Radio 2 continuity ID - 1977

Episode 608,   Dec 14, 2012, 03:52 AM

It's just a few seconds, but it tells of when Radio 2 was as warm and cosy as a knitting pattern.

Clipped from 1977, when Derek Chinnery lived in the Radio 2 Controller's office, hear the Duty Announcer deliver a station identification over the bed to the 'Music Just for You' JAM jingle.

The frequencies too tell a story: Radio 2's most significant wavelength then was 1500m Long Wave (became Radio 4's home, instead, the following year); it was also broadcast on FM, or 'VHF' as it was termed back then - both on-air and in embossed writing on so many radio sets. 247m was then Radio 1's home - but this was a time when 1 and 2 still shared lives at certain times. Note too that wavelengths (247 metres) are used throughout, rather than frequencies. If you paid attention in Physics, you'll be able to convert one to the other.

The voice-over belongs to Sheila Tracy, after her move from Radio 4 where she was said to have been the first female newsreader at that 'new' station. You'll also recall her measured tones from such programmes as 'Truckers Hour'.