S1 Ep476: Tomasz Schafernaker - Glastonbury forecast
1m Jun 22, 2012
1m
S1 Ep475: RNI - Election 1970
Dramatic days. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Not often did UK radio stations get jammed by official sources; but it happened from April 1970 in the case of the most colourful pirate station of all - RNI (Radio Northsea International). A loud tone, transmitted from Kent, was transmitted to obliterate the happy seventies songs from RNI. It had been said, with some evidence this time, that RNI's transmi...
1m Jun 17, 2012
1m
S1 Ep473: Frank Phillips - BBC News 1938 and 1941
“You’re up to date, I’m Fred Farnsbarns”. Yes, for a journalist or newsreader to own the words in their bulletins is now commonplace. It was not always the case. Indeed, given listeners are seeking information rather than personality; and information must be strictly impartial and thus indistinguishable whosoever is reading it, there is a case that listeners may not need to know who is thumbin...
1m Jun 13, 2012
1m
S1 Ep472: Tony Blackburn - Radio London
Hearing this early dose of Blackburn makes one appreciate that this was the job he was born to do. Tony's first station was Caroline; Radio London was his second, arriving on board the MV Galaxy in 1966. With influences from the mature American market, Radio London was a tightly-formated natural home for Tony's tight talents. The station was also to be the key influence for Radio 1, which was...
4m Jun 12, 2012
4m
S1 Ep471: Neil Fox - Medley
He is a presenter who turned from being a music jock to an elder statesmen without anyone noticing the join. He – is Foxy – the Doctor. Or just plain Neil Fox. Like so many of us, he began by simply pestering his local station. In Foxy’s case it was Wyvern in Worcester. From his beginnings there in 1984, it was a comparatively speedy journey through Luxembourg three years later and then off to...
8m Jun 11, 2012
8m
S1 Ep470: Chris Moyles on the Archers
1m Jun 11, 2012
1m
S1 Ep469: Radio Leeds - Early
19s Jun 09, 2012
19s
S1 Ep468: Roger Gale on Radio Caroline
Roger Gale is one of a few media folk who've made it to Parliament, but the only ex-pirate radio presenter. Tony Benn, who'd helped to close down the pirates, had briefly been a radio producer. Roger joined Caroline in Summer 1964, moving ship to help set up Radio 270 the following year. Back on land, he joined the new BBC Radio London in 1972, prior to joining Radio 1's Newsbeat and, in 1973,...
1m Jun 08, 2012
1m
S1 Ep467: GEM-AM - Launch ('Olympic' Torch)
This was a memorable day. In 1988, as Trent (both Nottingham and Derby stations in those Pre-Ram FM days) and Leicester Sound prepared to split AM from FM and launch the new GEM-AM oldies service, the Managing Director, Ron Coles, observed the nation was awash with Olympic Fever. "Ah", said Ron, "let's echo that theme in our radio station launch". As I knew to my cost, when Ron suggested someth...
12m Jun 08, 2012
12m
S1 Ep466: Now Show - Euro Crisis
Some evening comedy on Radio 4 is, well, 'take it or leave it', but comedy should be like that. 'The Now Show' on Fridays though, is stunning. Delicious, topical writing and perfect presentation. Here's a great example I heard when driving home, and I rushed in to preserve it for the nation (albeit, I suspect the Corporation is well-able to do that for itself). It is a protracted analogy of t...
5m Jun 08, 2012
5m
S1 Ep465: Frank Gardner - Shooting in Riyadh
Every day on TV and radio news, we see and hear danger. Kidnapping. Gunshots. Explosions. How easy it sadly is to disregard the effort and risk involved in gaining that insight. In recent years, many journalists have been killed or injured. In 2004, Frank Gardner, the BBC’s full-time Security Correspondent, was shot six times at close range while on assignment in Saudi Arabia. His cameraman co...
1m Jun 05, 2012
1m
S1 Ep464: BBC Radio Northampton - Launch
2m Jun 05, 2012
2m
S1 Ep463: D Day Coverage
Some news bulletins are more important than others. Imagine reading this one. 6 June 1944 saw worldwide radio announce the biggest invasion in history. This was ‘D day’. Codenamed 'Operation Overlord', a huge military force set out towards Northern France. The allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and broke through the German army's defences. 75,215 British and Canadian troops and 57...
3m Jun 05, 2012
3m
S1 Ep462: Reg Calvert - Death
5m Jun 04, 2012
5m
S1 Ep461: Jimmy Young - Career
Orft we jolly well go. Jimmy Young, born in 1921, was an accomplished singer, enjoying chart success with 'Eternally', 'Chain Gang', 'More', 'Unchained Melody' and 'The Man from Laramie'. The latter two were number ones in the days when one had to sell quite a few copies. Jimmy broadcast for Radio Luxembourg, before joining a new BBC Radio One, presenting mid-mornings from 1967 to 1973 in the...
5m May 29, 2012
5m
S1 Ep460: John Dunn continuity into Rosko
#RadioOne
4s May 29, 2012
4s
S1 Ep459: Andrew Gilligan on Iraq - 2003
To seek to summarise this issue fairly, and the tragic events which followed, in a short caption would be inappropriate. This two-way, from the Radio 4 Today programme on May 29th 2003,  however, must have a place in any comprehensive record of radio’s role in history. Andrew Gilligan was the Radio 4 defence correspondent, whose report on the Today Programme sparked the row between the Governme...
3m May 29, 2012
3m
S1 Ep458: Bob Snyder - jingle call - Trent 1976
There’s probably a very dull radio programme waiting to be made about UK radio presenters who phoned in to their local station when they were kids. It’s true. Most of us did. There was something inside us, even at that age, that made us want to be on the radio. Given we were clearly anoraks back then too, the audio has likely been kept. Who could resist recording oneself on a Boots C90 cassett...
5m May 27, 2012
5m
S1 Ep457: Rock FM, launch - 1990
1m May 27, 2012
1m
S1 Ep456: Workers' Playtime
Radio has always been pretty good at lifting the mood. I've yet to see any research which suggests the contrary. But when you're eating spam; the kids have been evacuated to a Welsh village; and you've to spend the night in an Anderson shelter in next door's garden, then you certainly do need a morale boost. All the more important to stay on top of your game at work too, not least if the busin...
1m May 26, 2012
1m
S1 Ep455: Russell Harty - Red Rose Radio - Tribute
Russell Harty is fondly remembered. In some ways, an English eccentric. Born in Lancashire, Russell never forgot his roots. Whilst the nation can readily picture him being mauled by Grace Jones on TV, radio was very much a home for him. He was one of the founder members of the applicant group for the Preston commercial radio franchise, awarded by the IBA to Red Rose Radio, as Chairman, Owen Oy...
2m May 26, 2012
2m
S1 Ep454: Radio Sutch - Medley
The familiar vision of the offshore pirate stations is of huge old ships, but some stations chose instead to make use of the rusty war-time forts which remained protruding from the depths of the North Sea. Radio Sutch was one 'sutch' station, brought to the air by the British eccentric, Screaming Lord Sutch, who also appeared on the station. As you would. It launched as did Caroline, in 1964,...
2m May 25, 2012
2m
S1 Ep453: Dan Dare Theme Clip
Dan Dare. Two words spoken fondly by the generation weaned on radio drama. This science fiction hero appeared in the Eagle comic from 1950. The stories were set far away into the future. Ah yes, the late 1990s. On radio, 'The New Adventures of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future' was broadcast for a period of five years, five times each week, on Radio Luxembourg. You'll hear here, sadly, just a snip...
1m May 23, 2012
1m
S1 Ep452: DLT - Medley
Forgive me, Dave. Please. I just had to use the picture of you holding the alarm clock. If I made up a statistic suggesting that 96% of British radio breakfast show presenters have had that pose shot by an enthusiastic photographer on their assuming the breakfast crown, I'd likely be right. I recall him best for his Radio One drive days, with the Bill Mitchell (did he do that one?) VO - (deep!...
2m May 23, 2012
2m
S1 Ep451: Savile's Travels
27s May 23, 2012
27s
S1 Ep450: Educating Archie
I suspect just maybe a few drinks passed mouths before they alighted upon this concept. 'Educating Archie' was a much-loved BBC Comedy show which ran from 1950 to 1958. The programme was probably the most unlikely radio success story ever, given it starred a ventriloquist and his doll. Peter Brough was in charge. The doll was called Archie. Punters loved it: the fan club had a quarter of a mi...
1m May 23, 2012
1m
S1 Ep449: Peter Bromley
2m May 23, 2012
2m
S1 Ep448: Hamilton speaks on Mallory Park
The Radio 1 Roadshow, launched in 1973, was a phenomenon. Seventies music stars were not always essential to draw the crowds; the disc jockeys alone were often sufficient, escaping from the medium wave into the open air in their coloured nylon shirts or branded jackets. Maybe the seventies were such a dull decade, that mere radio presenters were enough to cause a stir. Radio 1 also created a r...
3m May 20, 2012
3m
S1 Ep447: Len Groat - 1977 Silver Jubilee on Trent
Some presenters make their mark and have an impact on your own early style. For me, Len Groat on Trent in 1977 was the chap who gave me jingle knowledge and that 'when to fire in the song' instinct. He also provided probably my first taste of 'imaging': not just station IDs, but audio to make the station feel like a great place to be. This Audioboo box is not sufficiently large to tell all the...
4m May 20, 2012
4m
S1 Ep446: Fleet Lit Up
Over the years, a few broadcasters I know have presented a show whilst being a little hung over. Sad, but true. It would be wrong to suggest that some of those presenters may have ironically despatched their best shows in that state. But you must never overdo it, of course. Witness Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Woodrooffe. After a sparkling career in the Royal Navy, he knocked on the BBC’s door ...
4m May 17, 2012
4m
S1 Ep445: PM Theme
1m May 12, 2012
1m
S1 Ep444: Mallory Park Roadshow, Radio 1 - 1975
The Radio One Roadshow, launched in 1973, was a phenomenon. Seventies music stars were not always essential to draw the crowds; the disc jockeys alone were often sufficient, escaping from the medium wave into the open air in their coloured nylon shirts or branded jackets. Maybe the seventies were such a dull decade, that mere radio presenters were enough to cause a stir. Radio One also created ...
9m May 12, 2012
9m
S1 Ep442: NHR memories - BBC and Trent messages
We all recall our first radio steps. Mine were at the hospital radio station in Nottingham, based in a large, dusty pre-fab on the City Hospital campus. Having been turned away for being too young, I was taken on in 1977, aged 16. Early jobs included tidying cupboards and sweeping corridors. A painfully shy, confused, spotty teenager, I pushed myself to travel two green bus rides at my own expe...
15m May 11, 2012
15m
S1 Ep441: Princess Margaret on The Archers
1m May 10, 2012
1m
S1 Ep440: Russell Crowe walks out of Mark Lawson's Front Row on Radio 4 - 2010
2m May 07, 2012
2m
S1 Ep439: Archers fail
Oops. That moment when you are speaking and your brain realises, alas a little too late, that the next audio element is not ready. Given the brain appears incapable of doing both 'speak' and 'fix it' at the same time, gap ensues. Ah well, we've all been there. Witness this continuity today into the Archers omnibus.
1m May 06, 2012
1m
S1 Ep438: RNI - Bombing
I recall my brothers listening to the wavery AM RNI signal in their messy, cold bedrooms in the early '70s. It was simply another popular listening option in a country where legitimate commercial music radio had yet to arrive. RNI, Radio Northsea (Nordsee) International was the most famous of the second generation of offshore pirate radio stations. The UK anti-pirate legislation of 1967, howev...
2m May 05, 2012
2m
S1 Ep437: Radio Atlanta
The Radio Atlanta episode is a key plank in the intricate Radio Caroline story, and thus in the story of UK pop radio generally, albeit its life was short. Atlanta was on-air from 12th May 1964 to 2nd July 1964, broadcasting from a ship in the North Sea, anchored three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea in Essex. The ship became hugely significant: it had been home to a Swedish offshore stati...
15s May 05, 2012
15s
S1 Ep436: JAM song
I know what you were like. When the songs began, as most 15 year old kids reached for the record button, your finger was on the pause button. Your goal was simply to capture the great harmonies of the jingles in-between. You have cassettes even now of bits of whole jingles, sandwiched between bits of songs, ends of links and the last words of old ads. Right? Even as a callow youth, I detected ...
6m May 05, 2012
6m
S1 Ep435: Hindenburg commentary
The date, May 6th 1937. Herb Morrison is positioned at Lakehurst, New Jersey commentating for WLS, Chicago, on the arrival of the German passenger Zeppelin, Hindenburg. Live commentary was not only technically difficult, it was not permitted; so this broadcast was being recorded for later transmission. The recorder itself was hardly portable, it featured a large turntable with a 16-inch platter...
3m May 05, 2012
3m
S1 Ep434: Robert Peston - Bye
This is why radio is great. Everybody knows if you are on the TV. You're surrounded by clipboards and lights with a funky white van parked outside. But one can be on the radio live 'in quality' within seconds from a magnolia back bedroom at the flick of a switch. As Robert Peston discovered live on 5Live in May 2012, that domestic accessibility can have its perils too. There he was, chatting ...
1m May 05, 2012
1m
S1 Ep433: Radio Newsreel
The first edition of Radio Newsreel went on the air on BBC Overseas Service (World Service - also later Light Programme then Home Service) - with Robin Duff. It lasted until 1988. 
27s May 04, 2012
27s
S1 Ep432: Mike Smith - Tribute
Known on radio as a natural communicator, Mike broadcast on Capital before his well-remembered days on Radio 1, where he hosted lunchtimes, before returning to present the breakfast show. TV beckoned, and Mike was one of the few in radio to handle both mediums with ease. Mike died on August 1st 2014, aged just 59.
1m May 04, 2012
1m
S1 Ep431: Trent - Test transmissions
More Trent memories and audio at http://davidlloyd-radio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/trent-301.html
2m Apr 29, 2012
2m
S1 Ep430: BBC World - Medley
Whilst at the Radio Authority, I spent some time in the early '90s working briefly in Kenya on some 'Commonwealth work', advising on how commercial radio might be established and regulated. In a country where literacy levels were relatively low outside the cities, TV was unavailable to many, and press and broadcasting were closely-controlled, a tier of impartial radio seemed pretty important. T...
2m Apr 29, 2012
2m
S1 Ep429: BBC Radio Cambridgeshire - Launch
2m Apr 28, 2012
2m
S1 Ep428: Neil Fox - Last link on Capital
When Neil Fox mused over how he'd own breakfast in London, he probably imagined that it would be on Capital Radio. He'd certainly been a regular stand-in during Tarrant's extended absences in the latter years. But Magic was to be his home by the time he won the breakfast crown. Neil began his career at Wyvern, moving to Radio Luxembourg, and then Capital in 1987, where he acquired the 'Doctor ...
2m Apr 28, 2012
2m
S1 Ep427: Waggoners' Walk - First Edition
I remember arriving home from school to find Mum perched on her favourite stool reading My Weekly, eating a Kit Kat and shusshing me as she caught up on the latest happenings on Waggoners' Walk. I can hum the theme tune still. Hum hum, hmm hum hum, hum hummmm, twidly plonk. Look. A black and white Val Singleton in the front room was of more interest to a spotty me. The Radio 2 daily serial be...
1m Apr 28, 2012
1m
S1 Ep426: Casey Kasem - Tribute
Casey Kasem hosted another one of those famous international radio shows which UK listeners caught as they scanned up and down the dial when music radio was so scarce, not so very many years ago. 'American Top 40' ended up being broadcast on around 1000 stations in 50 countries. Casey Kasem hosted; and his voice became likely one of the best known on radio in the World. The programme began on ...
5m Apr 26, 2012
5m
S1 Ep425: BBC Radio Shropshire - Launch
BBC Radio Shropshire took to the air on 23rd April 1985. Hear those enthusiastic first moments here. The station had been some time coming. In the report compiled by Maurice Ennnals in 1975, it appeared on the priority list; and was destined to be a ‘small independent station’ rather than a satellite or main station. It’s lived up to that over the years. Safely away from the Urban glare from B...
2m Apr 24, 2012
2m