Radio Memories

[Marillion]

We've got sections on television and music on this forum, but not radio. I've just listened to Radio 2's celebration of Jimmy Young's 90th birthday. I vaguely remember his Radio 1 programme with the 'What's the recipe today?' feature, but I know him best from his Radio 2 programme where he discussed current affairs and played records inbetween.

Did you used to listen mostly to the BBC or the commercial stations? In the 1970s I generally listened to Capital because my older brother did. He was very scornful of Radio 1, and of anyone who listened to it, when he was a teenager, and I didn't want to give him an excuse to scorn me even more than he did already.

[darren]

Re: Radio Memories

Well i listen to radio ulster a lot.

I have been listening to it for as long as i can remember.
In fact i listen to the wireless more than the tv.

there are many things you hear on the radio that are not on telly.

[Austin Maxi]

Re: Radio Memories

As a small child in the '70s, I think my parents would listen to Radio 2 a lot, because I recall hearing the Jimmy Young theme ('Town Talk'), and a lot of fairly middle-of-the-road music.

I didn't really listen to much radio through the early '80s, but was always aware of chart music of the era through small snatches of radio and watching 'Top Of The Pops' on the TV.

In the late '80s (around '87) I got into music and radio again, and mainly listened to the local FM station (Invicta Radio), as they used to play everything from the 1950s to current music, and it gave me a good lesson in what I could've heard if I'd been around or been listening to the radio through my childhood. They didn't always play the obvious hits either, and they played a lot of then new pop/rock music which never bothered the top 40, but which I took to - 'Voices Of Babylon' by The Outfield, 'Typical!' by Frazier Chorus, 'The Mayor Of Simpleton' by XTC to name just three.

Around this time I also got into 'Just A Minute' on Radio 4, and I've been a fan of the show ever since. By the '90s I was listening to Radio 1, but still enjoying Radio 4 comedy, now also including 'The Masterson Inheritance' which I wish the BBC would release on CD.

[moonvisage]

Re: Radio Memories

In the late 70's and early 80's i always listened to radio 2 in the morning before going to school.I always remember loving it when Terry Wogan played: Guy Marks - Loving you has made me bananas,over and over again.

I use to love listening to Nightride in the early hours during the 90's and all the other late night shows,like Steve Madden,Alex Lester.

[80sChav]

Re: Radio Memories

I have too, too many to be honest

Probably vaugly listening to Radio Luxemburg growing up and laterly so Steve Wright's "Sunday Love Songs" and Magig FM launching in the 1990s (or rather Great Yorkshire Gold as it was known in my area - pre Magic)!

80sChav

[George 1978]

Re: Radio Memories

It was mostly local radio stations - usually Dennis McCarthy on BBC Radio Nottingham, or John Peters on Radio Trent. We used to listen to Dennis and Tara on Sunday mornings (during the days when there were just religion, adult education and Open University programme on Sunday morning television), and tune into John doing the Top 30 at midday.

By the way, I can I just say that it is wonderful that this Radio forum has now appeared since I have been away - the mods really listen to the punters on here! If you remember (please excuse the pun), I did suggest a radio forum on here, and I have found out in the past that you cannot get what you want in life, but saying that, an exception has been made here. Well done for setting it up.

[agfagaevart]

Re: Radio Memories

...Did you used to listen mostly to the BBC or the commercial stations? In the 1970s I generally listened to Capital because my older brother did. He was very scornful of Radio 1, and of anyone who listened to it, when he was a teenager, and I didn't want to give him an excuse to scorn me even more than he did already.

I used to listen to Capital Radio and LBC quite a lot in the '70s. Also Radio 1 from late - ish 70s throughout the early '80s which was a great time for radio in the UK. There were also spin-off Beeb channels like Radio London a former pirate which was worth a listen too. The shows I can recall are Soul Spectrum on Capital with Greg Edwards - Then he did his Best Disco in Town on the weekends live from the Lyceum in London. Kenny Everett's shows and Graham Dene's breakfast shows also were great. Wonder where he is now? Then Radio London copied Capital with their Soul Night Out with Tony Blackburn and then Steve Walsh took over. It was also good to hear talk radio like LBC; Monty Modlin had a phone-in show on Sunday nights circa 1979, and Steve Allen follow him at around 1am Monday morning. IIRC, Tommy Boyd took over Modlin's slot later on, he and Allen would always exchange their funny banter at the end of his shows. LBC had some really good presenters: Jim Kelts / Terése Birch / Mike Dicken / Sid Burke / Clive Bull / George Gale / Brian Hayes (he would cut people off his daytime phone-in show: "...you're talking nonsense!") it was quite hilarious to hear this really! The late great Bob Holness & Douglas Cameron did the breakfast shows in the week. Meanwhile on Capital there was Nicky Horne /John Sachs / Mick Brown & Kelly Temple ( who did their XZY on Air show for kids on Sunday afternoons, while Clive Bull (who is still at LBC today!) did his Young London show on LBC) LBC also had a kids show on Saturday mornings called Jellybone (rhyming slang for phone) hosted by Birch & Boyd. Also on Capital were Richard Allinson / PY Peter Young / Robbie Vincent (another great soul music DJ swapped over from the Beeb.) Pete Murray / Agony Aunt Anna Raeburn swapped between Capital and LBC along with Mike Dicken. Last but not least all those great pirate stations in London during the '80s and early '90s: Horizon / LWR / Sunrise /WIBS / DBC / Laser / WNK / Kiss FM started off with a great roster of jocks like Caesar the Geezer / Patrick Forge / Lindsay Wesker / Steve Jackson, etc. But since those great DJs left or got sacked, and the station is legal, god does it sound awful!

Another way I recall that the stations copied each other, was Radio 1 had it's Roadshows with all their top DJs of the time like Noel Edmunds etc, while Capital had its "Summer in the City" live events circa, 1980 onwards. I suspect both copied alldayers from Northern Soul clubs. Radio had their Sunday PM chart rundown at the same time as Capital Radio did theirs. While Roger Scott had a brill drivetime and chart show in the week.
They also started broadcasting plays, radio dramas and books in the afternoons - often repeated at the weekends: I recall Capital's Nicola Johnson series about a female reporter for a local newspaper, and LBC's version of The Irish RM with Peter Bowles around the mid '80s. It was also a TV series. One of the books that LBC broadcast very graphically the abuse of a young immigrant girl by a relative in detail! No doubt this would not happen today...

Of course I have many bags of recorded TDK tapes - Its quite funny to listen to those from time to time.

The memories came flooding back!

[Twocky61]

Re: Radio Memories

Mostly the commercial stations; more so the pirates

It was the pirates & Radio Luxembourg, that inspired the BBC to open BBC Radio 1. The BBC obviously felt their Home Service didn't include the youth of the day

So for the pirates: (to name a few)

Radio Caroline (now streaming online & 648khz AM sharing Manx Radio's frequency)

London

Veronica

Jackie (Jackie eventually gained their license & are still on air to this day)

For the commercial stations: (to name a few)

Radio Luxembourg

Manchester station Radio Piccadilly

[Clare]

Re: Radio Memories

I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg occasionally. I just remember a snippet of an advert jingle: "..the Odeon tonight!"

[zabadak]

Re: Radio Memories

I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg occasionally. I just remember a snippet of an advert jingle: "..the Odeon tonight!"

"Fab 208!"

[agfagaevart]

Re: Radio Memories

It was the pirates & Radio Luxembourg, that inspired the BBC to open BBC Radio 1. The BBC obviously felt their Home Service didn't include the youth of the day

So for the pirates: (to name a few)

Radio Caroline (now streaming online & 648khz AM sharing Manx Radio's frequency)

I forgot about Radio Luxembourg and Emporer Rosko!!

[Twocky61]

Re: Radio Memories

Also Stuart Henry and his wife Ollie presented on Luxembourg

[angliaknight]

Re: Radio Memories

Ah the good old days of the pirates, Caroline, London, even my strict father would tune in to a pirate station on Sunday lunchtimes because they had the Jim reeves show on called Radio 390 which i think was an old ww2 fort in the Thames estuary, in the 80s i would listen to the antics of Laser 558 all the hits, all the time, wasnt too keen for awhile then on Caroline because they went thru a phase of just playing album tracks.

[Twocky61]

Re: Radio Memories

With Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, or was it Mi Amigo? started to drift into our three mile limit, here in the UK. after engine failure

Within our three mile limit they would have been subject to the Maritime Offences Act and be arrested

Fortunately they restarted the engine and stayed outside our limit

So that's two fingers up at the authorities lol

[beccabear67]

Re: Radio Memories

Interesting reading, and I find the various pirate ship/fort stations particularly fascinating to learn about. I even have some record LPs from Holland that seem to have been put out by their Radio Veronica and one shows the ship on the front. I've seen the Fabulous 208 magazines from the '60s, I think it eventually merged with some other more general teen fashion/music/stories weekly, or changed direction anyway. I have one '60s magazine called DJ for David Jacobs Magazine, it's smallish like the old Pop Weekly. It's quite interesting with a piece on Jane Asher, wish I could find more. Jacobs was on the Juke Box Jury tv progamme and was on Radio Luxembourg.

I also have a couple old Annuals style books from the '60s and early '70s... one is all about the various DJs and quite thick and lots of photos, and another is I think an actual Radio 1 Annual. Also have a Simon Dee show one with lots of popstar photos. Were there ever any Radio Caroline books like these I wonder? Or would that have been courting further opposition to them existing? There is/was a man out here in western Canada who was a Radio Caroline DJ, they interviewed him on local television when that 'Ship That Rocked' film was out. I understand a few of them were Canadians.