Episode 45 sees us still in January 1923, but on the move...
First BBC Director of Programmes Arthur Burrows visits 5IT Birmingham and 2ZY Manchester to see the 2nd and 3rd BBC stations in action - so here's a podcast snapshot of what broadcasting was like in their makeshift studios in British broadcasting's earliest days.
Our guest is Jude Montague, whose grandfather Sydney Wright was an early on-air musician in the 2ZY Wireless Trio. And you'll hear the voices of those who were there: Kenneth Wright, Victor Smythe, Percy Edgar, A.E. Thompson...
Hear of singers toppling off platforms made of books, as they step back for the big final note. Hear of Manchester beating London to be first station to broadcast Big Ben. And hear of the Grenadier Guards Band, cramming 22 performers into a studio space fit for 3.
Next time: another grandchild of an early radio wonder: Justin Webb on his grandfather Leonard Crocombe, first editor of the Radio Times.
Thanks for listening!
#086 1932 Off-Air Radio Recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank
#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On Air
#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24
#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923
#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923
#081 The Pips at 100! A Brief History of Time at the BBC
#080 SPECIAL: The First Religious Broadcast: Re-enacted
#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2
#078 Three Authors on Broadcasting History: Love | Films | Education
#077 Loose Ends 2: 1920’s SS Victorian to 1980’s Tardis via Frank Milligan
#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2
#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1
#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny Beerling
#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom
#072 The First Radio Dramatist: The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
#071 Yesteryear in Parliament: The BBC vs The Government, April 1923
#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023
#069 Children’s Hour to Bedtime Hour: Uncles, Aunts and Iggle Piggle
#068 Major Arthur Corbett-Smith: Reith’s Rival
#067 SPECIAL: A Brief History of Coronation Broadcasts
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