Kevin Joslin

The making of Terry Wogan, See John run. This is such a witty little book from the Irishman who almost single handedly saved the BBC from boring it’s listeners to death. There is also a CD which will make you cry with laughter. The following is the tale of how it all came about.

The British Government in 1960s controlled the radio airwaves of the nation through their wholly owned subsidiary The British Broadcasting Company (BBC). They totally refused to play any Rock n Roll music and filled the day with The Billy Cotton Bandshow and Mantivani, music from the 30s and 40s. There was no other radio and only the very rich had TV.

This situation created the need for The Pirates. These were small ships at sea broadcasting, quite legally, just outside the British three mile territorial waters. They played the music the nation wanted to hear and as a result were fantastically successful. The public loved them. The BBC did not.

Over time even the BBC eventually noticed their listeners had nearly all defected.

At dawn one morning The Royal Navy appeared, arrested all the pirate radio ships simultaneously, all around the coast, then escorted them into ports. They were charged with broadcasting within the British SIX MILE legal sea limit. When they protested, six miles? Since when has it been six miles? They were told “since midnight last night”. Yes! The British Government, which always takes many years to amend British law, had changed this law (to aid it’s own BBC) overnight.

So The Royal Navy really worked for the BBC? So it would seem. A long time later. after much protest, the BBC were forced to produce a new program they called Radio One. It was a poor substitute for Pirate Radio but it was all there was. It was galling hearing phony BBC DJs proclaiming the success of the channel the public had had to force them to create.

Probably the only good thing to come out of Radio One was Terry Wogan, who's show was very entertaining and included skits about See John run.… (altro)

Subtitled The Complete Radio 2 Janet & John Marsh Stories, As told by Terry Wogan, these stories will be familiar to fans of Terry's breakfast show. They were an absolute highlight - how they got away with it, no one knows - and here they are, collected for the first time in book form, in aid of Children in Need. How could I resist?

They are basically a very clever, very naughty update of the traditional Janet and John stories that used to be a staple part of the learning-to-read book diet. In this modern take, Janet and John Marsh are a middle-aged couple. Janet is sensible and long-suffering, while John is flamboyant and manages to make the most innocent of days sound VERY rude. Which usually ends up with him suffering a nasty fate at Janet's hands. See John run!

Oh, and there's an even funnier CD compilation full of Terry's infectious giggling as he tries to hold it together and finish each story, which is fantastic!… (altro)