John Kelly's Mystery Train to be longer and later

John Kelly's Mystery Train has always been essential listening but now that it's half-an-hour longer and not clashing with Coronation Street, well, there's no going out in the evenings.

"The later 8.30pm start is great because it gives people time to get home, eat and settle down for what we modestly believe is 90 minutes of the finest music you can hear on the radio," enthuses producer Paul Russell.

Subscribing to the "If it ain't broke, just fine tune-it" philosophy, Russell has assisted in the bringing in of some new features.

"There's The First Time which is people talking about how they lost their musical virginity – Jerry Fish went for T Rex 'Life's A Gas' and actor Simon Delaney chose Frank Sinatra 'The Summer Wind' – and Free Your Mind & Your Ass Will Follo…w, a musical wildcard taking in everything from the birth of the blues to Beyoncé. It's a bit of fun that's gone down brilliantly with listeners."

Also benefiting from the extra 30 minutes airtime are bands like Pugwash and Saville who've both recorded sessions for the show.

"We're dropping them in song by song, so the exposure artists get isn't confined to one night," Russell continues. "An interesting bi-product of the show being on later is that John's around the building at the same time as Rick O'Shea, Jenny Huston and Dan Hegarty who've adopted himas their ever-so-slightly older brother. There's a brilliant rapport and lots of CD swapping!"