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1979 In British Radio
This is a list of events in British radio during 1979. Events January *27 January – BBC Radio 2's last closedown at 02:02. Sarah Kennedy is at the Newsdesk after Brian Matthew finishes "Round Midnight". From 02:00 to 05:00 the following night, listeners hear "You and the Night and the Music". Radio 2 has the longest period of continuous broadcasting of any national radio station in the UK. *29 January – BBC Radio 1 begins its delayed weeknight mid-evening programme with Andy Peebles joining to host the new programme. It had originally been scheduled to launch on 13 November 1978 but was delayed as a result of trade union disputes. February *No events March *No events April *1 April – The first edition of '' Feedback'' is broadcast on BBC Radio 4. May *No events June *No events July *No events August *No events September *2 September – Tony Blackburn replaces Simon Bates as host of Radio 1's Top 40 show. October * 5 October – The Scottish Gaelic service launc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. The Radio 2 about page says: "With a repertoire covering more than 40 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio—from classic and mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues." Radio 2 broadcasts throughout the UK on FM between and from studios in Wogan House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. Programmes are broadcast on FM radio, digital radio via DAB, digital television and BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 14.4 million with a listening share of 16.1% as of September 2022. History 1967–1986 The network was launched at 5:30am on Saturday 30 September 1967, replacing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breakaway (radio Programme)
''Breakaway'' was BBC Radio's second regular consumer travel programme, the first being the short-lived "Away From It All", both run by producer Roger MacDonald. It was launched on 29 September 1979, when it ran from 9.05 to 9.50 on BBC Radio 4, where it continued to be broadcast live every Saturday morning in roughly the same time slot for almost two decades. Its longest-serving presenter was Bernard Falk, who fronted the programme from 1980 to 1990. ''Breakaway'' finally came to an end as part of the extensive schedule changes introduced by Radio 4 controller James Boyle in April 1998. History and format ''Breakaway'' took the BBC into a new era, far removed from the idealised travel dreams of the ''Holiday'' programme, presenting a relatively impartial and realistic view of travel. MacDonald favoured reporters who were members of the Guild of Travel Writers who were hardened travel professionals, and schooled them in the art of radio journalism. A regular commentator was Nigel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Touch (radio Series)
''In Touch'' is a programme on BBC Radio 4 airing "news, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted". History Janet Quigley who had been promoted into BBC management in 1956 took a key role in launching the world's first national radio programme for blind people which was named ''In Touch''.Paul Donovan, ‘Quigley, Janet Muriel Alexander (1902–1987)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 4 March 2017/ref> ''In Touch'' began to be broadcast by the BBC Home Service in 1961, and was continued by BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ... from 1967 with hosts including David Scott Blackhall and Peter White. As of 2011, the programme is broadcast every Tuesday at 8:40pm UK time, and is 20 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farming Today
''Farming Today'' is a radio programme about food, farming, and the countryside broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast each weekday morning (having been recorded the day before) from 5.45 to 5.58, and a longer programme (''Farming Today This Week'') is broadcast on Saturdays between 6.30 and 6.55. Around one million people listen to the programme. History ''Farming Today'' began life on 20 September 1960 as a weekly 15-minute programme subtitled ''A review of current affairs in agriculture at home and abroad'' and broadcast at 19.15 on Tuesdays as part of the BBC's Third Network's sequence of educational broadcasting known as Network Three. From 3 October 1961 the programme's start time was moved to 19.00, and from 7 January 1964 it changed again, to 19.45. The run of weekly programmes on Network Three came to an end on 25 August 1964 and from 31 August ''Farming Today'' (now subtitled ''News, market trends, and current topics'') moved to a 6.35–6.50 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Your Hundred Best Tunes
''Your Hundred Best Tunes'' was a BBC radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera and ballads. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and presenter, Alan Keith. Subsequently, tunes were suggested by requests and polls of listeners. History ''The Hundred Best Tunes in the World'' was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme from 15 November 1959 until 7 February 1960, when Alan Keith's personal list of one hundred had all been played. The title was changed from 14 February 1960. At this point it ran for half an hour from 10 to 10.30 pm, but from 25 December 1960 it was extended and moved to earlier in the evening, running from 7.35 to 8.30 pm. From 12 March 1961 it adopted the 9 to 10 pm time slot which it would occupy for the rest of its life, on four different networks: it moved from the Light Programme to the Home Servic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sing Something Simple
''Sing Something Simple'' was a half-hour radio programme, which featured Cliff Adams and The Cliff Adams Singers, with Jack Emblow on accordion. The programme ran for 42 years from 1959 until 2001, initially on the BBC Light Programme and later on BBC Radio 2, and earning itself the title of the longest-running continuous music programme in the world. Format The lyrics to its main theme began as follows: ''Sing something simple'' ''As cares go by'' ''Sing something simple'' ''Just you and I'' When ''Sing Something Simple'' was broadcast by Radio 2, this song would be followed by an announcer (in latter years, Alan Dedicoat Alan Dedicoat (born 1 December 1954) is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes, providing a voiceover for the draws since 1995. He was a BBC Radio 2 newsreade ...) who would say: "''We invite you to Sing Something Simple, a collection of favourite songs, old and new, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Today (BBC Radio 4)
''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced by BBC News and is the highest-rated programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. In-depth political interviews and reports are interspersed with regular news bulletins, as well as ''Thought for the Day''. It has been voted the most influential news programme in Britain in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening audience around 7 million. History ''Today'' was launched on the BBC's Home Service on 28 October 1957 as a programme of "topical talks" to give listeners an alternative to listening to light music. The programme's founders were Isa Benzie and Janet Quigley. Benzie gave the programme its name, and served as its first ''de facto'' editor. It was initially broadcast as two 20-minute ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural setting". Having aired over 19,500 episodes, it is the world's longest-running drama by number of episodes. Five pilot episodes were aired in 1950, and the first episode was broadcast nationally on New Year's Day 1951. A significant show in British popular culture, and with over five million listeners, it is Radio 4's most listened-to non-news programme, and with over one million listeners via the internet, the programme holds the record for BBC Radio online listening figures. In February 2019, a panel of 46 broadcasting industry experts, of which 42 had a professional connection to the BBC, listed ''The Archers'' as the second-greatest radio programme of all time. Partly established with the aim towards educating farmers following World War II, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book At Bedtime
''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, new works by leading writers, and literature from around the world. Books are abridged and typically serialised over one or two weeks and occasionally three, usually read by well-known actors. Occasionally, from a collection of short stories, five stories from the book will be selected and one broadcast each evening. History The series began on the BBC Light Programme on 31 January 1949, billed for the first week only as "Late-Night Serial", with the first instalment of a 15-part reading of the John Buchan novel ''The Three Hostages'', read by Arthur Bush. There was a break after 29 March 1957, but the programme returned under its old title, now on the BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio statio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey, ''Woman's Hour'' was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme. Janet Quigley, who was also involved with the birth of the UK radio programme ''Today'', has been credited with "virtually creating" the programme. The programme was transferred to its current home in 1973. Over the years it has been presented by Mary Hill (19461963), Joan Griffiths (19471949), Olive Shapley (19491953), Jean Metcalfe (19501968), Violet Carson (19521956), Marjorie Anderson (19581972), Teresa McGonagle (19581976), Judith Chalmers (19661970), Sue MacGregor (19721987), Jenni Murray (1987–2020), Martha Kearney (1998 to March 2007), and Jane Garvey (8 October 2007 to December 2020). Fill-in presenters have included Andrea Cather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Letter From America
''Letter from America'' was a weekly fifteen-minute speech radio series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and its predecessor, the Home Service, and around the world through the BBC World Service. From its first edition to its last, it was presented by Alistair Cooke, who would speak of a topical issue in the US, tying together different strands of observation and anecdote and often ending on a humorous or poignant note. The series ran from 24 March 1946 to 20 February 2004, making it the longest-running speech radio programme hosted by one individual.BBC News 31 October 2012: ''Alistair Cooke – Letter from America: Bringing two nations together Retrieved 2012-11-03 History ''Letter from A ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down Your Way
''Down Your Way'' was a BBC radio series which ran from 29 December 1946 to 1992, originally on the Home Service, later on BBC Radio 4, usually being broadcast on Sunday afternoons. It visited towns and villages around the United Kingdom, spoke to residents and played their choice of music. It was initially hosted by Stewart MacPherson, who presented the first twelve shows, but in 1947, after brief hosting spells by Lionel Gamlin and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, Richard Dimbleby took over its presentation until 1955, then Franklin Engelmann until his death in 1972 when Brian Johnston took over until 1987. In 1975, despite then being the second most popular programme on radio, it was taken off the air as an 'economy measure'. It was subsequently reinstated, after a storm of popular protest. From 1987 until its demise in 1992 it had a different celebrity host every week, who would visit a place of significance in their own liveseffectively turning it into 'Down My Way' and blending it i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
