My first memories of listening to Radio 2 are those Sunday
lunchtimes when Family Favourites,
Michael Aspel hosting I seem to recall, was on the family Grundig wireless set.
Yes, families really did have the radio on during the day and all sat down at
the table for a meal, hard to believe I know. It was that and the comedy shows
that followed with The Clitheroe Kid being
a particular favourite- goodness knows why when I listen back to it now.
By the time I'd become interested in radio in the mid-70s I
was fascinated by the way the station started each day: the test tones, then
silence, the announcer - Colin Berry on weekdays and Tom Edwards on Saturday - playing
the In Tune with You jingle ("the
music's all here and waiting to spin, as we start to get ready to brighten your
day") and welcoming listeners on 1500 metres long wave, 247 metres medium
wave and stereo VHF.
I consumed as much of the station as I could even tuning in
to those shows featuring the radio orchestras, I still have a couple of tapes
with music arranged and conducted by Alyn Ainsworth for the Radio Orchestra.
For years I was obsessed with tracking down a recording of Count Basie's Nice 'n' Easy, the theme for The Late Show, it was only when Amazon
came along that I was able obtain the CD and hear the full track.
Little did I think that decades later some of those
recordings I made of the station's output could be shared with the world via
this blog. I know I can't possibly hope to communicate fifty years of Radio 2
in fifty minutes (actually fifty-two) but this is my audio tribute to mark the
station's golden anniversary. It doesn't aim to be a comprehensive, the clips
you hear, and most apart from some very early ones are mine, are what I could
lay my hands on during three editing sessions earlier this summer. Enjoy this
audio soundscape from Paul Hollingdale to Simon Mayo.
3 comments:
"My first memories of listening to Radio 2 are those Sunday lunchtimes when Family Favourites, Michael Aspel hosting I seem to recall, was on the family Grundig wireless set. Yes, families really did have the radio on during the day and all sat down at the table for a meal, hard to believe I know."
Was this - https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61p-06yIISL._SY355_.jpg - the scene?
Excellent and much of it from when Radio 2 was good. I can no longer listen to it I'm afraid.
Nice to hear the great Benny Green - do you have the full episode?
How wonderful to hear the clip of Ray Moore's Saturday Late Show. At that time I was in my late teens/early twenties, and generally much more into John Peel's eclectic mix of contemporary music on weekday evenings over on Radio 1.
However, it was a time when I was just beginning to fall in love with London, and I can't remember how, but I discovered Ray's show and somehow his atmospheric introductions just somehow captured the excitement of being in London when I tuned-in from leafy rural Hampshire.
Ray Moore, a truly gifted communicator and all-round lovely bloke!
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