This is a list of events from British radio in 1964.

Events

January

*5 January –

Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to ...

returns as host of ''

Pick of the Pops ''Pick of the Pops'' is a long-running BBC Radio programme originally based on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Radio 2) from 19 ...

''. *26 January – York Hospital Radio goes on air with its first programme.

February

*No events

March

*27 March – '' Children's Hour'' (renamed ''For the Young'') is broadcast for the last time, on the BBC Home Service. *28 March –

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly ...

, a "pirate" radio station set up by

Ronan O'Rahilly Aodogán Ronan O'Rahilly (21 May 1940 – 20 April 2020) was an Irish businessman best known for the creation of the offshore radio station, Radio Caroline and the band Sheep On Drugs. He also became manager of George Lazenby, who played James ...

broadcasting from MV ''Caroline'' anchored in international waters off

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

, debuts as Europe's first all-day English-language pop music station.

April

*3 April – The radio comedy series ''

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, '' Cambridge Circus''. This is a scripted sketch show. It had a devote ...

'' makes its debut, on the BBC Home Service.

May

*12 May – "Pirate" radio station

Radio Atlanta Radio Atlanta was an offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 12 May 1964 to 2 July 1964 from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England. The radio broadcasting vessel was owned, at that ...

begins broadcasting from anchored off Frinton; in July its operations are merged with

. *27 May – Screaming Lord Sutch begins broadcasting from "pirate" station Radio Sutch on Shivering Sands Army Fort offshore in the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

; he soon sells the operation to his manager

Reginald Calvert Pearce Reginald Hartley CalvertNational Probate Calendar, 1966 (1928 – 21 June 1966) was an English artist manager, born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. He was the manager of The Fortunes, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Screaming Lo ...

who renames it Radio City.

June

*29 June – Launch of Manx Radio, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

's national radio station.

July

*6 July – MV ''Caroline'' takes up a new anchorage on

Bahama Bank The Bahama Bank is a sand bank across Ramsey Bay, about off the east coast of the Isle of Man northeast of Maughold Head. Description The bank extends from Northwest to Southeast, is 10 miles long and 1 mile broad. In the late 1840s the Baha ...

off the Isle of Man and begins broadcasting as

North.

August

*13 August – The world premiere of Mahler's Tenth Symphony, the unfinished work completed by

Deryck Cooke Deryck Cooke (14 September 1919 – 26 October 1976) was a British musician, musicologist, broadcaster and Gustav Mahler expert. Life Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor, working-class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother ...

, is given at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

, with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

conducted by

Berthold Goldschmidt Berthold Goldschmidt (18 January 190317 October 1996) was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many Modernist critics elsewhere dismissed hi ...

. *31 August – ''

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 ...

'' moves from Network Three to the BBC Home Service.

September

*3 September – Priaulx Rainier's ''Cello Concerto'' is given its première at The Proms by

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

under

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. H ...

. *19 September – The programme for the

Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

includes Alan Rawsthorne's Piano Concerto no 1, played by

Malcolm Binns Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) is a British classical pianist. Biography Malcolm Binns was born in Nottingham, England, in 1936. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London from 1952 to 1956, including piano with Arthur Alexan ...

October

*6 October – The variety programme '' Workers' Playtime'' is aired for the last time, on the Light Programme.

November

*No events

December

*1 December –

publicity officer David Block contacts the BBC to request a copy of the Queen's Christmas Message with the intention of broadcasting it on Christmas Day, but is turned down because Radio Caroline is not an authorised broadcaster. *23 December – The "pirate" station

Wonderful Radio London Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 (in London's case, the " Fab 40") offshore commercial station that operated from 23 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, off Frinto ...

goes on air broadcasting from MV ''Galaxy'' anchored off Frinton with a

Fab 40 The "Fab 40" (''i.e.'' "Fabulous Forty") was a weekly playlist of popular records used by the British pirate radio, "pirate" radio station "Wonderful" Wonderful Radio London, Radio London (also known as "Big L") which broadcast off the Essex coas ...

playlist of popular records.

Station debuts

*26 January – York Hospital Radio (1964–Present) *28 March –

(1964–Present) *29 June – Manx Radio (1964–Present) *23 December –

(1964–1967)

Programme debuts

* 17 March – '' Many a Slip'' on the BBC Home Service (1964–1979) * 3 April – ''

'' on the BBC Home Service (1964–1973) * 10 April – ''How's Your Father'' on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

(series run 10 April–5 June) * 26 July – ''Play it Cool'' on the

(1964)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

* '' Music While You Work'' (1940–1967) * '' Sunday Half Hour'' (1940–2018) * ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' (1942–Present) * ''

Family Favourites ''Family Favourites'' (remembered by its later name ''Two-Way Family Favourites'') was the successor to the wartime radio show ''Forces Favourites'', broadcast at Sunday lunchtimes on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2 from 1945 unti ...

'' (1945–1980) * ''

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 ...

'' (1946–1992) * '' Have A Go'' (1946–1967) * ''

Housewives' Choice ''Housewives' Choice'' was a BBC Radio record request programme, broadcast every morning between 1946 and 1967 on the BBC Light Programme. It played a wide range of mostly popular music intended to appeal to housewives at home during the day. ...

'' (1946–1967) * '' Letter from America'' (1946–2004) * ''

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 ...

'' (1946–Present) * '' Twenty Questions'' (1947–1976) * ''

Any Questions? ''Any Questions?'' is a British topical discussion programme "in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media, and elsewhere are posed questions by the audience". It is typically broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Fridays at 8 p ...

'' (1948–Present) * '' The Dales'' (1948–1969) * ''

Billy Cotton Band Show The ''Billy Cotton Band Show'' was a Sunday lunchtime radio programme broadcast in the BBC Light Programme from 1949 until 1968. The band leader, Billy Cotton, was a larger-than-life Cockney character who started each show with the cry "Wakey-Wa ...

'' (1949–1968) * '' A Book at Bedtime'' (1949–Present)

1950s

* ''

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 sett ...

'' (1950–Present) * ''

Listen with Mother ''Listen with Mother'' was a BBC radio programme for children which ran between 16 January 1950 to 10 September 1982. It was originally produced by Freda Lingstrom and was presented over the years by Daphne Oxenford, Julia Lang, Eileen Browne ...

'' (1950–1982) * ''

From Our Own Correspondent ''From Our Own Correspondent'' is a weekly BBC radio programme in which BBC foreign correspondents deliver a sequence of short talks reflecting on current events and topical themes in the countries outside the UK in which they are based. The pro ...

'' (1955–Present) * ''

The Clitheroe Kid ''The Clitheroe Kid'' was a BBC Radio comedy show featuring diminutive Northern comic Jimmy Clitheroe in the role of a cheeky schoolboy, who lived with his family at Lilac Avenue in an unnamed town in the North of England. The pilot show, pil ...

'' (1957–1972) * ''

My Word! ''My Word!'' is a British radio quiz panel game broadcast by the BBC on the Home Service (1956–67) and Radio 4 (1967–88). It was created by Edward J. Mason and Tony Shryane, and featured the humorous writers Frank Muir and Denis Norde ...

'' (1957–1988) * ''

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...

'' (1957–Present) * ''

The Today Programme ''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 ...

'' (1957–Present) * ''

The Navy Lark ''The Navy Lark'' is a radio sitcom about life aboard a United Kingdom, British Royal Navy Frigate#Modern Age, frigate named HMS ''Troutbridge'' (a play on HMS Troubridge (R00), HMS ''Troubridge'', a Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsm ...

'' (1959–1977) * ''

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 ...

'' (1959–2001) * ''

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 w ...

'' (1959–2007)

1960s

* ''

'' (1960–Present) * '' Easy Beat'' (1960–1967) * '' In Touch'' (1961–Present) * ''

The Men from the Ministry ''The Men from the Ministry'' is a British radio comedy series broadcast by the BBC between 1962 and 1977, starring Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Murdoch and, from 1966, when he replaced Hyde-White, Deryck Guyler. Written and produced by Edwar ...

'' (1962–1977)

Births

*11 January –

Tony Livesey Anthony Livesey (born 11 January 1964, Burnley, Lancashire) is a British journalist and broadcaster who presents 'Drive' for BBC Radio 5 Live. Early life Livesey was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and lived in nearby Nelson during the early part ...

, journalist and radio presenter *24 February –

Andy Crane Howard Andrew Crane (born 24 February 1964) is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC between 1987 and 1990 and for his current work as a presenter on the Greatest Hits Radio network. Career Crane ...

, television and radio presenter *1 April –

Jez Nelson Jeremy Nelson MBE (born 1 April 1964) is a jazz broadcaster and television producer. Education Nelson was educated at Dulwich College (a boys' independent school in Dulwich, South London) and at King's College London, where he first began to D ...

, jazz presenter and media producer *16 May **

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

, comic actress and scriptwriter **

Milton Jones Milton Hywel Jones (born 16 May 1964) is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style. Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and was a recurring guest pa ...

, comedian *23 June – Jane Garvey, radio presenter *27 June –

Lynn Parsons Lynn Margaret Parsons (born 27 June 1961) is a British disc jockey. Career Having graduated from college with an OND in electronic principles, Parsons started her career working in the television industry, where she was a sound engineer and l ...

, radio and television presenter *5 August – Rory Morrison, radio newsreader and continuity announcer (died

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

) *19 September –

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benja ...

, comedy performer and writer *27 September –

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

, disc jockey *21 November – Liza Tarbuck, actress and radio and television presenter *28 November –

Sian Williams Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of '' BBC Breakfast'' a ...

, journalist and current affairs presenter *Unknown – Peter Kerry, writer of drama for radio and television

Deaths

*28 September – Sir George Dyson, radio's "voice of music" (born 1883) *10 December – Charles Samuel Franklin, radio pioneer (born 1879)

References

{{reflist

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

Years in British radio