There is no doubt that these are strange times. But when you succumb to watching Zardoz for entertainment - possibly the weirdest mainstream movie of all time - you can be excused of thinking that very soon you'll wake up and discover Bobby Ewing in the shower. Zardoz. The 1974 Sean Connery movie. The movie that the Soldiers of Hell have been threatening to watch for years. Well they've finally achieved it. And here are the podcasting results. In this lesson you will learn: - What its all about....
May 20, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 72
It's the brand new gameshow that everyone's talking about: Connery or Dutch! In this episode Andy competes against Dave from the Geeky Guys podcast to see who is better at telling the difference between Sean Connery and Dutch people. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially when it's Spence reading out the clues in a hybrid accent. Will you like it? Yesh of coursh you will. Don't forget to share and shubscribe alsho.
Apr 20, 2020•32 min•Ep. 71
James Bond and the Eurovision Bond Contest. If you've ever listened to our podcast before, there's no dodging the fact that James Bond and the Eurovision Song Contest are two of our favourite things. So why not smash them together? 25 classic theme songs and a protracted voting methodology resulting in one clear winner. Strap in - it's a good one. Also in this episode we learn the answer to our recent ledger question about Batman and the T Rex and for the first time ever from a listener submissi...
Mar 20, 2020•54 min•Ep. 70
It's awards season. And with the Oscars over, Andy and Spence decide to play the Joker and hit you up with a load of pop music themed skits - or are our cheeky chappies actually Ant and Dec in disguise? Inspired by enjoying Billie Eilish's performance of excellent new Bond song No Time To Die at the Brit Awards, Spence goes round to fellow PMATL member Peter's house, where they write a new song dedicated to not just awards season but all seasons. They also discuss who would play them in a film o...
Feb 20, 2020•26 min•Ep. 69
A new decade, a double-double figured year, and the year after all the anniversaries. It's time to discuss pop culture's highs and lows of 2019 and find out what we're looking forward to in 2020: including a climax for James Bond (not that kind) and a come back (not that kind) for old school fantasy. We also learn when a Halloween costume is an investment, which Witcher Andy is talking about and everything we're excited for in the Spider-verse. The Soldiers of Hell will return...
Jan 20, 2020•36 min•Ep. 68
Due to the incredible popularity of our 20th Anniversary Royal Rhumble (thank Ant and Dec for the spelling) we decided to crank out another heroic beat-em up to celebrate the Christmas festivities. Join Andy, Spence and Simon as they not only pit genuine Christmas characters against each other, but they also revel in bad puns to settle on heroes with a winter slant. Who will join the current champions, Santa Claus and Kristine Kochanski in the ring? And who will come out victorious of this Yulet...
Dec 20, 2019•30 min•Ep. 67
As Andy, Spence and Simon prepare to have their hearts broken by the Rugby World Cup, they make tea, cook sausage sandwiches and take the opportunity to juxtapose their manliness with a discussion about Frozen 2; amongst other things. What about a Princess Bride cinematic universe? And who do we think Andy looks like this month? With it being the month after our 20th Anniversary celebration, we take a look back through the Minidisc Archive to find Radio Talent Show sketches.
Nov 20, 2019•16 min•Ep. 66
Today is the 20th Anniversary of the Soldiers of Hell; literally 20 years since Andy and Spence first appeared on University Radio. So to mark the occasion we went for a 16 mile walk (unfortunately we didn't manage a mile for every year - not that we tried) and we took some friends and fellow podcasters along for the day. Listen as we navigate the countryside, real ales and pop culture. There's a distinct Halloween vibe to this one as getting lost in the dark activates the scary bits of our imag...
Oct 20, 2019•23 min•Ep. 65
In 2002, Andy and Spence supposedly broadcast their last ever Soldiers of Hell show together. Now with the benefit of 17 years hindsight we can see that that was somewhat of an inaccurate prediction. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Soldiers of Hell, join us for another flashback episode, this time introduced by Pete from The Peter Marshall & The Lomos Show. Faithfully recreated from the Minidisc Archive and featuring the songs broadcast at the time thanks to Spotify (assuming you'...
Oct 13, 2019•43 min•Ep. 64
The original version of this episode of the Soldiers of Hell show dates back to 3rd December 2001 and this 20th Anniversary edit has been introduced by fellow podcaster and friend of the show Steve Shooter (Fixated On, Aurally Fixated, Culturally Fixated, Diet Hard). We've broken it down into segments for re-release on Anchor and you can hear it (almost) exactly as it was broadcast 17ish years ago; with all the original songs we selected for the show and broadcast at the time (if you're listenin...
Oct 04, 2019•42 min•Ep. 63
20 years of chat has led to a lot of pop culture icons entering the ranks of the Soldiers of Hell. So to celebrate our big birthday, let's make Top Trumps/Dungeons and Dragons/Battle Royale out of it: The Soldiers of Hell Royal Rhumble. (Rumble spelt as Rhumble thanks to PJ & Duncan.) We take 20 heroes - one for every year of the Soldiers of Hell - and pit them against each other one at a time. Who will be the last man or woman standing? And will Andy or Spence be holding the final card? The...
Sep 20, 2019•56 min•Ep. 62
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary year of the Soldiers of Hell, here's another slice of audio nostalgia from the Minidisc Archive. This first one comes with a public health warning. It's a compiliation of sketches from 2001 reimagining Steps, the pop group, if instead they ran a shop selling escalators. Steps. Geddit? Yes it's a 23 minutes of audio based on one bad pun, but that's pretty much how we filled the airwaves back then. Normal service will resume soon. Don't forget to let us know which...
Sep 13, 2019•24 min•Ep. 61
In a 20th anniversary celebration episode, we treat you to some audio that should never have made it beyond the boundaries of York University campus. Dating back to 1999, this is the first year of the Soldiers of Hell show and in many ways you can tell. It's part of our legacy though and therefore why not give the minidisc archive a dusting down and release it to the masses for the first time in 20 years. And when I say the masses, we mean you and few other people. Witness the birth of the pink ...
Aug 20, 2019•15 min•Ep. 60
Sometimes you cook great food. Sometimes you get sunshine and beer and laughter. Sometimes you're in the middle of a brilliant series like Stranger Things. And sometimes...on rare occasions...if you're lucky...sometimes you win the Cricket World Cup. In a jam packed few days that also included Frisbee skills that seemed better than we probably were, we learn what the Danish word for such a weekend as this is. We didn't know before, but now we know we lykke it. This month's Soldier of Hell is Ele...
Jul 25, 2019•18 min•Ep. 59
What better way to celebrate the month of Eurovision and the 20th Anniversary of the Soldiers of Hell than Andy and Spence reminiscing about Song Contests of Eurovision past from the first one they shared together in May 2000, through to present day. Hear clips not heard on the podcast before with brand new links. Don't forget to listen on Anchor for the best experience with the Eurovision songs on Spotify. Michael Ball, Alsou, Katrina and The Wave, Francesco Gabanni and What's a Deal With Europ...
May 16, 2019•34 min•Ep. 57
To celebrate 5 years of the movie we made: Transatlantic Smash, we discuss our memories of the Found Footage Rockumentary (a sub-genre we saying we invented), play some of the tunes and clips from the film, discuss how Beard Envy has entered the zeitgeist (of at least our circle of friends) and chat to co-director Peter Marshall and producer Steve Shooter. Songs by The Lomos Watch the complete movie of Transatlantic Smash here: https://youtu.be/h1aZOUAcx_8
May 09, 2019•25 min•Ep. 56
In the last of the current format, Andy and Spence go in to battle with the two top eighties machines. But are they androids, mechanoids, robots or somethings else? Who cares?! The point is they rock out with some glorious synth soundtracks and remind of us other important events in the last few decades. Like Andy and Spence's first Eurovision together and how it led to some eye balls and a spinal column in a glass jar. Or how Indie Video Games might be better than they're retro counterparts. An...
Mar 26, 2019•49 min•Ep. 53
No we never expected to stumble across these two cartoon heroes from the 80s this episode either. But seen as we have, I wonder who will win the battle between Captain Planet and BraveStarr? And how did we stumble across them indeed? Well you'll have to stay tuned, but let's just say it was a ramble via Andy's new Nintendo Switch and Marie Kondo. But there is some linkage there it's not all random. So use your ears of the wolf and listen.
Feb 11, 2019•22 min•Ep. 52
Nostalgia - check. Batman - check. Bond - check. Songs - check. Fun - check. It can only mean one thing: Soldiers of Hell Christmas Special 2018. Like all good festive specials we invite friends round - in this case Peter Marshall of The Lomos fame - for the music. Also, Andy and Spence play their game "I don't spy with my little eye" with limited success. Now stop stuffing the turkey and have a listen to the festive fun!
Dec 25, 2018•27 min•Ep. 51
It's Christmas so let's go novelty for this episode. After the broodiness of Batman and the angst of Angel, where better in contrast to go than the puppetry of messrs Basil and Badger; kings of kids TV. Sort of. Spence is not convinced by this curveball that Andy has thrown him in the battle of the pre-millenial heroes. But who cares? Grab yourself a novelty ale and lets just go with it!
Dec 15, 2018•20 min•Ep. 50
Some heroes choose themselves; this month's being two them. Yes we know it's hard to believe it but some people used to say we looked like the two Davids Boreanaz and Duchovny. We're talking back in 1999 though. But it's the truth and just like Fox Mulder we're hoping to get the truth out there. So treat yourself to a listen to this month's episode and find out how we've been dining out on these two hunks (metaphorically obviously) for the last 19 years and whether Angel's brow can beat Fox Muld...
Nov 26, 2018•27 min•Ep. 49
Who would you rather be? Batman or James Bond? Neither you say? Well which version of each character are you talking about? Or do you think there is only one version of each character on film in one continuous story? So many questions, but we think that Lego Batman might have this all worked out. In this episode of the latest series we explore our two favourite characters of all time and in particular the continuity of their movies and whether we learn any worthy traits from them in the process....
Oct 25, 2018•15 min•Ep. 48
Welcome to Season 5 of the Soldiers of Hell podcast. We're suffering from a freak strain of the millennium bug where everything we do seems to send us back to 1999 or earlier. Join us each month as we recruit a mentor with the right skills to send us back to the future. We'll choose 2 pop culture icons and by the end of each episode we'll learn whose retro talents are as relevant today as they were in the 20th century. Only then will they have what it takes to be declared as Soldiers of Hell. An...
Sep 25, 2018•22 min•Ep. 47
CHOMP ON THIS! This is the last episode before we dust down the format of the podcast so there's just time to discuss Jason Statham dusting down a shark in The Meg as well as other shark tales (Shark Tales not included). We also visit the Edinburgh Fringe festival, Bluedot festival and grab a soundbite with Robert Crais at his book signing. It's been a busy summer so sit back and enjoy a bit more waffle before our inevitable reboot.
Aug 24, 2018•24 min•Ep. 46
In the latest episode of the Soldiers of Hell show, Spence takes a different walk home, taking the opportunity to dodge some noisy youths but still hang out with a group of birds. This is all leads to the opportunity for Andy to rake over old European coals – and for once this has nothing to do with Brexit. It is the catalyst for a joined up story that includes a cameo from Peter Marshall and The Lomos, which of course links to Transatlantic Smash, and back to Andy again via his roles in said mo...
Jul 31, 2018•16 min•Ep. 45
Back in our old radio show days Spence used to set Andy challenges that he would have to complete via phone in. Think of it like a cross between Challenge Anneka and a remote Taskmaster with nobody to compete against by himself. Actually, as the theme tune to the feature suggests, it was more like You Bet which would be a lot more appropriate than comparing Andy to another sort of fix it person. We mean the unsavoury one; not Bob the Builder. Anyway, in these two editions from the Soldiers of He...
Jul 20, 2018•18 min•Ep. 44
With the Russia World Cup 2018 on, what better way to stay fit than take inspiration from people at the peak of their powers and pretend you were once good at football by taking up 6-a-side again. In this episode we learn what muscle Spence has pulled and why Andy won't massage it. We also learn what past-time Andy will be taking part in to get his butt cheeks in shape. Does Andy care more about Eurovision than the World Cup? You'll have to stay tuned to find out - and why Gazza is our latest in...
Jun 24, 2018•21 min•Ep. 43
"Crais-y for books" This one is a literary ramble about novels, comic books, and in particular one series: The Elvis Cole and Joe Pike books by Robert Crais (although Bond and Batman obviously get a mention too). We also touch on the novels Armada and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and therefore end up in movie territory territory again. If you want to hear Andy threaten his marriage with comedy anecdotes - this one is for you. And why not talk about shelving solutions whilst we're at it. Yes ...
May 12, 2018•29 min•Ep. 42
A Quest For The Holy Grail. Join our band of merry knights as we set off in search of the world of Spamalot. Also at the Soldiers of Hell round table this week we discuss cult cinema and subject of The Disaster Artist: The Room. Will Spence get the beer he wants? And who is most deserving cult icon to join our chess set this episode? There's only one way to find out listeners...
May 07, 2018•22 min•Ep. 41
Andy + homebrew = Soldiers of Ale. Find out what happens as we review various beers, including the first ever one made by Andy himself. Then find out what happens when you try and make him play Just Dance on the Nintendo Wii when full of said beer. Join us for our beer based odyssey. This week's chess piece is Goose from Top Gun.
Mar 25, 2018•15 min•Ep. 40
