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Radio

Lady P,

Edmondo Ros had a very interesting history, all here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmundo_Ros - so I won't bother typing when you can so easily read! However, he was at least South American. I did a few gigs with a similar band - Andreas Romanos - many years ago, but Andreas was actually Wilf Todd, a Maltese of British extraction. Nevertheless, it was an authentic-sounding Latin American band and one of the few larger bands getting work at that time outside of London.

Maurice
 
Nice to hear that others remember the days of radio , (the pictures were better on radio) . We didn't have a TV when I was a child and some of the output went over my head but I certainly remember the shipping forecast , specially when they forecast gale force winds etc , I could picture the fishing boats out at sea.
To a child , Journey into Space was absolutely real .

Always listened to Radio , still do , and as said above Round the Horne was a favourite , still hear it on R4Extra and Julian & Sandy are still funny . Many of the other comedy,s are very dated to be honest , Dick Barton sounds very dated to modern ears but Paul Temple still seems to work .

I too remember waiting for the Radio Luxembourg reception to get stronger late at night as the latest craze of Rock n Roll was ignored by the BBC so it was Luxembourg or the jukebox in the local coffee bar to hear the latest Elvis record.
 
Reading some of the above reminded me of how boring Sundays seemed back in the day . It was a case of " You can't play out because its Sunday " And of course all the shops closed at 6.00pm on the dot !!!! As if they would be arrested by stopping open !! Probably would have been .

Even when Dad could eventually afford to buy a TV , it was one channel only , test card was on until about 2.00pm then some horse racing , which all looked the same , Children's Hour about 4.00pm then I think it shut down again for a while and about 10.30 a church type person would read what they called the "Epilogue" before it closed down, a voice warned you to not forget to switch off , wished you , "Good night everyone ...good night" , Then the screen imploded to a white spot and high pitched noise was transmitted to wake you up !!!
 
Lady Penelope said:
I well remember Victor Sylvester and then there was Edmundo Ross who always sounded as if he was speaking with a mouth full of treacle or had adenoid trouble.
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Given the rather mixed parentage of Ros and his history might account for it. This reminds me of comments made by American friends about Adrian Childs ( a Quinton Brummie apparently). It was when he introduced the World Cup (football) a few years ago. They likened his speech to someone with a mouthful of spaghetti.

Noting comments about television of the past, there was always (here in the south west anyway) a epilogue before station close down and of course the National Anthem.
 
The radio was always on especially on a Sunday. We'd listen to all the programmes as mentioned above and after dinner (not lunch) we'd go off to Sunday school. Back at 4 to watch the children's programmes on TV and then the radio would be on again while we had our tea. Max Jaffa and his Palm Court Orchestra would be on around 6pm and then Dad would go into a decline when Sing Something Simple came on as this signalled the end of the weekend and back to work. Strangely my son doesn't like the music to Poirot for the same reason, it was always on on a Sunday-back-to-school night.`
 
I also seem to remember a Sunday request programme, about lunch time called Family Favourites, forgot the presenter. Radio Luxemburg was another favourite station in our house. Eric
 
Ah yes I'd forgotten that one , lots of requests from John Doe in BFPO 41 . Which meant British Forces Posted Overseas plus the area code .
 
Mooch said:
Reading some of the above reminded me of how boring Sundays seemed back in the day . It was a case of " You can't play out because its Sunday " And of course all the shops closed at 6.00pm on the dot !!!! As if they would be arrested by stopping open !! Probably would have been .

Even when Dad could eventually afford to buy a TV , it was one channel only , test card was on until about 2.00pm then some horse racing , which all looked the same , Children's Hour about 4.00pm then I think it shut down again for a while and about 10.30 a church type person would read what they called the "Epilogue" before it closed down, a voice warned you to not forget to switch off , wished you , "Good night everyone ...good night" , Then the screen imploded to a white spot and high pitched noise was transmitted to wake you up !!!
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If a little local shop opened on a Sunday there was certain things they couldnt sell, like bread.
 
Dave89 said:
Hi Carolina,

I remember a programme on Luxembourg called Smash Hits where the DJ
(was it Jack Jackson?) was supposed to break the records after playing them.

Kind regards

Dave
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I remember that also , I remember the intro "O'h it's Saturday yes it's Saturday
 
And to all of those who used to listen to Radio Luxembourg, this should be very familiar:-

Maurice :)
 
Mooch said:
Reading some of the above reminded me of how boring Sundays seemed back in the day . It was a case of " You can't play out because its Sunday " And of course all the shops closed at 6.00pm on the dot !!!! As if they would be arrested by stopping open !! Probably would have been .

I don`t think Sundays were boring. Quiet yes, but never boring. We`d play footie or cricket in the park, row a boat round Brookvale park, & if i was feeling energetic i`d have a game of bowls;) & in between all that i`d be fighting off the girls trying to run their fingers through my Tony Curtiss hair ( I wish ) Lots of things to do, loved sundays:grinning:
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carolina said:
Cliff Michelmore and Jean Metcalfe
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I seem to remember Jean Metcalfe receiving getting some unpleasant mail after playing a request for a Presley song & saying what an awful singer he was. I`m pleased i didn`t sign my letter.:relieved:
 
On Sundays our dad made us listen to Family Favourites then The Billy Cotton Band Show. I remember Sing Something Simple early on a Sunday evening. Then, thank God, the tell started. I used to enjoy some radio programmes though, such as Round The Horn, The Navy Lark, The Ken Dodd Show and The Eamonn Andrews Show. What was that one with a ventriloquist on the radio. You could not see his mouth move !!!!
 
cookie273uk said:
I also seem to remember a Sunday request programme, about lunch time called Family Favourites, forgot the presenter. Radio Luxemburg was another favourite station in our house. Eric
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Cookie, Carolina mention Jean Metcalfe in her post. While I was away on the Isle of Wight in the summer I bought a lovely book by Jean. It was all about living with her parents and grandparents in London in the 1920's in a house called 'Sunnylea' and she had illustrated it herself with watercolours. Jean left school at the outbreak of war and as an art career was impossible at that time she took a secretarial course and joined the BBC. The book was published in 1980.
 
Reading all this I recalled a music programme on the BBC Light Programme , possibly Thursday lunchtime , possibly called "Go Man Go" I'd be about 13 then . It played all the latest pop hits , but performed by a studio band & singers , not really the same .
I guess it was due to what the trade union called "Needle Time" where playing records was restricted in favour of studio performers . All blown away by commercial radio I suppose.

And Horace Batchelor ...the pools winning formula , ""write to me today at Keynsham, Bristol spelled K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M , Bristol ..thats Keynsham , Bristol "
Talk about the power of repetition advertising ..its still there in my head............. filling up valuable space .
 
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Claim to fame coming up: I actually shook hands with Jean Metcalfe. She visited a local lecture society, in Surrey, and gave a talk on her work at the BBC. As I was the treasurer of the society I had to present her with a cheque and we shook hands. I remember that it was a very interesting talk and given sometime in the 1980s. Dave.
 
Smudger said:
Workers playtime. Was that with Wilfred Pickles & Mabel? Also, Give him the money Barney.
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I have Mum's sheet music La Petite Waltz in blue ink with Anne Shelton's photo on it. She loved Anne Shelton. My Nan talked about Wilfred and Mabel Pickles.
 
sospiri said:
Ah, good old Eric Coates, bits of whose music was also used for In Town Tonight, the Saturday sports programme, and several others. Music While You Work was always 'music at a pace', designed to keep workers' output high. They couldn't play slow romantic stuff because the workers would have been dozing off! Many of the dance bands of the day were given regular slots and the bands in most cases comprised older musicians as most of the younger musicians were away with the forces or ENSA.

There were a few exceptions however, but I'm not going to name names. At least one was a deserter, who would go to ground when they came looking for him and work in the clubs at night, where he was less likely to be spotted. Several others worked a flanker when it came to the call-up medical, and avoided being conscripted.

Sing Something Simple comprised close harmony versions of songs that were popular before WW2, really before pop music came into its own. Victor Syvester played strict tempo music for ballroom dancers, and there were the old-tyme dance bands like Harry Davidson and Sydney Thompson who used to have a slot on a Saturday evening after In Town Tonight.

After the war the whole broadcasting environment changed - Round the Bend with Michael Bentine. The Goon Show and several others appealed to the younger audiences, the crooners took over pop music, and finally came skiffle & rock & roll.

Maurice
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I remember Michael Bentine's Potty Time. With Invisible characters he did the voices for .
I watched the Rememberance Day Parade at the Cenotaph and my partner said I was born 100 years too late as I knew all the songs. I sang Nan's versions. (The post does say wartime songs,) The clean excerpts of ones I can put here are It's a Long Way to Tittle Mary It's a Long way to Go (without yer mother) Nan said Tittle istead of tickle. And Eye Tee Tiddly Eye Tee, Tittle Me Under Me Nightie, Blighty is the place for Me.! The Shiek of Agony Your Love Belongs To Me etc etc.
Her Eyes got all watery when she sang, Keep The Home Fires Burning, and others which will set me off. And Terry. And Don't Throw The Lamp as Mother It's a Shame to Waste The Oil, her intro for Colonel Bogey. And her Va Pensiero ....Oh Fairther Look At Yer Uncle Jim, Diving in the umph! pot Learnin; Ar ter Swim!
Love this post folks.
I remember Knightsbridge by Eric Coates we always had a bit of classical in Assembly instilled in us by the Head. Mr 'Ginner' Ison, who had taught dad.
 
Lady Penelope said:
The radio was always on especially on a Sunday. We'd listen to all the programmes as mentioned above and after dinner (not lunch) we'd go off to Sunday school. Back at 4 to watch the children's programmes on TV and then the radio would be on again while we had our tea. Max Jaffa and his Palm Court Orchestra would be on around 6pm and then Dad would go into a decline when Sing Something Simple came on as this signalled the end of the weekend and back to work. Strangely my son doesn't like the music to Poirot for the same reason, it was always on on a Sunday-back-to-school night.`
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Sisn't Max Jaffa play the violin if It is who I remember?
 
carolina said:
If a little local shop opened on a Sunday there was certain things they couldnt sell, like bread.
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I loved Sundays. I got in bed between mum and dad, spoilt their lie in. Listened to the church bells and the Salvation Army on the corner. Dad had the radio on. Family Favourites. Ran down to the corner shop for Neopolitan Ice cream, only on Sundays wrapped in newspaper. If mum wanted something in the afternoon, Edna's was open. She say watching TV in the her sittig room. I felt guilty disturbing her. I don't remember getting bread I did fetch butter and comics.
 
Radiorails said:
Most of the programmes mentioned in previous posts, I heard. Radio Luxembourg was an interesting station. It could be found on long wave - near to the Light Programme (became R2), That was an all French station. 208m. medium wave was a UK only in the evenings. However it also transmitted in Dutch and German at other times of the day.
There were many places in what is often called the 'short wave', many in English. There were news and cultural details from such station as Radio Prague, Radio Peking (old spelling), Radio Moscow and Voice of America. There were many more but usually in their native language.
One most entertaining station,on Sundays, was from Radio Nederland from Hilversum, Holland. It transmitted in Dutch, English and Spanish. It was know as The Happy Station and ran from 1928 until 1995. There is a new version, since 2009, but I have never heard it. Ike all re-runs they are never quite the same. I knew the original presenter and his successor. The only break was during WW2 when, from London the Dutch ran Radio Oranje (Orange), 1946 saw the creation of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep (Dutch Worldwide Radio). The station had three great slogans, the oldest was PCJ - peace, cheer and joy (in English), the original station identification was PCJJ, the transmissions being aimed at the East Indies/Indonesia. The second was 'Smiles Across The Miles' and the third Keep In 'Touch With The Dutch'. both in English' People from all over the world wrote in with god wishes and requests - it became a very 'family' kind of place. There was great sadness when it ceased. I never knew the Spanish slogans, but without doubt they has some.
The station transmitted week days as well and had interesting information.
Many of these overseas radio stations ran quizzes principally about their country. They were not difficult, but no internet in those days, so not easy to cheat. :eek: I won quite a few, usually records or books.
I am sure others here have some interesting comments about their radio listening - there was a great wide wide outside of Auntie BBC. :laughing:
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My Partner's cousin in France listened to all our radio stations he still bangs on about them, Loves them, Luxembourg and Caroline that I can recall, he ordered all his records from the UK. Heanor.
 
Nico said:
I loved Sundays. I got in bed between mum and dad, spoilt their lie in. Listened to the church bells and the Salvation Army on the corner. Dad had the radio on. Family Favourites. Ran down to the corner shop for Neopolitan Ice cream, only on Sundays wrapped in newspaper. If mum wanted something in the afternoon, Edna's was open. She say watching TV in the her sittig room. I felt guilty disturbing her. I don't remember getting bread I did fetch butter and comics.
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If we wanted bread on a Sunday we used to get it from Hardings Bakery up by the Swan, Yardley.
 
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