Over the past few months, in part to recognise the centenary of the BBC, I’ve been reflecting on a history of comedy at the Beeb – and in particular on shows during the past one hundred years that have poked fun at the Corporation itself. But whilst you may consider it to be a perverse … Continue reading The art of radio self-satire | Part 5…
Tag: Commercial Radio
100 memories: radio in the rear view mirror
So, 2022 was the centenary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (née Company). Have the celebrations marking events in 1922 passed by unduly quietly? In this article I'll mention a couple of contrasting views about radio broadcasting's first one hundred years. I've spent the last four decades in the industry, and like many of my generation … Continue reading 100 memories: radio in the rear view mirror
100 Years of Radio: When it all goes wrong – a broadcaster’s fear of failure
This article is part of a regular series of monthly features about the joys of radio. However, this edition brings details of a warning from the early days of British radio. It's from 1931, when the BBC's broadcast headquarters was a series of rooms on the upper floors of a back-street building down by the … Continue reading 100 Years of Radio: When it all goes wrong – a broadcaster’s fear of failure
100 Years of British Radio: Why do we love the pirates so much?
The BBC – and radio in Britain – is now celebrating its centenary. But almost from the start the official broadcasters: initially the BBC then later the commercial ILR companies fretted about competition from pirate stations. First there was home-made equipment in the 1930s, then in the 1960s we had the offshore pirates, and from … Continue reading 100 Years of British Radio: Why do we love the pirates so much?
Broadcasting into the void… (part three)
Parts 1 and 2 in this series of articles are about how the BBC appeared to spend the early part of last century not really knowing who was listening to the radio and why. You can read both parts here and here. In this episode Charlie Harper of the punk band the UK Subs rubs … Continue reading Broadcasting into the void… (part three)
Broadcasting into the void… (part one)
One reason why I like listening to the radio is that - more often than not - it’ll offer me something I’ve not heard before. That's particularly true in the realm of popular music. So, these are some notes from the archives – past echoes reverberating in these curious times. This article, and the one … Continue reading Broadcasting into the void… (part one)
Watching the radio: don’t touch that dial…
In this article I'd like to consider how the radio has been shown - re-presented, if you will - on TV. I've got a couple of old news reports about stations opening, some comedy about hospital radio, and a children's animated TV show that I find delightful. First, the launch of Classic FM in 1992. … Continue reading Watching the radio: don’t touch that dial…
Bad spelling and the trouble with truth…
John Dryden (1631-1700), England’s first poet laureate said, “Truth is the foundation of all knowledge, and the cement of all societies.” John Lloyd, an author and contributing editor to the Financial Times writing in the Summer 2020 edition of Index on Censorship, said, A search for the facts which govern our lives has always meant … Continue reading Bad spelling and the trouble with truth…
10 things the pandemic makes you nostalgic for…
...pictures of old radios, valve sets, transistors radios and even more. I'll come to them in a moment, but first consider this. There's something compelling about taking refuge in the past, especially when memories can appear to offer more emotional comfort than the often alarming and worrying news headlines of the present day. I'm writing … Continue reading 10 things the pandemic makes you nostalgic for…
10 things we did in the 2020 lockdown…
This article was written on Wednesday 1st July 2020. The COVID-19 lockdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic started in Britain on 23 March. The country had (mostly) sheltered in place for the whole of springtime before beginning to emerge in late June. During those weeks and months we'd welcomed delivery drivers at the front door … Continue reading 10 things we did in the 2020 lockdown…
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