Sandall was born on 9 June 1952 in
Pinner, Middlesex. In the late 1970s he was a singer and guitarist in London-based punk band Blunt Instrument, later known as London Zoo. He wrote for
Q,
Rolling Stone,
The Word and
GQ magazines. After a brief period at
The Daily Telegraph, in 1988 he became the rock critic for
The Sunday Times. From 1990 until 2007 he presented, with
Mark Russell,
BBC Radio 3's
Mixing It programme. After ending on Radio 3 the show moved to
Resonance FM in London, where it continued for a further two years under the name ''Where's the Skill in That?''. Sandall was presenter of the BBC's music programme
Late Junction, and contributed to
BBC Radio 4's
Front Row. He also worked at VH-1 UK on the
Take It To The Bridge show in 1995, co-presenting with Pip Dann. From 1996 to 2002, he was director of communications at
Virgin Records. ==Personal life==