It’s at least 12 years since I first heard something described as “meta”. The meaning was not entirely clear. The word comes up occasionally, and although I had an idea of what it means, until now I had never looked it up or used it myself. Last month Kate Nash used the word “meta” during… Continue reading Word of the week: meta
Our car stereo has a button with the letters “TA” on it. It allows you to control whether Traffic Announcements interrupt what you’re listening to (radio or CD in our case). You might be familiar with the concept. The first time I encountered it in action, back in the 1990s, in a different car, was… Continue reading “Temporary traffic lights on the Redbridge Roundabout”
Some years, during the season of Lent, I make regular visits to the graveyard where my mother is buried. In those years the grave will be made ready for her anniversary, on 10 April, without too much of a rush. Other years, like last year, we only plant new flowers a day or two before… Continue reading Fell asleep, passed, lost, slipped away
Last month, writing about Led Zeppelin, I mentioned my radio highlight of recent months, Robert Plant talking about Elvis Presley on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. The show was available on the iPlayer until 11 November and I wrote, “If I’m organized enough I’ll transcribe the audio so that you can… Continue reading Robert Plant, transcribed
Last week, after the final show in the current season of “Upstart Crow”, my wife and I were having a conversation which led me to reflect on how good Jonathan Ross’s old radio programme was. For a few years, until around 2009, it occupied the Saturday late-morning slot (10am till 1pm) on BBC Radio 2,… Continue reading “Strictly 70s Crumpet”
Pop Master, the pop quiz that takes place every weekday on Ken Bruce’s BBC Radio 2 show at 10.30am, is the most listened-to slot on UK radio, apart from breakfast shows. Every Monday to Friday around 7.5 million people tune in, as I noted here, in my original Menu Item about Trivia. I catch up… Continue reading 100 Rounds of Pop Master
Tony Blackburn is back on BBC Radio 2, our radio station of choice. I am very pleased about this. He’s on for an hour on Friday nights at 7pm and on Saturday mornings between 6 and 8am, broadcasting live. For the latter he has taken over the “Sounds of the 60s” slot from Brian Matthew… Continue reading Tony Blackburn
The clock is ticking. Change is coming. Something we have enjoyed since the 1970s will no longer be part of our lives. I am referring here (the weekend after we learnt the result of the UK’s EU Referendum) to Paul Gambaccini’s BBC Radio Show, “America’s Greatest Hits”. From July 2016 Paul Gambaccini will host Radio… Continue reading End of an era
Some years ago BBC Radio 2 compiled “The Nation’s Favourite No 2 Single” a chart of the best songs to make it as far as #2 in the UK charts and no further. They compiled a list of “around 100 classic number two hits” and then Radio 2 listeners voted for their favourites. The results… Continue reading More Pop Trivia: Stuck at 2
There’s a documentary available on the BBC iPlayer now (and for another 27 days) about the gig that took place 40 years ago today in Manchester, the first Sex Pistols appearance in that city, at the Lesser Free Trade Hall. It’s called “One Night in Manchester: The Gig That Changed Music Forever”. Peter Hook, Jordan… Continue reading Punk and Prog
The Compartments 