40 years of Radios 1-4
3 October 2007 tbs.pm/3223
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
You Say
2 responses to this article
garry wrote 12 August 2016 at 7:34 pm
I agree with all of that. But I also think B.B.C. Radio Sports coverage [Over the years] is the best in the business Along with it”s Television counter parts in The Netherlands and Germany. As of course is Transdiffusion as always!
Craig Robins wrote 19 August 2016 at 8:45 pm
Wonderful to discover that someone else remembers Bradbury & Bigsby’s glorious Patterson, which broke new ground for Radio 3
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