random...

of local radio.....

this bits a celebration of some of the radio past and present thats been, to put it mildly, darn good listening.

or, to put it another way - great local radio i have listened to here in sussex.

So - whats its good for then? Critisized for being too bland, boring, repetative, not local and yet continues to be audience leaders in most UK areas. There is probably a good reason and the following folk may have something to do with it.

But its not very likely. Moreover, it'll be todays best/better music (mix) that does it.

Back in the late eighties when I first stumbled into commercial radio - notably with a fourty foot bit of wire doubling up as an aerial - it was cool - Southern Sound (Brighton, we didn't get ILR here till much later) - radio with adverts! blimey.

...for a longer bit of wire

Tommy Boyd photo

And lo - amidst the crackles of FM stretched across the miles, they'd somehow managed to get hold of Tommy Boyd. Start with the a catchy little tune, pose a few questions, open up the phone lines, add a bit of Rolf Harris ("Two Little Boys"), talk stuff for a few hours and finish (always) with "What a wonderful World".

During those heady days, Tom & the gang managed to talk to half of Sussex about everything. The general 'gist' as it were involved posing a load of questions, ring up, answer one, talk about it for a bit and pose one of your own questions. In the early years there was a bunch of them involved - at one pivotal moment, they also managed to do a "live" show from the beach which culminated in them all setting sail of into the distance never to be heard from again...... After a few weeks, the show came back, with just one member of aforementioned posse..... the station's current breakfast co-host. This is what the then Southern Sound had to say...

Yep, someone actually published that - and not that long ago neither.

All of this managed with the ability of...... well lets just leave it there.

Click here to hear a short clip of things going well....

The show managed to run a short while post Southern winning the East Sussex ILR franchise (Hastings/Eastbourne) but nothing half as interesting was forthcoming as we entered the "Classic Hits" era.... After a stint on Talk Sport (ne. Radio), Mr. Boyd is back on air in Sussex again on BBC Southern Counties - and if my ears didn't deceive me last time I caught the show, is supported by one of Terry Garoghan's former assistants, Allie.