Category Archives: Worlds Shortest Radio Show

The great man died today, aged 90 and tributes have been paid to the “Fifth Beatle” who produced all their records, developed their work and was therefore one of the greatest cultural influences the world has ever known. But it wasn’t just The Beatles. Throughout his long career, he continued to produce other hits too. […]

Mark Goodier was never anyone’s favourite DJ. Bland, cheesy and devoid of personality, he was always too unremarkable to either like or dislike. But I think that may have changed. As we know, Tony Blackburn was sacked from Pick of The Pops on Radio 2 for standing up to the BBC in relation to the […]

….was Hugh Williams. I met him many years ago because I was going out with a properly posh girl called Lucy. She was born with a ready-made group of Sloaney chums and Hugh was one of them. Most of the other chaps worked in the City so he was regarded as a bit of an […]

We were recording a campaign of radio commercials and this man was the client. He had a reputation as a bully who always wanted his own way. Having agreed everything, he’d apparently then change his mind once the work was finished and refuse to sign it off. But somehow we got talking about Guilty Pleasures, […]

Author and academic. Born 29th February 1948. This makes her part of the luckiest generation ever – those born in the 1940s. They really did have it all. Unlike their parents and grandparents, they hadn’t had to fight in a war, and National Service was abolished just before they were called up. They are the […]

The 88th Academy Awards Ceremony takes place tonight, slightly marred by a row over a lack of black nominees. Spike Lee is one film maker who’s boycotting the ceremony, accusing the Academy of racism. So are these accusations justified? Personally, I don’t think so. Once you let someone’s race have any bearing on whether or […]

To Cadogan Hall with my daughter to see David Sedaris. Very funny man but “humourist” is the only word to describe him. He’s not a stand-up comedian. On the contrary, he sits down and simply reads autobiographical stories and anecdotes. They’re funny, sad, wise and true. Just like real life. I’ve been a big fan […]

It was a few years ago. I was meeting my old friend Bill Overton and he turned up with Tony Blackburn, who struck me as a thoroughly decent and honest man. Almost too honest. In the 1970s, he famously begged his wife, on air, not to leave him. And told striking miners to go back […]

It’s gathering pace and it’s not just a retro thing. There are solid, sonic reasons for its revival, as there were for its demise. Vinyl always offered a richer, warmer sound than CD but only good quality vinyl. If you’ve got any old albums from the 60s, you’ll know that the vinyl was thicker and […]

Coffee Circus in Crouch End is one of my favourite coffee shops. But it also seems to be the favourite haunt of half the teachers in Haringey and Islington. I was in “The Staff Room” yesterday and four of them – one wearing open-toed Birkenstocks – were loudly denouncing Michael Gove and the hated Tories. […]