BBC London 94.9 FM. General discussion. - Radio

cabareteyebrows · 08-06-2006, 15:47

I am interested to see if we can sustain a permanent thread about BBC London 94.9 FM.

The LBC thread is enjoyable and active and I think one for BBC London could be popular.

I would like to be able to come to this thread when there is an interesting topic under discussion so we can chat amongst ourselves.

I listen to BBC London quite a lot, mainly Vanessa Feltz, Robert Elms and Danny Baker.

I don't listen the breakfast show any longer because I am allergic to Johnno Coleman, I really don't know how he gets away with it. His jokes are lame and he seems to possess very little general knowledge.

I finally tuned out one morning when a girl called Jessami (sp?) called in; his lame jokes revolved around rhyming her name with 'sesame', the poor girl probably thought she left jokes of that calibre at primary school. Even worse, this apogee of his wit was clipped and used in a promo for the show FFS!

I find I don't listen as much on the weekend but I will get around to listening to Guilty Pleasures soon.

Scott Hatley · 08-06-2006, 20:03

I wish BBC London could be a good alternative to LBC but I just cant warm to any of their presenters. However I did discover Stephen Rhodes on last Friday which was an excellent listen. I couldn't find any details of him on the website anyone know if its a regular show?

dpb · 08-06-2006, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Hatley

I wish BBC London could be a good alternative to LBC but I just cant warm to any of their presenters. However I did discover Stephen Rhodes on last Friday which was an excellent listen. I couldn't find any details of him on the website anyone know if its a regular show?

Stephen Rhodes is a great broadcaster. I went through a stage of listening to BBC Three Counties Radio (630AM came through great in Derby!) where he works during the week. It was around 98/99 when the line-up was Jon Gaunt - Stephen Rhodes - Ronnie Barbour.

Pleased to hear he's doing some work at BBC London. Ronnie Barbour would be a good signing as well.

cabareteyebrows · 08-06-2006, 20:48

I haven't heard of Steven Rhodes but will now listen out for him. Result for my new thread already!

richie wild · 08-06-2006, 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabareteyebrows

I am interested to see if we can sustain a permanent thread about BBC London 94.9 FM.

The LBC thread is enjoyable and active and I think one for BBC London could be popular.

I would like to be able to come to this thread when there is an interesting topic under discussion so we can chat amongst ourselves.

I listen to BBC London quite a lot, mainly Vanessa Feltz, Robert Elms and Danny Baker.

I don't listen the breakfast show any longer because I am allergic to Johnno Coleman

may i invite you over to the "commercial side" cateyebrows? we have an excellent (sony award winning, no less) breakfast presenter, in Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3

but, over there, we like our breakfast early - with Steve Allen, no less. come and join us, at least till 10

Gort · 08-06-2006, 23:10

I tend to listen to Radio Five more, as well as Radio Three and Four, but I do occasionally tune into Radio London, particularly Robert Elms, Danny Baker, the Drivetime programme with Eddie Nestor and Kath Melandri, and Danny Kelly's sports show. It's a good local station with a bit of variety. I'm glad that I live near enough to London to tune in rather than listen to the drivel that's Southern Counties. Radio London seems to feel like it's not a parochial station, which can't be said about Southern Counties.

BTW, I was glad when the windbag that's Gaunt left the station. I refused to listen to the station in the mornings due to that self-promoting ignoramus. Then again, they've replaced him with Vanessa Feltz, who I tend to detest as well. Oh well, I'll stick to Radios Three, Four or Five in the mornings.

cabareteyebrows · 09-06-2006, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie wild

may i invite you over to the "commercial side" cateyebrows? we have an excellent (sony award winning, no less) breakfast presenter, in Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3

but, over there, we like our breakfast early - with Steve Allen, no less. come and join us, at least till 10

I appreciate your kind invitation richie wild but 'm already there! Since giving up on Jonno and Jo I listen to Steve Allen from 5.30, then Nick and a bit of James O'B if I like the topics but I usually become curious about what Vanessa is up to.

But am always over to BBC London for Robert Elms. I enjoy the music, lots of it has been an education for me, and the regular guests such a Maxwell on architecture and out and about in Round Your Manor. Also Alice Rawsthorn from the Design Museum, and Laura Wright with the fascinating history of London language. What's the Fuss About.... is also great fun.

Only since discovering these forums (or is it fora?) have I realised how dedicated some people are to their chosen station. I don't really get too worked up and have always just popped around the dial, except for Robert Elms and Danny Baker who are constants for me.

FWIW I also listen to BBC 6 music or X-fm if I'm somewhere non-digi.

Inkblot · 09-06-2006, 07:38

It's funny how some stations suffer from being unable to get the whole day's programming right. Five Live: lunchtime news good, Mayo better, Drive excellent but the mornings are rubbish. BBC London: Elms great, Baker superb, but breakfast and Feltz are poor (and Vanessa Feltz's choice of subject matter sometimes makes me feel physically unwell - is there any other programme which dwells quite so much on blood, body fluids and pain?)

Why can't they sort the station out and make it a good listen all day?

cabareteyebrows · 09-06-2006, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inkblot

(and Vanessa Feltz's choice of subject matter sometimes makes me feel physically unwell - is there any other programme which dwells quite so much on blood, body fluids and pain?)

Why can't they sort the station out and make it a good listen all day?

I don't mind Vanessa not being afraid of icky subjects, I'm not squeamish!

I think it would be impossible to ensure a good all day listen to everyone. I don't mind picking and chosing to suit myself, after all it is very easy to press a preset button. And as much as one can enjoy any particular show sometimes you just want a different voice or POV, even for an hour or so.

BBC London has a wide range of people they are required to represent or appeal to and, by definition, there will have to be some things that don't interest me. In my case it is sport!

The Magic Monkey · 09-06-2006, 08:05

As much of a Danny Baker fan that I am, i'm really not liking the afternoon show.

Too much crap about David Bowie and the rock music of the 70s.

Inkblot · 09-06-2006, 08:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Magic Monkey

As much of a Danny Baker fan that I am, i'm really not liking the afternoon show.

Too much crap about David Bowie and the rock music of the 70s.

I suppose that proves cabareteyebrows's point, because I was listening in the car the other day when Danny played the live version of Andy Warhol and I was literally glued to my seat. That, and the obsessive discussion of otherwise forgotten soft drinks, have made the past few sweltering days bearable.

johnnyrich · 09-06-2006, 09:44

I used to love Danny Baker when he did the breakfast show but the afternoon show just doesnt do it for me - I think its mostly because its always interrupted by music that I just don't like.

Anyone have a clue what his audience figures are in the afternoon - would be interested in comparing them to Iain Lee's on LBC 97.3

GMH · 09-06-2006, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpb

Stephen Rhodes is a great broadcaster. I went through a stage of listening to BBC Three Counties Radio (630AM came through great in Derby!) where he works during the week. It was around 98/99 when the line-up was Jon Gaunt - Stephen Rhodes - Ronnie Barbour.

Pleased to hear he's doing some work at BBC London. Ronnie Barbour would be a good signing as well.

Timmy Mallett was there on Three Counties at around the same time - doing the drive time show! Could get it loud and clear in Nottingham, considering the frequencies local to that area is idenitcal to where I live.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabareteyebrows

I haven't heard of Steven Rhodes but will now listen out for him. Result for my new thread already!

Stephen Rhodes was also the man who did the voiceovers on Family Fortunes in the Les Dennis era (as seen on Challenge TV). "You and your family have just won a super sleuth weekend" etc.

RA75 · 09-06-2006, 11:45

I think that BBC London is one of the best sations available in london.

I am 31 and have been listening to the station on and off since doing my GCSE revision at 16. There was a time when it went a little away from my interest, but now i think that it has one of the best line up of presenters on the dial.

Robert Elms is my absolute fav as i love his educational, irreverent fun show so much so that i have sky+'d the show so that i can listen to the first 5 mins to see who is on the show and decide if i stay listening for the rest of the show.

I agree that Danny Baker is not quite as good as he was in the morning, but still very good although i don't get to listen very often unless i am out in the car for a meeting for work.

Eddie & Kath driving home is good too as is the sports show with Danny Kelly and on Friday with Tom Watt.

There is also a good show on Sundays called gulity pleasures which is good.

Fred Flintstone · 09-06-2006, 13:06

It was better in the GLR days - Nick Abbot on breakfast, Johnny Walker mornings and the late great Tommy Vance on drivetime.

Inkblot · 09-06-2006, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Flintstone

It was better in the GLR days - Nick Abbot on breakfast, Johnny Walker mornings and the late great Tommy Vance on drivetime.

(a) Nick Abbot was terrible on breakfast - he was just embarassing (and it's been said on here a few times that he agrees)
(b) Johnnie Walker wasn't bad but the real sound of GLR mornings was Emma Freud's hideously self-indulgent show complete with "hilarious" Bigbusters game and coke-addled celebrity guests
(c) Yes, Tommy Vance was great

richie wild · 09-06-2006, 19:29

when bbc london was glr, i actually did some jingles for chris evans.

CitySlicker · 10-06-2006, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie wild

may i invite you over to the "commercial side" cateyebrows? we have an excellent (sony award winning, no less) breakfast presenter, in Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3

but, over there, we like our breakfast early - with Steve Allen, no less. come and join us, at least till 10

Pah! I'm sorry, but in fairness of welcoming feedback I hope, Nick Ferrari is a tabloid wannabe and very inward-focussed (read egotistical). I used to listen to the breakfast show but it got too depressing. Sometimes there would be very hard going issues that you just don't want to listen to when you're waking up - bashing Ken Livingstone, having a go at Thames Water, complaining about Westminster Council - he's done the lot. If this was at say 10am then fair enough, but at 7 in the morning?

Then when he's not complaining he pontificates about sailing from Greenwich and his shows. Not to mention his appearances on London Tonight (and I think he mentioned GMTV as well at one point but I don't watch that), which just screams of 'Everyone look at me!! I'll work for free if you stick a camera at me!!'

BBC London's output isn't perfect by any means. I don't like Jono as a presenter, although Jo does a nice job of it and it works well on Saturdays when she works with Baylen. David Kwo is their regular guest compared to LBC's City expert (who's name escapes me right now) but Nick was forever making gay banter with him which grew really tired.

Can I point out the Sony Awards are handed out on a basis of a panel's opinion? There is no input from the listening masses at all, plus would you compare Nick with Chris Tarrant and Kenny Everett's successes? I certainly wouldn't, their names are cast in radio history stone whereas Nick's name is more written on a whiteboard, yet both of them also picked up Sony awards.

Toxteth O'Grady · 11-06-2006, 11:24

Great idea for them to carry the 5 Live England commentary yesterday. There are lots of people like me who only have portable FM radios, lets hope they do it for the other england matches

Toxteth O'Grady · 11-06-2006, 11:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Flintstone

It was better in the GLR days - Nick Abbot on breakfast, Johnny Walker mornings and the late great Tommy Vance on drivetime.

GLR was far from perfect, it had some great programmes and presenters over the years but there was never a time when the whole schedule was consistantly good.

It peaked in the early 90's and slowly went downhill from there

cabareteyebrows · 12-06-2006, 12:45

Anyone hear Jules Botfield standing in for Vanessa this morning? I know her only from the travel reports.

I heard about 20 mins or so in the car. I think she did well, she has a nice manner and voice. She did speak to the callers for a very long time but I suppose that's because she probably didn't receive too many callers.

12-06-2006, 12:51

Why was the original BBC Radio London dropped in favour of GLR?

Toxteth O'Grady · 12-06-2006, 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabareteyebrows

Anyone hear Jules Botfield standing in for Vanessa this morning? I know her only from the travel reports.

Jules Botfield is a BBC news reporter who used to report for BBC London TV and present on GLR.

You're getting her mixed up with Jules Wilson, who does the travel

cabareteyebrows · 12-06-2006, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxteth O'Grady

Jules Botfield is a BBC news reporter who used to report for BBC London TV and present on GLR.

You're getting her mixed up with Jules Wilson, who does the travel

Oh yes, you're right. All the same I think I will enjoy listening to her.

deepfroat · 12-06-2006, 21:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxteth O'Grady

Great idea for them to carry the 5 Live England commentary yesterday. There are lots of people like me who only have portable FM radios, lets hope they do it for the other england matches

Bit of a cop-out really - there's no reason for any local BBC station to duplicate what Five Live is doing.

London doesn't own the England team any more than any other part of the country.

08-06-2006, 15:47	#1
cabareteyebrows Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Posts: 192	BBC London 94.9 FM. General discussion. I am interested to see if we can sustain a permanent thread about BBC London 94.9 FM. The LBC thread is enjoyable and active and I think one for BBC London could be popular. I would like to be able to come to this thread when there is an interesting topic under discussion so we can chat amongst ourselves. I listen to BBC London quite a lot, mainly Vanessa Feltz, Robert Elms and Danny Baker. I don't listen the breakfast show any longer because I am allergic to Johnno Coleman, I really don't know how he gets away with it. His jokes are lame and he seems to possess very little general knowledge. I finally tuned out one morning when a girl called Jessami (sp?) called in; his lame jokes revolved around rhyming her name with 'sesame', the poor girl probably thought she left jokes of that calibre at primary school. Even worse, this apogee of his wit was clipped and used in a promo for the show FFS! I find I don't listen as much on the weekend but I will get around to listening to Guilty Pleasures soon.

08-06-2006, 20:03	#2
Scott Hatley Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: London Posts: 346	I wish BBC London could be a good alternative to LBC but I just cant warm to any of their presenters. However I did discover Stephen Rhodes on last Friday which was an excellent listen. I couldn't find any details of him on the website anyone know if its a regular show?

08-06-2006, 20:48	#4
cabareteyebrows Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Posts: 192	I haven't heard of Steven Rhodes but will now listen out for him. Result for my new thread already!

08-06-2006, 23:10	#6
Gort Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,509	I tend to listen to Radio Five more, as well as Radio Three and Four, but I do occasionally tune into Radio London, particularly Robert Elms, Danny Baker, the Drivetime programme with Eddie Nestor and Kath Melandri, and Danny Kelly's sports show. It's a good local station with a bit of variety. I'm glad that I live near enough to London to tune in rather than listen to the drivel that's Southern Counties. Radio London seems to feel like it's not a parochial station, which can't be said about Southern Counties. BTW, I was glad when the windbag that's Gaunt left the station. I refused to listen to the station in the mornings due to that self-promoting ignoramus. Then again, they've replaced him with Vanessa Feltz, who I tend to detest as well. Oh well, I'll stick to Radios Three, Four or Five in the mornings.

09-06-2006, 07:38	#8
Inkblot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: West London Services: Sky+; ADSL; Apples'n'iPears Posts: 12,733	It's funny how some stations suffer from being unable to get the whole day's programming right. Five Live: lunchtime news good, Mayo better, Drive excellent but the mornings are rubbish. BBC London: Elms great, Baker superb, but breakfast and Feltz are poor (and Vanessa Feltz's choice of subject matter sometimes makes me feel physically unwell - is there any other programme which dwells quite so much on blood, body fluids and pain?) Why can't they sort the station out and make it a good listen all day?

09-06-2006, 08:05	#10
The Magic Monkey Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,756	As much of a Danny Baker fan that I am, i'm really not liking the afternoon show. Too much crap about David Bowie and the rock music of the 70s.

09-06-2006, 09:44	#12
johnnyrich Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 737	I used to love Danny Baker when he did the breakfast show but the afternoon show just doesnt do it for me - I think its mostly because its always interrupted by music that I just don't like. Anyone have a clue what his audience figures are in the afternoon - would be interested in comparing them to Iain Lee's on LBC 97.3

09-06-2006, 11:45	#14
RA75 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 106	I think that BBC London is one of the best sations available in london. I am 31 and have been listening to the station on and off since doing my GCSE revision at 16. There was a time when it went a little away from my interest, but now i think that it has one of the best line up of presenters on the dial. Robert Elms is my absolute fav as i love his educational, irreverent fun show so much so that i have sky+'d the show so that i can listen to the first 5 mins to see who is on the show and decide if i stay listening for the rest of the show. I agree that Danny Baker is not quite as good as he was in the morning, but still very good although i don't get to listen very often unless i am out in the car for a meeting for work. Eddie & Kath driving home is good too as is the sports show with Danny Kelly and on Friday with Tom Watt. There is also a good show on Sundays called gulity pleasures which is good.

09-06-2006, 13:06	#15
Fred Flintstone Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 329	It was better in the GLR days - Nick Abbot on breakfast, Johnny Walker mornings and the late great Tommy Vance on drivetime.

09-06-2006, 19:29	#17
richie wild Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: wirral Services: rai/mediaset, la7, AB3, TNT SAT, ABSat, Ant 1, sky, freeview, TiVo, dab Posts: 6,065	when bbc london was glr, i actually did some jingles for chris evans.

11-06-2006, 11:24	#19
Toxteth O'Grady Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 7,016	Great idea for them to carry the 5 Live England commentary yesterday. There are lots of people like me who only have portable FM radios, lets hope they do it for the other england matches

12-06-2006, 12:45	#21
cabareteyebrows Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Posts: 192	Anyone hear Jules Botfield standing in for Vanessa this morning? I know her only from the travel reports. I heard about 20 mins or so in the car. I think she did well, she has a nice manner and voice. She did speak to the callers for a very long time but I suppose that's because she probably didn't receive too many callers.

12-06-2006, 12:51	#22
swells Posts: n/a	Why was the original BBC Radio London dropped in favour of GLR?