50s Music on BBC

[Bernie Burgess]

Hello Fans /friends

Gerald has just sent this data to me before he dashes off for the week-end. Here's hoping that they include some of Ruby's records in their programming. Here is a copy of the data from Gerald. ..........

"I have just spotted a couple of things in the Radio Times that might be of interest."

Starting today at noon, on BBC Radio 2 they are devoting the whole afternoon and evening to the 50s music and sounds. This will be from noon to midnight over the next four days, charting the history of popular music from the mid 50s. However, you can only listen on a DAB radio (if you need to ask you probably don’t have one!) or you can listen online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/mygeneration.[/u][/b]

*" I have just tried this link at it gives a lot of the information that I have put in this message, so it could go on the Forum if you have time to copy it. It says it will provide a catchup service for the Radio 2 programmes.

Also, on BBC 4 TV tomorrow evening at 9 pm there is the People’s History of Pop, 1955 – 65. And on Saturday BBC 2 TV at 9 pm there is Tom Jones’s 1950s."

FINGER CROSSED FOR RUBY'S RECORDS TO BE INCLUDED ???????

[Gerald Lawrence]

Well I managed to listen to some of the music over the four days - the first thing I discovered was that it wasn't actually on BBC Radio 2 but a temporary DAB and online channel called "BBC Radio 2 50s". I have just scanned through all the lists of music played, and discovered that the only Ruby record played was on Friday at about 12.25 pm. Fortunately this was one I was listening to! The presenter was Leo Green and he said a few nice words about Ruby, including a reference to the fact that he always gets a good reaction from listeners when he plays one of her records on his Monday Radio 2 programme (at 10.00 pm), and that she does not appear often enough on the radio. I must make an effort to listen in more often, as there are still 6 more episodes to go in his series.

Coming back to the Radio 2 50s programme on Friday, here is a link to the page - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03lyg0p and if you scroll down you will find Ruby. If you then click on her name it will take you to another BBC page where they give lots of information, including which records have been played on BBC going back a few years. This is actually a bigger list than I would have thought!

So although the special four days are now over, you can listen to them all if you do it within the next 20 days or so. It certainly took me back to the 50s, but my greatest disappointment, other than hearing only one record by Ruby, was that the vast majority of records played were by American artists. When my friends and I were buying records, we did not focus overwhelmingly on the USA, there were plenty of home grown stars to listen to and I think the four days sadly let down those British artistes.