''Singing Together'' 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 ...

schools series which ran from 25 September 1939 to 29 March 2001, with repeats until 25 June 2004. Its origins were in ''

Community Singing Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spiritual ...

'' which was considered necessary at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

following the mass evacuation of children. Market-led changes in British broadcasting, the decline in airtime given to schools radio and increasing pressures on school time brought about by the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

were to put pressure on the series and would eventually lead to its demise.

History

The programme was originally presented by Herbert Wiseman, Director of Music to the

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Corporation Education Committee. From the beginning, it featured an array of popular, mainly traditional, mostly British songs; more songs from elsewhere in the world would be added later. The programme was briefly presented by Ernest Bullock, by Cyril Winn "and a male voice quartet" and by the unrelated Ronald Biggs before its most famous presenter, William Appleby, arrived in summer term 1948. Appleby, who had been a teacher in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

from 1939, remained as presenter for the next 22 years, during which time the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

- where the programme had always been broadcast - became Radio 4 in 1967. In 1968 Douglas Coombes arrived as producer, a role he would maintain until he left the BBC twenty years later.

1970s and 1980s

Appleby left the series in 1970, the same year he retired as Music Organiser for Doncaster, and died three years later; there is now a Music Centre in that town named in his memory. He was initially replaced by John Huw Davies and then by Fergus O'Kelly,

Cliff Morgan Clifford Isaac Morgan, (7 April 1930 – 29 August 2013) was a Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff RFC and earned 29 caps for Wales between 1951 and 1958. After his playing career ended, Morgan made a successful career in broadcas ...

and Eugene Fraser. It was also presented alternately during the 1970s and early 1980s by Ian Humphris, John Camburn,

John Amis John Preston Amis (17 June 1922 – 1 August 2013) was a British broadcaster, classical music critic, music administrator, and writer. He was a frequent contributor for ''The Guardian'' and to BBC radio and television music programming. Life a ...

Johnny Morris Johnny or Johnnie Morris may refer to: * Johnnie Morris (actor) (1887–1969), American comedian and actor *Johnny Morris (television presenter) (1916–1999), British television presenter *Johnny Morris (footballer) (1923–2011), English football ...

, Blain Fairman and Stephen Varcoe. In the summer term of 1980, Douglas Coombes presented the show himself and he returned in the spring term of 1982. In the autumn term of 1981, the series moved from its traditional Monday morning slot to the same time, 11.00 am, on Wednesdays. In the autumn of 1983,

Brian Kay Brian Christopher Kay (born 12 May 1944) is an English radio presenter, conductor and singer. He is well-known as the bass in the King's Singers during the group's formative years from 1968 to 1982, and as such is to be heard on many of their 197 ...

presented the series and in autumn term 1984 it was fronted by Andrew Shore. In autumn 1985 - hosted again by Fergus O'Kelly - it moved to Fridays but was back on Wednesdays a year later although it was replaced in summer 1987 by ''Singing Along''. For the 1988–89 school year repeated programmes were transmitted. In the autumn of 1989, a modernised version of the series made its debut, now produced by Janet Wheeler and presented by John Asquith and Verity Ann Meldrum; this featured a more contemporary slant in the songs and styles featured, male and female co-presenters to provide a broader range of voices and a "more informal" atmosphere to the programmes.

1990s decline, further repeats

In the autumn of 1990, the series moved to the original BBC Radio 5, although with a repeat in the early hours in FM stereo on

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. Spring Term 1991 saw the presenters change once more; former BBC ''

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'' reporter Grant Baynham and ex-

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

assistant

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''Do ...

(Ace) took over the reins and each term the songs focused more on a 'theme' with practically no traditional folk songs present. Production of new programmes in the series ceased in 1992, but programmes originally broadcast from 1989–92 were repeated in a further three-year cycle from 1992–95; after the old Radio 5 was replaced by

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

in March 1994 this was initially, and controversially, in the afternoons on Radio 3 but then moved to overnight transmission. From 1995–97 the programmes originally broadcast from 1989–91 were repeated for a third time, finishing in the summer of 1997.

Later years and demise

Finally, in a very different Britain from the one in which the programme had begun at the outbreak of war six decades earlier, the programme was revived as ''Singing Together: Celebrate!'', featuring celebratory songs from multiple cultures and traditions. New programmes aired in the small hours on Radio 3 in spring term 2000 and spring term 2001. There were repeat transmissions in summer 2002 and finally - by then in the small hours on the digital version of Radio 4 only - in the summer of 2004.

Legacy and archive status

The most widely-heard and recalled years of ''Singing Together'' are not well represented in the BBC's archives; only three programmes are believed to exist officially from its first 40 years on the air, although some recordings were made by members of the public and CDs containing some 1970s episodes have been sold on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

. In November 2014,

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

traced the programme's history and influence on multiple generations for an ''Archive on 4'' programme; at the same time, the BBC's website ran a magazine article recounting the programme's history and ''

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'' ran its own tribute.

References