Tuesday, 28 November 2006

From: "Christopher England" <...>
Quoting a previous Graham Jones contribution:-

Aren't you getting confused with "broken down WOMEN" Chris ?!!!

Nah, I wasn't talking about Shaun Tilley was I?

:-)

You bitch!

Oh no I'm getting confused, that's what he said wasn't it? :-)

Quoting a previous Les Wires contribution:-

Why are you so against any music unless it was written in late 2006 ?

Sigh. Ok. Let's pretend I am an Eastenders fan for the purposes of my point, but I could equally be saying Corrie or Hollyoaks or whatever it is that people religiously watch these days...anyway, here we go:

I'm not against music that was around before late 2006 any more than I am against episodes of Eastenders broadcast before late 2006. However, I have no interest in watching the same single episode of Eastenders that was originally broadcast in some time in 1986 on rotation every few days for the rest of my life. I'd rather watch the current episode and look forward to the next episode.

Do
you have the same issue with reading, Films and wine.?

Since we are talking about my favourite subject ( i.e. me, the "CE Mark") I'll go with this and give you a truthful answer:

I never read books. Well, I've read a few parts of manuals and so on. But if I did read books, I certainly wouldn't read the same book that I first read when I was 18 every 3 or 4 days for the rest of my life.

I rarely watch a film again, having watched it once, unless I liked it but didn't get it, or want to watch it on a different level. As in, I want to watch the screenplay as opposed to the plot, kinda thing.

As for wines, I don't drink 'em so my issues with wines would be a different one.

Variety is the
spice of life Chris, look further than the end of your nose there is
much more in the world out there.

Exactly my very point. Variety is indeed the spice of life, which is why I enjoy the variety of looking around the next corner, rather than restricting myself to a safe routine of doing the same things every three or four days that I first started doing when I was 18.

Perhaps through your childhood in the
70s to today you were brought up with ILR radio and thought the past was
confined to a few tracks. Open your eyes and embrace.

This is not a gay thing, right? (Ok, that was a joke)

What would you suggest I open my eyes and embrace?
—
* Christopher England just said that *

Quoting a previous Charlie Davy contribution:-

I think the late John Peel summed it up nicely:

"I just want to hear something that I've not heard before…"

As I did when I was 18. So, in that sense, I've not changed.
—
* Christopher England just said that *

Quoting a previous Les Wires contribution:-

Just because the current version of Radio 1
says only today is important doesn't mean you have to believe it.

Isn't that exactly what Radio 1 said in 1967 as well? Should we have not believed it then either?

—
* Christopher England just said that *

Christopher England <...> said:

Quoting a previous Graham Jones contribution:-

I wonder if the comfy feeling is
because there are fewer contributing for the moment or is it because we
have all gotten to like Chris? (after all he's been putting exclamation
marks in his missives which shows he's got a sense of humour maybe?)

The fact that I (the great "CE Mark") am here in the first place surely
demonstrate my extended sense of humour.
—
* Christopher England just said that *

*******************

I can't argue with that ... you definitely need a sense of humour to belong to AN or maybe it's an indication of inherent masochism ?

I didn't realise until know what tough souls we all are !!!

Graham 

 Offshore radio ships

...is somefink wot I wrote some while back. Here it is again for your comments and come-backs.....

Nearly half a century ago people used ships to broadcast pop music from. It was called 'offshore radio' or 'pirate radio' or 'free radio'. There was never anything that special about it, it was just the way to do it before stations were licensed in the UK. However, for some strange reason it did seem to attract fanatical devotion and obsession from folk who later became known as 'anoraks'. I've written about them before, and suffer the affliction myself.

Where in the 60s and 70s these were lonely young men, probably slightly nerdy like trainspotters, they have grown up now and become the granddads of this decade, but are still obsessed that the 'second coming' that will be the saviour of radio will be somebody putting a ship out to sea to start broadcasting from. (You can guess they think all radio available to them is crap.)

I maintain nobody would really notice or care, whilst others think it would lead to a radio revolution (whatever that is), and others assume the authorities would set torpedoes skimming towards the new ship, such would be its importance and the fear it would instil into them.

Like I said, I still maintain that nobody apart from a few hundred 'anoraks' would even notice a ship broadcasting from the North Sea these days, so its threat level would be nothing compared to the threat level of Laser 558, which was one of the last offshore radio stations from over 20 years ago.

Laser worried people, because it was in the right place at the right time, when everybody was still AM-centric (not that many were listening via FM) and needletime restricted.

'Needletime' was an invention of the Musicians Union that only allowed radio stations to play a certain number of hours a day of actual records (a record playing via a 'needle' (stylus) of course). The rest of the day had to be speech or music specially recorded to not count as 'needletime'. Laser didn't last all that long, but whilst it was on it was able to play non-stop music. The legal stations couldn't compete. Loads of people listened to Laser.

'Needletime' was abolished some months after Laser had gone, and these days radio stations play as many records (or these days, CDs) as they want to, as long as they pay for the copyright to so do).

A ship can only really broadcast effectively on AM, not FM. It can broadcast on FM but it doesn't get very far. So, a new ship would have to be AM. However, the music stations on AM today are losing listeners year on year and all the formats are already out there, so what new thing is a ship going to bring other than maybe politics or religion? Where once it could play non-stop music, now anybody can.

New music genres are covered by FM pirates, which have the people who are making the music actually playing it live on the air, so you ain't going to get them out to a ship to broadcast on AM – a band which the yoof generally are unaware of (they tried 'dance' on an AM station called Atlantic 252 but nobody listened and it crashed and burned) when they can hype their stuff in via urban FM pirates with their tens of thousands of listeners.

With Kerrang and various other rock services available in FM and DAB, around the country how do you compete with a rock service? Most music stations on AM are gold, yet they can't pay their way, so have to be part of larger networks to cut costs. So, how would a gold format suddenly manage to make the income needed to support and crew a ship? It wouldn't.

The more you try and look at it, unless you get some lottery-winning old anoraks who just want to do it for the hell of it (and then, in real terms a few million is not going to buy and fit a ship and keep you on the air for long either), there is no way a ship can be maintained at sea these days. In fact, the whole reason Radio Caroline collapsed 15 years ago was nothing to do with the law, but wholly to do with the lack of income.

15 Years is a very long time for even more nails to be put into the coffin of unlicensed European based offshore radio as more and more legal stations come on and the needs and desires of the listening public move on. It's well dead. Ceased. Expired. Is no more.

Yet like with any cult, the anorak believers sit and wait for the second coming not thinking logically that there's nothing going to happen. Ever. These fanatics scare me.

—
* Christopher England just said that *

Quoting a previous Steve Martin contribution:-

It has been announced that Alan Freeman has died aged 79.

I suppose he was the grandfather of the cheesey DJ upon whom so many others based their 'acts' and presentation styles, and who Smashy and Nicey were ultimately laughing at. So, in a way he was the first real 'performing' radio DJ in the UK, and a pioneer of his time that didn't sound like a rip-off of the 60s American style of radio DJ. In a sense he was unique and was therefore emulated, and that's a very good thing.

Which of today's crop of new radio presenters will eventually pass away with such a legacy?
—
* Christopher England just said that *

Christopher England <...> said:

  Offshore radio ships

...is somefink wot I wrote some while back. Here it is again for your
comments and come-backs…..

Nearly half a century ago people used ships to broadcast pop music from.
It was called 'offshore radio' or 'pirate radio' or 'free radio'. There
was never anything that special about it, it was just the way to do it
before stations were licensed in the UK. However, for some strange
reason it did seem to attract fanatical devotion and obsession from folk
who later became known as 'anoraks'. I've written about them before, and
suffer the affliction myself.

Where in the 60s and 70s these were lonely young men, probably slightly
nerdy like trainspotters, they have grown up now and become the
granddads of this decade, but are still obsessed that the 'second
coming' that will be the saviour of radio will be somebody putting a
ship out to sea to start broadcasting from. (You can guess they think
all radio available to them is crap.)

I maintain nobody would really notice or care, whilst others think it
would lead to a radio revolution (whatever that is), and others assume
the authorities would set torpedoes skimming towards the new ship, such
would be its importance and the fear it would instil into them.

Like I said, I still maintain that nobody apart from a few hundred
'anoraks' would even notice a ship broadcasting from the North Sea these
days, so its threat level would be nothing compared to the threat level
of Laser 558, which was one of the last offshore radio stations from
over 20 years ago.

Laser worried people, because it was in the right place at the right
time, when everybody was still AM-centric (not that many were listening
via FM) and needletime restricted.

'Needletime' was an invention of the Musicians Union that only allowed
radio stations to play a certain number of hours a day of actual records
(a record playing via a 'needle' (stylus) of course). The rest of the
day had to be speech or music specially recorded to not count as
'needletime'. Laser didn't last all that long, but whilst it was on it
was able to play non-stop music. The legal stations couldn't compete.
Loads of people listened to Laser.

'Needletime' was abolished some months after Laser had gone, and these
days radio stations play as many records (or these days, CDs) as they
want to, as long as they pay for the copyright to so do).

A ship can only really broadcast effectively on AM, not FM. It can
broadcast on FM but it doesn't get very far. So, a new ship would have
to be AM. However, the music stations on AM today are losing listeners
year on year and all the formats are already out there, so what new
thing is a ship going to bring other than maybe politics or religion?
Where once it could play non-stop music, now anybody can.

New music genres are covered by FM pirates, which have the people who
are making the music actually playing it live on the air, so you ain't
going to get them out to a ship to broadcast on AM – a band which the
yoof generally are unaware of (they tried 'dance' on an AM station
called Atlantic 252 but nobody listened and it crashed and burned) when
they can hype their stuff in via urban FM pirates with their tens of
thousands of listeners.

With Kerrang and various other rock services available in FM and DAB,
around the country how do you compete with a rock service? Most music
stations on AM are gold, yet they can't pay their way, so have to be
part of larger networks to cut costs. So, how would a gold format
suddenly manage to make the income needed to support and crew a ship? It
wouldn't.

The more you try and look at it, unless you get some lottery-winning old
anoraks who just want to do it for the hell of it (and then, in real
terms a few million is not going to buy and fit a ship and keep you on
the air for long either), there is no way a ship can be maintained at
sea these days. In fact, the whole reason Radio Caroline collapsed 15
years ago was nothing to do with the law, but wholly to do with the lack
of income.

15 Years is a very long time for even more nails to be put into the
coffin of unlicensed European based offshore radio as more and more
legal stations come on and the needs and desires of the listening public
move on. It's well dead. Ceased. Expired. Is no more.

Yet like with any cult, the anorak believers sit and wait for the second
coming not thinking logically that there's nothing going to happen.
Ever. These fanatics scare me.

—
* Christopher England just said that *

I agree

Graham 

Christopher England <...> said:

Quoting a previous Steve Martin contribution:-

It has been announced that Alan Freeman has died aged 79.

I suppose he was the grandfather of the cheesey DJ upon whom so many
others based their 'acts' and presentation styles, and who Smashy and
Nicey were ultimately laughing at. So, in a way he was the first real
'performing' radio DJ in the UK, and a pioneer of his time that didn't
sound like a rip-off of the 60s American style of radio DJ. In a sense
he was unique and was therefore emulated, and that's a very good thing.

Which of today's crop of new radio presenters will eventually pass away
with such a legacy?
—
* Christopher England just said that *

There ain't none mate

Graham 

Steve Martin wrote:
: It has been announced that Alan Freeman has died aged 79.
:
:
:
: R.I.P
:
:
:
: http://newsbbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6187762.stm

RIP, Fluff; we pop-pickers will always remember you.

Graham Jones wrote:

'There ain't none mate'

Indeed, there are not. He'll get some damn fine obituaries. Thanks Fluff.

Ian Bull

Quoting a previous Ian Bull contribution:-

He'll get some damn fine obituaries.

A heck of a lot of people I know from 'the industry' seemed to regard him with great affection, so I suspect you are right.

It's quite sad to know that he passed away a broken man crippled by arthritis and living in a nursing home. Oddly, you kind of imagine that such a radio legend would be living in a luxury country estate somewhere.
—
* Christopher England just said that *

Christopher England wrote:

A heck of a lot of people I know from 'the industry' seemed to
regard him with great affection, so I suspect you are right.

It's quite sad to know that he passed away a broken man crippled by
arthritis and living in a nursing home. Oddly, you kind of imagine
that such a radio legend would be living in a luxury country estate
somewhere.
—

Agreed. Those who I work with in broadcasting are not radio people (nor me) but, when I've mentioned why he had retired there was
genuine sympathy. A horrible way to go.

Ian Bull

You have got to see this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2i7S0yUVEI

dave.

DAVID AYLING <...> said:

Don't forget if it was not for BIG L & Caroline we would not have radio one today. But i also think that if the others had stay on air jest like Caroline did the BBC would not have stared it as it would have no where to put it.

ps all we need now is for someone to bringback R.N.I

 

Oh for goodness sake, can't somebody please take these people outside and knock some sense into them. Grow up, it's bloody 2006, stop living in the past, go and do something useful with your lives for fu*ks sake! I'm cross now !

dimitri konstantine <...> said:

DAVID AYLING <...> said:

Don't forget if it was not for BIG L & Caroline we would not have radio one today. But i also think that if the others had stay on air jest like Caroline did the BBC would not have stared it as it would have no where to put it.

ps all we need now is for someone to bringback R.N.I

Oh for goodness sake, can't somebody please take these people outside and knock some sense into them. Grow up, it's bloody 2006, stop living in the past, go and do something useful with your lives for fu*ks sake! I'm cross now !

*********************************

Now listen Dimitri my friend,

(You weren't in "Dr Strangelove" were you?)

You are entitled to your opnion but so is David so let him express his view without resorting to (almost) bad language.

S**t man, I would never do that ... but I'm 1943 vintage and one of the "great unwashed" apparently so my own view should be disregarded .... like f**k it should !!!

Graham (hurt and wounded) 

In article <...>, ... (Christopher England) wrote:

Alan was also a really nice guy – only by accident I ended up working with him for a few hours when doing some stuff in London.
He came into the green room where we were trying to grab a few minutes sleep, long story, as we'd been on-air all night.
Alan asked what we were doing, we explained and he was such a Gent that he took off his cape, said something like "common then" and then helped produce the next four hours of programming and didn't want a cent for doing it. What a star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric

In article <8...>, ... (dimitri konstantine) wrote:

Alan

If it is the offshore thing was so influential, why was it that it took a decade to get commercial radio started – what's more the then boss of all things radio went for a talky station first??

As it goes the whole BBC thing was controlled by music companies. That's what needed to be changed to make R1.

Alan, I'm not saying there were bad days, they were great, but the reality is they had little to do with the major changes, needle time, commercial radio and today's radio has it's roots in many things, offshore isn't one of them.

Eric