Many happy returns. Okay, so Radio 3 isn't my thing, but I've never known a time without some reliance on the other 3 stations.
I'm just spending 2 very happy hours with Radio 1 reliving the Sunday night Annie Nightingale and Annie Mac doing the Sunday request show.
Every Sunday I'd be at my desk (no change there then) doing homework to the request show. I even had the Cure's Lullaby played for me in 1989 - I think it was the first play of the single.
Of course, no mention of Radio 1 would be complete without a mention of the much loved and still much missed John Peel. Many nights of listening to his shows, not liking a lot of the music but being introduced to so much great music by the great man.
The station just seems lessened by his absence. Of course, his legacy is maintained by a host of online sites, my fave being John Peel Everyday.
Happy Birthday. BBC Radio is such an important piece of British culture. The license fee is worth it just for these 4 stations alone.
Oh, how I remember when Radio 1 was must-listen material so all the kids knew what was happening in music, how exciting it was to catch a Roadshow, how great the Peel Sessions were (even a friend of mine from Germany used to tune into those via the British Forces Network). Not like today, damned if I can remember when I last listened to Radio 1. These days Radio 6 is more the biz for me, nice mix of new and old stuff - Gideon Coe's show has brought new bands to my attention in the morning via his live Hub Sessions.
ReplyDeleteRadio Four I still check out, especially for the comedy (Iannucci's Charm Offensive just finished a good run and Just a Minute still makes me laugh) and some factual programming (Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time is bloody fascinating and any station that gives air time to Bettany Hughes - the thinking man's hottie - has to be good in my book).
And although it isn't your favourite I do like Radio 3. Their lunchtime concerts often perk me up at work as I get the mid-day sag. A series of Bach live concerts really lifted me the other week; transcendental music, reminded me of the opera record scene in the Shawshank Redemption where beautiful music even in an everyday setting can just cut through everything for a few moments, like standing in a bright shaft of sunlight after being under gray clouds. And 3 does some very cool jazz at the weekend too.
Despite moans about the license fee in a multi-channel world when I think on what I get to listen to (and all that classic comedy on Radio 7 too, Goons galore!) with no bloody ads and factor in major shows like Attenborough series on the TV I have to admit it is worth it. (also worth it just to make sure not all TV goes Murdoch).
Hmmm, you realise this makes Radio 1 just a few months younger than I am? The 40 looms at the very end of the year... One day you are an excited teen dancing at the Radio 1 Roadshow in Morecambe Bay, the next you and the station are hitting 40... What happened????