LBC FM Launches Almost Nationwide 1st September 2006 at 7am
He is well known in the London area and probably if the right format had been available nationwide I suspect he would've been known across the UK. Well, as long as people can get used to someone who speaks his mind, uses dry humour and people realise that a lot of what is said is tongue in cheek, he'll be ok. As long as new listeners can get used to the style that has made him as popular and legend in broadcasting for many who live in the capital.
But thanks to podcasting, online streaming, satellite broadcasting and now Digital Radio, he can be heard across the country. Finding a photograph of Steve is quite difficult but I managed to find one so for anyone wondering what he looks like see below...if you do a search it can get quite confusing as he shares his name with a wonderful American comedian/broadcaster who passed away some years ago and usually a search will mean that you'll find many web pages and images of that Steve Allen instead of the radio presenter.
Steve Allen has regular guests on his programme that are becoming as well known as himself but again finding pictures is difficult
Alan Dodgeon usually appears on the Tuesday programme and I think that there is some connection with the media from what is discussed.
John Warrington appears usually on Fridays and sometimes on the Sunday Programme(some may remember him appearing on Channel 5 as a Travel Consultant on Gloria Hunniford's Open House)He also has a connection with a gay Nightclub in London called Heaven.
Paul Savory often appears on Thursdays and on the Bank Holidays if Steve is sitting in for another presenter. Not really sure what Paul's profession is but he does spend much his time travelling the world especially around the Orient.
And here all three together as the three wise...Radio Presenters...Dodgeon, Savory and Warrington.
Nathan Morley appears on Thursday and is a familiar figure both on radio and television in Cyprus.
Susan Spence does a regular update on the television soaps on the Friday programme but after a search on the net she appears to do much more including a regular programme on Capital Life
Roger Foss is the correspondent on theatre matters on Thursdays and is the editor of the publication Theatre Goer.
There are other regulars and just for fun and for listeners not able to find images or attend Steve's live shows in or around London I thought putting pictures here might allow you to put a face to the voice...
Some of the other presenters that are worth a listen on LBC include Carol McGiffin(of TV's Loose Women, sometimes a studio guest on late night BBC Radio 5 and one of the other incarnations of LBC and the original Talk Sport where she presented a show with Moz Dee and sometimes with Nick Abbot also once of Virgin, Real Radio, Talk Radio and Radio Luxembourg)Nick is back there doing a weekly show. Some his best shows can be found for download on the net if you look around.And the other four presenters that I would single out as worth hearing if you are able would be Marcus Churchill, Bill Buckley(Remember TV's That's Life)Anna Raeburn(ex Talk Radio and Capital) and Peter Deeley occasionally(ex Talk Radio)
LBC does seem more ready to take ex-presenters back.
Reading on another website(and I always take what I read with a pinch of salt)there is some news that suggests that my idea that LBC FM may drop some of the traffic and news bulletins may be coming true.
The FM service may discuss news and get a lot of the topics out of the news that's breaking or featured in the news but it depends very much on phone-ins, guests in the studio and so on(After all it has a sister station in the same building broadcasting on AM that is a rolling news service)
The FM service has tended to take at busy times news bulletins every 15 minutes, it appears that they are going to go back to doing these on the hour and half hour. And in time the traffic bulletins will have an opt out on occasions where someone living in say Manchester will get a traffic report that means something to people living in that area.
I still believe that in time that the regions, though they will take some programmes from their head quarters in London, will start to broadcast some local programmes using local presenters and input from their locality.
I actually will be pleased to see some of the news bullitens dropped as although its a speech station and I know the news is an important element and in an emergency I am all for normal programmes being dropped and news output increasing or being shared but LBC FM is as close as we can be to the original blue print of Talk Radio before it became Talk Sport and I think too many bullitens breaks up the flow of the station especially when you also have commercials as an important part of the station's sound.
Even BBC Radio 5 even though its news and sports based, even some of the ways some programmes are broken up and interupted, it spoils the flow and eveness of the station's sound.
I am sure that at certain times of the day the frequency of bullitens could be reduced.
This Is ILR
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 10:35 pm
19 Comments:
Go on then Gildy, rub it in, I won't be able to hear it !
I'll see what I can do in the future ;-)
Looking at the original list of who is able to...it looks as though its the bottom half of the UK and Scotland that are missing out for now.
I've popped back to try and tidy this blog entry up and correct and edit some of the text.
If you are reading JA there is a little gadget that can be plugged into a Hi-Fi via the Aux connection that will allow it to adapt and pick up DAB...so I assume this will also plug into a pc system.
I also suspect that in time as you can buy a board that will receive analogue and/or Freeview and can be installed into a pc, a board that has DAB cannot be far behind.
If I take the sound from the satellite system, I choose the channel I am wanting, check the levels first before setting the timer up so that when it does record the level is correct.
I've been doing it the long way around until now(and still have to if I am watching levels or getting a station not available on DAB)or a programme clashes or the satellite version is in stereo whilst the DAB version is in mono.
The long way is to record downstairs(overnight perhaps)and then play it up here on another recorder or convert it back onto the pc to hear later either in Wav or mp3 form.
I see this as no different to using a vcr to time shift television.
I do not always have the time to listen to something for days, weeks and years...so its handy to be able to choose when I want to.
I'm afraid I have a nasty habit of listening to something and relaxing so much that I fall asleep and miss a lot of what I am listening to.
I wish that dAB had what I see as an easy listening station playing more music by singers like, Bennett, Sinatra, Torme, Fitzgerald or instrumental music from Henry Mancini and the like and many more that are rarely heard on mainstream radio even though they are acknowledged as being important in the history of popular western music but then not played.
Some stations do replicate each other and are too similar.
Completely not appropos to the post...but may I congratualte you on the full complement of bells and whistles now showing on the blog, Gildy?
Fine work!
Gavin
I thank you sir...I still read your blog regularly and will comment again soon no doubt...
Gildy - I bet you were up and listening early this morning weren't you!
Bloody hell...you are! I've just seen you replyed to Gavin at 4:51am!!!...
are you sure you're not working for LBC and are infiltrating R5L listeners!
Mods!
Gildy may be an early riser, but 2:41:48 AM was last night as far as I was concerned!
It's because of Gildy that I now listen to Steve Allen early mornings and it's ruined my habit of sleeping after I've fed Rosie at 5 am. I lie there giggling like a demented penguin.
Thanks Gildy for the black shadows under my eyes !!!
Sorry Rupe ;-)
If you are up or awake he's worth a listen...there may be times where you can miss a few and drop back in quite easily and take up where you left.
Overnight programmes are calm and laid back because there is time for measured conversation and less interruptions from commercials.
As for me being up...when Steve said that He was doing the launch programme for the station I did not know whether it would be live and/or the same as what the London listeners would hear.
What happened was that he did his usual programme and then presented a programme on the DAB network outside of London.
I was up at that early hour to set the recorder away and go back to bed but afraid that I may sleep in and miss the start of the special I stayed up until 5am(approx 40 mins)it didn't start so I set it away anyhow.
Later discovering had I stayed awake it started two hours later...What a complicated ownership history the station has had over the last 33 years as Steve told LBC's story. And its changed locations numerous times.
But that's it, its off and running...
Crikey Gildy, you've got a complicated recording system.
Its much more simpler than my explanation suggests and it could be made even simpler and not so time consuming.
One person that I know of on the net uses a small computer programme that switches channels and time shifts programmes and records directly on to the pc and even name the files as its doing it, how clever is that?
So that saves time and he can even be out of the house during the day or night working whilst it does it.
Gildy ~ really enjoyed yr LBC (almost) Nationwide launch here.
(Savory and Dodgeon's faces now no longer a mystery).
Llucia,
I tried to get a mention for a few of us on his show today but picked a bad day as with Susan doing soap news etc...it gets quite busy. Now that would've been a surprise wouldn't it ;-)
I did read that Oxford is quite high on the agenda for an upgrade to what is available on DAB and that includes adding more of the local stations that are still yet to be on DAB, trouble is that we are talking of approx 18-24 months away(But I would guess that means LBC is included in the upgrade)
They say everything is on the net but often its still takes some finding, glad the images were of use...
I think that I have said somewhere in the past on the net, when I used to pass through the capital on the way to Bournemouth for the annual holiday, the first thing I would do when reception was possible is try and always hear LBC or Kenny Everett on Capital on my little portable even though it was for the shortest of times and often reception was difficult.
Great news about the upgrade. Will keep an ongoing check for the LBC signal as well as looking out for those new local channels on the DAB later on.
You picked up Steve's DAB inaugural broadcast going out to the wider coverage. Couldn't pick it up of course, so hope it went well. On the reg. Fri 5am slot that day he sounded fairly exausted. It's all happening: his newsletter that day tells he had more rehearsals for the Radlett theatre. What, with those upcoming, the 5am shows, Sunday shows, the new launch and separate braodcasts
he's Mr nonstop at the moment. He's a dedicated professional - the watchword will be "it's showtime"!
Liked the memories of yr catching Kenny and LBC on the wing.
Do a virus check on the file and decide how safe you think it is if you wish to hear that broadcast but many people have used this link to hear that DAB LBC Launch broadcast presented by Steve.
No reports of it being unsafe.
The last time I checked though, the link was so popular it was unavailable and the request was to try again later.
There is a way to put direct links in here but I've forgotten how to.
http://www.adamfi.jamroll.net/lbc/LBC_DAB_Launch_1_Sep_2006.mp3
Steve does have big health problems so though LBC are happy to still have him there...I suspect they are(as he is too)mindful of taking care of himself.
It is easy to...do too much.
I suspect more radio subjects and memories will come up again soon.
Not sure what my next entry will be about.
I do wonder how they arrange broadcasting LBC across the regions especially when they opt out from the main feed as sometimes the person reading the traffic and mentioning local problems(though different to the one based in London)was reading the bulletin for the North East and switched to LBC for the Yorkshire area and it was the same person so obviously he must pre record his segments and have them played in via a computer but is that all happening from London or other studio's around the UK?
It is obvious that sometimes LBC's FM service in London is taking its news from its AM service at certain pre arranged times as they sometimes miss the start of the bulliten or it starts too quickly it crashes the news jingle or adverts...that's more likely to happen on the hour or half hour.
The travel updates on the quarter hours do seem to be exclusive to the FM service hence that's why Steve can sometimes talk to the traffic reporters.
Someone reckons that the editing on the podcasts is not always done very carefully and can be untidy.
I have never heard one yet through being on dial up.
Gildy, I haven't heard anything else apart from Steve Allen which I can listen to.
Too much advertising and noise.
Steve A. is such a scream, I think he does mean what he says, but does it in such a way that one is not quite sure, which is very clever. Talk about a bitch fest.
Wonderful to have such a laugh in the mornings.
Its an acquired taste...perhaps.
Anna Raeburn is probably a good listen(most weekdays 1pm-3pm)and because of the programme's nature ads are kept to a minimum and once being heard across the the UK settles down I think some of the interruptions may be reduced.
I was interested by your story ;-)
The other programme that I try is Nick Abbot on Saturdays 10pm-1am.
I can understand what you are saying if ads and traffic etc...are too intrusive...
Steve's show is still kind of running on the tail end of the overnight programmes which are more slow and calmer, usually allowing subjects to be discussed in greater depth.
I think what you say about Steve is also true ;-)
Quite a few presenters at LBC work within the BBC too and vice versa...Radio 5's Richard Dalyn(sp?)did for a time, Alison Bell and Brian Hayes too.
One LBC news reader has even been heard Dj'ing on BBC6 Music.
Interest comments again Gildy on the subject of listening to/recording radio shows. Those add-on devices could tempt some people in to going digital, from reading peoples views online it seems a significant number are yet to be convinced of the benefits, although you regularly hear of dab radio sales improving from retailers.
The automated software you mentioned sounds fantastic, if it includes a feature which allows the different volumes to be normalised that would be the icing on the cake ;) I shall let you know what I make of the LBC broadcasts (at least what I hear of it, anyhow). I agree with your comments regarding Anna Raeburn, I thought she did a great job when she was working for TalkSport/Radio.
If you need any help with html, i.e. links, text formatting etc. I recommend the following website (the link below goes to the page with info on creating hyperlinks, apologies if you're already aware of this site): W3Schools
JA that site is new to me and thank you.
Its been discussed again that LBC decided to get the national service up and running first and to fine tune it later.
Don't know if it was a fault on their DAB service but yesterday when a kind of Desert Island Discs programme aired called That Reminds Me...at times the music remained very loud when Steve Allen and guest started talking again and you could not hear what they were saying but it may be that the feed on satellite did not suffer that way.
I do still think that there is a big push to promote digital radio. I cannot decide if its because of the manufacures/broadcasters or the Government.
And America has gone for a different system. I suspect that it has to because there are far more stations on air there and who is going to accept having their bitrate reduced or a limited amount of stations being available on the allocated frequencies.
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