Radio Moments - Clips

I worship Tony Blackburn. Now, there's really no need for split minute timecheck. But, as ever, he gets away with it. It's just. Well, it's just him. And the nation rightly adores him.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending Jan 29th 2016, as featured at the end of the week's Radio Today podcast.

I loved Week Ending (1970-1998) on beloved Radio 4. The weekly satirical sketch show in which often promising young writers, like Harry Hill and David Baddiel, and great impressionists and actors like David Jason, Jon Glover, Sally Grace, Alison Steadman and Tracey Ullman came together with their humorous take on the week’s news. Maybe it’s rose coloured spectacles, but the early days were lucky to coincide with a colourful political backdrop, with rich pickings for a show like this. For me, the Healey and Thatcher days were summed up brilliantly by this unique show. Having launched as part of a tranche of Radio 4 changes as the 70s dawned, many would agree that this father of Spitting Image was right to end in 1998. Enjoy here an episode from 1990, despatched kindly to me, amongst many other editions by Griff Griffith, just after the shock resignation of Margaret Thatcher

I loved Week Ending on beloved Radio 4 (1970-1998). The weekly satirical sketch show in which often promising young writers, like Harry Hill and David Baddiel, and great impressionists and actors like David Jason, Jon Glover, Sally Grace, Alison Steadman and Tracey Ullman came together with their humorous take on the week’s news. Maybe it’s rose coloured spectacles, but the early days were lucky to coincide with a colourful political backdrop, with rich pickings for a show like this. For me, the Healey and Thatcher days were summed up brilliantly by this unique show. Having launched as part of a tranche of Radio 4 changes as the 70s dawned, many would agree that this father of Spitting Image was right to end in 1998.

Radio is now pretty good in saying goodbye to its family. It knows that, for many listeners, presenters have become part of their family – and a fitting tribute is warranted. BBC Radio Lancashire’s Joe Fish, CMA International Broadcaster Of The Year 2008, died in January 2016. This is the programme devoted to his memory, in which listeners, colleagues and family showed their fondness and recognition. Joe had joined the Fire Service, aged 18, motivated by stories of being rescued by fireman as a baby from a house fire. 31 years of service followed, alongside a keen involvement in Country music and around forty years serving the genre’s radio.

A whole day snapshot of a confident Radio 1 in August 1990, kicking off with that five minute secret dawn montage of jingles. Turned a generation of paperboys into anoraks. Tough to believe that it wasn’t altogether that long ago when you could hear Lindisfarne kick off a day on the Nation’s Favourite. And a touch of Doris Day later. This line up saw Brambles, Mayo, Bates, Schofield, Davies, Wright, Goodier, Peel, Campbell and Harris. Huge energy; Jam jingles; production-intensive; ‘1FM news in touch with the Gulf Crisis’; ‘every oldie’s a baldie’; and Philip Schofield worrying about the DAT machine. Saved for posterity by an intrepid Neil Rudd.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending Jan 22nd 2016, as featured at the end of the week's Radio Today podcast.

Few breakfast shows hit the ten year mark. Christian O’Connell’s did, on 23rd January 2016. The previous day, which was a Friday, he and his team were in celebratory and nostalgic mood. Blog http://davidlloyd-radio.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/congratulations-oc.html

Another station joins the Capital stable, as the brand arrives on the ex-Juice station on 18th Jan 2016, purchased from UTV. The Network is now twelve stations.

The convergence of the AM networks across the UK is a complex tale. Each of the original commercial stations, compelled by the regulator to do something more useful on their AM frequencies, generally chose to launch oldies stations of various flavours. Individual names like Supergold, WGMS, Brunel and GEM.AM gradually evolved into a mighty GWR network of Classic Gold stations, which was nothing to do with the original Yorkshire Radio Network ‘Classic Gold’ station. Meanwhile, At that time, Bauer were merrily amalgamating their AM stations into a Magic AM network, which was nothing to do with the London soft AC of the same name. Capital was assembling its own Capital Gold network too, comprising all its AM offerings such as Xtra-AM, WABC and South Coast Radio. Come August 2007, with GWR and Capital merged into GCap, their two AM networks Gold and Classic Gold became simply Gold. With the new name came programme changes, and here David ‘Kid’ Jensen hosts his last morning show after five year in the slot and prepares to begin the breakfast show. As a sunny day comes to an end, he generously pays tribute too to his colleagues who won’t be part of the new plans. Not sure if he took his competition with him. The single 'Gold' launched at 7 pm on 3rd August 2007, as the stations joined the sustaining service which was to be itself.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending Jan 15th 2016, as featured at the end of the week's Radio Today podcast.

“I’m happy and pleased with life” A relaxed David Bowie – in an insightful interview with Andy Peebles for Radio 1, recorded in New York on 5 Dec 1980 and broadcast the following January – 35 years ago. “I would never want to be a banner waver for any particular cause” (Archive audio collected by Richard White)

Teddy Wakelam was behind the mic for the first ever rugby commentary on BBC radio -and indeed the first example of any commentary - in January 1927. He’d played rugby for Harlequin F.C. and become its captain. Teddy was well-rehearsed, thanks to having conducted a schools match commentary as a trial. He was described as "a natural talker with a reasonable vocabulary, a good rugby mind and a conscious determination to avoid journalese". Lessons learnt from the first successful rugby commentary, the first football commentary followed just a week later. This example is a mock up, but staged by the original crew,

Steve Wright, I suspect, is not the only disc jockey who fancies playing favourite old jingles of another radio station on his show and singing along with them. Here is, with Radio Luxembourg jingles in all their glory on BBC Radio 2 as he, together with Tony Prince, Kid Jensen and Pete Murray, reminisce about Fabulous 208, a station which played a huge part in all their lives. Broadcast 30th July 2008

The voice of this Devon boy was to become the voice of childhood for a generation. Ed Stewart began his radio career in Hong Kong, before moving to the most ‘professional’ of the pirate stations, Radio London, in 1965. His voice was heard as the station closed famously and tearfully in 67. Like many of the best pirates, he was signed up to Radio 1, hosting such modern shows as ‘Happening Sunday’ & ‘What’s New’. Then, in 1968, he grabbed ‘Junior Choice’ from Leslie Crowther and began a twelve year stint. It became famous for its theme tune Morningtown Ride, dedications sent it on wobbly bits of tape, and little Michael cheekily shouting ‘ello darling. As the eighties began, Ed moved to Radio 2, for Family Favourites and weekday afternoons until 1983. He was heard on Radio Mercury for a couple of years, before returning to Radio 2 and indeed to afternoons. After a spell on Sunday evenings, he waved farewell in 2006. He was a well-known TV face on Crackerjack - and was famously the male voice at the end of Lynsey de Paul's silky 70s hit 'Won't somebody dance with me'. Ed died in January 2016. His last programme was broadcast live - just days before - on Christmas Day 2015. In a piece of inspired scheduling, Ed revived ‘Junior Choice’ to remind us grown-ups of Christmases past, playing all the favourites from Nellie the Elephant to Sparky’s Magic Piano. His closing song was, fittingly, the vocal version of his theme, which he felt able to join in with. I think every disc jockey would like to carefully craft their final show, their last song and their last words. Ed almost seemed to. "I'll be with you - whenever".

As this conversation confirms, the thought of ‘Woman’s Hour’ as a programme title would likely be unthinkable nowadays, but the BBC has wisely stuck with it since it launched on 7th October 1946. Why was the first presenter a man – Alan Ivimey? Why did WH move to mornings? How have the changes in women’s lives been reflected over the years? In this special New Year edition of the programme, Jenni Murray chews over the last seventy years of a programme which began on the Light Programme, then on Radio 2 before moving to Radio 4 in 1973. Jenni speaks to two former editors, Sally Feldman (1990-1997) & Jill Burridge (2002- Nov 2011); and two historians, Juliet Gardiner and Kate Murphy who also produced the show for over a decade until 2011.

Bob Hopton was famously the programmer who brought Les Ross back to Birmingham to front what became its defining breakfast show. Bob was a pioneer in the early days of UK commercial radio, when the industry was full of real characters. He launched Radio Tees in 1975 after a spell at the BBC. Here, he’s in conversation with John Foster on BBC Tees. (Audio courtesy of of John)

This is delicious. Heard again of late as part of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of BBC Radio 4’s ‘World at One’ or WATO as it’s become known. James Naughtie bagged an interview with Neil Kinnock, then Labour Party leader, just before the programme went to air in May 1989. Neil, now Lord, Kinnock was a little tetchy at the time, having arrived hotfoot from an NEC meeting – an experience he confessed amounted to ‘sitting on a cactus in my swimming trunks’. At the end of his tether, Neil explodes on a persistent Naughtie question. The exchange was never broadcast at the time, but was retained – and leaked. Later here, the two are reunited and - with mutual good nature and respect - enjoy recollections of the day.

This audio will forever sound great. Alan Freeman on his final Radio 1 ‘Pick of the Pops’ show in 1992. "Oh, yes - and his tears were falling. All right?" He’d arrived at the BBC via the Light Programme in 1960, presenting the brilliantly-titled ‘Records Around Five’ show. The programme was to call upon the tune which became his trademark: "At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal", although it took some years even for Fluff to choose to hit the posts with utter perfection. By late 1961, Pick of the Pops had been installed as part of a Saturday evening show called Trad Tavern, becoming a show in its own right by 1962. By 72, Fluff had become part of Radio 1’s daytime roster. Alan left for BBC to work for Capital, returning to Radio 1 in January 1989 and restoring Pick of the Pops to its former glory until this final edition on 27 December 1992. Both the show and Fluff were to return to Radio 2 five years later. (Thanks to Richard White (@RMWhite21) for sending on the audio)

A farewell - and tribute - to just some of radio's cast who bowed in 2015. Sandy Chalmers - BBC Broadcaster, producer and manager. Richie Benaud - Former Australian cricketer who became a highly regarded commentator. Ian McDougall - Former BBC foreign correspondent. Gary Owens - American radio presenter and voice actor. Shaw Taylor - TV and radio presenter. Derek Chinnery - Controller of BBC Radio 1 from 1979 to 1985. Jean-Louis Cremieux-Brilhac Monitored all radio broadcasts from occupied France and responsible for sending information to the resistance movements. Colin Bloomfield - BBC local radio sports commentator. Susan Sheridan - Actress and voice artist. Her voice acting roles included Trillian in the BBC radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Peter Donaldson - BBC Chief Announcer. Richard Wheatly - Jazz FM CEO and executive chairman of The Local Radio Company Mike Allen - Capital Radio and hip-hop DJ; also on Talk Radio, LBC and Smooth. Emily Bull - KLFM journalist and IRN newsreader of the year. Kathy Secker - North East BBC local radio legend. Bob Hopton - BBC Radio 2; Radio Tees ; and the programmer who brought Les Ross to BRMB.

When Lisa Snowdon began on Capital Radio London’s breakfast show, its name had a swallowed T. She began in 2008, alongside Johnny Vaughan on the departure of Denise van Outen. Later, her partnership was with Dave Berry until this Friday’s edition in December 2015, after seven and a half years.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending December 18th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's Radio Today podcast.

Calm, measured, looking around with care for the next word under the settee, James Naughtie has been part of Radio 4’s Today programme for 21years. Enjoy here an unfairly telescoped edition of a programme which should never be thus edited. This last programme from Jim in December 2015 affords, nevertheless, a wonderful insight into the man referred to by BBC director general Tony Hall as "the emotional heart of Today for a generation". All the usual features are in evidence, including a quote from the Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder; an errant timecheck; and the line going down as he chats with John Major. The former PM is summoned back by phone and one imagines the production staff insisting that he really must return lest he issue some much deserved words of thanks from the Nation to Mister Naughtie. He doesn't disappoint. There’s mischief too: an interview about a favourite road; a few best bits; some delicious devil’s advocacy on James’s performance from John; and, well, in the words of John "on last programmes, all normal rules are suspended". And a gulp at the end. Under the Alice Arnold rules, Radio 4 presenters are only ever allowed to show emotion in their last ever sentence. And he did. James, you served radio proud. We'll miss you in the mornings,

Not too many commercial jocks get a chance to appear on Radio 1 or 2, so when word got out that our boyish Wes Butters from Galaxy was to transfer to Britain’s Favourite, it was quite a coup. He was maybe an unlikely choice for the straight chart format, I thought, given his entertaining intelligence, but what do I know. Having said that, he held fort for an impressive two years - and just revel in this incredible Christmas edition from 21st December 2003. Superbly produced and brilliantly delivered. It’s good too that Wes has since been heard on 4 Extra, thanks to his fascination with some early radio character comedy, and on BBC Local Radio. Audio courtesy Richard White

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending December 11th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

Sunshine Radio launched across Herefordshire and Monmouthshire on 14th December 2007.

Broadland was one of the second generation of commercial stations, launching in 84 and powering into Norfolk, attaining a simply huge audience reach. Enjoy it here in 88 and 89, with a suitably relaxed and polished offering as befitted the area, the station and the time. Enjoy the local ads with long-forgotten car models, and the halcyon days where if you got the wrong number of contestants on-air for a quiz, it mattered not. Witness the lovely 'start the day' moment absent from 24 hour stations nowadays, another chance to clean the slate and start again. Hear too mention of the lovely John Warwick , a station stalwart, alas no longer with us. Broadland became Heart in 2009, later merging with what was Radio Orwell, to become Heart East Anglia.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending December 4th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

In assembling an indulgent ‘documentary’ on the first ten years of Nottingham’s Radio Trent in 1985, I naturally interviewed some of the people involved. Clips appear in the finished programme (to be found elsewhere on this channel). Here, though, savour my appalling interview technique at the time as I sought to persuade the then Deputy Programme Controller, Len Groat to afford me some appropriate sound bites. It’s very much a conversation of a time and a place. Days when holiday rotas were printed on bits of paper; and the highlight of the week for a head of music was ‘opening the records’ that arrived in the post that day. Len was very much one of the characters of the first age of commercial radio, hopping across Metro and Piccadilly to Trent. Known for his love of jingles and his pretty firm views on most things, Len was a key architect in the building of the ‘Trent sound’ which served the station well for its generation.

Promos used to be a little more, well, spontaneous years ago. Many of us did not worry too much about what the objective was – we just had fun under the umbrella of ‘image’ promos. Here’s a 1982 relic from Radio Trent in Nottingham. Assembled by my laying down one layer of me and a bit of laughter and handing the 10 and a half inch spool to a colleague who laid down another layer and passed it on. Thus this multi-layered epic was created, losing audio quality on each dub. Trent only had one proper multi-track machine, and that was sensibly locked away in comprod.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending November 27th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending November 21st 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

1978 saw stations packing their trunks and moving homes up and down the band, both commercial and BBC. My good friends at Trent quietly moved 1kHz from 998 to 999 AM – as the separation between channels became a neat 9 kHz - but other changes, not least at the BBC, were more substantial. On 23th November 1978. Radio 2 waved farewell to Long Wave, making way for Radio 4. 693 and 909 kHz became Radio 2; and Radio 1 moved off its old 247 wavelength – over to 275 and 285; leaving 247 for poor old Radio 3. I use wavelengths, rather than frequencies, in the latter clause as the digits are but so familiar, thanks to generations of jingles. The UK was also given 227 kHz, but did not rush into using it. I recall during my time at the Radio Authority, the regulator debated, rather quickly, whether to bother. The frequency changes were a major project. The BBC plonked little stickers through the doors of all households. Indeed, some lucky old radio sets may still have them on. Enjoy here a beautifully cynical view of the whole thing from John Holmstrom on Radio 3 as it looked forward to a new home on Radio 1's former home at 247.

The old days on commercial radio were just about perfect, so some say. Listening back though, one wonders whether the output of some stations would still have commanded such impressive audiences, had there been anything else decent on FM to choose from. Judge for yourself, with this delicious unintentionally hilarious extreme example of the daytime phone fare offered by Plymouth Sound in its early days. A lengthy swap shop, from the days when one gave out one’s phone number on air, delivers a list of things to be swapped from desperate callers. Whether any listener ever on any radio station managed to get exactly what they wanted in exchange for something they didn’t want, we shall never know. And I just wonder whether the woman calling ‘Mr (David) Bassett’ for a ‘grumble’ about ‘jumble’ was Margaret Thatcher. Certainly sounded that way.

The early commercial stations were very individual. Some pounded on the air to claim their rightful territory with the confidence and slickness of the pirates, others teetered into existence with programmes that must have made the IBA’s heart warm. Enjoy here the questionable preview moments from Plymouth Sound

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending November 13th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

A rare example of someone who works well on both TV and radio, Chris Tarrant stayed at the top of his game in London for generations, and helped to shape the success of the Capital business for a considerable time. He was arguably a listener’s broadcaster as opposed to an anorak’s favourite, evidence of which is the lack of much enthusiastically-stored archive material. The Midlands was close to his heart, from his Tiswas days – and from his time as a teacher before radio beckoned. Enjoy here some great reminiscences of his life in a return to his old stomping ground as he hosted a 45th anniversary programme on BBC WM

Ofcom’s ‘Approved areas’, seemingly assembled randomly one wine-fuelled night, meant that stations were able to vacate expensive premises and choose to co-habit. That left old sets of studios either to be attacked by sledgehammers wielded by property developers, or preserved lest they ever be needed again in times of crisis. The latter was the case for GWR’s network centre, which was fortunate when, one day in November 2015, Chris Moyles sought to broadcast from Bristol. Enjoy here the early moments of that show as he picked up the mic in the Marie Celeste.

Johnnie Walker grabbed his early breaths in Birmingham and it was there too that he went on to spin his first discs and develop his love of music. He was less fortunate as he went on to miss out on a local DJ contest, with some random called Les Ross faring rather better. It didn’t seem to hold Johnnie back. As the BBC celebrated 45 years of broadcasting in Birmingham via BBC WM and its predecessor BBC Radio Birmingham, it invited Johnnie and a series of local legends to host shows. Relish this three hour telescoped programme as Johnnie relates his own stories of his life, radio and music. It also just happens to be immaculate broadcasting and perfect storytelling.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending November 6th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today

I adore Eddie Mair. There. The love affair is public. I just shake my head in wondrous disbelief as he allows radio to be the best it can. The pauses. The short, barbed questions: those daggers covered in cotton wool. The deadpan retorts. The potent questions masquerading as statements. The politeness coated with innocent acid. And - the gifted, gifted teasers at the outset. I could go on. He is a master; and yet maybe not yet recognised sufficiently for his brilliance. I once sat in the car at a lonely filling station on the cold moors of the M62, unable to get out of the car during one of his interviews which had turned into art. Admittedly over a glass of wine, I wrote lovingly to say as much; and Eddie took the trouble to reply. The show for which he is now rightly famous is PM. But it has not always been like that. PM began in 1970, following the 'Broadcasting in the 70s' report which paved the way for the BBC radio services to carve out their own sovereign states. As you can hear on this Boo: William Hardcastle and Derek Cooper heralded a programme which "sums up the day and your evening starts here". It did have a twiddly-pom signature tune, thanks to the Radiophonic workshop. This later gave way to an orchestral piece; and I often dreamed of co-hosting that very show with Valerie Singleton, voicing up to the Da-da-da-da-dah-dah-dah. It was never to happen. Not that she's dead, you understand. She just doesn't care about me. There is no theme now; save for pip pip peep. But Eddie's powerfully-chosen words are better than the best orchestra in the world; or even any fine piece from the delectable Delia Derbyshire. The last sig seemed wrong when the programme covered the death of Princess Diana; and has never since seemed right. PM is the BBC at its best.

Another fond look back to this week in radio history, for the week ending October 30th 2015, as heard at the end of the week's RadioTalk podcast from Radio Today