The Swinging New Radio Service 

30 September 2014 tbs.pm/5425

The swinging sound of Radio 1 is here! Born from a split of the Light Programme into a “popular music service” and… well, basically the Light Programme carrying on as Radio 2, and designed to compensate Britain’s teenagers for the loss of their off-shore “pirate” stations, the new Radio 1 launched on 30 September 1967.

But, while it did import the style – and many of the DJs – of Wonderful Radio London, it was a disappointment to many fans of the boats. For a start, Radio 1 had a tiny amount of “needle time” – the permitted amount of recordings that could be played vs live music. This was a stipulation of the Musicians’ Union, who of course wanted to keep musicians working. But it crippled Radio 1. That’s why you see so much “not cool” peeping around the edges of the schedule. Michael Aspel is great, but a rockin’ DJ he is not. David Jacobs knew his stuff, but him and Julie Andrews having a cosy chat? It’s not exactly shockjocks.

And to make things worse, Radio 1 often had to combine forces with Radio 2, not just because of needle time restriction but also because the station was run on a budget of almost nothing and needed to seek financial shelter under its bigger brother. Still, Radio 1 was better than no pop radio at all…

You Say

5 responses to this article

Terry Christie 6 October 2014 at 6:06 pm

Saturday September 30th 1967 when BBC Radio 1 went on the air for the first time and The Voice of Disc Jockey Tony Blackburn and The First Record is Flowers in The Rain by The Move.

BBC Radio 1,BBC Radio 2,BBC Radio 3 & BBC Radio 4 replaced The Light Programme & Home Service.

The Famous Disc Jockeys including Alan Freeman,
Pete Murray,Michael Aspel,Ed(Stewpot)Stewart,
Pete Drummond,David Jacobs,Mike Raven,Annie Nightingale,John Peel,Liz Kershaw,Janice Long,
Brian Matthew,Terry Wogan & Noel Edmonds.

The Fabulous Fifties & The Swinging Sixties Music with The Famous Chart Stars such as Bo Diddley,
Manfred Mann,The Swinging Blue Jeans,The Who,
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates,Kenny Lynch,Billy Fury,
Shane Fenton & The Fentones,Jerry Lordan,Small Faces,Cliff Richard & The Shadows,Michael Holliday
Ruby Murray,Joan Regan,Alma Cogan,Peggy Lee,
The Beatles,Elvis Presley,Buddy Holly,Jet Harris & Tony Meehan,Screaming Lord Sutch,John Leyton,
Mike Sarne,Eden Kane,The Animals,The Fourmost,
The Big Three,The Dennisons,Janie Jones,The Mojos,Freddie & The Dreamers,Gerry & The Pacemakers,Billy J Kramer with The Dakotas,The Outlaws,Mike Berry,The Tornados,John Barry Seven
Cilla Black,Lulu,Dusty Springfield,Jackie Trent,The Roulettes,Adam Faith,Frank Ifield,The Hollies,Bill Haley,Gene Vincent,Gene Pitney,The Dave Clark Five,The Dave Davani Four,Billie Anthony,Marty Wilde,Tommy Steele,Joe Brown,Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames,Dickie Pride,Frank Sinatra,Nat King Cole,The High Numbers,Debbie Lee,Bick Ford,
Judd Proctor,Vince Taylor,Sandie Shaw,Rory Storm & The Hurricanes,Faron’s Flamingo’s,Lee Curtis & The All Stars,Kingsize Taylor,Norrie Paramor,The King Brothers,Dean Martin,Jerry Lee Lewis,Don Lang,Eric Delaney,Terry Lightfoot,Mr Acker Bilk & His Paramount Jazzband,The Doors,Bob Dylan,
Mike Cotton Jazzmen,Sounds Incorporated,Russ Conway,The Yardbirds,Graham Bond,John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers,Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen,The Pete Best Four,The Searchers,Matt Monro,Dave Sampson & The Hunters,The Eagles(UK),The Scorpions,Nelson Keene,Mike Sagar & The Cresters,Michael Cox,Grazina,Don Spencer,The Troggs,Clodagh Rodgers,The Mudlarks,The Avons,
Edwin Astley,George Martin,Jim Dale,Laurie London
Larry Williams,The Krew Kats,Keith Kelly,The Alan Price Set,The Boston Crabs & Eric Burdon.

The Great Memories & The Sounds of BBC Radio 1.

Terry Christie,from Sunderland,Tyne & Wear.

Deke 11 May 2016 at 5:49 pm

I think you may have your stations mixed up, Terry.

Radio 4 replaced the Home Service
Radio 3 replaced the 3rd Programme
Radio 2 replaced the Light Programmeand Radios 355 and 390
Radio 1 replaced all the other offshore stations

I tried to like Radio 1, I wanted the Beeb to prove that given the chance they could give us radio the way we wanted. I didn’t last the weekend before I went back to Radio Caroline.

Andy 14 June 2016 at 1:52 pm

Even after Radio One started, I continued to listen to Caroline(s) North and South while getting ready for school. Radio One seemed so staid compared to the free-wheeling pirates and anyway I was a bit of a radio ‘anorak’ and enjoyed the thrill of tuning in a station broadcasting from a ship at sea. Then one morning in the spring of 1968, all I heard was background noise – no North, no South. I kept tuning in for days hoping they would return, but sadly it was the end.
Radio Veronica kept me going until RNI burst onto the scene in 1970, but that went in 1974 and the ‘new’ Caroline played a lot of music I didn’t like. So Radio One it was. And luckily it was improving fast. From the mid 70’s to the early 90’s it really was worth listening to and if you weren’t around at the time and want to know what it was like, just hop onto You Tube and look up some of Harry Enfield’s Smashy and Nicey
sketches. Bang on the nail!

Paul Mason 2 July 2016 at 3:39 am

Radio 1 and Radio 2 took a long time to separate. In 1978 a frequency exchange took place on BBC Radio. Radio 2s 1500 metres, or 200 KHz was given to a national Radio 4 UK as it was briefly called. The Scottish, Welsh and Ulster sections of Radio 4 became Radio Scotland, Wales etc, with Cymru on the FM band. Radio 1 was given the 1053 and 1089 KHz (now Talksport) and on these frequencies no longer shared with Radio 2. Radio 3 was given 1215 KHz ex Radio 1, and Radio 2 became 909 and 693 KHz (until 1990 when it became Radio 5, later 5 Live). Radio 4s English regional service disappeared as the BBC Local Radio network was thought to suffice. The FM band was 88-91 MHz shared between Radio 1 and 2 until 1990 when R1 moved to 98-99 MHz, completing the 23 year separation. Radios 3 and 4FM are where they are now. The LW frequency of BBC Radio 4 is under threat due to transmitter parts for long wave broadcasts becoming harder to obtain, so heaven knows where Test Match Special goes, unless the BBC resorts to DAB pop up channels like Radio
2Country which was on the air recently.

Paul Mason 8 November 2016 at 9:42 pm

This is the only place where I can record what a bad year 2016 has been for presenters of the early BBC Radio 1 and 2.

First to pass away on 8th January was Ed Stewart, then at the end of the month Terry Wogan. then in October Dave Cash, and on 7th November Jimmy Young.. JY was 95 and the other DJs were in their 70s.

A sad year indeed.

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