''Easy Beat'' was a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programme broadcast nationally in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on the

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 ...

on Sunday mornings, between January 1960 and September 1967. It was one of the earliest BBC programmes to broadcast

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

. Like the contemporary '' Saturday Club'', it was initially presented by

Brian Matthew Brian Matthew (17 September 1928 – 8 April 2017) was an English broadcaster who worked for the BBC for 63 years from 1954 until 2017. He was the host of '' Saturday Club'', among other programmes, and began presenting ''Sounds of the 60s'' in ...

, later by Keith Fordyce and, finally,

David Symonds David Symonds (born 28 June 1943) is an English Radio DJ. He was among the original lineup of BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and one of the original Capital Radio DJs. Early life and career Symonds was born in Oxford, the son of Pamela and Ronald Symonds, ...

. Both Matthew and Fordyce would later go on to host the long-running

Sounds of the 60s ''Sounds of the 60s'' is a long-running Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2 that features recordings of popular music made in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on 12 February 1983 and introduced by Keith Fordyce, who had been the first ...

, on the Light Programme's successor,

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. ...

. It was scheduled between 10:30 - 11:30 on Sunday mornings, and regularly featured

Kenny Ball Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music''. (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 29; ) – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and ...

's Jazzmen, and recorded sessions by featured guests in front of a studio audience.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

appeared on four ''Easy Beat'' shows in 1963: :7 April 1963: performing "

Please Please Me ''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two sin ...

", " Misery", and "

From Me to You "From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official ...

" :23 June 1963: performing "

Some Other Guy "Some Other Guy" is a rhythm and blues song, written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richie Barrett. First released as a single by Barrett, it featured an electric piano, then an unusual sound in pop music. Covered shortly afterwards by Liverp ...

", "

A Taste Of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

", "

Thank You Girl "Thank You Girl" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was issued as the B-side of the single "From Me to You", which was recorded on the same day (5 March 1963). While not rele ...

" and "From Me to You" :21 July 1963: performing "

I Saw Her Standing There "I Saw Her Standing There" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It is the opening track on the band's 1963 debut UK album ''Please Please Me'' and their debut US album '' Introducing... The B ...

", "

A Shot of Rhythm and Blues "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" is a song written by Terry Thompson and first recorded by US soul singer Arthur Alexander. It was originally released in the United States in 1961 and in the United Kingdom the following year, as the B-side of " You B ...

", "

There's a Place "There's a Place" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their debut album, ''Please Please Me'', released in March 1963. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to McCartney–Lennon. In the United States, the song ...

" and "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" :20 October 1963: performing "I Saw Her Standing There", "

Love Me Do "Love Me Do" is the official debut single by the English rock band the Beatles, backed by " P.S. I Love You". When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1962, it peaked at number 17. It was released in the United ...

", "Please Please Me", "From Me To You" and "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

". When

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

started in 1967, the show continued for several months under the title ''Happening Sunday'' and introduced by

Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ''Ju ...

, before being dropped. Radio Rewind: Light Programme Music
/ref>

References

BBC Radio 1 programmes Radio programmes about the Beatles 1960 radio programme debuts 1967 radio programme endings BBC Light Programme programmes {{BBC-radio-stub