101-630: Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and "The Professor of Pop", Gambaccini was a BBC Radio 1 presenter for 16 years, including 11 years on a weekly show counting down the Billboard Top 30 songs . A regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 's long-running arts programme Kaleidoscope , Gambaccini
202-569: A "witch-hunt" were denied by the Director of Public Prosecutions . The 28-day limit came into effect in April 2017. Gambaccini wrote an account of his experience in his book Love, Paul Gambaccini: My Year Under the Yewtree , which was published in 2015. In February 2016, Irish Supreme Court Judge Adrian Hardiman used a review of the book to criticize what he described as the radical undermining of
303-409: A Sunday. This has reduced the total number of continuity announcers required each day down from four to three. The Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as "the pips", is broadcast every hour to herald the news bulletin, except at midnight and 18:00, and 22:00 on Sunday, when the chimes of Big Ben are played. There is no Greenwich Time Signal at 15:00 on Saturday or 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday due to
404-651: A breakfast show did not come naturally to them. They were replaced by Zoe Ball and Kevin Greening eight months later in October 1997; Greening soon moved on, leaving Ball as sole presenter. The reinvention of the station happened at a fortuitous time, with the rise of Britpop in the mid-1990s – bands like Oasis , Blur and Pulp were popular and credible at the time, and the station's popularity rose with them. Documentaries like John Peel's Lost in Music , which looked at
505-470: A broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a wide variety of speech-related programming, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. Music is broadcast as in documentaries relating to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs . Sport
606-537: A comic book superhero , was co-written with Alastair King and Jane Edith Wilson, and produced at the Bridewell Theatre in London in 2000. Gambaccini was active in the realm of comic book fandom. As an American teenager in the 1960s his missives were regularly published in the letter columns of titles such as Justice League of America and The Amazing Spider-Man . Gambaccini claims to have invented
707-687: A continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War , Radio 4 News FM , with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave. Before this, Radio 4's FM frequencies had occasionally been used for additional news coverage, generally for live coverage of statements and debates in Parliament. By the start of the 1990s, Radio 4 had become available on FM in most of the UK - previously FM coverage had been restricted mainly to England and south Wales. This meant that it
808-495: A controversial and youth-orientated movement by bringing in club DJ Pete Tong amongst others. There had been a dance music programme on Radio 1 since 1987 and Pete Tong (now the current longest-serving DJ at the station) was the second DJ to present an all dance music show. This quickly gave birth to the Essential Mix where underground DJs mix electronic and club based music in a two-hour slot. Dance and urban music has been
909-618: A countdown by the Controller of Radios 1 and 2, Robin Scott , and a jingle, recorded at PAMS in Dallas , Texas, beginning "The voice of Radio 1" – were: And, good morning everyone. Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1. This was the first use of US-style jingles on BBC radio, but the style was familiar to listeners who were acquainted with Blackburn and other DJs from their days on pirate radio. The reason jingles from PAMS were used
1010-441: A gaggle of others, some transferred from pirate stations, such as Keith Skues , Ed Stewart , Mike Raven , David Ryder , Jim Fisher , Jimmy Young , Dave Cash , Kenny Everett , Simon Dee , Terry Wogan , Duncan Johnson , Doug Crawford , Tommy Vance , Chris Denning , and Emperor Rosko . Many of the most popular pirate radio voices, such as Simon Dee, had only a one-hour slot per week ("Midday Spin"). I want to slag off all
1111-405: A lack of female broadcasters. In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for
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#17327901873961212-555: A music reporter on the John Peel Saturday show Rockspeak and as presenter of All American Heroes . The following year, he started a show focussing on the weeks' music in the US chart which was to continue for over a decade. The show was broadcast every Saturday afternoon until his last show on 8 February 1986. Thereafter, he moved to independent radio to host American Countdown . In 1990, he returned to Radio 1, but left during
1313-533: A network of transmitters which had carried the Light Programme. Most were of comparatively low power, at less than 50 kilowatts, leading to patchy coverage of the country. The first disc jockey to broadcast on the new station was Tony Blackburn , who had previously been on Radio Caroline and Radio London , and presented what became known as the Radio 1 Breakfast Show . The first words on Radio 1 – after
1414-490: A new programme, The Friday Rock Show . and on 23 November Radio 1 moved from 247m (1214 kHz) to 275 & 285m (1053 & 1089 kHz) medium wave as part of a plan to improve national AM reception, and to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975 . Annie Nightingale , whose first Radio 1 programme aired on 5 October 1969, was Britain's first national female DJ (the earliest record presenter
1515-468: A new weekend breakfast show. In 1985, Radio 1 relocated from its studios in Broadcasting House to Egton House . In March 1985, Ranking Miss P became the first black female DJ on the station, hosting a reggae programme. In July, Andy Kershaw also joined the station. Simon Mayo joined the station in 1986, while Smith re-joined to replace Read on the breakfast show. In response to
1616-567: A permanent feature on Radio 1 since with club DJs such as Judge Jules , Danny Rampling , Trevor Nelson , and the Dreem Teem all moving from London's Kiss 100 to the station. Listening numbers continued to decline. The breakfast show and the UK Top 40 continued to struggle. In 2000, Zoe Ball was replaced in the mornings by close friend and fellow ladette Sara Cox . The success of Moyles' show has come alongside increased success for
1717-464: A planned switch-off of long wave transmissions by 2025. BBC Radio 4's medium wave frequencies were switched off on 15 April 2024, which previously served as relays in areas with a weak LW signal to provide reception of BBC Radio 4 LW, such as Northern Ireland and south west England. Most were turned off at 12:27 PM BST and broadcast an endless closedown loop informing listeners to retune to other methods of reception. The final transmitter to change into
1818-533: A potential security risk." In fact, the symbol was a general indication that the subject should not be promoted or transferred without reference to the department responsible for security vetting, due to left-leaning sympathies (see: "Christmas tree" files ). He lives in the Kennington area of London. On 1 November 2013, it was reported that Gambaccini had been arrested on suspicion of historical sexual offences as part of an investigation by Operation Yewtree in
1919-519: A result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984. For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for
2020-633: A series of lectures in January and February 2009, as the News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media. In February 2010 he was invited by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University , Andrew Hamilton to deliver the inaugural LGBT lecture Out on Monday to the university's LGBT staff, students and faculty. Gambaccini's broadcasting career began at Dartmouth College , where he was music director of
2121-414: A special programme on Radio 2 to celebrate his 50 years of broadcasting on UK radio. Gambaccini was co-author of The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and related titles, with Tim and Jo Rice, alongside Radio 1 colleague at that time, Mike Read , between 1977 and 1996. Gambaccini's own books include Love Letters , Radio Boy , Top 100 Albums and Track Records . The Ultimate Man , a musical about
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#17327901873962222-702: A supporter of gay-related charities. In 1995, he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the National Charity Fundraisers for his work on behalf of the Terrence Higgins Trust . He is a patron of the London Gay Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, he won an episode of celebrity Mastermind , with his chosen beneficiary charity being Stonewall. Gambaccini has been openly gay for many years, claiming in 2013: "I
2323-699: A weekly chart show on London's Jazz FM until 2004. He was also a contributor to the London station LBC when it was taken over by Chrysalis. He has worked widely across the BBC and the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) as well as contributing to many television shows, mostly related to music, film, and the arts. He narrated the BBC Radio adaptation of Espedair Street , the Iain Banks novel. Gambaccini has presented
2424-457: A weekly late night show presented by a well known Internet personality called The Internet Takeover . Shows have been presented by various YouTubers such as Jim Chapman and Hannah Witton . In January 2015, Clara Amfo replaced Jameela Jamil as host of The Official Chart on Sundays (4 pm – 7 pm) and in March, Zane Lowe left Radio 1 and was replaced by Annie Mac on
2525-484: A year after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page and via BBC Sounds . A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra . Due to the capacity limitations of DAB and increasing sport broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra , BBC Radio 4 DAB has to reduce its bit rate most evenings, such that after 7 p.m. its DAB output
2626-403: Is also not part of the station's output, apart from during news bulletins, although between 1994 and 2023, the station's long wave frequency was used to broadcast ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners had to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave
2727-471: Is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review. The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of
2828-490: Is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours, after Radio 2 . It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011, and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2023 Radio Academy Awards . It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls . Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and
2929-412: Is thought to be Jean Metcalfe of Family Favourites , but given that Metcalfe only presented the programme she is not considered a "true" DJ) and became its longest-serving presenter, having constantly evolved her musical tastes with the times. In 1978, Al Matthews became the first black disc jockey to join Radio 1. His Saturday night show Discovatin ' was broadcast for over two years. During
3030-594: Is usually in mono, even though many of its programmes are made in stereo (including its flagship drama "The Archers"), these can be heard in stereo only on FM, Digital TV on Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online. Announcers carry out
3131-720: The Azores to about 20 degrees west; DAB ; Digital TV including Freeview , Freesat , Sky and Virgin Media , and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output. The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort . In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for
Paul Gambaccini - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-635: The BBC National Programme . The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s. When the British Broadcasting Company first began transmissions on 14 November 1922 from station 2LO in the Strand , which it had inherited from
3333-619: The Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben . The pips are only accurate on FM, and LW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and online up to 23 seconds. Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast which, in August 2017, was 150 years old. According to RAJAR , the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 9.2 million with a listening share of 11.1% as of December 2023. BBC Radio 4
3434-539: The Marconi Company (one of six commercial companies which created), but technology did not yet exist either for national coverage or joint programming between transmitters . Whilst it was possible to combine large numbers of trunk telephone lines to link transmitters for individual programmes, the process was expensive and not encouraged by the General Post Office as it tied up large parts of
3535-580: The Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint from Edward Seckerson ; he was temporarily replaced in 2013 by Russell Davies and returned to the show in November 2014 after being cleared of allegations of historical sexual offences made against him. He returned to BBC Radio 2 with America's Greatest Hits on 15 November 2014, and hosted it until 2 July 2016, when he took over Pick of the Pops from Tony Blackburn ,
3636-531: The Study on 4 / Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast until the end of the 1990s on Sunday evenings on longwave only. Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by
3737-683: The United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (where he co-presented the 1990 Eagle Awards and the 1997 National Comics Awards ), and Comics Festival UK . A character introduced in The Flash #141 named Paul Gambi , a tailor specializing in super-villain outfits, is an homage to Paul Gambaccini, who had written a letter to the Flash editor, later published in the letter column, asking the question, "Where do all these super-villains get their costumes?". Gambaccini has been
3838-660: The presumption of innocence , especially in sex cases, including Gambaccini's, by the methods used in Operation Yewtree (among other instances). In February 2017, Gambaccini sued the Metropolitan Police , citing a loss of £200,000 during his time under investigation. In November 2018, he settled a claim against the Crown Prosecution Service , who agreed to pay him damages; the amount was not disclosed due to confidentiality clauses in
3939-457: The 1990s the Britpop boom declined, and manufactured chart pop (boy bands and acts aimed at sub-teenagers) came to dominate the charts. New-genre music occupied the evenings (indie on weekdays and dance at weekends), with a mix of specialist shows and playlist fillers through late nights. The rise of rave culture through the late 1980s and early 1990s gave the station the opportunity to move into
4040-497: The BBC 'Radio Weeks' promotions that took Radio 1, 2 and 4 shows on the road – drew some of the largest crowds of the decade. The station undoubtedly played a role in maintaining the high sales of 45 rpm single records, although it benefited from a lack of competition, apart from Radio Luxembourg , and from Manx Radio in the Isle of Man. ( Independent Local Radio did not begin until October 1973, took many years to cover virtually all of
4141-446: The BBC announced that Radio 4 will stop broadcasting opt-outs on long wave with the last opt-outs airing on 31 March 2024. The two displaced programmes, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament moved to BBC Radio 4 Extra . The daily amount of Shipping Forecasts was reduced to be broadcast 2 times on weekdays and 3 times on weekends. Test Match Special moved to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra on 31 July 2023. These end ahead of
Paul Gambaccini - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-413: The BBC was a turn-off for some, and needle time restrictions prevented it from playing as many records as offshore stations had. It also had limited finances and often, as in January 1975, suffered disproportionately when the BBC had to make financial cutbacks, strengthening an impression that it was regarded as a lower priority by senior BBC executives. Despite this, it gained massive audiences, becoming
4343-767: The Paul Gambaccini Collection on Radio 2 which began on 29 October 2023. Inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in 2005, Gambaccini is the author of more than 15 books. Born in the Bronx , New York City, Gambaccini studied at Dartmouth College , where he obtained a degree in history in 1970. Gambaccini then migrated to the United Kingdom and attended University College, Oxford , where he read politics, philosophy and economics . He has since returned to Oxford , where he delivered
4444-478: The Saturday Afternoon drama and the omnibus edition of The Archers respectively. Only pips broadcast on FM and LW are accurate. On digital platforms there is a delay of between three and five seconds, and up to 23 seconds online. Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, comedy, drama and entertainment. A number of
4545-435: The UK and was initially a mixture of music and talk). Alan Freeman 's "Saturday Rock Show" was voted "Best Radio Show" five years running by readers of a national music publication, and was then axed by controller Derek Chinnery. News coverage on the station was boosted in 1973 when Newsbeat bulletins aired for the first time, and Richard Skinner joined the station as one of the new programme's presenters. On air, 1978
4646-435: The UK on FM between 97.1 MHz and 99.7 MHz , digital radio , digital TV and BBC Sounds. It was launched in 1967 to meet the demand for music generated by pirate radio stations, when the average age of the UK population was 27. The BBC claims that it targets the 15–29 age group, and the average age of its UK audience since 2009 is 30. BBC Radio 1 started 24-hour broadcasting on 1 May 1991. According to RAJAR ,
4747-509: The United Kingdom. He was released on bail and his spokesman said that he denied the allegations. It was announced on 10 October 2014 that no charges would be brought. Giving evidence to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee on 3 March 2015, Gambaccini said he believed he was used as "human fly paper " to encourage other people to come forward and make allegations against him. The BBC reported that he also said he suspected his bail
4848-706: The annual Ivor Novello Awards since 1990, the Parliamentary Jazz Awards since 2005, the Music Industry Trust's Man of the Year Dinner since 1999, and the Radio Academy Awards for a ten-year stretch from 1998 to 2008. In August 2008, Gambaccini returned to Classic FM, to present a 12-part series Paul Gambaccini's Hall of Heroes on Sunday evenings between 9:00 and 10:00. In March 2008, he took over as chairman of
4949-410: The breakfast show in January 1994, Bannister hired Chris Evans to present the breakfast show in April 1995. Evans was a popular presenter but was dismissed in 1997 after he demanded to present the breakfast show for only four days per week. Evans was replaced from 17 February 1997 by Mark and Lard – Mark Radcliffe and his sidekick Marc Riley – who found the slick, mass-audience style required for
5050-651: The chief executive of RadioCentre, was "to identify both areas of best practice and possible savings." The controller of Radio 1 and sister station 1Xtra changed to Ben Cooper on 28 October 2011, following the departure of Andy Parfitt. Ben Cooper answered to the Director of BBC Audio and Music, Tim Davie. On 7 December 2011, Ben Cooper's first major changes to the station were announced. Skream & Benga, Toddla T , Charlie Sloth and Friction replaced Judge Jules, Gilles Peterson , Kissy Sell Out and Fabio & Grooverider. A number of shows were shuffled to incorporate
5151-510: The closedown loop was the Plymouth relay on 774 kHz at 4:59 PM BST. These relays stopped broadcasting the closedown loop and fell silent completely by 30 April 2024. An online schedule page lists the running order of programmes. The station broadcasts a mix of live and pre-recorded programmes. Live programming includes breakfast programme Today , magazine programme Woman's Hour , consumer affairs programme You and Yours , and (often)
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#17327901873965252-448: The country by having that play list monopoly. — Joe Strummer Initially, the station was unpopular with some of its target audience who, it is claimed, disliked the fact that much of its airtime was shared with Radio 2 and that it was less unequivocally aimed at a young audience than the offshore stations, with some DJs such as Jimmy Young being in their 40s. The very fact that it was part of an "establishment" institution such as
5353-603: The early 1980s he presented The Other Side of the Tracks on Channel 4 , which ran for three series. His other television appearances include Pebble Mill at One , Call My Bluff , Music for the Millennium , and The South Bank Show . In 1998, he joined BBC Radio 2 . His first show was on 18 April 1998, once again opening the first of his weekly shows America's Greatest Hits with " Born to Run " by Bruce Springsteen . In 2002, he quit his role at Classic FM , to present
5454-443: The early weekend shows. Gary Davies and Janice Long also joined, hosting Saturday night late and evening shows respectively. In 1984, Robbie Vincent joined to host a Sunday evening soul show. Mike Smith left for a while to present BBC1's Breakfast Time ; Gary Davies then took over the weekday lunchtime slot. Bruno Brookes joined and replaced Peter Powell as presenter of the teatime show, with Powell replacing Blackburn on
5555-493: The first show starting off with "Born to Run", just like the final BBC Radio episode, and ending with " Uptight (Everything's Alright) " by Stevie Wonder. Gambaccini has also presented special shows on Greatest Hits Radio on bank holidays and over the Christmas holidays. On Boxing Day 2021, he co-presented a special show on Greatest Hits Radio paying tribute to Janice Long , whom he had discovered in 1982. On 10 August 2023, it
5656-420: The following duties from Broadcasting House: Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. Other continuity announcers for whom it is not known whether they are freelance or BBC employees, include Joanna Kean, Kelsey Bennett, Arlene Fleming (who also used to read
5757-599: The following week. He started his final America's Greatest Hits on the BBC with " Born to Run " by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and ended it with Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling!". Trevor Nelson took over the Saturday timeslot with his Rhythm Nation programme, that was allocated to Gambaccini's America's Greatest Hits programme for seven years. The show was revived on Greatest Hits Radio from February 2020 airing 5-7pm on Saturdays, with
5858-563: The growth in dance and rap music, Jeff Young joined in October 1987 with the Big Beat show. At the end of the year Nicky Campbell , Mark Goodier and Liz Kershaw all joined, and Janice Long left. Mayo replaced Smith on the breakfast show in May 1988. In September, Goodier and Kershaw took over weekend breakfasts with Powell departing. Campbell took over weekday evenings as part of a move into night-time broadcasting as 1 October 1988 saw Radio 1 extend broadcast hours until 02:00; previously
5959-444: The influence that the use of drugs have had over popular musicians, received critical acclaim but were slated inside Broadcasting House . At just before 09:00 on 1 July 1994, Radio 1 broadcast on medium wave for the final time. In March 1995, Radio 1 hosted an "Interactive Radio Night" with Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq broadcasting from Cyberia , an internet café and featuring live performances by Orbital via ISDN . Later in
6060-539: The most listened-to station in the world, with audiences of over ten million claimed for some of its shows (up to twenty million for some of the combined Radio 1 and Radio 2 shows). In the early-to-mid-1970s Radio 1 presenters were rarely out of the British tabloids, thanks to the Publicity Department's high-profile work. The touring summer live broadcasts called the Radio 1 Roadshow – usually as part of
6161-691: The music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row . Continuity is managed from Broadcasting House with news bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News , and news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM , which by early 2013 had returned to Broadcasting House after 15 years at BBC Television Centre in White City . The news returning to Broadcasting House has also meant that newsreaders can provide cover for continuity, which regularly occurs at 23:00 each night and 16:00 on
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#17327901873966262-632: The new line-up. On 28 February 2012, further changes were announced. Greg James and Scott Mills swapped shows and Jameela Jamil , Gemma Cairney and Danny Howard joined the station. The new line-up of DJs for In New DJs We Trust was also announced with B.Traits , Mosca, Jordan Suckley and Julio Bashmore hosting shows on a four weekly rotation. This new schedule took effect on Monday, 2 April 2012. In September 2012, Nick Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles as host of "Radio 1's Breakfast Show". Grimshaw previously hosted Mon-Thurs 10pm-Midnight, Weekend Breakfast and Sunday evenings alongside Annie Mac. Grimshaw
6363-543: The new music evening show. BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC . The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House , London . Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya . He replaced Gwyneth Williams , who had been
6464-515: The news) and Richard Evans. Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly " socially and culturally conservative" approach. There has been criticism of Today in particular for
6565-497: The now-defunct WDCR , a college-owned-and-operated Top 40 radio station. Gambaccini may have first achieved wider prominence when his tips for playlisted songs likely to see greater chart action were published in the 11 May 1968 issue of the international trade publication Billboard , alongside similar tips from radio programming talent at major commercial stations across the United States. Having left Oxford, Gambaccini considered further study in law at Harvard or Yale , but had
6666-400: The opportunity of writing for Rolling Stone magazine, as British correspondent. He attributes his broadcasting career to this post—especially an interview in 1973 with Elton John which brought him to the attention of BBC Radio producer John Walters who arranged for him to host on BBC Radio 1 . Gambaccini then started broadcasting in the UK, on BBC Radio 1 , from September 1974, first as
6767-571: The parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia , a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East 's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk . All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in
6868-501: The people in charge of radio stations. Firstly, Radio 1. They outlawed the pirates and then didn't, as they promised, cater for the market the pirates created. Radio 1 and 2, most afternoons, run concurrently and the whole thing has slid right back to where it was before the pirates happened. They've totally fucked it. There's no radio station for young people any more. It's all down to housewives and trendies in Islington. They're killing
6969-484: The programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme— Woman's Hour , From Our Own Correspondent , You and Yours . The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby , controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975. The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years. Most programmes are available for 30 days or over
7070-480: The reins fully in October 1993. His aim was to rid the station of its " Smashie and Nicey " image in order to appeal to the under-25s. Although originally launched as a youth station, by the early 1990s, its loyal listeners and DJs had aged with the station over its 25-year history. Many long-standing DJs, such as Simon Bates , Dave Lee Travis , Alan Freeman , Bob Harris , Paul Gambaccini , Gary Davies , and later Steve Wright, Bruno Brookes and Johnnie Walker left
7171-640: The settlement agreement. BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC . It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica , dance, hip hop and indie , while its sister station 1Xtra plays black contemporary music , including hip hop and R&B . Radio 1 also runs two online streams, Radio 1 Dance , dedicated to dance music, and Radio 1 Anthems , dedicated to throwback music; both are available to listen only on BBC Sounds . Radio 1 broadcasts throughout
7272-438: The southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West , continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982. The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University , schools programming, children's programmes and
7373-608: The station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 7.3 million with a listening share of 4.5% as of March 2024. Radio 1 was established in 1967 (along with the more middle-of-the-road BBC Radio 2 ) as a successor to the BBC Light Programme , which had broadcast popular music and other entertainment since 1945. Radio 1 was conceived as a direct response to the popularity of offshore pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London , which had been declared illegal by Act of Parliament . Radio 1's initial format
7474-684: The station controller since 2010. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM , LW and DAB , and on BBC Sounds , it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland , northern France and Northern Europe . It is available on Freeview , Sky , and Virgin Media . Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after BBC Radio 2 . BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM heralded on air by
7575-429: The station had closed for the night at midnight. From September 1988, Radio 1 began its FM switch-on, with further major transmitter switch-ons in 1989 and 1990. It was not until the mid-1990s that all existing BBC radio transmitters had Radio 1 added. Previously, Radio 1 had "borrowed" Radio 2's VHF/FM frequencies for around 25 hours each week. On 1 May 1991, Radio 1 began 24-hour broadcasting, although only on FM, as
7676-545: The station in general. In 2006, DJs Scott Mills and Zane Lowe won gold Sony Radio Awards , while the station itself came away with the best station award. A new evening schedule was introduced in September 2006, dividing the week by genre. The licence-fee funding of Radio 1, alongside Radio 2, is often criticised by the commercial sector. In the first quarter of 2011 Radio 1 was part of an efficiency review conducted by John Myers . His role, according to Andrew Harrison,
7777-406: The station or were dismissed, and in January 1995, older music (typically anything recorded before 1990) was dropped from the daytime playlist . Many listeners rebelled as the first new DJs to be introduced represented a crossover from other parts of the BBC (notably Bannister and Trevor Dann's former colleagues at the BBC's London station, GLR ) with Emma Freud and Danny Baker . Another problem
7878-568: The station was transferred to the new British Broadcasting Company which in 1923 took up the nearby Savoy Hill for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year. In 1927 the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation . On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the BBC Regional Programme and
7979-436: The station – including Edith Bowman, Nihal and Rob da Bank. Huw Stephens gained a new show hosting 10 pm – 1 am Monday–Wednesday with Alice Levine presenting weekends 1 pm – 4 pm. Radio 1's Residency also expanded with Skream joining the rotational line-up on Thursday nights (10 pm – 1 am). From December 2014 to April 2016, Radio 1 included
8080-406: The station's MW transmitters were switched off between midnight and 06:00. In 1992, Radio 1, for the first and only time, covered a general election . Their coverage was presented by Nicky Campbell . In his last few months as controller, Johnny Beerling commissioned a handful of new shows that in some ways set the tone for what was to come under Matthew Bannister . One of these " Loud'n'proud "
8181-460: The station. The changes took effect in January 2013. Former presenter Sara Cox hosted her last show on Radio 1 in February 2014 before moving back to Radio 2. In March 2014, Gemma Cairney left the weekend breakfast show to host the weekday early breakfast slot, swapping shows with Dev. In September 2014, Radio 1 operated a series of changes to their output which saw many notable presenters leave
8282-531: The summer months a Wednesday show was also broadcast featuring live acts. At the start of 1981, Mike Read took over The Radio 1 Breakfast Show from Dave Lee Travis . Towards the end of the year, Steve Wright started the long-running Steve Wright in the Afternoon show. In 1982, the new Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show started, initially with Tony Blackburn supported by Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin . Adrian John and Pat Sharp also joined for
8383-458: The telephone network. The stations that followed the establishment of 2LO in London were therefore autonomously programmed using local talent and facilities. By May 1923, simultaneous broadcasting was technically possible at least between main transmitters and relay stations , the quality was not felt to be high enough to provide a national service or regular simultaneous broadcasts. In 1924, it
8484-678: The tenure of controller Matthew Bannister in 1993. In 1992 Gambaccini became a founding personality on the UK's classical music station Classic FM , where he hosted the weekly Classical CD Chart show. He left for BBC Radio 3 in 1995, where he broadcast an hour-long morning show, in a slot formerly used for Composer of the Week . He returned to Classic FM in 1997. Alongside his work in music radio, he contributed regularly to BBC Radio 4 's long-running arts programme Kaleidoscope between 1975 and 1998. For 13 years Gambaccini reviewed films for breakfast television, first on TV-am and then GMTV . In
8585-554: The term " Brand Echh ", which later became widely used by Stan Lee . While still in high school, Gambaccini began contributing to comics fanzines , including the publication Rocket's Blast Comicollector . In 1964 he succeeded Jerry Bails (the so-called "father of comic book fandom") as executive secretary of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors , an umbrella organization for the burgeoning world of comics fandom During 1964-65, he also published eight issues of Forum which
8686-600: Was " Flowers in the Rain " by The Move , the number 2 record in that week's Top 20 (the number 1 record, The Last Waltz by Engelbert Humperdinck , would have been inappropriate for the station's sound). The second single was " Massachusetts " by the Bee Gees . The breakfast show remains the most prized slot in the Radio 1 schedule, with every change of breakfast show presenter generating considerable media interest. The initial rota of staff included John Peel , Pete Myers , and
8787-495: Was a long-time TV morning show correspondent for British television, and makes regular appearances on other British TV magazine shows. Gambaccini was the host of the 12-part Classic FM series Paul Gambaccini's Hall of Heroes , and chairs the Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint . He was presenter of Pick of the Pops on BBC Radio 2 from 9 July 2016 to 7 October 2023 and America's Greatest Hits on Greatest Hits Radio on Saturday afternoons since February 2020. He now presents
8888-460: Was an Academy newsletter for ex-board members. As part of his involvement with the academy, Gambaccini helped organize the comics industry's first awards, the Alley Awards . Gambaccini and television presenter Jonathan Ross co-owned Top 10 Comics, a comic shop in London which opened in 1989 and closed in 1995. Gambaccini has been an official guest at many British comic conventions, including
8989-404: Was announced that Gambaccini would leave Pick of the Pops on 7 October 2023 after seven and a half years at the helm, to host a new live Sunday evening show for Radio 2, titled The Paul Gambaccini Collection , which would begin on 29 October. He announced the news on the show on 12 August, and he was replaced by the late Steve Wright . On 22 October 2023, Gambaccini was interviewed by Wright in
9090-409: Was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations, in response to the challenge of offshore radio . It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as
9191-471: Was felt that technical standards had improved enough for London to start to provide the majority of the output, cutting the local stations back to providing items of local interest. Each of these main stations were broadcast at approximately 1 kilowatt (kW): Each of these relay stations were broadcast at approximately 120 watts (W): The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and
9292-458: Was influenced in particular by Radio London's American-style Top 40 format, in which music was divided into categories played in strict rotation. The new service was initially promoted in the summer of 1967 by trails (voiced by Kenny Everett ) which referred to it as "Radio 247", the station's temporary working title. Radio 1 was launched at 7:00 am on Saturday 30 September 1967. Broadcasts were on 1214 kHz AM (247 metres), using
9393-510: Was never ' in '." In June 2012, he entered into a civil partnership with Christopher Sherwood. One week later, they married in the New York Botanical Garden . In 2013, Gambaccini claimed that he had been highlighted as a potential security risk by the BBC earlier in his career due to his sexuality, with a symbol resembling a Christmas tree on the cover of his personnel file: "It meant you were 'as camp as Christmas' and thus
9494-484: Was now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts took precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast , carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea. Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857 kHz ). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922
9595-434: Was possible for the main Radio 4 service to be transferred from LW to FM, and this took place on 16 September 1991 with opt-outs - extra shipping forecasts, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament , joined in 1994 by Test Match Special . Longwave also occasionally opted out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010 . On 30 May 2023,
9696-473: Was repeatedly extended until the end of high-profile cases involving other celebrities because "police did not want juries to hear a former Radio 1 DJ had been cleared of sexual wrongdoing". Gambaccini also argued in favour of a 28-day bail limit; Home Secretary Theresa May had announced in December 2014 that she was consulting on such a limit in all but exceptional cases. However, Gambaccini's allegations of
9797-449: Was replaced by Phil Taggart and Alice Levine on the 10pm-Midnight show. In November 2012, another series of changes were announced. This included the departure of Reggie Yates and Vernon Kay. Jameela Jamil was announced as the new presenter of The Official Chart . Matt Edmondson moved to weekend mornings with Tom Deacon briefly replacing him on Wednesday nights. Daniel Howell and Phil Lester , famous YouTubers and video bloggers, joined
9898-541: Was that the Musicians' Union would not agree to a single fee for the singers and musicians if the jingles were made "in-house" by the BBC; they wanted repeat fees each time one was played. The first music to be heard on the station was an extract from "Beefeaters" by Johnny Dankworth . " Theme One ", specially composed for the launch by George Martin was played for the first time before Radio 1 officially launched at 7 am. The first complete record played on Radio 1
9999-499: Was that, at the time, Radio 2 was sticking resolutely to a format which appealed mainly to those who had been listening since the days of the Light Programme , and commercial radio, which was targeting the "Radio 1 and a half" audience, consequently enjoyed a massive increase in its audience share at Radio 1's expense. After the departure of Steve Wright, who had been unsuccessfully moved from his long-running afternoon show to
10100-488: Was the UK's first national radio series aimed at a gay audience, which was produced in Manchester and aired from August 1993. Far from being a "parting quirk", the show was a surprise hit and led to the network's first coverage of the large outdoor Gay Pride event in 1994. The Man Ezeke became Radio 1's first black regular daytime presenter when he began hosting on Sunday lunchtimes in January 1993. Bannister took
10201-465: Was the busiest year of the decade. David Jensen replaced Dave Lee Travis as host of the weekday drivetime programme so that DLT could replace Noel Edmonds as presenter of the Radio 1 Breakfast show. Later in the year the Sunday teatime chart show was extended from a Top 20 countdown to a Top 40 countdown, and Tommy Vance , one of the station's original presenters, rejoined the station to present
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