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G6Tanuki · 7th Aug 2020, 10:55 am

In my late-childhood/early-youth the Light Programme was always thought of as distinctly anachronistic - like that maiden aunt who still thought you were a baby and gave you a glass of milk to drink rather than offering you a choice of the tea/coffee that the real-people were drinking.

Luxembourg, the pirates, and late-night listening to AFN (they played Jazz! And broadcast Baseball matches and Boxing!) were my staple diet back then, and to be honest I've not listened to much BBC radio since. I remember BRMB coming on-air in the Midlands where I was living at the time. Oh how we rejoiced, even though out on the Wales/Shropshire borders the signal was distinctly fadey.

I often ponder and conjecture on what would have happened if the BBC had turned the Light Programme into Radio-1 back in 1960 or so, and there'd been a licensing liberalisation to allow/encourage commercial music-stations to come on the scene legally rather than having to do the whole offshore-thing? Personally I think it would have been a great leap forward.

[In 1966 I went to the US for a month with my parents and was truly amazed at the range of radio-stations they had over there. Coming back to the grey-and-beigeness of the UK, the lack-of-choice available on radio and TV seemed such a stultifying come-down after living a life of US neon-and-chrome and 20 different stations on their AM band]

7th Aug 2020, 10:55 am	#109
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,998	Re: The BBC Light programme In my late-childhood/early-youth the Light Programme was always thought of as distinctly anachronistic - like that maiden aunt who still thought you were a baby and gave you a glass of milk to drink rather than offering you a choice of the tea/coffee that the real-people were drinking. Luxembourg, the pirates, and late-night listening to AFN (they played Jazz! And broadcast Baseball matches and Boxing!) were my staple diet back then, and to be honest I've not listened to much BBC radio since. I remember BRMB coming on-air in the Midlands where I was living at the time. Oh how we rejoiced, even though out on the Wales/Shropshire borders the signal was distinctly fadey. I often ponder and conjecture on what would have happened if the BBC had turned the Light Programme into Radio-1 back in 1960 or so, and there'd been a licensing liberalisation to allow/encourage commercial music-stations to come on the scene legally rather than having to do the whole offshore-thing? Personally I think it would have been a great leap forward. [In 1966 I went to the US for a month with my parents and was truly amazed at the range of radio-stations they had over there. Coming back to the grey-and-beigeness of the UK, the lack-of-choice available on radio and TV seemed such a stultifying come-down after living a life of US neon-and-chrome and 20 different stations on their AM band]