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Does anyone make an excuse at work to put the radio to down tools on at around 10.25 am on a weekday, or even stop doing the Hoovering for 20 minutes in order to listen to, perhaps even putting the kettle on for a Batchelor's Cup a Soup a bit earlier for the Love Song?
I listen most weekday mornings, and Ken Bruce isn't too bad - you can tell that he is the veteran of the incumbent Radio 2 line up, whereas he was the youngish newcomer back in the mid 1980s. It doesn't seem the same when Bruce goes on holiday (he has the same holidays as the teachers do for he is a family man), and have a sit in presenter is in his place.
There are one or two things that I am not fond of about it, but on the whole it's quite good - contestant A and B usually come from different parts of our almost United Kingdom. Kenneth gets a bit chummy with anyone calling from Scotland, as if he has known them for years - he also adds a bit of nosiness, asking them about what they do for a living, who their other half is, (giving me the impression that Popmaster doesn't allow singles on the quiz); and what their average score happens to be.
The contestant is given a choice of two categories for their bonus question: "Once at One", "Radio Times" and "Name the Year" isn't usually the contestant's cup of tea, even though a "Name the Year" question is automatically within the set of questions. The questions are asked, the contestant answers 1985 for the Name the Year question when the answer is actually 1984. "ONE YEAR OUT!" as a result, become the Popmaster answer to the "I've started, so I'll finish" catchphrase. Contestant A finishes his stint - Bruce plays a song, and then comes back for the second contestant, and does the same, also trying to avoid the obvious ones that keep coming up every week. One contestant eventually wins outright, and if they don't, a tie breaker takes place until either one gets a question correct, and the other gets one wrong, they run out of questions, or Jeremy Vine's programme is shortened to allow the "extra time".
And then we get the "Three in Ten" at the end - the punter needs to get three songs from a certain singer or group within ten seconds. It never seems to be Elvis Presley or the Beatles for obvious reasons, but more like A-Ha or the Pet Shop Boys. Those with 36 points or less have a go, and it's variable on whether they get three in ten or not. It is usually someone who has just had one number one hit but has spent more than 100 weeks in the charts over 20 years.
At the end, Bruce invites the winner to "say a few hellos" (where the contestant used to ask if they could do that), contestants give us a verbal family tree and Facebook account - anyone from wife Sue to Great Auntie Edna in Basingstoke, "and anyone else who knows me" in just 30 seconds before signing off (which I think is rather annoying to be honest). It's a chance to show off that you do have a partner, but most of all, prove that you are in Kent, and you have family in Cumbria, taking the advantage of national radio bringing them both together. They can then look forward to their "ONE YEAR OUT" t-shirt and Bluetooth speaker gets sent to their home address, and perhaps even come back for Champions' Popmaster in December if they have scored 36 points or higher. Bruce then plays a long version of a song such as Words by John Miles or MacArthur Park by Richard Harris in order to lead up to the next travel bulletin.
No, I really enjoy the quiz - it's not perfect like a lot of BBC Radio stuff, but it often feels exciting due to its live nature. It's a bit like the late Ed Stewart and his Accumulator Quiz in the mid 1990s - and you can take it around the country where ever you go. I have admit that I have often got right a lot of Name the Year questions, unless they were from the 1990s or 2000s, and it's great when one gets a question right when Mr or Ms Contestant has got wrong - the same with University Challenge when one or two of the Oxbridge unis are on there. The shake up of the 2007 phone scandal really did put Popmaster in limbo for a few months, but it made its return as fresh as ever.
I suppose that most people are too busy working in order to listen...
I listen most weekday mornings, and Ken Bruce isn't too bad - you can tell that he is the veteran of the incumbent Radio 2 line up, whereas he was the youngish newcomer back in the mid 1980s. It doesn't seem the same when Bruce goes on holiday (he has the same holidays as the teachers do for he is a family man), and have a sit in presenter is in his place.
There are one or two things that I am not fond of about it, but on the whole it's quite good - contestant A and B usually come from different parts of our almost United Kingdom. Kenneth gets a bit chummy with anyone calling from Scotland, as if he has known them for years - he also adds a bit of nosiness, asking them about what they do for a living, who their other half is, (giving me the impression that Popmaster doesn't allow singles on the quiz); and what their average score happens to be.
The contestant is given a choice of two categories for their bonus question: "Once at One", "Radio Times" and "Name the Year" isn't usually the contestant's cup of tea, even though a "Name the Year" question is automatically within the set of questions. The questions are asked, the contestant answers 1985 for the Name the Year question when the answer is actually 1984. "ONE YEAR OUT!" as a result, become the Popmaster answer to the "I've started, so I'll finish" catchphrase. Contestant A finishes his stint - Bruce plays a song, and then comes back for the second contestant, and does the same, also trying to avoid the obvious ones that keep coming up every week. One contestant eventually wins outright, and if they don't, a tie breaker takes place until either one gets a question correct, and the other gets one wrong, they run out of questions, or Jeremy Vine's programme is shortened to allow the "extra time".
And then we get the "Three in Ten" at the end - the punter needs to get three songs from a certain singer or group within ten seconds. It never seems to be Elvis Presley or the Beatles for obvious reasons, but more like A-Ha or the Pet Shop Boys. Those with 36 points or less have a go, and it's variable on whether they get three in ten or not. It is usually someone who has just had one number one hit but has spent more than 100 weeks in the charts over 20 years.
At the end, Bruce invites the winner to "say a few hellos" (where the contestant used to ask if they could do that), contestants give us a verbal family tree and Facebook account - anyone from wife Sue to Great Auntie Edna in Basingstoke, "and anyone else who knows me" in just 30 seconds before signing off (which I think is rather annoying to be honest). It's a chance to show off that you do have a partner, but most of all, prove that you are in Kent, and you have family in Cumbria, taking the advantage of national radio bringing them both together. They can then look forward to their "ONE YEAR OUT" t-shirt and Bluetooth speaker gets sent to their home address, and perhaps even come back for Champions' Popmaster in December if they have scored 36 points or higher. Bruce then plays a long version of a song such as Words by John Miles or MacArthur Park by Richard Harris in order to lead up to the next travel bulletin.
No, I really enjoy the quiz - it's not perfect like a lot of BBC Radio stuff, but it often feels exciting due to its live nature. It's a bit like the late Ed Stewart and his Accumulator Quiz in the mid 1990s - and you can take it around the country where ever you go. I have admit that I have often got right a lot of Name the Year questions, unless they were from the 1990s or 2000s, and it's great when one gets a question right when Mr or Ms Contestant has got wrong - the same with University Challenge when one or two of the Oxbridge unis are on there. The shake up of the 2007 phone scandal really did put Popmaster in limbo for a few months, but it made its return as fresh as ever.
I suppose that most people are too busy working in order to listen...
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