Is one of the problems with radio in this country, the simple fact that those in charge of it are too old to be in
Category: Media
OMG! It’s August the 14th … all over again!
I’m an anorak’s wet dream, I am. Jeeez. Spare me. It’s August the 14th. Noooooooooo. Back in 1967 this was the day that all the
The sun is flipping upside down
The sun is about to do a flip of its magnetic poles. Any moment now the north pole will become the south pole and the
Do children operate Liverpool’s CityTalk?
London has the very impressive talking radio station LBC, owned by Global, and able to broadcast debate and discussion 24 hours a day, using quite
Why can’t they predict the weather?
The BBC bullied me into using their weather app. But it is always wrong. Ok, they didn’t actually bully me. They made it look oh
Jingles jangle Radio 2
Years ago, I was very very stupid. As a symptom of my stupidity I used to collect jingles. Radio identification jingles. Yes. I know. Whilst
Whatever happened to the ozone layer?
Whatever happened to the fear and wailing about the ‘Ozone Layer‘? In the 1970s and 1980s the ozone layer was being depleted and we, yes
More radio redundancies on the way
I’m not stuck in my ways. I’m not old. But I am very sad. Jack FM has announced that it is going to expand its
Andrew Neil is an excellent fact checker
The climate change ‘debate’ is sadly no longer a ‘debate’. There is climate science, spewing out a regular stream of valid theories via peer reviewed
What if Simon Cowell was openly gay?
Of course, I’m not even slightly saying Simon Cowell is gay, after all he has recently been engaged to be married, is constantly seen with
Zombies surround my car
I sat in the car for a couple of hours with the radio blaring out. Rather than the superior DAB I’d normally be listening to,
How the Hangouts are taking over
Google+ has just celebrated its second birthday. Happy Birthday Google+. You know I love you, right? As a Google anorak, even in these times when
True love will survive anything
In September last year I wrote a piece about the 30 year old maths teacher Jeremy Forrest and the 15 year old schoolgirl that I
Radio Caroline’s promise of performance
(A guest article written by Peter Moore) (Responding to my award-winning commentary about Radio Caroline fans here.) Hold On Christopher, you are on a bit
Radio Caroline obssessives still haven’t faffed off
What is wrong with these people? Some while ago I delicately described the Radio Caroline obsessives – for ease of identification let’s call them ‘mad
The saddest Radio Caroline legacy = the anorak
One of the saddest legacies of the offshore pop pirates of 50 years ago is the radio enthusiast known as an ‘anorak’. Whilst the modern
Radio 1 Chart Show? STFU!
My, oh my. Not since the era when the BBC Radio 1 Sunday Chart Show (4pm – 7pm) would suddenly grind to a halt and play
Radio Caroline: WHY? but then WHY NOT?
(A guest article written by Peter Moore) Your assessment of Caroline (here) is ‘sort of’ correct. I will not delve in to the LA thing
Radio Caroline obsessives need to faff off
Once upon a time there was a radio station called Radio Caroline. It closed down. Then it came back and closed down many more times.
Why are there news programmes on BBC1?
I don’t understand why there is a news sequence on BBC1 television. They have a news sequence starting at 1pm then 6pm and another one
Just what is terrorism?
(A guest article by Bemused from Bermondsey) Perhaps you can help me, you see I observe things and, sometimes, I want to ask questions when
The broadcasting pioneers didn’t have Media Degrees
People end up being where they are more by accident than design. A lot of the people who are the living success stories around us
In Praise of the Steam Train
(A guest article written by Peter Moore) In your regular habit of torturing radio anoraks you mention steam trains, but as an indicator of how
LBC-ing you
I’m pretty sure I wrote about this before when it was first announced, let me have a look. Nope, can’t find it using the wonderful
What is the point of a radio anorak?
I can understand somebody being interested in historical radio broadcasting. I used to be. Somebody with a hobby that includes trawling the past for recordings
Doctor Who through the ages
Sigh. As we wait for the 50th Anniversary edition of Doctor Who, here’s a brilliant piece of artwork that all Doctor Who fans can drool
Why Madeleine McCann?
When the original news broke in 2007 about the disappearance from a holiday apartment in Portugal of a three year old, it wasn’t a particularly
Only morons watched the Eurovision Song Contest
My life doesn’t include the Eurovision Song Contest. It hasn’t done for about 20 to 25 years. I have no interest in it whatsoever, it
That critical Big L review
In a previous article, or, ok, maybe two (here and here), I declared my love of Steve and Suzy, the Sunday morning duo on internet
I have no sympathy for ‘bedroom tax’ suicide
A lady called Stephanie Bottrill killed herself by stepping in front of motorway traffic. She left a suicide note blaming the government. Yep, it was their
The pretend Voice of Peace
On May 19th it will have been 40 years since the Israeli propaganda radio station, Voice of Peace, started broadcasting. Thankfully the station only lasted
Sunday morning’s with Steve and Suzy
I have ‘anoraked’ about Steve and Sue before. Oh yes, I have. Both on this fine blog and elsewhere, I have had to declare my
50 to 1: The real cost of climate evolution
Here’s an interesting call for funding. It’s for an educational video about climate evolution. Before you roll your eyes and sigh, let me explain how
When old people attack!
They never learn do they? Old people. It’s been a while since I experienced the venom and angry that infests old people. However, I have
Why aren’t there any revolutionary pirate radio stations?
Broadcasting radio without a licence can be fun, although of course you shouldn’t try this at home. As long as technically your transmissions are not
Radio North Sea International, the voice of terrorism
Radio anoraks are so easily led and have been fodder across the years for some pretty outrageous ripping off and false beliefs. To this day,
The lack of local radio in Liverpool
Once upon a time, many many moons ago, Liverpool had its own radio stations. In 1967, the BBC, not wishing to provide one just for
Tweets of confusion from Boston
Like a large number of people, I read Twitter like a newspaper. It always seems so far ahead of mainstream media and is always quoted
My local pirate radio station hates modern music
Some while ago I penned a piece about how radio station’s should almost be for life (here). They should ‘capture’ the youth of the day
The offshore radio future for Radio Caroline
I recently wrote about offshore radio and Radio Caroline being the last ever offshore radio station (here). Peter Moore from Radio Caroline made the following
Resist the Earth Hour, be free of mind
Today, you should free your mind and not fall for the Eco-Nazis and Enviro-Taliban call for you to sit in darkness during their annual ‘Earth
Offshore pirate radio, never say never
I was reading this conversation on Facebork, as Facebork is almost always the best place to go to watch real people having actual conversations about
What was ‘Loving Awareness’?
The words ‘Loving Awareness’ have featured on Radio Caroline broadcasts for nearly 50 years. Radio Caroline devotees will sign letters and e-mail with some reference
Climategate 3.0 over and out
The long running ‘Climategate‘ has reached its conclusion. “Climategate?” you ask? Okay, here’s ‘Climategate’ in a nutshell and how it has helped to save the
Commercial speech radio
There are often excuses from the commercial radio sector for their complete inability to provide any form of commercial rival to BBC Radio 4. This
Save the James Whale
Global Radio, the owners of the last remaining talking radio station in the UK, LBC 97.3 (FM in London, and around the country via DAB),
Hope by radio
As a talking radio listener, I quite often listen to Pete Price on Radio City / City Talk (Sunday – Thursday 10pm – 2am). And,
A radio station for life
Every decade or so, both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 upset their cling-on audiences. Both stations have a remit as to whom they
My life with Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is a radio DJ who has been there all my life. I actually remember him on the offshore radio station Radio London (‘Big
The radio showreel that never can be
‘Showreels’ are quick 2 to 5 minute long edited highlights of a person’s talent. A great ballet dancer’s showreel will be edited highlights of her
Real Radio Talent
Here’s an interesting one. A response to a recent article of mine lamenting the lack of talking radio in the UK, especially from the commercial
In memory of Liverpool’s City Talk Radio
It was exciting before the franchise was won. Liverpool was going to get another commercial radio station. The incumbents, Bauer Media, who owned the heritage station Radio
What’s wrong with these pictures?
Here we go then. What’s wrong with these pictures? They are (supposedly) part of a Colgate promotion. Notice anything? Anything? Ok, so you are probably
Where are the radio stations with talkie bits?
My search for radio that I can listen to continues. I’m looking for a radio station that combines current music with a medley of lots
Listen to Steve and Suzy on Sundays
I don’t see Sunday mornings that often. I tend to emerge from my sleeping pit in the afternoon. However, when Sunday mornings have to be
Wot no talking radio?
Back in the days when music radio was still in the hands of the creatives rather than a badly programmed computer, eccentricity was allowed to
Why do radio stations pretend they aren’t networking?
There aren’t many radio stations left that aren’t broadcasting a ‘programme’ coming from a central studio and ‘networked’ across all the country. This is especially
What they said about Christopher England #2
In my last article I mentioned that a spontaneous collection of pronouncements about Christopher England recently appeared on a message board infested by old radio anoraks.
What they said about Christopher England #1
A few weeks ago I had to work on location. I had limited internet access via very expensive satellites, plus it was essential to not
The Price of Pete
So, there’s this local celebrity called Pete Price. His main exposure to the people of Liverpool is via a week-night late-night 4 hour phone-in via
Sir Patrick Moore
Sadly, as one gets older, people who have been there forever die. Nothing prepares one for this. It just starts happening. Then it speeds up becoming more
Awful old records on Radio 1
It started as one an hour. Within a week it became two an hour. That’s two too many. I’m talking about the invasion of old
Graham calling
Here’s a nice easy read from Graham Brown‘s blog. Graham is a radio anorak who has somehow ended up living in Orkney. Because the BBC
YouView? Not in my view
Ok. just what is this YouView box all about? To start from the beginning it is a Freeview TV receiver. It can pause, rewind and
Word up on the Word Salad
There is an excellent episode of the superbly funny mid-2000s series Boston Legal during which one of the lead characters, a high profile lawyer, suddenly
Time to reject the hard-wired support for Israel
For most people in the UK, who we are and what we think is pretty much pre-written and pre-designed. We are actually quite ignorant of
The BBC’s Climate Change Agenda exposed
I’ve mentioned before that there’s recently been huge resistance by the BBC to a Freedom of Information Act request for the list of 28 external
Radio Caroline’s Massive Announcement
There are a number of fora and places to go for radio industry enthusiasts. These places are ideal for the dwindling number of radio industry
How broken is the BBC?
The BBC is a strange institution. It should be brilliant. The concept is a good one. But the BBC is broken. In the words of
The British infatuation with a dying super power
I bet nobody in America cares or gives a toss when it’s our election day here in the UK. I bet none of the mainstream
Stop these bastard Segues
The ‘segue’ (pronounced ‘seg-way’) when applied to songs on the radio used to mean carefully playing one song after another with them intermingling as one
A radio station for life
Every decade or so, both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 upset their cling-on audiences. Both stations have a remit as to whom they
The legacy of Euronet
I’ve mentioned before the satellite radio station “Euronet” which I programmed back in 1992/1993. Remember? No? Well it’s all here. What a fantastic radio station.
Most community radio is doomed to fail
Recently, a ‘community’ radio station for Southport spent a week or so broadcasting as a pirate. Dune FM lost its broadcasting licence, after being dogged
Pirates still rule the waves
Have I mentioned before that I own one-and-a-half radio stations? Well, I do. They are internet radio stations playing variations of dance music (what other
Wot no pirate radio for Liverpool?
Coming from London, a city within which it is perfectly normal for over 60% of the radio stations available to be unlicensed, my move to
The saddest Radio Caroline legacy = the anorak
One of the saddest legacies of the offshore pop pirates of 50 years ago is the radio enthusiast known as an ‘anorak’. Whilst the modern
The long wave goodbye to Long Wave
The BBC operates an outlet of Radio 4 on 198kHz Long Wave. In the recent cut-back announcements, mention was made of running the facility down.
Nick Grimshaw isn’t too grim
So then. After a week of Scott Mills holding the fort, Monday arrived and at 6:30 in the morning #teamgrimmy took the reins trying to
Culling the over 30s from Radio 1
The axing of Chris Moyles from the breakfast show came as a response to the need to attract a younger audience. BBC Radio 1‘s remit
Post traumatic breakfast show syndrome
Arthur Scargill. Now there’s a name from the past. But, I seem to recall reading somewhere, ages and ages ago, that when the miners’ strike
The long non-song after a few songs
Many years ago before the mp3 was invented and the ability to ‘segue’ songs (play them one after the other with no silence inbetween) became
The Chris Moyles Show: gone but not forgotten
So, that’s it then. The era of ‘The Chris Moyles Show‘ being the Radio 1 breakfast show is now a fixed point in history. The
The Ross Revenge is MY Precious
Radio anoraks are dangerous things. Especially the old ones. Now then, a typical old style radio anorak will love and worship any radio station that
Chris Moyles: 5 more to go
The BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Chris Moyles starts his 5th to last show tomorrow (Monday) at 6:30am. By Friday it’ll all be over
Is The X Factor losing its?
You can tell it’s Autumn. The X Factor is on TV. Simon Cowell takes control of Saturday nights from now until 2013, it’s the law.
Obsessives cannot be allowed to scare us
It’s two years ago this week that 43 year old eco-terrorist James J Lee was shot dead in order to help release the three hostages
Proof the radio anoraks are sick in the head
A curious thing just happened. For a little while I thought I’d found a timeslip or a worm-hole into the past. You see, I was
What’s the point of a record collection?
Why do people bother buying and hoarding things like films, DVDs, CDs, mp3s, etc., etc.? It seems to be quite a pointless and old fashioned
Will the foamers force AM transmitters to stay on?
How will the BBC protect itself from the mad protesting brigade of foamers? They are highly organised and have networks barking out to letters pages
The day the cult religious broadcasts died
August 19th, 1989 is 23 earth years ago. Sigh. It’s also a radio anorak anniversary to be marked with black armbands (but only by radio
Well done all of us
I don’t like any sport. I’m not unique in this. There are many people who seriously have no interest in any sport. Yet for each
Jack off about radio station imaging
I recently wrote about how radio station bosses have deliberately destroyed the public enjoyment of the work of the radio DJ (here). The ultimate purpose
OMG! It’s August the 14th … all over again!
I’m an anorak’s wet dream, I am. Jeeez. Spare me. It’s August the 14th. Noooooooooo. Back in 1967 this was the day that all the
Most fans of ‘celebs’ are maaaad
I was talking to somebody very famous the other day. There are very few modern day ‘celebs’ from the weird world of the soap operas
Radio station bosses teach listeners to hate radio DJs
Jack FM is a music-radio format devised in America and, owing to our lack of originality in the UK, copied in its original form wholesale.
Time to switch off wasteful TV ‘broadcasting’
There seems to be a bit of wailing and banging of heads out there within the radio and techie anorak fraternity about the idea put
Radio on the TV
“People just don’t listen to the radio via their TVs!” That’s something I’m told on a regular basis by people who really need to get
Don’t fear the songs
I don’t go on about it, but I own one and a half internet radio stations. I started off helping out and so owning a
Wot no Liverpool pirate radio?
Coming from London, a city within which it is perfectly normal for over 60% of the radio stations available to be unlicensed, my move to
England's England 