Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 17, 2023 14:08:25 GMT
BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce has announced on air that he is leaving the station after 31 years hosting its weekday mid-morning show.His slot is the most listened-to show on British radio, and he will now join rival station Greatest Hits Radio. "I have decided the time is right for me to move on from Radio 2," he said, adding he'd had "a tremendously happy time" but it was "time for a change". His departure comes after Steve Wright left after 23 years as afternoon host. Other popular presenters who have also left the station in the past year include Paul O'Grady and Vanessa Feltz. Bruce told listeners: "I'll reach the end of my current contract in March, and so at that point I will be moving on from Radio 2. Nothing stays the same forever... "I have been here for quite a long time now, and it possibly is time to move over and let somebody else have a go." His programme, well known for its daily Popmaster quiz, currently has more than 8.5 million weekly listeners, according to data from industry body Rajar. www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64305756
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scotttmax
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Post by scotttmax on Jan 17, 2023 19:17:34 GMT
Sad day…. Although I read he’s going to Greatest Hits radio
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pg
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Post by pg on Jan 17, 2023 20:18:28 GMT
I think it's good news.
Popmaster will now not include shite from the last 15 years.
The downside is that it won't include much 60s either, if I understand their playlist.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 17, 2023 21:44:09 GMT
I used to listen to Radio 2 all day at work, going back to when Jimmy Young was on at lunchtimes, and Wogan did the breakfast show with his hysterical Janet & John stories, which frequently forced me to stop the car through laughing so much.
But for a good number of years, I've listened to BBC Local Radio, which I find more relevent for local traffic and weather reports. The trouble with Radio 2, and I think this is partly why Ken Bruce has left, is that they are desperately trying to appeal to a younger audience, but I don't know why they don't just let the younger audience carry on listening to Radio 1.
The other impending problem is that BBC Local Radio is being upended and 'streamlined' in the near future, which may mean the loss of some very good presenters, and less 'local' output. Given I can't bear commercial radio, and having to listen to adverts for sofas every five minutes, I don't know what I will listen to then, but I've been drawn to some Radio 4 content of late.
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scotttmax
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Post by scotttmax on Jan 17, 2023 22:41:10 GMT
I used to listen to Radio 2 all day at work, going back to when Jimmy Young was on at lunchtimes, and Wogan did the breakfast show with his hysterical Janet & John stories, which frequently forced me to stop the car through laughing so much. But for a good number of years, I've listened to BBC Local Radio, which I find more relevent for local traffic and weather reports. The trouble with Radio 2, and I think this is partly why Ken Bruce has left, is that they are desperately trying to appeal to a younger audience, but I don't know why they don't just let the younger audience carry on listening to Radio 1. The other impending problem is that BBC Local Radio is being upended and 'streamlined' in the near future, which may mean the loss of some very good presenters, and less 'local' output. Given I can't bear commercial radio, and having to listen to adverts for sofas every five minutes, I don't know what I will listen to then, but I've been drawn to some Radio 4 content of late. After months of badgering my manager to change from Heart, we’ve had radio 2 on this week. Mornings are fantastic, but from 2pm onwards it’s absolutely rubbish. I agree that R2 are going after the younger audience, but god knows why… |
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 18, 2023 0:34:46 GMT
I used to listen to Radio 2 all day at work, going back to when Jimmy Young was on at lunchtimes, and Wogan did the breakfast show with his hysterical Janet & John stories, which frequently forced me to stop the car through laughing so much. But for a good number of years, I've listened to BBC Local Radio, which I find more relevent for local traffic and weather reports. The trouble with Radio 2, and I think this is partly why Ken Bruce has left, is that they are desperately trying to appeal to a younger audience, but I don't know why they don't just let the younger audience carry on listening to Radio 1. The other impending problem is that BBC Local Radio is being upended and 'streamlined' in the near future, which may mean the loss of some very good presenters, and less 'local' output. Given I can't bear commercial radio, and having to listen to adverts for sofas every five minutes, I don't know what I will listen to then, but I've been drawn to some Radio 4 content of late. After months of badgering my manager to change from Heart, we’ve had radio 2 on this week. Mornings are fantastic, but from 2pm onwards it’s absolutely rubbish. I agree that R2 are going after the younger audience, but god knows why… I used to quite like Steve Wright. OK, he'd been doing the same show for 20 something years, but it was light and entertaining. I'd not listened to him for ages, but one week my local station had a stand-in presenter who I found irritating, so I tuned back into Radio 2 for a week in the afternoons, which happened to be the week Wright announced he had been shown the door. I've not heard the new guy. |
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Jan 18, 2023 7:17:49 GMT
I used to lose the battle of the radio dial at work, so it was Radio 1. I got my own back my making sure to say "what's this rubbish" at every opportunity. Every month or so I'd point out that Chris Moyles hadn't played a record in 20 minutes, and suggested that was a good reason to try something else, but that only ever worked for a day.
Nowadays, I listen to my own playlist, curated over many years and replicated on my phone, in the car, and from the NAS in my home office. But the radio comes on at 10:30 for popmaster as long as I'm not on a call.
Over the last year, though, it's been clear just from the questions that the presumed knowledge base has been recalibrated - it used to be very rare to even get a question from this century, now most contestants get at least one question from the last decade.
I suspect that will have to change on Greatest Hits Radio....
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jan 18, 2023 11:03:22 GMT
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