Rogerzilla's quick guide to UK radio

[Chris S]

If you ever wondered where Radio 2's DJ's end up after the BBC have done their ageist thing and kicked them out, tune in to Smooth FM.

Thankfully, you won't find Sarah Kennedy there.

[clarion]

Don't think Mrs 'Arding's Kid'll wash up on those shores

[Mike J]

I don't listen to any of the ones in the list.

[CAMRAMan]

Radio5 Live discovered phone-ins a few years ago and warmed to them to sucn an extent that I switch off whenever one is on. Lazy, cheap radio.

[Exit Stage Left]

How many people 'channel hop' on radio? Ours stays tuned in to Radio 2, as a sort of secular quasi-religious background.

Nigel Ogden enthusing about the four manual Compton, installed at the Odeon Cinema in some provincial town in New Zealand is like the Lord's Prayer to us, as we have our tea after circuit training on a Tuesday night. Others treat 'Pop Master' as a weekday morning sacrament.

Radio 2 is a liturgical form, it provides a reassuring background to life. It's not there to surprise, merely to soothe, it's stained glass radio. Radio 4 is the voice of the pulpit, it's there to preach, if you're keen on sermons, it's the one for you. With I Player if a particular sermon is flagged up, I might listen. In the meantime the moral content on 2 is restricted to 'Pause for Thought', the other religious bits are mainly hymn-singing.

[Tim Hall]

No mention of community radio.

We've got one of them round here. Small reach, very very local in outlook. Staffed, it seems, by volunteers. Can be dire, can be interesting. Rather like local radio used to be before Emap/Global Radio bought them all. 

I tuned into one up in the Frozen North a few weeks as I hooned down the M1. The Damned, Love Song. Turned the volume upto 11.

[Biggsy]

Maybe community internetting has taken over from community radio?


I learnt a lot from phone-ins (back when I listened to LBC) - mostly about how right-wing idiots think, but also about everything else.

[clarion]

When young, I had an old valve radio, and I listened to whatever I could find on the Short Wave - Radio Moscow, TWMC, VoA, World Service.  But I loved those rare snatches of faint broadcasts from obscure places like Radio Tirana, Voice of Vietnam, Vatican Radio...

Then, when the Goplana died, and I couldn't find any more valves, I became Radio 4 straight down the line (with World Service at night, natch).  But now I will listen to Radio 2 for Popmaster, Johhny Walker, Paul O'Grady, occasional EPOS or Aled, and, till recently, the odd edition of Smagladin's show.  Then there's 4Extra for various bits & pieces, such as the Comedy Club, and light drama serials.

If there's nothing else on, then Absolute Classic Rock gets a turn, or Planet Rock while washing up (especially if it's Alice Cooper).

And I still find time to listen to snippets of World Service.

I've turned into a radio tart.

[Wascally Weasel]

Radio 6 is for pseuds.

What are pseuds?

Hipsters gone old?

[clarion]

i forgot another appointment on my dial - 1300-1600 weekdays is RadMac territory.  Except there seems to be some wittering idiot standing in today.

[geraldc]

As a fan of spoken radio when BBC 7 switched to 4 extra, I thought it lost something, and went over to listening to downloaded podcasts instead. Apps like stitcher have revolutionised listening for me.

[LEE]

I suppose if I weren't a Radio tart, and was forced to choose a station, then it would be Radio 2.

It really isn't far away from being the 55 year old's Radio 1 now.

However, I still need my fix of Radcliffe & Maconie on 6 (cross-post with Clarion).  Come on Radio 2, get them back under your wing and you'll be one step closer.

I suppose there needs to be a constant careful hand-off of listeners, as they hit 30 and R1 stops being relevant to them, to an intermediate station.  R2/R6 is perfect for me (R4 is as annoying as R1 to my ears) but where do current R2 listeners go in 20 years, when R1 hands-off another generation to R2?

You can't expect me to listen to adverts about double-glazing or a local tyre-fitting company so it must be BBC and R3 seems full of Oboes and Violins.

Maybe the stations should just be named after birth years of their potential listener group..

Radio 1 becomes - Radio 1998-2012
Radio 2 becomes - Radio 1960-1980
Radio 3 becomes - Radio 1812-1904

....and so on

The problem with R2 currently is that you can't leave it on all day.  You hear Oasis singing about "cigarettes and alcohol" on one show and then Ken Dodd singing about "Tears for Souvenirs" on the following show.  Someone needs to create Radio 2.5 and move the Ken Dodd, Max Bygraves and Englebert Humperdink fans along.

[rogerzilla]

Remember when R2 was all easy listening?  Manhattan Transfer, Brotherhood of Man and "Sing Something Simple" on Sunday evening?  That's why I am allergic to it now.

[Fab Foodie]

The problem with R2 currently is that you can't leave it on all day.  You hear Oasis singing about "cigarettes and alcohol" on one show and then Ken Dodd singing about "Tears for Souvenirs" on the following show.  Someone needs to create Radio 2.5 and move the Ken Dodd, Max Bygraves and Englebert Humperdink fans along.

That's IMO what's great about R2, the fact that it's broad and almost eclectic in its mix of music.  I'd welcome a radio show that put Brahms next to Tinchie Stryder followed by some John Coltrane or Val Doonican.  If you listen to something samey like Heart FM it's the equivalent of Aural Waterboarding ....

[De Sisti]

What about internet radio? I discovered Stomp Radio (Wed evening Jazz 10 pm - 1 am)
just over 12 months ago.


Oh, and I can catch up with Hancock's Half Hour by streaming via my Pure Evoke if I've
missed the episode on R4extra.

[LEE]

The problem with R2 currently is that you can't leave it on all day.  You hear Oasis singing about "cigarettes and alcohol" on one show and then Ken Dodd singing about "Tears for Souvenirs" on the following show.  Someone needs to create Radio 2.5 and move the Ken Dodd, Max Bygraves and Englebert Humperdink fans along.

That's IMO what's great about R2, the fact that it's broad and almost eclectic in its mix of music.  I'd welcome a radio show that put Brahms next to Tinchie Stryder followed by some John Coltrane or Val Doonican. 

I agree (and I think this helps British pop music be so diverse and inventive, that we rarely just tune into a pure Country & Western station for example).  However...it tends to be 2 hours of Val Doonican, Max Bygraves, Des O'Connor..before I get to hear Brahms (Did you know Brahms had a hit with "Come Outside" with Mike Sarne?*)

* Tenous musical gag of 2013 contender

[clarion]

Good gag, mind

[Deano]

The problem with R2 currently is that you can't leave it on all day.  You hear Oasis singing about "cigarettes and alcohol" on one show and then Ken Dodd singing about "Tears for Souvenirs" on the following show.  Someone needs to create Radio 2.5 and move the Ken Dodd, Max Bygraves and Englebert Humperdink fans along.

That's IMO what's great about R2, the fact that it's broad and almost eclectic in its mix of music.  I'd welcome a radio show that put Brahms next to Tinchie Stryder followed by some John Coltrane or Val Doonican.  If you listen to something samey like Heart FM it's the equivalent of Aural Waterboarding ....

I agree, even with stations I like. Peel used to put on a cracking mix, as did Andy Kershaw. Adam and Joe's 6Music show did it brilliantly, though the music was secondary there.

Actually, there was a good moment on 6music this affer, when thank-fuck-it's-not-Maconie played some northern soul, then Cypress Hill a few tracks later.

I listen to shows rather than stations now, though less so since the IT boffins switched off the iplayer facility (apparently people were using it to catch up on last night's telly, and they couldn't remove the TV facility while leaving the radio facility there). Radio 5 is the default background station, until it gets too footbally.

[nicknack]

I stopped listening to any form of radio when Radio 3 dropped "Mixing It" umpteen years ago.

[clarion]

R2 does have Desmond Carrington, who plays records thematically linked, from a variety of ages and styles.

[Butterfly]

And Paul O'Grady who plays pre-war pieces as well as everything else. 

I like Mr O'Grady.

[Exit Stage Left]

R2 does have Desmond Carrington, who plays records thematically linked, from a variety of ages and styles.

Donna Summer was the surprise item in MC Desmo's last show.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pf0fz

I used to like Bob Dylan's show. I enjoyed Gloria Estefan's Latin series, it's a form I like, but have little knowledge of, and she's a good presenter.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

The problem with R2 currently is that you can't leave it on all day.  You hear Oasis singing about "cigarettes and alcohol" on one show and then Ken Dodd singing about "Tears for Souvenirs" on the following show.  Someone needs to create Radio 2.5 and move the Ken Dodd, Max Bygraves and Englebert Humperdink fans along.

They've had some weird stuff going on over the holiday period but I don't think it's particularly Ken Doddy generally.

[Tim Hall]

Provincial commercial radio:  Playlist of five songs.  Double glazing adverts.

The famille boab plays 'countdown to Rihanna' where before the radio is turned on to KISS FM we each guess how many songs till we hear the carribean crooner do her thing. Even Mr Smith can play along, despite not recognising her work, as it's always a number less than 10. It whiles away car journeys, anyway.

In the interests of SCIENCE I tried this on the way home. I thought I'd be banjaxed by not knowing what Rhianna's current (or indeed past) output sounds like. However all was well as the DJ announced that "next up a bit of Rhianna". After two records.  I larfed.

[Fab Foodie]

Good gag, mind

I'm laughing on the inside ... honest