''Radio On'' is a 1979 film directed by Christopher Petit. It is a rare example of a British

road movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

, shot in black and white by Wim Wenders' assistant cameraman Martin Schäfer and featuring music from a number of new wave bands of the time, as well as established artists such as Kraftwerk, Devo and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. It is a journey through late 1970s Britain by way of a road trip from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, with Robert, a DJ (played by

David Beames David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

) attempting to investigate the suicide of his brother. The radio station where Robert is a disc jockey was based on the

United Biscuits Network United Biscuits Network (UBN) was an internal radio station serving the factories of United Biscuits (UB) in Britain that operated from 1970 to 1979. In 1970 the BBC had a monopoly on radio broadcasting in Britain, although there were a few off ...

, which broadcast to factories owned by

United Biscuits United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...

. In his 2022 book Roadrunner Nick Gilbert revisits the film, the route and its resonances 43 years later and includes contributions from Petit and others involved in the film.

Cast

as Robert *Andrew Byatt as Deserter *Paul Hollywood as Kid *Adrian Jones *

Sue Jones-Davies Sue Jones-Davies (born 1 January 1949) is a Welsh actress, singer and local politician. She played Judith Iscariot in the film '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979) and was Mayor of Aberystwyth from 2008 to 2009. Early life and education Sue ...

as Girl *Cyril Kent *Katja Kersten * Lisa Kreuzer as Ingrid *Sabina Michael as Aunt *Bernard Mistovski *Nina Pace *

Sandy Ratcliff Alexandra Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap o ...

as Kathy *Joseph Riordan *David Squire * Sting as Just Like Eddie *

Kim Taylforth Kim Taylforth is an English actress. She is the sister of ''EastEnders'' actress Gillian Taylforth. She trained in acting at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington. Her earliest TV appearance was in the BBC sitcom, ''Steptoe and Son'', when ...

References

External links

* * * *''Radio On'' a
Time Out London
ref> 1979 films 1979 drama films 1970s mystery drama films 1970s drama road movies British drama road movies British mystery drama films West German films English-language German films British black-and-white films Films set in London Films set in Bristol Films directed by Chris Petit 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-UK-film-stub