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 ...
Jan 01, 2016•42 min•Ep. 1111
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)
Dec 30, 2015•37 min•Ep. 1110
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 ex...
Dec 30, 2015•3 min•Ep. 1109
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 P...
Dec 28, 2015•25 min•Ep. 1108
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 Franc...
Dec 26, 2015•2 min•Ep. 1107
Dec 21, 2015•20 min•Ep. 1106
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.
Dec 18, 2015•16 min•Ep. 1105
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.
Dec 17, 2015•7 min•Ep. 1104
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 fr...
Dec 16, 2015•31 min•Ep. 1103
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 deliv...
Dec 13, 2015•18 min•Ep. 1102
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
Dec 11, 2015•7 min•Ep. 1101
Sunshine Radio launched across Herefordshire and Monmouthshire on 14th December 2007.
Dec 10, 2015•2 min•Ep. 1100
Dec 05, 2015•3 min•Ep. 1099
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...
Dec 03, 2015•4 min•Ep. 1098
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
Dec 03, 2015•6 min•Ep. 1097
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 pri...
Dec 01, 2015•8 min•Ep. 1096
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 prop...
Nov 28, 2015•1 min•Ep. 1095
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
Nov 26, 2015•8 min•Ep. 1094
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
Nov 21, 2015•7 min•Ep. 1093
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 Ra...
Nov 15, 2015•2 min•Ep. 1092
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 li...
Nov 15, 2015•9 min•Ep. 1091
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
Nov 14, 2015•3 min•Ep. 1090
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
Nov 14, 2015•6 min•Ep. 1089
Nov 07, 2015•1 hr•Ep. 1088
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 so...
Nov 07, 2015•33 min•Ep. 1087
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 mom...
Nov 06, 2015•16 min•Ep. 1086
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 ...
Nov 06, 2015•1 hr•Ep. 1085
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
Nov 06, 2015•8 min•Ep. 1084
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 ...
Oct 31, 2015•12 min•Ep. 1083
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
Oct 30, 2015•6 min•Ep. 1082
