What Are Your Favorite Radio Stations From the UK?

[david]

Related to this topic...I just came across this wonderful article from September 2010 in the Los Angeles Times which raves about how wonderful BBC Radio 4 is and highlights Britain's continuing love affair with the radio in a country where 90% of the adult population routinely listens to the radio.

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2010/sep/26/entertainment/la-ca-cultural-exchange-radio-20100926

There is nothing comparable to Radio 4 on USA radio. While some Americans might be tempted to equate Radio 4 with NPR, which is also lauded for its high-quality programs, Radio 4's variety of programs and influence on British society and public life eclipses that of NPR, often serving to set the day's national political agenda in a way that NPR's "Morning Edition" does not.

 

[BMR]

Related to this topic...I just came across this wonderful article from September 2010 in the Los Angeles Times which raves about how wonderful BBC Radio 4 is.

Radio 4 does have the odd good programme, but I would consider most of it middle class, elitist and boring. 20% of the UK population listen to radio 4 once a week or more though, so lots of people would disagree with me.


It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond. Growing up with the BBC and just one commerical station per area (the norm in Britain until the late 80s) I longed for the choice of formats American listeners had

 

[CTListener]

Related to this topic...I just came across this wonderful article from September 2010 in the Los Angeles Times which raves about how wonderful BBC Radio 4 is.

Radio 4 does have the odd good programme, but I would consider most of it middle class, elitist and boring. 20% of the UK population listen to radio 4 once a week or more though, so lots of people would disagree with me.


It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond. Growing up with the BBC and just one commerical station per area (the norm in Britain until the late 80s) I longed for the choice of formats American listeners had

What do you think of the Beeb's plan to eliminate all but morning drive and evening drive on its local stations, replacing all other dayparts with simulcasts of Radio 5?

 

[BMR]

Related to this topic...I just came across this wonderful article from September 2010 in the Los Angeles Times which raves about how wonderful BBC Radio 4 is.

Radio 4 does have the odd good programme, but I would consider most of it middle class, elitist and boring. 20% of the UK population listen to radio 4 once a week or more though, so lots of people would disagree with me.


It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond. Growing up with the BBC and just one commerical station per area (the norm in Britain until the late 80s) I longed for the choice of formats American listeners had

What do you think of the Beeb's plan to eliminate all but morning drive and evening drive on its local stations, replacing all other dayparts with simulcasts of Radio 5?

Dreadful. I must point out this is only a suggestion though at this stage, not a 'plan'.

BBC local radio is the only BBC service targetted at 50 plus listeners, and BBC local radio stations are an important part of the sense of 'community' in many areas. Remember the UK doesn't have local TV, and more and more commercial radio is networked these days.

Oh and Radio 5 is targetted at a younger audience than BBC local radio, so not only would the new output not be local, it would be unsuited to most current BBC local listeners.....

 

[BMR]

By the way, if anyone asks 'what would you cut instead?', the answer is I would axe BBC 3 TV (that would still leave 'Auntie Beeb' with 3 general TV channels and the News service)

I'm obviously biased in favour of radio, but I do think it is part of the 'glue' of local community and local identity in the UK.

 

[Dave Andrews]

Listening to Scotland's Bute FM 96.5 right now. I'm in Arizona but I've got my reasons.

 

[BMR]

Listening to Scotland's Bute FM 96.5 right now. I'm in Arizona but I've got my reasons.

I'm facinated as to what they might be...........

 

[Darth_vader]

Is it too late to add RTE Radio 1 and 2 to my list?

(Yes, I do realise these are from *Ireland*, which technically isn't the *UK*, but oh well...)

 

[Tincap]

Is it too late to add RTE Radio 1 and 2 to my list?

(Yes, I do realise these are from *Ireland*, which technically isn't the *UK*, but oh well...)

When I lived in the Netherlands, during the early '90's, I'd pick up RTE's 2FM, relayed over one the their medium wave frequencies. Here in eastern Ontario, I've picked up RTE on 252 kHz (my only Irish TA DX, although I've snagged several UK MW stations, as well.)

~BG

 

[Dave Andrews]

CAPITOL GOLD 1548 AND BUTE FM

 

[Dave Andrews]

Oops you can add Real Radio 100.3/101.1 Edinburgh to that list. They just played They Might Be Giants.

 

[BMR]

Oops you can add Real Radio 100.3/101.1 Edinburgh to that list. They just played They Might Be Giants.

I bet it was 'Birdhouse in your soul'?

That song still gets played pretty regularly on UK radio, although virtually no other TMBGs songs do- or ever were.......

 

[Dave Andrews]

Oops you can add Real Radio 100.3/101.1 Edinburgh to that list. They just played They Might Be Giants.

I bet it was 'Birdhouse in your soul'?

That song still gets played pretty regularly on UK radio, although virtually no other TMBGs songs do- or ever were.......

You are right. It WAS Birdhouse. Still, that's more TMBG than I've heard on the radio stateside. I've only heard 'em on the air ONCE here, when their remake of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) was played on Dr. Demento. This was in the '90s.

 

[BMR]

Oops you can add Real Radio 100.3/101.1 Edinburgh to that list. They just played They Might Be Giants.

I bet it was 'Birdhouse in your soul'?

That song still gets played pretty regularly on UK radio, although virtually no other TMBGs songs do- or ever were.......

You are right. It WAS Birdhouse. Still, that's more TMBG than I've heard on the radio stateside. I've only heard 'em on the air ONCE here, when their remake of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) was played on Dr. Demento. This was in the '90s.

Birdhouse.. was a big hit in the UK circa 1990, and got lots of airplay so most people of my age (mid 30s) remember it and some of us can even remember the name of the band. But I couldn't tell you the name of a single band member, or any other songs of theirs......




(random unsubstantiated thought- had the Jack FM format been around in 1990 'Birdhouse' might have been a bigger hit in their home country?)

 

[Darth_vader]

"You are right; it was Birdhouse. Still, that's more TMBG than I've heard on the radio stateside. I've only heard them on the air once here, when their remake of 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' was played on Dr. Demento's programme. This was in the '90s."

I've heard "The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas" a few times on KBOO in recent years.....

 

[Darth_vader]

Just discovered this stream about an hour ago; British Forces Broadcast Service Radio 2. http://91.193.246.9/icecast.php?i=ssvcbfbs2.mp3
They're playing a LOT of cuts on that service that I haven't heard around this part of the world in a very long time. Just heard Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm", which probably hasn't been played over Vancouver/Portland airwaves in at least 20 years. Cheers, guys!

 

[MarioMania]

Are these Stations in the UK really live??

 

[Darth_vader]

Well, the ones I've heard are.

 

[BMR]

Most commercial radio output is live, but not neccesarily local, between 6 am and 1am. UK time. Overnights are voicetracked even on the big commercial stations.

Some of the smaller local ones serving little towns voicetrack from as early as 7pm, UK time.

Others use networking, so the station might only broadcast breakfast and evening drive from a local studio, with the rest of the output live, but coming from London. Most stations on the Capital and Heart networks do this.

It's a dilema, do you have lots of local output, but use voicetracking, or just a couple of local shows and use networking. 24/7 live and local output just doesn't work anymore, moneywise.


BBC Radios 1 and 2 are fully live 24/7. A few shows are prerecorded, but they are done in real time and then played back later.

BBC 5 live is, as the name suggests, live round the clock, with news and sport. Radio 4 is mainly pre-recorded drama, documentaries and discussion programmes but there are live news programmes in the morning and evening. Finally Radio 3 is mainly live, I think they automate overnights.

BBC local radio usually signs on at 6am, is local most of the day then regional networking kicks in after 7pm unless soccer commentary is being broadcast.

 

[CTListener]

BBC local radio usually signs on at 6am, is local most of the day then regional networking kicks in after 7pm unless soccer commentary is being broadcast.

Some of the locals still have their own shows from 7-10. Most of the 10-1 shows are regionally networked (Newcastle/Tees, Leeds/Humberside/York, etc.). After 1 a.m., nearly all locals switch over to Radio 5 for the overnight. The reworking of local radio that was approved earlier this year will eliminate the 7-10 local shows in favor of two or three regional shows. I believe the 10 p.m. shows are scheduled to be reduced by an hour, with the Radio 5 simulcast starting at midnight rather than 1 a.m. I'm not sure what is to happen to the weekend specialty shows; the report e-mailed to listeners who offered input during the process wasn't clear on that.

One thing that was clear was that the "super-regional" 7-10 shows would be news- and talk-oriented. Right now, they're mostly music and local news and interviews. The late-night shows tend to be heavy on the music, with lots of listener participation in quizzes and silly back-and-forth with the presenters via emails and texts.