Article from Intro magazine: 2nd December 1967
Radio One | Pirate Ships: Radio One has been on the air for just over two months. We thought it was time to take stock of it, find out what you thought of it. This is what we found.
Radio One | Pirate Ships: Once upon a time in B.B.C. Land, there was a Light Programme which played nice music, live music, housewives’ choices and family favourites.
And it appealed to all of the people some of the time. But some of the people in the land began to grumble and discontent grew amongst the country’s youth.
Until, in the spring of 1964, the first Pirate ship appeared on the horizon and after it, another and another and soon pop screamed, blared, blurted and bopped over the airwaves twenty-four hours a day.
And that delighted some of the people all of the time. Their delight was shortlived but it spoiled them. The powers-that-be sunk the ships and silenced the pop and discontent rose again.
B.B.C. Land
Meanwhile, behind closed doors in B.B.C. Land, it was decided to take a daring and unprecedented step and fill the gap. They named their experiment Radio One and launched it with crossed fingers, Pirate DJs, commercial-less pop and family favourites (just to be on the safe side).
That was two months ago. And so far, it is only pleasing some of the people some of the time.
IS RADIO ONE-DERFUL?
If the story were to end here, it would indeed be an unhappy one with pop fans and middle-of-the-roaders alike grumbling bitterly ever after. Hopefully it won’t.
Meanwhile, everyone is asking the question: Is Radio One-derful?
“No. Scrap it and go back to free radio,” wrote nineteen year old Mary Finigan, a student at the University of Keele in Staffordshire.
“It might be if they cut out the ‘Radio One is One-derful’ jingle every ten minutes or so,” said Patricia Lee Taylor, twenty, of Bristol.
But another Bristol listener, fifteen year old Wendy Luker, is an avid supporter of Radio One: “Yes. I don’t think it can be improved.”
Top Of The Form
Londoner Linda Chappell, seventeen, disagrees violently: “Radio One is NOT non-stop pop,” she answered: “We still have to suffer ‘Top of the Form’, etc. Minus these programmes, it would be better.”
Many young listeners, still bitter over the loss of Radio London and other Pirate stations, know exactly what they dislike about Radio One but don’t know who to blame—we found this out reading the answers in our questionnaire.
A letter received by DJ Tony Blackburn, who with other DJs also answered our questions shortly after he joined Radio One, is an example.
“This letter said ‘How could you possibly join the radio station that did away with the Pirates?’—You see, a lot of them really believe the B.B.C. is responsible,” Tony told us.
RECORD PLAYING RESTRICTIONS
Probably the most numerous complaint was, “NOT ENOUGH RECORDS!” But, here again, the B.B.C. is not to blame.
Robin Scott, the creator of Radio One and Two, explained the unfortunate facts at a lunchtime lecture just two weeks after Radio One came on the air.
“Needletime is the number of hours actual playing time of commercial gramophone records permitted by agreement with Phonographic Performance Limited—a body representing the Gramophone Industry in its negotiations with the B.B.C.
Gramophone records are copyright—by law—and their unrestricted use is illegal.
Radio One | Pirate Ships
“The Pirate broadcasters usurped the right to do so and without unrestricted use of gramophone records their programming would have been quite impossible.”
In other words, what with needletime restrictions and the demands by the Musicians’ Union that more live performances be broadcast, the B.B.C. and Radio One producers have their hands—or turntables—tied.
Tony’s comment on the restrictions was: “‘There’s no reasoning behind it, but it happens.”
Certainly his show which is entirely recorded pop from 7 till 8.30a.m. is closest in format to the old Pirate shows.
Perhaps his “philosophy” on the immediate success of the Pirate stations helps to explain the reluctance of many young people to accept Radio One.
“A lot of people listen to pirate radio because it’s against the government. This rebellion instinct is important and the fact that these men are stuck out there at sea only adds to it.
‘The DJs here at B.B.C. are all legal—that takes the fun out of it.”
So, where does Radio One go from here?
Both Tony and Pete Brady (Radio One’s 2 to 4.30p.m. pop DJ) are depending on future permission for more needletime and their own personalities. Both want legalized commercial radio.
“I agree that the Pirates had to be banned, otherwise their numbers would have got completely out of control,” said Tony, “but, then the government should have brought commercial radio into the country and let the B.B.C. keep going the way it was.”
Pete is still optimistic. “There should be and will be in time commercial radio in this country. Competition is extremely important and necessary.”
Pete is only one of many voices advocating competition. We asked some newcomers to the recording business and the people on the other end, the record companies, for their opinions.
Like the young listeners, votes were split either against or for, Radio One.
MIXED RECEPTION
The Rokes, currently the hottest English group in Italy and planning to return in a blaze of publicity to England, first heard Radio One over their car radio while motoring from one engagement to another.
‘We keep ourselves awake by listening to the radio and when they took the Pirates off the air we could have cried,” said manager Jack Shepstone.
“We couldn’t believe our ears when we first heard Radio One. For us exiles, it was a link with home.
“The boys and I have every confidence in it. They play good discs and we would a hear a top disc ten times a day than a rubbishy one.’
Roger Okin, a twenty year old University of Kent student who has just had his first record called Yellow Petals released, has as many misgivings about Radio One as The Rokes have confidence.
“You know, the pop fans complain because they’re not hearing enough pop. But I’m a Grand Opera and 1920’s—30’s music fan and I feel even more deprived, ” says Roger.
Radio One | Pirate Ships
‘‘Because the DJs have to worry so much about their own ratings or lose their jobs, it makes it hard on newcomers like me. When they hear a release for the first time, they neither pan it or rave about it. It’s always the same bland, safe comments.”
Generous in his praise of Radio One is Pye Records spokesman Johnny Wise, whose company coincidentally or otherwise, “has got very hot since Radio One began.”
“With the tools they have, they’ve done a fantastic job,” he said, “but it is unfair to the public when there is no choice available. I would love to see them get more needletime. I feel there will be some concessions made but I can’t say when.”
On the other hand, Jack Baverstock, head of Fontana Records, is disappointed and disgusted with Radio One.
Staleness of Radio One
His main complaint—the Top Thirty.
“Throw out the Top Thirty so that the DJs can have individual choice,” he suggested. “Radio London was so successful because they chose the records they felt were good. That’s why so many new artists appeared during the Pirate era.’
He misses the ‘‘freedom, spontaneity, air of movement and new interest” he felt the Pirates had and blames the “staleness” of Radio One music on the slow movement of the Top Thirty.
“Entertainment is one big business,” he continued, it will die if new artists, new sounds and new ideas don’t keep moving.”
With his last comment, Mr. Baverstock echoed many of our readers.
“I don’t think any one of the DJs has room to move. At least the Pirates were free to speak off the cuff and even if they boobed, they did have programmes with an individual sound.”
RADIO ONE BATTLES ON
After this barrage of criticism, Radio One managed a fair comeback.
“Individual presenters should be allowed to develop their own personalities and this they are doing,” said Robin Scott.
“I wouldn’t like to have to choose my own Top Thirty,” said Pete, “it would be so different from everybody else’s. But I don’t think we stick too much to the Top Thirty. There’s a new release programme and all of us play new records on our own shows.
“Besides,” Pete continued, “if the disc is up in the Top Ten, people are buying it because they want to listen to it. He (Jack Baverstock) wants more new releases played because he wants to sell records—it’s his business.”
Tony Blackburn (ex-Radio London and Caroline), disagrees that B.B.C. disc jockeys lack freedom.
“They have more freedom at the B.B.C. than on the Pirate radio stations,” he said, “and I’m the luckiest of all because I have complete freedom in choosing what I play.
Radio One | Pirate Ships
Tony blames the possible lack of individual sound on the short programmes and the interruptions by news, live shows and joining up with Radio Two.
To prove that plenty of American records were played on his show at least (another popular gripe with our readers), he pulled the list from that morning’s show out of his case and read them off. There were nine out of twenty-six.
Although many young people, including the DJs themselves, regret the live shows in which unknown artists sing well-known pop tunes, live shows with certain improvements seem to be acceptable.
“I agree there are too many live shows,” says Pete, whose show is partly live tape, “but what do we do since we can’t play any more records—have silence?
There aren’t enough of the best artists or studios available and who can afford to have the Beatles live, even if they’d come?”
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
If listeners and record companies are divided, so too are the top recording artists. These people are no longer struggling to get their names on the charts. As a rule, their names assure them playing time.
But the death of the Pirates has left them with only one outlet and only their genuine popularity—no more plugging by record promoters—to make them a success.
For this reason, many of them won’t comment or criticize. London agents for several top recording artists explained their situation.
“They’re scared. B.B.C. is a monopoly and if you annoy it you might as well not make records. So they. won’t say anything that could be construed as adverse criticism.”
Carl Wayne of the Move
If bravery is what it takes for recording artists to criticize Radio One, there are still a few brave ones around. Carl Wayne of the Move commented:
“There has been more than a little hypocrisy by the disc jockeys themselves. While the Pirates were still on the air, they were very anti-B.B.C. Now they have shut up completely and all bow down to Auntie B.B.C.
But, it has filled the gap left by the departure of the Pirate ships.”
Paul and Barry Ryan only listen to Radio One while they are driving “but only because the government have made sure there is nothing else to listen to. It is O.K. by B.B.C. standards but not when compared to the Pirates.”
John Walker
John Walker, who is feeling his way now with If I Promise, is far kinder to Radio One.
(Even though he got whisked out of the Breakfast Special studio by mistake one morning after arriving early to be interviewed).
“I like it. It moves along well but doesn’t quite have the consistency that Radio London and the others had.”
Many of you who returned our Radio One questionnaires agree with him. You’re willing to wait until a flaws are ironed out. However, “Pirate Fanatics” Tony Blackburn would call them, must suffer on.
Needle-time—the shortage of it—is the villain of our story. And you may be certain that everyone from the top down in the B.B.C. is as upset about it as you are. Competition—lack of it—is the second villain. Once those two are taken care of, we might listen happily ever after.
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