tuned in to BOOM

LISTEN TO THE RADIO: said Nanci

I WILL; said Norman Warwick

and tuned in to BOOM

Nanci Grifith wrote and recorded a great song that was not only a tribute to pioneering ´country´ singer writers like Loretta Lyn and Emmylou Harris, but also a celebration of the radio.

My radio source in my childhood years was a beautifully polished stereophic-gram, which combined a radio system with a stylus and turntable that would make sound out of a black vinyl disc.

After dark, and after mum and dad and my little borther had gone to bed, I would take out the white plastic transistor radio with its monster dial from its hiding place in my wardrobe. Only when the house was still and silent would I push the transdistor underneath my pillow, with the volume at at its lowest setting. The fact that I could hardly hear the music that Radio Luxembourge was broadcasting on 208 medium wave didn´t disappoint me too much because a) I didn´t want to wake the family and b) because I didn´t want to hear all the snap, crackle and pop that impaired the sound of music.

I got into radio 1 a few years later and even attended a number of radio 1 roadshows, whenever those lunchtme live shows were anywhere in the locality of Manchester.  I remember sitting round a table at lunch time, having bunked off school the moment dad had dropped me at the gates at 8.45. A three or four mile walk into Manchester, where I caught the show in the Shambles area near the cathedral before I and a couple of mates followed presenters Ed Stewart and Dave Lee Travis into a pub and, looking back, made a nuisance of our 14 year old selves, before I had to run for cover when I saw my dad standing at the bar !

Radio 2 became my go-to radio station within a year or so of that event: Terry Wogan, Jimmy Young, Wally Whyton and Bob Harris,

what was not to like?

All that sixty years ago, now, but since moving here to Lanzarote in so-called retirement we have become avid listeners to Boom Radio. Recommended by Sarah and Martin from Harrogate, my wife and I tuned in and we stayed tuned in.

If you explore their site you might come to understand why the station appeals to us.

They take a retrospective look at the music that was formative to my generation and with updates on group members etc they somehow re-contextualise it all back to modernity.

Boom Radio is always touched when they are recommended between friends – and now they would like to reward you for backing Boom!

Just think of someone else who might like what they do – and introduce  Boom Radio to them.

Then, let Boom Radio them know their name – and if Graham Dene mentions that new listener at 9.15 on his weekday breakfast show – and they hear it and get in touch – you and they win £100 each! You can enter more than once with different new listeners.

Old rockers these days aren’t retiring – they’re just going on, and on. 

David Hepworth has just written a book on the subject including some great tales from those refusing to grow old gracefully.

Christine McVie retired from Fleetwood Mac to be lady of The Manor in Surrey, but then deciding she was missing out on the fun.

You may have heard David tell more of the stories on Sunday October 6th at 5pm across on our Boom Rock station in ‘Hope I Get Old Before I Die’ – the first in a series of weekly programmes in our new Rocktober series. 

Boom’s Jackie Clark writes:

Fresh from seeing David Essex in concert, this Boomer has been reflecting on the joy of watching the acts we idolized as teenagers—now we’re Boomagers. It’s not just about reliving the past; it’s about celebrating the lasting joy their music has brought us.

These days, we might welcome the chance to sit down more often, instead of bopping ’til we drop. Our fashion sense has evolved too—those impossibly high platform heels have been swapped for something more practical! Yet despite the changes, we’re still the same girls and guys who Sellotaped posters on our bedroom walls, scoured Jackie magazine for mention of our idols and joined their fan clubs.

Our idols may not leap around the stage quite like in the ’70s, but when they belt out the songs we’ve cherished for decades, and we rise from our seats to sing along, it’s as if no time has passed whatsoever.

If you are of that sort of age, you might like to test your Enid Blyton knowledge. If you read Michael Higgins´ piece in Pass It On 69 you could become a competition winner.

Last month, Mike Smith from Belper won cash – and this month it could be you!

Just answer their three questions about Enid Blyton and you’ll be in the draw to win.

This prolific author turned down a place at Guildhall School of Music to train as a teacher, but it was a children’s magazine publishing one of her poems when she was 14 which offered the real clue to where her future would lie.

Listener, Graham Bentley, became another Boom winner when he won an electric bike from Mark2 bikes

And Simon Prothero from Southampton was also delighted when he learned he’ll soon be jetting off to experience Vancouver and British Columbia wine country, courtesy of Boom and Canadian Sky.

Meanwhile, the band who changed the face of folk music are celebrating their 55th anniversary. Maddy Prior joined the Steeleye Span group when she was 23.

They’re marking their enduring success with The Green Man Tour UK in October, performing a selection of songs from across the years.

There’s a new album too – The Green Man Collection brings together tracks from recent releases, with new versions of three classics including a reworking of ‘Hard Times’ featuring Status Quo’s Francis Rossi.

The band is about half way through their 2024 UK tour so Sidetracks & Detours point you in the right direction (see below).

Wed 23rd October	Shrewsbury Theatre	Severn	01743 281281
Thu 24th October	Hertford Theatre	Hertford
Fri 25th October	Southend Palace Theatre	Southend	0343 310 0030
Sun 27th October	White Rock	Hastings	01424 462280
Mon 28th October	The Pavlion Theatre	Worthing	01903 206206
Tue 29th October	Fareham Live		0343 310 0022