National Prison Radio’s Rock Show host James Phillips dies

A special episode of The Secret Life of Prisons podcast pays tribute National Prison Radio’s Rock Show host James Phillips, who has passed away after losing his battle with cancer.

James shared his journey with listeners after being diagnosed last year and presented his final show just weeks before his death.

James was in prison in 2014 when he first heard National Prison Radio’s Rock Show and decided he was going to become its next hos. He managed to get a transfer to HMP Coldingley, in Surrey; the prison where the show was based at the time.

While he was there, he met the Prison Radio Association’s Chris Impey, and ended up creating his own version of The Rock Show.

After his release, he moved back to his home in the north-west of England. He was contacted by the station to see if he wanted to host the show again.

James presented the show in a variety of invented locations – on an abandoned ship in the middle of the ocean; in the biscuit aisle at a supermarket; in front on an increasingly-fractious studio audience; in a mysterious hospital. He used sound effects and AI-generated voices to create entire stories that made this far more than just a music show.

As well as winning Gold the Best New Presenter at the ARIAS, James’ Rock Show also won gongs for Best Music Entertainment Show and Best Specialist Music Show in 2022 and 2023. And just a few weeks before he died, James won silver in the 2024 ARIAS for Best Music Entertainment Show. He was also shortlisted in the Creative Innovation category.

The special episode of The Secret Life of Prisons podcast sees presenters Phil and Paula joined by Rock Show producer Ollie and Scout Tzofiya Bolton – a paid-up member of the Rock Show Family while she was in prison, to talk about James’s work.

Listen to the podcast here.