Mike Brown lists his personal BBC Radio moments of the last 40 years

Radio 1:

• Wondering what on earth (or off it) Emperor Rosko was about.
• Kenny Everett, Crisp, Granny and handovers to ‘Mike Collapsible’ [not to mention ‘Michael Aspirin’ – Ed.] on Family Favourites.
• Trevor Dann’s classic Sunday evening documentaries, especially 25 Years of Rock and The Record Producers
• Adrian Juste
• Adrian Juste’s spoof ‘26 Years of Rock’
• Listening to Live Aid from R1 in stereo via BBC GLR.
• Radio 1 starting on 104.8 in London. No big launch, no on air mention, just the first record of the day being Steely Dan’s ‘FM’

Radio 2:

• Breakfast Special with Ray Moore and John Dunn
• The very first ‘The Organist Entertains’ presented by Robin Richmond. It was only going to be a short series of about 13. It’s still going.
• Pre-recorded Kenny Everett on Midday Spin
• The stereo light coming on from Wrotham and hearing some programmes in stereo weeks before the official launch of the stereo service (sad, I know)
• Ray Moore’s interview with Karen Carpenter
• Ray Moore’s death
• Roger Scott moving to R2 after years at Capital
• Roger Scott’s death and the memorial programme they broadcast in his honour
• John Dunn’s final programme – signalling the end of an era
• JY being unceremoniously booted and ultimately replaced by Jeremy F**king Vine.

Radio 3

• Waking to Morning Concert
• The BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s ‘The Space Between’ and ‘Wee Have Also Soundhouses’
• The Foundation Trilogy
• Being introduced to Peter Schickele (aka PDQ Bach) when R3 played ‘Eine Kleine Nichtmusic’ one April 1st morning
• Listening to their live concert relays, especially The Proms and classical music without the clicks and thumps of vinyl.
• Robert Farnon’s Jubilee Concert from the Cheltenham Festival in 1977. (It’s since been released on CD)
• A comedy on Radio 3 – ‘The Half-Open University’ (pilot programmes which gave birth to The Burkiss Way)
• An 8-part sitcom on Radio 3 – Malcolm Bradbury’s ‘Patterson’ set in a fictitious redbrick university.
• ‘The Revenge’ - Andrew Sachs’ binaural play without words.

Radio 4

• The Archers before they moved it to 10.15
• Desert Island Discs
• Many a Slip
• Round the Horne
• Repeats of The Goons
• The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols each Christmas Eve
• Just a Minute
• Week Ending
• The News Quiz
• Industrial action which resulted in a combined service which replaced Radios 1, 2 3 & 4 (was it really called ‘Radio 10’ or did I imagine that?)
• The Burkiss Way
• I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
• Radio Active
• On The Hour
• The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy when it wasn’t a repeat (unbelievably from 8/3/78)
• Earthsearch
• Earthsearch 2
• The Lord of the Rings
• 1994 (‘The Environment is very big’!)
• Plays which lasted longer than an hour
• Series which ran for more than 6 weeks
• The Falklands War and Rolling News
• Test Match Special
• Repeats of much-loved shows only being on f**king Long Wave
• Home Truths (John Peel)
• The Blackburn Files
• Old Harry’s Game
• Ballylennon
• Bristow
• The Masterson Inheritance
• In the Red / In the Chair / In the End
• Dan and Nick’s Wildebeeste Years
• The Sunday Supplement
• Giles Wemmbly-Hogg
• Marcus Brigstocke’s rants on The Now Show
• Absolute Power