(~4 minutes to read)
The UK radio station that was “born” on Mrs. H’s 14th birthday turned 50 this weekend (Sept 30 to be precise). (Please don’t do the arithmetic—Mrs. H. won’t thank you for it!)
For many people who grew up with BBC Radio 1 in the 60s and 70s, this is a big(ish) deal, and in acknowledgement of that, the BBC had the very first Radio 1 DJ (Tony Blackburn) re-create his very first show, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 (cuz no self-respecting Radio 1 listener today (if there are any who respect themselves!) would want to listen to “Flowers in the Rain” or “Ode to Billy Joe”.)
A bit of background for anyone who didn’t grow up in the UK in the 1960s.
In 1967, the BBC re-vamped their radio output in response to the pirate radio stations that were operating from ships in international waters on the North Sea. They (the pirates) were broadcasting pop music without the necessary licences, and… gasp… young people were listening!
(Incidentally, these (formerly) young people are among the same people who have berated their kids (and grandkids) for downloading music from the likes of Napster, Kazaa, and Pirate Bay. There’s a question of degree, but some would say that wrong is wrong is wrong.)
And BTW, if you want a light-hearted and entertaining look at pirate radio, check out the 2009 movie called “The Boat that Rocked” in the UK and “Pirate Radio” in North America.
The BBC’s re-vamped output included Radio 1, a current pop music station; Radio 2, a middle-of-the-road station; Radio 3, a full-on classical music station; and Radio 4, a news/magazine station.
I spent my teen and twenties years listening to Radio 1. Originally on 247 metres on the Medium Wave, it moved to 275 and 285 metres soon after. Nowadays, we talk about AM and FM radio, and refer to stations with their frequencies rather than wavelengths. Radio 1 didn’t move to FM until 1987, by which time I’d worked for a record company for seven years and lost interest in the pop music industry. (The job may or may not have caused my loss of interest.)
Those who’ve listened to music on AM radio will know how difficult it is to learn song lyrics. The Bee Gees’ “and you come to me on a submarine” (How Deep is Your Love) was one that stumped me; another was Judy Collins’ insistence that we “Send in the Clouds” (Send in the Clowns). A neighbour friend of my mum tried to buy her son a copy of Elvis Presley’s “Marsha Cup” (I’m All Shook Up) back in the late 50s. So many other examples exist.
Where Am I Going With All This?
Good question!
A BBC reporter took to the streets of an English city armed with a portable radio and asked young people to tune it in to BBC Radio 1.
We saw people who weren’t sure about turning it on, and who didn’t know how to use the tuning wheel. At least one of those who cleared those hurdles didn’t know where Radio 1 was on the “dial”. Presumably if they listen to Radio 1 at all, they have presets on their car radio or something.
A quick look through the BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) Twitter account revealed that the point of the report was “a reminder to old people that the next generation may not have even a passing relationship with a thing they think of as a domestic fixture.” The reporter also posted, “It’s a surprise to many older people. It’s not a judgment on young people who’ve got better things to do with their time than fiddle FM dial.”
Unfortunately, many people didn’t “get it”, and mocked the report with comments about not being able to operate a spinning jenny or use a crank handle to start a car’s engine.
I just love how quick people are to condemn anything and everything these days!
What the reporter (who did know how to use a radio) didn’t point out was that at the other end of the spectrum is a host of Boomers who can handle a portable radio like a pro, but who don’t have a clue about most of the features available on smartphones. For example, does one swipe left or right to show interest? (For those of you don’t know, the Oxford Dictionary has an entry for “Swipe right (or left)”.
So are radios a thing of the past, or not? It seems they’re still available in the stores—certainly in Canada and the UK anyway—so someone must be buying them. And in an effort to appeal to the Boomers, the manufacturers offer retro-style radios. Sheesh!
Back to That Re-creation…
I took the time to listen to the recreated show today, and enjoyed most of it. The jingles gave me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling that only nostalgia can manage, and I was simultaneously horrified and pleasantly surprised to discover that I could still remember the words and tunes. Tony Blackburn’s banter was as corny as ever: I don’t know if he started out taking himself seriously (he was 24 when he first broadcast on Radio 1), but he certainly doesn’t nowadays, and that in itself is refreshing.
Blackburn wasn’t my favourite DJ by a long way, but you have to respect the man for still doing what he loves, and doing it well. I would have preferred to listen to Kenny Everett or Noel Edmonds or even DLT (Dave Lee Travis), but it was Blackburn that started the whole thing on Radio 1, and he deserves to have had the honour.
If you’re one of those who grew up with Radio 1 and would like to hear Tony Blackburn’s re-creation of that first show, click here. But hurry—it will only be available until October 30th, 2017.