Nostalgia...Ain't What It Used To Be...
Decades ago(too many years than I care to remember)I tuned into Radio 270. It was the nearest and probably easiest "Pirate" radio station that I was able to pick up in the North East Of England. In hindsight, I don't know if Radio Caroline(probably the most famous of the broadcasters)with programmes originating from ships anchored in the various seas around the coast of the UK. Maybe I did hear it(but I honestly do not remember)the same would be true of say Radio Scotland.
One that seems to be remembered with great affection would be Radio London because of the money that was available to it(I understand that it was financed by wealthy businessmen from the States and I am sure that the wife of President "Ladybird" was also involved...or was that the ship that actually ran two stations from the one vessel "Swinging Radio England/Britain Radio) the rota of dj's that passed through and eventually became household names when BBC Radio changed in 1967 and were then heard in reasonable quality across the whole of the UK. Of course that station was aimed at the London area so there is no suggestion its signal was likely to reach much of the UK as a whole.
I wish that it had. Being a lover of radio, I wished that I had lived in the Essex area as that's where all this radio stuff seemed to be happening and it all sounded so interesting and exciting as a listener, whether it was as a dj is another matter. And yet for those around at that time I believe that it was and for those still alive I think that it still is. They've never lost it.
Most of today's radio is formula. It's lost it's originality and sounds similar. Kenny Everett perhaps the most original radio dj that the UK ever produced and let loose on the airwaves was very positive when Commercial Radio started in the UK and saw it as a chance to do something like they had succeeded in doing as Pirate Broadcasters and probably also saw it as a way to introduce something like the American model which seemed so exciting.
In reality because of all the regulations and those that eventually became involved on the management side, for me most of them started to sound just the same as each other. Any originality, was taken out of the schedule and everyone was expected to do things in a particular way. If you went from one town or city to the next, it could be the same station.
There is a lot of talk from the commercial radio sector about the disadvantage that BBC Radio has over the commercial sector but the fact that until now(some 34 years since legitimate commercial radio came onto land)that we will start to see the largest quota of commercial radio broadcasters available UK wide within the next year. Commercial radio was set up on a local/regional model and it's only recent years we have seen Virgin, Classic FM and Talk Sport be offered to all. Maybe that was the biggest error.
It was ok when some of these stations started as they did offer more than just "Music" but in time that's all they offered and few did anything else but the charts hits. The only stations to remain original(probably because the revenue more available)and the talent was there on the doorstep were stations based in the cities like Manchester or London.
But in time because of buy outs and companies coming in and owning numerous stations again, they've suffered.
Most of the DAB push(that's digital radio to anyone reading this blog abroad)is coming from the commercial radio sector but if I switch on the DAB Radio, I hear very little difference again from one station to the next. Many are in mono(which is a backwards step)some are broadcasting at a lower quality threshold and already some stations that offered something different have gone out of business or been pulled and so far those spaces have not be filled. Unless you count a station that reads traffic news 24/7.
Is it a problem exclusive to the UK?
Probably not. There are suggestions that much of American Radio has been taken over by a few companies and it's all starting to sound alike. That there are so many commercials between the records or interrupting the programmes that even those who love their radio are growing tired and switching off. Or rather discovering satellite radio and the reason it's working is because on it's 100 or so channels it does offer different genres from speech to music, commercials are lost altogether or are fewer and some stations are daring to be different and exciting. The listener subscribes and pays a small fee(its a bit like returning to the old radio licence)but they are getting something that they want to hear and if the Satellite station messes up, the audience is going to withdraw their money so the audience is probably influencing the output.
All these years on for all I see things worth complaining about BBC Radio for me it is still the best and I really would miss it if I awoke one day and found it was no longer available. It still does more speech radio than any commercial station regarding news, documentaries, drama and comedy. It still offers a more diverse music policy across it's stations(though that is suffering more and starting to sound like commercial radio without the ads)
As I mentioned RNI in the comments section this is quite an interesting article(some of the later information is even news to me)
(This is rather long so I'll split this up over a number of entries)
One that seems to be remembered with great affection would be Radio London because of the money that was available to it(I understand that it was financed by wealthy businessmen from the States and I am sure that the wife of President "Ladybird" was also involved...or was that the ship that actually ran two stations from the one vessel "Swinging Radio England/Britain Radio) the rota of dj's that passed through and eventually became household names when BBC Radio changed in 1967 and were then heard in reasonable quality across the whole of the UK. Of course that station was aimed at the London area so there is no suggestion its signal was likely to reach much of the UK as a whole.
I wish that it had. Being a lover of radio, I wished that I had lived in the Essex area as that's where all this radio stuff seemed to be happening and it all sounded so interesting and exciting as a listener, whether it was as a dj is another matter. And yet for those around at that time I believe that it was and for those still alive I think that it still is. They've never lost it.
Most of today's radio is formula. It's lost it's originality and sounds similar. Kenny Everett perhaps the most original radio dj that the UK ever produced and let loose on the airwaves was very positive when Commercial Radio started in the UK and saw it as a chance to do something like they had succeeded in doing as Pirate Broadcasters and probably also saw it as a way to introduce something like the American model which seemed so exciting.
In reality because of all the regulations and those that eventually became involved on the management side, for me most of them started to sound just the same as each other. Any originality, was taken out of the schedule and everyone was expected to do things in a particular way. If you went from one town or city to the next, it could be the same station.
There is a lot of talk from the commercial radio sector about the disadvantage that BBC Radio has over the commercial sector but the fact that until now(some 34 years since legitimate commercial radio came onto land)that we will start to see the largest quota of commercial radio broadcasters available UK wide within the next year. Commercial radio was set up on a local/regional model and it's only recent years we have seen Virgin, Classic FM and Talk Sport be offered to all. Maybe that was the biggest error.
It was ok when some of these stations started as they did offer more than just "Music" but in time that's all they offered and few did anything else but the charts hits. The only stations to remain original(probably because the revenue more available)and the talent was there on the doorstep were stations based in the cities like Manchester or London.
But in time because of buy outs and companies coming in and owning numerous stations again, they've suffered.
Most of the DAB push(that's digital radio to anyone reading this blog abroad)is coming from the commercial radio sector but if I switch on the DAB Radio, I hear very little difference again from one station to the next. Many are in mono(which is a backwards step)some are broadcasting at a lower quality threshold and already some stations that offered something different have gone out of business or been pulled and so far those spaces have not be filled. Unless you count a station that reads traffic news 24/7.
Is it a problem exclusive to the UK?
Probably not. There are suggestions that much of American Radio has been taken over by a few companies and it's all starting to sound alike. That there are so many commercials between the records or interrupting the programmes that even those who love their radio are growing tired and switching off. Or rather discovering satellite radio and the reason it's working is because on it's 100 or so channels it does offer different genres from speech to music, commercials are lost altogether or are fewer and some stations are daring to be different and exciting. The listener subscribes and pays a small fee(its a bit like returning to the old radio licence)but they are getting something that they want to hear and if the Satellite station messes up, the audience is going to withdraw their money so the audience is probably influencing the output.
All these years on for all I see things worth complaining about BBC Radio for me it is still the best and I really would miss it if I awoke one day and found it was no longer available. It still does more speech radio than any commercial station regarding news, documentaries, drama and comedy. It still offers a more diverse music policy across it's stations(though that is suffering more and starting to sound like commercial radio without the ads)
As I mentioned RNI in the comments section this is quite an interesting article(some of the later information is even news to me)
(This is rather long so I'll split this up over a number of entries)
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 5:53 pm
4 Comments:
What no politics?
Lxxx
Oh I'm sure that topic will return...the local freesheet is already running letters from townsfolk unhappy and questioning what we can expect.
Regarding my present topic how amazing is it to realise that Radio 1 & 2 etc...are celebrating 40 years in September this year.
Looks like they have some interesting specials/documentaries lined up on Radio 2.
Hopefully, some will appear on other networks too.
You know I only jest Gildy :-) but could not give in to temptation.
Thanks for the other snippet re Radio 1 & 2 - 40 years eh? I'd have only been a baby (well toddler really) then but when I did become interested in music it was Radio Luxembourg at night depending if I could get it or not. September eh? Not the only birthday getting celebrated then either (groan).
Take care
Lxxx
Ahh, Radio Luxembourg. Start talking with others and you can be surprised just how much has been shared and a connection can be found.
We had difficulty in the North East so by the time you reach Scotland...then again when I had difficulty hearing Radio Scotland Tony Currie said just maybe being in the North East of England one of the transmitters might mean I could still listen...no way during the night and even during the day it's almost impossible(good old satellite)
Someone told me they cannot hear it in Newcastle/Sunderland so...I used to struggle to hear RNI from the coast of Holland in the 70's so Luxembourg was doing well.
Gx
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