Webarama - Part 1

I thought I'd share with you some of the sites and blogs that'll be of interest to anyone who wants to discover more about the history of radio broadcasting. So here are a few taken from my favourites list:

Radio Rewind a great place to start to get a detailed history of the DJs and shows on Radio's 1 & 2. Plenty of audio clips too.
This is ILR an unofficial history of many of the original ILR stations.
Azanorak a vast archive of pirate radio shows plus stuff from BBC and ILR stations. You'll need to join the Radio Caroline Yahoo Group to access the audio.
Aircheck Downloads hundreds of scoped airchecks from the 80s onwards from UK and US stations.
Digital Spy Radio Forum want to know what's going on in radio and what people think about it then dip into this very busy forum. With the occasional contribution from me too.
Radio 2 Forum another active forum this time mainly for BBC Radio 2. Contact John Wright to sign up. Again you may spot the odd post from me.
Radio Today the latest industry news.
Vintage Broadcasting a mix of audio from the pirates, ILR and BBC (sadly no longer online).
Swedish Radio Archive despite the name you'll find audio from Luxy 208, BBC and plenty of Kenny Everett on Capital.
Radio Luxembourg Archive links to a whole load of shows from the 1960s onwards.
Whirligig Radio Days specialising in the 1950s you can read all about the shows on the Home Service and Light Programme.
Masters of Melody if you recall the old orchestral shows on the Light Programme then you'll find some audio of Music While You Work and other shows on this site created by Brian Reynolds.
Reel Radio Top 40 Aircheck Museum mainly from the USA. Annual contribution required.
Pirate Radio Hall of Fame want to read more about the pirate ships this is the site for you.
Cassette Archive private collector who's uploaded some old radio shows. Loads of 'Mark and Lard' shows here.
Internet Archive-Old Time Radio mostly US comedy and drama but some old BBC comedy shows can be found.
Frequency Finder this site has lots of broadcasting history articles. This link will take you to some classic Radio 1 schedules from 1967 to 2004.
Missing Episodes mainly geared to TV but there is a Radio forum to discuss any new finds.
Transdiffusion articles about TV and Radio mostly from an historic perspective.
Retrospace although not exclusively radio-related fellow blogger Andy Howells has covered radio comedy and some old 1960s radio schedules.

Jingle Sites

When I first started recording music off the radio I soon developed an interest in the jingles too. There are literally hundreds of collectors around the world who know far more about the subject that I do. Here's a list of just some of the jingle sites to visit, all have audio to download:

Jinglemad the best site for discussion about classic jingles and the current scene.
JAM Creative Productions the biggest and best producers who produced all the jingles for Radios 1 & 2 from the mid-70s to mid-90s.
PAMS of Dallas THE jingle company from the 50s to the 70s who produced many of the best known jingles still being re-sung today.
Music4 best known for producing jingles and beds for Chris Moyles.
s2blue new packages and re-sings from this Staffordshire based company.
Wise Buddah jingle and programme producers who most recently created the imaging for Smooth Radio.
GrooveWorx US production company who, as Groove Addicts, created the Radio 2 package back in 1997 and still in use today.
The Jingle Network current news plus archive material from the old Jingle Ark site. Produces a regular jingle-related podcast.
Jingles News with, guess what, news about jingles.
Norman Barrington's Radio Pages extensive audio from one of the original collectors of jingles.
Pete Wilson Jingles Site another long time collector.
Media Preservation Society site run by Tracy Carmen, the biggest collector and jingle archivist stateside.
Freeway Music European company who produce some great jingles for French radio, including my favourite Nostalgie. Site is in French.
Top Format Dutch company that produce their own material for stations across Europe.
Bespoke Music online audio from this UK company.
TM Studios Dallas-based company with mainly US audio online.
Jingle Jaunts blog written by Robin Blamires with stacks of jingles from the UK commercial and BBC local stations.

Next time I'll highlight some station specific tribute sites I've come across.