50 years of commercial radio

Who can forget Michael Aspel clutching the big red book on This is Your Life, having fun on Crackerjack, hosting Come Dancing - or  posing the questions on Ask Aspel.

Now aged 90 - and looking great - he's being reunited with our Graham Dene to lead a day of special programmes on Boom Radio to mark the 50th anniversary of commercial radio.

They'll be renewing the friendship they began when working together in the early days of London's Capital Radio when Graham was a twenty-something man-about-town and Michael was a smooth 41 year-old.

Michael Aspel and Graham Dene - Sunday Oct 8th at 09.00 am

Capital launched in October 1973, just a week after London’s LBC, bringing commercial radio at last to the UK.

LBC was first in the chain of nineteen local stations launched through the 1970s - well-received by listeners in their towns and cities in those dramatic, pioneering days, breaking a fifty-year BBC monopoly at last.

Throughout the day on Boom, you can hear some of the voices who played a part in that memorable chapter of radio across the UK.

6.00 Dave Jamieson – from the early days of Radio Clyde (Glasgow), BRMB (Birmingham) and Mercia (Coventry).

7.00 Phil Fothergill – from early Swansea Sound and Radio Orwell (Ipswich).

8.00 Dave Marshall – part of the launch team at Radio Clyde (Glasgow) and long-time breakfast presenter.

9.00 Michael Aspel OBE and Graham Dene are reunited (Capital Radio, London). Michael was Capital’s big name morning show host 1974-1984, whilst Graham Dene hosted the breakfast show.

10.00 Les Ross MBE – first voice on Radio Tees (Stockton-on-Tees) and 27 breakfast years on BRMB in Birmingham.

12.00 The Vintage Charts with John Peters – playing the countdown from this week in the commercial radio launch year of ’73 – plus ’75, the year he launched Radio Trent (Nottingham).

2.00 Mike Read – early voice from Radio 210 (Reading), later BBC Radio 1.

3.00 Three O’Clock Thrill. From the archive, the voice of Capital’s late, great Roger Scott.

3.20 Roger Day – first voice on Piccadilly Radio (Manchester) in ’74.

4.00 Susie Mathis – early voice from Piccadilly Radio (Manchester) and lead singer with the Paper Dolls (Something Here in My Heart).

5.00 Nicky Horne – early voice from Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It on Capital Radio (London).

6.00 Len Groat – early voice from Swansea Sound, Metro Radio (Newcastle), Piccadilly Radio (Manchester) and Radio Trent (Nottingham).

7.00 John Rosborough – early voice from Downtown Radio (Belfast).

8.00 Keith Skues – first programme controller at Radio Hallam (Sheffield), having been the second ever presenter heard on BBC Radio 1.

9.00 Gillian Reynolds – first programme controller at Radio City (Liverpool) in conversation with Phil Riley.

10.00 Bill Bingham - early voice from Radio City (Liverpool), Radio Trent (Nottingham) and LBC (London).

Leading up to the anniversary (9.00 - 10.00 pm Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th), Boom will broadcast a two-hour documentary marking Capital Radio’s Golden Jubilee.

David Symonds's first breakfast show followed chairman Richard Attenborough's opening greeting at 5.00 am. Still broadcasting 50 years later, David tells his fascinating personal story and reflects on Capital's hairraising journey to air, its brush with bankruptcy just days from closure and its unique connection with Londoners. His guests include many Capital pioneers, members of the board and the teenagers who, in 1970 on a beach in Sussex, dared to dream the dream of launching their own station.