Oxford News
90s music legend ‘struggling’ as chronic condition revealed
That’s exactly the cost to Groove Armada’s Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, the electronic music duo who achieved massive success with dance hits including Superstylin’ and I See You Baby.
Although 30 years of subjecting their ears to extremely loud music has damaged both men’s hearing, they’re re still regularly performing DJ sets at gigs and festivals throughout the UK and internationally to thousands of new and old fans.
But the difference these days is that their hearing is protected during the gigs, and while Findlay, 53, now wears hearing aids to bolster his damaged hearing,
Cato, also 53 and operates a farm on the Oxfordshire-Wiltshire border, has to endure the incessant ringing in the ears caused by tinnitus.
Findlay says: “I knew I had chronic hearing loss – I was often having to ask people to repeat stuff, and almost tuning out of conversations, particularly in environments where there was a lot of background noise or reverberation. I was really struggling to pick things up.
“I’ve probably been struggling with problematic hearing loss since my late 30s to early 40s. So I knew it was there, and I was slightly in denial.”
But he eventually had a hearing test about 18 months ago, and has been wearing hearing aids when necessary since then.
“Wearing hearing aids seems like something people feel a bit of stigma about, and it’d be good to take that out of it because it’s been transformative for me.” he admits.
But why does he think there’s so much stigma around wearing hearing aids?
“It’s associated with ageing, and we’re all a bit uncomfortable about that,” he observes. “It’s about a sense of frailty – there’s some discomfort about that in a way that’s quite different from the way we feel about glasses.
“Glasses can be a sexy accessory, can’t they? But hearing aids definitely aren’t.
“We’re all wearing earpods now most of the time, so they just look like that. And while I used to put off social situations where I knew I’d struggle, I don’t do that any more, and that’s great – it gives you a lot more confidence.”
It’s a slightly different story for Cato and his tinnitus, and he says: “I think you have to live with it, so the ideal thing would be to stop it in the first place.”
He explains that when they’re DJing, he and Findlay stand between two huge sets of speakers that are separate to the main speakers in the club or on the festival stage.
In the early days of their career, he recalls: “We’d come out of clubs and it would be funny that we could stand outside the door and not be able to hear each other.”
Findlay says in those days they gave no thought to any damage the excessive noise may have been doing to their hearing. But eventually they started wearing in-ear monitors, and then hearing protection.
“Now, when we DJ, we both wear hearing protection, which is essentially filtering out the real low-end frequencies which do a lot of the damage that don’t necessarily add to your experience massively,” he says.
“You just don’t get that real thudding stuff, and that means when we’ve done a gig, we don’t leave with our ears ringing.”
“I do!” interjects Cato, referring to the ringing of his tinnitus.
“Well, Andy does,” says Findlay with a chuckle. “I don’t.
“So we’re doing some damage, but a lot less damage than we would have done before. If we’re going to prolong our careers, protecting our hearing is going to be a necessity for us.”
The pair are hoping to help start more discussions about hearing loss, protecting hearing and reducing the stigma of wearing hearing aids, and they’ve teamed up with Specsavers to encourage over-50s to take a quick online hearing test which will give them the chance to get on ‘The Testlist’ to secure tickets for exclusive music events. Groove Armada will headline the inaugural Testlist event at London’s Phonox on October 15.
The duo, who formed Groove Armada in 1996, are squeezing the performance in among upcoming tour dates in the UK, Spain, Ibiza and the US, and Cato says: “We’ve got an incredibly busy summer yet again – it’s an amazing privilege to be still doing this 30 years later.”
And although many of their original fans are from the Nineties rave generation, younger people are also loving their music – Cato says the average age of their last gig was about 20.
“It was absolutely wild energy – amazing,” he says. “We’re playing music made last week, and it still feels really vibey.”
But despite such a packed touring schedule, both men have secondary careers too. Cato owns a farm in France and rents a National Trust farm in Oxfordshire, using regenerative farming methods, and he’s the co-founder of Wildfarmed, a sustainable food and farming business.
It is a 729-acre National trust plot on the Buscot and Coleshill estate.
“It’s very, very full on,” he says. “The nub of it is that we farm in a way which can make us far more resilient to droughts and floods, and that will massively help nature recovery.”
The farming focuses on wheat, oats and barley, and Cato says: “I’ve definitely got a pretty endless supply of excellent bread, and I’ve got a little veg patch in the garden of the farm – although it’s getting a bit neglected.
“When you combine our gig and harvest schedule with drought, it gets a little bit tricky to keep those leaves going.”
Findlay has also found his own “side hustle” has had to take more of a back seat because Groove Armada is still so popular. After an extended period of depression around 2010, he had cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which helped him so much he decided to become a therapist himself.
“Probably for a lot of it [the depression] I didn’t even know that’s what I was experiencing because I don’t think we were having the conversations openly around mental health at that time that we are, thankfully, now.”
He worked in the NHS as a counsellor, and then at King’s College London, but he’s just decided to leave there, and explains: “I partly trained because I thought all these gigs were going to come to an end and I thought I needed a side hustle, but the gigs have been better than ever and people keep coming. So I’m going to carry on counselling but in a voluntary capacity.
“It’s quite hard when you’re trying to combine that with making tunes and gigs. I just never felt like I had any downtime. But I’ve loved doing it – it’s an amazing thing to share experiences with people and help them make important changes in their life.”
And as well as loving being a therapist, Findlay says the training helped him personally too, explaining: “Now I occasionally get moments where I don’t feel great, but I’m able to self-correct and find ways of thinking and ways of behaving that are really helpful.”
For a chance of getting free tickets to Groove Armada’s set at London’s Phonox on October 15, take the over-50s online hearing screener and get your name on The Testlist by September 13.
Michael, spent most of his life in care. However, after he returned home from university his relationship broke down with his foster parents – forcing him into sofa surfing and eventually on to the streets.
After a few months, he got in contact with Centrepoint, who were able to place him into accommodation and help him find a job. It was here that Michael started working at The Co-operative Bank, through it’s Brick by Brick scheme, and he hasn’t looked back since.
He said: “Over two years I applied for 400 jobs. It was demoralising because I really wanted to work but couldn’t as employers would either say I was too experienced or not experienced enough.
“Thankfully, Centrepoint and The Co-operative Bank were able to support me into this job now and I love it. Everyone’s friendly and supportive and it’s given me a purpose, as opposed to just existing.”
Brick by Brick, launched earlier this year, is a pioneering early careers programme, designed to support young people into sustainable work and move on from homelessness for good.
It provides a steady, structured journey starting with employability workshops, and then progressing to the Get Set Go Programme which provides six days classroom learning, mock interviews, professional behaviour guidance, and an introduction to the Bank’s values.
After this, a young person will then complete work experience at the Bank which, if successful, is followed by an employment offer, removing the pressure of formal interviews. The program ends with an optional apprenticeship and keep in touch days, designed to improve preparedness between a job offer and start date.
The initiative has had 35 young people participating in various steps so far with several securing permanent employment in the Bank’s Contact Centre.
Michael is one of these, and discussing the skills it has given him, he said: “Communication, multitasking, timekeeping, but most importantly, confidence.
“I’ve gone from thinking ‘Why would a company want me’ to now thinking ‘Why wouldn’t they’.”
With over one million young people currently not in education or employment, Brick by Brick is reshaping conversations about homelessness by refusing to define young people by their experiences, instead investing in their potential and honouring their needs.
“By meeting young people where they’re at, we can close the opportunity gap that holds too many back from reaching their potential,” said Anna Cuskin, the Bank’s Social Impact Lead. “Everyone deserves the chance to succeed. With the right support, young people can gain confidence, find meaningful employment and build a future beyond homelessness.”
HMO has given me ‘sense of purpose’ says man at risk of homelessness
A man who was at risk of homelessness has told us how a new home gave him a ‘sense of purpose.’
Kai, 22, was living with his dad before overcrowding at home forced him to find somewhere else to live, he said: “It was a really worrying time. I didn’t know where to go or who to turn to.”
Fortunately, Kai was able to get in contact with Centrepoint where through the Rent Deposits Scheme, funded by Nationwide Building Society, he was able to find a place in a House In Multiple Occupation (HMO).
“It’s given me the stability to rebuild my life and slowly I’m getting back on track.
“One day I’d like to live in a house of my own, by a river, on my own plot of land, and do what I want with it.
“That’s my dream and I feel like if I keep sticking at it, I’ll be able to eventually achieve it.”
However, young people in Kai’s situation may not be so fortunate – research by Centrepoint has found there has been a 10% fall in HMOs since 2019, with 458,000 in 24/25 compared to 510, 776 in 19/20.
When asked if he had any advice for young people going through something similar, Kai said: “Don’t give up. It might be hard, but right now, your best bet is to keep pushing forward and look for any form of help where you possibly can. Just keep going.”
PM’s pledge to end rough sleeping gets early boost
The Prime Minister’s pledge to end rough sleeping has been given an early boost after the number of young people sleeping rough in London dropped by almost half.
Between April and June 2026, 202 18–25-year-olds in London were recorded as sleeping rough. This was a 45% decrease from the same quarter last year when 368 young people were reported.
The youth homelessness charity Centrepoint said this was cause for celebration and called the number proof that the Prime Minister’s pledge could be achieved.
Lisa Doyle, the charity’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “London is providing the blueprint for what can be achieved when political leaders has the vision and intent to end street homelessness.
“These figures are a real cause for celebration, but the job is not done. The Mayor of London and the Government must continue these efforts until rough sleeping is reduced to as close to zero as possible, and anyone forced onto the streets is helped off them quickly.
However, the charity warned that ending street sleeping alone is not enough. “We must also remember that homelessness does not begin and end with rough sleeping.” Lisa said, “For every person on the streets, many thousands more are living in insecure or unsafe situations. To avoid reversing this positive trend, the Government must now also address the causes and consequences of those experiences too, and step up efforts to prevent homelessness.”
Months of heat ‘life threatening’ for homeless people says charity
A charity has warned that homeless people’s lives are ‘at risk’ due to the past few months of high temperatures.
It comes after August saw another flurry of heatwaves – regularly rising over 30 degrees across the country. The UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, believes council should do more to protect those sleeping rough when it’s this hot.
Lisa Doyle, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “This weather is life threatening for those forced to sleep on the streets.
“And while many councils do activate protocols to protect those sleeping rough, there is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide shelter for everyone during severe weather. This must change.”
“Ultimately, street homelessness is just the tip of the iceberg – the best way to keep people safe is to reduce homelessness however it is experienced.”
Illegal TV Fire Sticks and/or ‘dodgy boxes’ are streaming devices that have third-party software installed in them.
The software allows users to watch premium content from providers such as Sky, TNT Sport, Disney+ and Netflix for free.
The use of these devices is a “serious crime”, and police forces across the UK and Ireland, as well as organisations including Crimestoppers and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), have been attempting to stamp them out.
Man jailed for 6 years for sale of illegal streaming service
Milan Ibrahim, 68, of Chorley, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, August 27, after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Preston Crown Court.
He made nearly £1 million (£980,812) over three years by selling illegal IPTV services that gave customers unauthorised access to premium television content.
His business, which operated from 80 servers, redistributed broadcasts from major rights holders, including:
- BBC
- ITV
- Sky
- Premier League
- Motion Pictures Association
The content was converted into IPTV-friendly formats and sold as subscriptions to customers in the UK and abroad.
Investigation officer at the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police, Emma Slater, said: “It is important that PIPCU pursues criminals who seek to profit from the supply of illegal IPTV services.
“These offenders show complete disregard for rights holders and the actors, creative artists, technical specialists, and support staff involved in producing the content they unlawfully distribute.”
Ms Slater said illegal IPTV is not a victimless crime and that the financial harm caused by these services impacts the entire creative industry.
She said: “PIPCU will continue to pursue those involved in the provision of illegal IPTV services, both in the UK and internationally.
“We work closely with industry partners and law enforcement agencies around the world to identify, disrupt, and prosecute offenders.”
All 80 servers were seized and shut down during enforcement action, disrupting the illegal service.
Ibrahim will now face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover his criminal earnings.
Director of Legal- Enforcement at the Premier League, Stefan Sergot, said: “This is a significant outcome against one of the UK’s most prominent and long-standing suppliers of pirate services.
“Milan Ibrahim repeatedly sold content belonging to the Premier League and other rights holders for his own financial gain.
“His sentence reflects the seriousness of his offending and sends a clear message that those who profit from piracy will ultimately be held accountable.”
Users of illegal streaming devices warned they face “serious consequences”
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has warned others using or supplying illegal streaming devices/service that they face “serious consequences”.
Investigations manager at FACT, Nick Sumner, said: “Illegal streaming services undermine the broadcasters and rights holders that invest in creating and distributing that content.
“This outcome sends a clear message: running an illegal streaming service is a criminal offence with serious consequences.”
Sky issues new warning on illegal streaming devices as Premier League season begins https://t.co/t1jGBkJkat
— Irvine Times (@irvinetimes) August 26, 2026
Head of business and legal affairs, IP protection at BBC Studios, Diane Hamer, said piracy has real-world impacts.
She explained: “Piracy is not a victimless crime.
“Those responsible contribute nothing to the creation or broadcast of television programmes.
“Their actions not only deprive the UK’s creative industries of vital revenue, impacting creators, businesses, and professionals who rely on the protection of intellectual property rights, but also impacts licence fee payers.
“This conviction sends a clear message that such activity has real consequences.”
The dangers of using illegal streaming devices
“Illegal streaming services are increasingly operated by sophisticated criminal networks, often involved in other types of crime,” BeStreamWise explained.
Meaning those who use illegal streaming devices run the risk of “letting criminals in”, resulting in:
- Viruses and malware
- ID theft, scams, and fraud
- Inappropriate content
Around 39% of illegal streamers in the UK have suffered financial losses due to cybercrime linked to piracy, according to BeStreamWise.
The average amount stolen through illegal streaming is £1,680, while one in ten have lost more than £5,000.
What is the penalty if caught with a ‘dodgy’ Fire TV Stick?
Not only can the use of illegal streaming devices leave users open to ID theft, fraud, and viruses, but it can also result in fines and jail time.
Those caught using or selling a ‘dodgy’ fire stick/box and streaming premium content without paying are in breach of Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006.
It says a person will be in breach if they obtain services “without any payment having been made for or in respect of them or without payment having been made in full”.
A person found guilty of this kind of offence could be fined or face a jail sentence of around five years.
Have you ever used an illegal streaming device? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.
The broadcaster confirmed last week that the popular show will return to TV four years after it was put on pause when co-host Andrew Flintoff was injured in a crash during filming.
The long-running motoring programme launched former presenter Jeremy Clarkson into his current status of stardom, hosting him first as a slot presenter and then as the face of the programme in the 2000s, alongside co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.
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The trio were replaced by broadcaster Chris Evans and Friends star Matt LeBlanc in 2015, before Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris took over in 2018.
But it was put on hold indefinitely when former cricketeer Flintoff suffered serious facial and rib injuries after being dragged face-down under an open-topped, three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 car for about 50metres at the show’s test track in December 2022.
The BBC apologised and paid compensation to Flintoff after the accident.
Now, the broadcaster has confirmed the show will return, and although the line-up for the comeback has not been announced, some famous faces have been named the bookies’ favourites.
William Hill’s betting said comedian Jimmy Carr and former England rugby star Joe Marler are the two favourites to get behind the wheel as the new show’s hosts.
Carr is the even-money favourite to become one of the new presenters, following reports linking the comedian and known car enthusiast with the role, while Marler is next in the betting at 6/4, with his profile having risen considerably since his appearance on The Celebrity Traitors.
Jodie Kidd is the only other candidate priced in single figures at 4/1, with the model and motoring presenter having previously appeared on Top Gear.
Gordon Ramsay (10/1) is the next best-backed name, while Rowan Atkinson, John Bishop, Bernie Collins, Naomi Schiff and Jamie Chadwick are all 16/1.
Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “The BBC may be keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to the new Top Gear line-up, but the betting already has a couple of clear favourites.
“Jimmy Carr is the obvious frontrunner at even-money, particularly given the reports linking him with the role and his previous appearance on the show, while Joe Marler at 6/4 would certainly bring a very different flavour to the driving seat.
Jodie Kidd is also an interesting contender at 4/1 given her experience in motoring television, while there’s no shortage of big names further down the market, from Gordon Ramsay and Rowan Atkinson to John Bishop and Jamie Chadwick.”
The BBC’s director of entertainment Ed Havard broke the news at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday, August 27, confirming the that ‘Top Gear is coming back’ but refusing to discuss potential hosts.
He said more information will be coming ‘shortly’.
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