23 December 2023 23:00 BBC Radio 3 Late Junction

In this special festive edition of Late Junction, we hand over the musical reins to comedian and long-time listener Tom Allen. When not busy with comedy panel shows, hosting The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice or on tour with his award-winning standup, Tom is a keen appreciator of the weird and wonderful in music, and shares some of his sonic favourites with us alongside stories and cheer.

Drawn to things that are melancholic, maudlin or camp, he’s a big fan of renaissance choral music, sea shanties, traditional folk songs, and a new genre he’s coined ‘Medieval Emo’. A Late Junction listener from his early teenage years, he shares some tracks he discovered via the show, as well as other songs close to his heart from the likes of Thomas Tallis, Sufjan Stevens and Kate Bush.

Plus there’s an exclusive mixtape from the legendary jazz collective The Sun Ra Arkestra.