June 4th – I have to ask myself regularly;
‘Does modern-day, national, popular music radio programming
really reflect modern-day musical taste?’
Me? I go back to The Light Programme days with exciting
extravaganzas like Ray McVey and his Band
of the Day and Workers Playtime
(there was a patronising programme title for a patronising establishment
programme). The Billy Cotton Bandbox
followed by Movie-go-round were
two of my Sunday staples and a lot of strict-tempo dance music was broadcast,
the great majority of it live. If I wanted to listen to anything even vaguely modern, I
had to tune in to Radio Luxembourg
where I was regularly told that Keynsham in Bristol
All this is immaterial, I know, just
memories of an old fella and maybe the refrain I used at the opening of this blurb
is the same as my parents used when they heard the theme fire up on my radio;
‘For all that’s worthwhile your
radio dial is tuned to, Radio Luxembourg
Catchy, huh?
What it is, you see, is that I have
the feeling, more and more that the present day radio station, Radio One, sounds more and more like a
true corporate rock station every time I tune in…which has become less and less
as the years go by. You all know I'm a Radio Four addict anyhow, so who am I
kidding trying to be all street? Nobody, that’s who, but I still ask, does Radio One manage to maintain its market
share and if not why not? I'm aware that a million listeners have deserted them
this year…one million…this year. So I think we can safely say that Radio One is doing something wrong. Is
it the presenters or lack of? Is it the music, or lack of? I know in the recent
past, whenever I've tuned in to Radio One
there’s some DJ giving it mouth; inane chat and what passes as repartee between
the DJ and his or her claque; ads for forthcoming attractions, concerts,
competitions, give-aways…and more importantly no freakin’ music...for several
minutes. It seems to be going the same way as presenter-led TV where the action
is in the background whilst the presenter-sleb is in the foreground telling us
what we are watching, or where the presenter-sleb is cuddling a brown bear, a
porpoise, a turtle, a shark… snake… willow warbler…whatever. S’bollocks, innit?
I watch tennis on TV and find the commentators now talk all the way through the
game; all the way through it. And they don’t talk about the game or the players
but try to dazzle us with their sparkling repartee which is another way of
saying ‘inane chatter’. Nowadays it’s all about them.
I know there were similarities but
Radio Luxembourg broadcasts seemed so clandestine, like a special club for the
secret society that was 50’s/60’s youth, seemingly so far removed from the land
of parent; and now? Now you've got old hacks like me commenting on both the
radio station and the music it plays with an air of the ‘heard it all before,
mate’ attitude that spoils it… We’re prime targets for the;
“Do you think you can do any better?”
taunt.
Well, funny you should mention it. On
this day in 2003 a grandfather set up his own radio pirate radio station…in Yorkshire . His complaint was that the rest of the
airwaves were filled with talent-less boy bands and dance music and there was a
need for something to cater to the taste of his generation.
What did the broadcasting authorities
do about Ricky Rock’s radio station? Did they listen in? Did they check the
listening figures and audience response and think to themselves;
“You know, this guy may be on to
something here…maybe we could learn from him”?
Nope. Can’t have someone playing just
music on a music program, can we? I mean, where’s the advertising revenue?
Where’s the payola? What? Just play music? Music that people want to listen to?
With no inane chat for forty percent of the allotted programme time slot?
Heresy.
They closed him down, of course.
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