live

(2025) Kora Koumakan – Sombe Nanfan (Ben Gomori’s Forest Bathing Remix)

(2001) Osunlade – Cantos A Ochun Et Oya (Juan Valentine Re-Edit)

(NOL) Chris Rea – Josephine (Chida Edit)

(XX) Pete Christlieb – The Christmas Song

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

(from Colleen's presentation)

I'm heading back to Asia on the last two weekends in January going to Japan, Precious Hall in Sapporo, Boers in Obihiro, Bar Bridge in Shizuku, Tokyo, and Wawal in Takasaki. I love going to Japan as it's the first country outside the USA that invited me to DJ back in the mid 90s. And I also worked as a radio DJ in Nagoya in 1989. So I can't wait to go back, have a lot of friends there.

(...)

I'm playing with Voices Radio over at Mare Street Market, just in King's Cross, so that's going to be on New Year's Eve, and looking forward to playing with Helena Starr and Maria Hanlon from Voices Radio, and you can find tickets over on Resident Advisor.

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No plans yet for NYE? We’ve got you covered.

We’re handing the keys to the first floor over to our friends at @voices_radio for their famous New Year’s Eve takeover at Mare Street Market King’s Cross.

@colleencosmomurphy takes the lead on a specially installed Danley system engineered by Iain Mackie - the kind of setup that feels like a warm hug on the friendliest dancefloor in the city. Joining her upstairs are @helenastardj @mariahanlon and Cara Crosby, with a full crew of Voices residents running things alongside them. A proper NYE send-off, top to bottom.

Expect balloons, midnight surprises, legendary DJs, delicious cocktails and snacks courtesy of MSM and a room full of people ready to bring in the new year properly.

All ticket holders get 20% off food with a COMPLIMENTARY glass of fizz on us to kick off the night. Just show your ticket to redeem. 🥂

Let’s bring in 2026 the right way.

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I'll be back next week, streaming live for the Record Room. And this will be the last request show of 2025. I think we should feature songs that set our intention for 2026. And on the MixCloud Live chat group, Matt already suggested Stayin' Alive. I'm down with that. The request line will go up on my Instagram and Facebook on Saturday, and I look forward to your requests.

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ABOUT THE SONGS

(from Colleen's presentation)

Lullaby by Together for Palestine, Nai Barghouti, Leanne and Naina Cherry, featuring Amina, Bastille, Brian Eno, Celeste, Kieran Brunt, Lana Lubanni, London Community Gospel Choir, Mabel, Nadine Shah, Sura Abdo, Tyson, Yasmin Ayashi, and Ize. And that is the charity single for Together for Palestine. It didn't make the Christmas number one on the official UK chart this year, but it did reach number five. And it reached number one on the Apple iTunes chart in the UK, and many other countries. The singles raised more than 70,000 pounds for Palestine and still counting. And with the Together for Palestine concert organized by Brian Eno and company back in September, it's raised more than 2 million pounds.

In fact, in October, my daughter and I went on a march for Palestine here in London. And Brian Eno was there at the very end of the march really surprised me, and he read the poem he had read at the concert. It was just very, very poignant. You can still donate to the cause by making a donation to the Together for Palestine fund.

This one is from Ana Sancho in Barcelona, who asked for this one from our friend Phil Misson. It's Cantoma featuring Giselle Smith with the ambient version of Drifting.

Yoshiko Sai with Haru from her second album, Mikko, originally released in 1976 and recently reissued by We Want Sounds. And it was produced by Isamu Haruna and features some of Japan's finest session musicians, including the legendary guitarist Masayoshi Takenaka. And the record showcases Sai's signature blend of poetic songwriting and ethereal vocals. I just love that song. It's so bluesy and has a real subtle, funky arrangement. And for that album, the Japanese singer-songwriter drew inspiration from the Silk Road and the rich cultural heritage of her native Nara. And she explores themes of femininity, freedom, and the passage of generations.

The McCrary's With Emerge, the title cut of their 1973 LP that was pressed in very small quantities, and is a fine example of what was considered progressive soul and what became known as neo-soul. Now an original copy is eye-wateringly expensive, but not any longer as it's been reissued by BBE with the cooperation of the McCrary family. And they started out as a gospel group in Ohio and then turned to secular music upon relocating to Los Angeles, where they recorded this album for the Tiny Cat's Eye label. And the McCrary's would later gain wider recognition with their hit, You, featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica, and with Any Old Sunday, which was covered by Chaka Khan.

This next one is from the Nottingham singer, songwriter, and visual artist E.R. Thorpe. And her distinctive guitar work and poetic lyrics draw inspiration from her blues guitarist father. And this single, Human Love, is from her forthcoming eponymously titled debut LP, scheduled for release in March 2026 and produced by Crazy P's Jim Barron. It's his first venture into producing other artists. And this is the red dub, Red Dust backed up by them and the generalisation dub interpretation from label boss Damian Harris.

Chris Rea, his Curse of the Traveller, and that's from his 1987 album, Dancing with Strangers, which was his big breakthrough in the UK. It peaked at number two after Michael Jackson's Bad, and it was recorded with only three microphones in his garage studio. He said, "Nobody heard it. Nobody witnessed it. It was just me having fun". And strangely, I had put that on today's show before hearing the news of Rhea's passing last night, as that was requested by Barry Nitz in Washington, DC, and also sending that one out to Artur in Paris. And we'll have some more Chris Rea coming up in the show.

BP Blaker edit of It's All Gone by Chris Rea. And that's the lead single from Chris Rea's 1986 album, On The Beach. And Carrie J. Kidd over on our Mixed God Live chat said he had never listened to Chris Rhea much. Then his first time in Ibiza in 1991, that first day on the beach at a bar, they were playing On The Beach and he got him from then on. Such a great artist. He grew up in New Yorkshire, didn't pick up the guitar until his early 20s. And while working for his Italian father's ice cream business, he taught himself how to play rock and blues slide guitar. Later recalling that for many people from working class backgrounds, rock wasn't a chosen thing. It was the only thing, the only avenue of creativity available for them. And a couple of bands, he was in a couple of bands and he became a singer as a replacement for one of the singers and then released his debut album, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini in 1978.

And his first single, Fool If You Think It's Over, became the biggest hit of his career and the only single to hit the American charts. And it earned him a Grammy nomination. His then American label, Tamla Motown, told him that to break America, he had to tour there for three years and Rea declined as he wanted to spend time with his wife and daughters. And Rea really avoided the trappings of fame. He saw himself as a musician who's been successful rather than a star. He was also plagued by illness for the last half of his career, cancer, stroke. But he developed a massive fan base in the UK and Europe and New Zealand in the mid 80s, not because of an image, but through his own music, his gravelly, soulful voice, and poignant songwriting. And we'll have some more Chris Rea reworks coming up in the show.

This next one was a British soul hit in 1985 by TC Curtis, who was born in Jamaica, and emigrated to the UK when he was 14 years old. He played in various bands, and then made the move to dance music and got recognition with his 1981 song Body Shake. He had a few more charting singles in the 80s, including this one, TC Curtis with You Should Have Known Better on Balearic Breakfast.

Matsubara with S.O.S Society of Soul, the Prince Thomas rework, and that's the 1984 single by the late Japanese guitarist Makaki Matsubara. And the Norwegian producer and DJ's rework came out in 2005 on his Disco Mix EP, and that may only be out on vinyl, so I dug that one out. And Lucy over on the Mixed Cloud Live chat asked me to play that on New Year's Eve, and I will bring that with me.

Chris Rea with Tennis the Sirs Cut, and that's the title track to his 1980 LP. And on the Mixcloud Live chat, Gareth Bratman says he grew up on Chris as his dad was a massive fan, massively talented writer, vocalist, guitarist, and those bass lines, hence why they do rock a dance floor.

The Funkin' Machine with Chiki Chikankan, the instrumental version, and that's the Neapolitan jazz funk act, and DJs and funk fans around the world may recognize their contributions on albums from fellow Italians such as Mystic Jungle, Parblur, CHOP, Bassolina, Pellegrino & Zydeco, Danger Boys, and even Nugenia. And earlier this month, the Funkin' Machine released their third album, Napolitanite. I think I got that now on the Chicago record label, Star Creature, and I highly, highly recommend that.

Okay, and speaking of Italy, we lost another Balearic kingpin, Claudio Rispoli, who was born in Ancona, Italy, and he was a pioneer of the Italo-Afro style. He DJed as DJ Mozart, and like all the legendary Italian DJs, he was incredibly technically proficient and known for his wide-ranging and left-field selections. And along with Daniele Baldelli and DJ Miki of Czach, Rispoli helped shape the Italian cosmic sound, and he had marathon sets in Rimini and all along the Adriatic coast.

He was also a producer, working with Francesco Montefiore as Soft House Company, and on the forefront of the Italo house movement with its euphoric piano chords, they really were. And along with Alessandro Staderini and Farias, he was gesto-funk, more jazz-funk rather than house. So now we'll remember the late Claudio Rispoli with these two selections.

The Chidah Edit of Chris Reas' Josephine from his 1985 LP Schaumrock, and that's a song he wrote for his daughter. He said, "When I'm on stage, I kind of shut my eyes when I'm singing, and I'm always where I wrote the song. I'm always on the third floor of Intercontinental Hotel in Dusseldorf, and it's raining. That's where I am when I sing that song every time."

Osunlade with Cantos A Ochun Et Oya, the Juan Valentine re-edit, and the original came out in 1999 on the Beef de los Muertos EP, and I played it all the time. I just moved over to the UK, and I remember playing that song over and over.

Well, Josephine is the last Chris Rea song today. I'm not going to be playing Driving Home for Christmas, as if you're in the UK at least. You will most likely hear it in shops or on the radio in your car. Driving was quite a theme for Chris Rios. He was a motor racing enthusiast who raced models by Ferrari and Lotus, and he participated in the 1993 British Touring Car Championship. For the 1995 Formula One season, he joined the Jordan team as a pit mechanic, which is incredible. I really didn't want to do the VIP thing, so I was in charge of Eddie Irvine's right rear tire, he later said. I don't know if you're into Formula One, but I'm into the Drive to Survive series. It usually comes out in February. Lando Norris won this year, so congratulations to Lando Norris, a British driver. I'm really happy about that, and driving for McLaren. In any case, I'm not a huge petrol head, but I do admire Formula One.

My father wasn't into sports, but he was into motor racing, and he used to build cars and engines and all that kind of stuff. He was a drag racer as a teenager, and yesterday would have been his 79th birthday. So, dedicating this show to my late father, Roger Murphy.

And also to Claudio Rispoli, may he rest in paradise. And Chris Rea, such a cool dude, and he left us an amazing body of work, rest in paradise.

I'm going to leave you with a song for the holiday season by saxophonist Pete Chrisley. And he was the guy who did the sax solo on Steely Dan's Deacon Blues. And this is his rendition of the Christmas song. Wishing you all a peaceful and happy holiday season. And thanks for listening.