Radio 1 at 50 - Part 4 It's 1FM

September 1992 and marking a quarter of a century on air Radio 1 faces the end of an era - though little did we know it at the time. A year later DLT had gone. So had Bates, Bob Harris and Fluff. Beerling was out. Bannister was in. Still, the station was in celebratory mood and it would be the last time it would widely acknowledge its heritage until its 40th some 15 years later. 

So how did Radio 1 sound on its 25th birthday on 30 September 1992? Fortunately I recorded some chunks of that day's broadcasts. 

The main event was The Birthday Train, yet another excuse to get Simon Bates out of the studio. In this case it was on a train making its way from Edinburgh to London where it was to be officially named by Catherine Zeta Jones no less as 'BBC Radio 1FM'. 

Musically it's not a typical day - Cliff Richard and Sandie Shaw are amongst the artists on Bruno Brookes' playlist. From this week Radio 1 was renamed 1FM - a short-lived affectation - and there was the new Closer to the Music jingle package.

In this first sequence its Bruno and then Simon Mayo with the Breakfast Crew (Diane Oxberry and Rod McKenzie) with occasional link-ups with Bates. The its over to Simes on the train for part of The Golden Hour. (Does anyone have a copy of Vince Clarke's version of Theme One?) The 1FM Express was 45 minutes late into King's Cross - apparently a careless JCB driver cut through a signalling cable - so Jakki Brambles is late on air broadcasting from the Roof Gardens in Kensington. With Jakki is station controller Johnny Beerling, Tony Hadley, Midge Ure, Smiley Miley, Neil Arthur (ex-Blancmange) and Boy George. (All credit to Peter Powell as Tony, Neil and Boy George all mention him playing their records and encouraging them).       

This second sequence comprises the best bits of "the winning team" billed as Steve Wright So Far with some old sketches including Mr Angry from Purley, Laura's Second Love, John Bowles, Gervaise, Llama Man and Linda Lust plus archive clips of guests John Mayor, John Smith, Mel Gibson, Clive Anderson, Sylvester Stallone, Smashie and Nicey, Dame Edna Everage, Spike Milligan, Richard and Judy, Bruce Forsyth, Steven Wright, Phil Cornwell and Danny Baker.

In the third and final sequence from 30 September 1992 its Mark Goodier, first with Mega Hits, "the Top 10 you choose every day" and then after News 92 in comes the Evening Session. The Session includes current chart acts covering some of the biggest number ones of the last 25 years: The Wonder Stuff's version of Slade's Coz I Love You, Kingmaker's Lady Madonna, Blur's Maggie May, Boy George's My Sweet Lord, The Frank and Walters cover of I'm a Believer and, bizarely, Ned's Atomic Dustbin with Charlene's I've Never Been to Me. There's also The Mission with their version of Atomic, Billy Bragg with When Will I See You Again?, Carter USM's cover of Another Brick in the Wall, The Farm with Don't You Want Me? and Manic Street Preachers with Suicide is Painless. All these tracks were later released on the NME album Ruby Trax.   

For whatever reason I didn't record the Man Ezeke so we move onto "the man with musical plan" Nicholas Andrew Argyle Campbell. Nicky plays a selection of number hit singles and album tracks from 1967 onwards - my recording ends in 1977 with Way Down. Finally, to round off the day part of Bob Harris's classy overnight show.   

The Official Chart - A New Era

It won't have escaped your notice that the BBC's Official Chart Show has shifted from its traditional Sunday slot to Friday afternoon. Whilst it's easy to get all misty-eyed about listening to (and in all probability recording) the Top 40 on a Sunday, most of those doing so are unlikely to still be listening to Radio 1 and would struggle to name the current number one.    

Greg James delivered an exemplary performance on Friday's new chart. Minimum chat and maximum music. With a running time almost half that of the old Sunday show there's only time to play the Top 25 but at least it cut back on the extraneous stuff that had crept into the show in recent years. Note how Greg welcomes in the "new era" with the full date, ideal for archive clipping, and refers to "the exciting new sound", a lovely touch I thought. This is "proper radio history."

That mention of "the exciting new sound" was probably on Greg's mind after speaking to Tony Blackburn earlier in the day on BBC Radio Berkshire.

The chart show had been a Sunday afternoon fixture since 7 January 1962 when Alan Freeman's Pick of the Pops moved from Saturday nights. Two DJs stand out as imbuing the programme with energy and excitement: Bruno Brookes and Mark Goodier. Both have made appearances on BBC local radio in the last few days.  

John Foster, a self-confessed radio anorak, put together a montage of clips and played some classic JAM jingles as part of his chat with Bruno Brookes on BBC Radio Tees last Friday:

Meanwhile Mark Goodier, the man who's got the best music, spoke to Stephanie Hirst on her new BBC Radio Manchester show Nothing But the 90s:

And the current number one: David Zowie's House Every Weekend. 

Other chart shows are available ... on a Sunday!

The Charts They Are a-Changin’

For chart enthusiasts it was all change on Tuesdays from October 1987. Tuning into Radio 1 at lunchtime – listening to Johnnie Walker, Paul Burnett, DLT or Gary Davies depending on your era – and noting down the chart positions ready for Sunday. Come Sunday you’d be there, finger poised over the pause button, waiting to record the latest chart entries. Admit it, we all did it!

“This show is going to kick everything else into touch,” boasted Bruno Brookes, bagging himself a Radio Times cover to boot. From now on chart release day was shifted from Tuesday to Sunday, requiring even more of a trigger finger for home tapers.

Broadcast the chart on the same day it’s compiled? Surely not!  When we now have chart shows that are updated to reflect sales and downloads during the programme it all sounds very quaint. Back in 1987 the chart manager at Gallup, Godfrey Rust, explained all to the Radio Times.

Of the 4,300 record shops Gallup selected a representative panel based on size of outlet, type of shop (chains like HMV, multiples like Boots or independents) and region. For the new chart this panel was upped from 250 to 500 shops.

Each of the panel shops has a little Epson data-gatherer and sales assistants key in each record’s catalogue number at the time of sale. The machine is connected to a telephone line and four times a week Gallup’s computer downloads the data. After the last update in the early hours of Sunday the chart is compiled.

The computer is able to compensate for incorrectly punched catalogue numbers, typically the first letter is missed. About 10 to 20 per cent of the information is rejected as “incomplete or unrepresentative.” For security a back-up system was maintained at Thame in Oxfordshire.
 

Anticipating the new chart and new show on Sunday 4 October 1987 Bruno said: “The Top 40 is already Europe’s most listened-to radio show. Now all of the music industry as well will have to be listening to find out where their records are. I can imagine executives and promoters jumping about making urgent telephone calls as I read out the positions, I like anything with a sense of excitement and this show tops the lot.”

And this is how it all sounded.
 

Here’s Paul Burnett with a Tuesday lunchtime chart rundown from September 1978. I can’t claim to have recorded this one; it comes from the pages of Radio Rewind.
 

From my own collection is this clip of Gary Davies, with his “Bit in the Middle”, and a chart from July 1984.