Kite159
Veteran Member
Nothing lasts forever regarding Steve Wright doing the afternoon show on radio 2.
How old is he ? Pushing 80 ?
Wikipedia says he was born on 29th January 1943, so pushing 80 is correct.
Regardless of age, I still think he is one of the better presenters on Radio 2, and one of the few I still listen to regularly.
It is more that the government would like to switch off the FM signal. It keeps on getting delayed, most recently in 2020, to be pushed out to 2032.
FM is going nowhere. They are still struggling to get approval to switch off AM.
Never was a fan of Steve Wright myself, and the time he got the daily slot marked the beginning of the end of Radio 2 for me, the first nail in the coffin. When I was young, Radio 2 was an old fogey station which subsequently moved younger; nowadays I've long outgrown it. Our paths crossed mainly in the late 1990s.
But I did listen to a bit of Tony Blackburn's Golden Hour last Friday. Only a bit, mind. It's clearly his own, undiluted choice of music, being almost all soul/disco stuff (rather like Johnnie Walker's Sounds Of The Seventies is a rock snob's view of the decade) and then he laid on some truly stomach-churning sycophancy regarding the BBC Sounds App. Why on earth he (and Gambo, for that matter) continues to do work for the BBC after the way they treated him back in 2016 is beyond me.
I believe Arnold died some years back, having lived well into his forties - something like 300 dog-years
Clearly not, have you heard its finishing?Nothing lasts forever regarding Steve Wright doing the afternoon show on radio 2.
Never was a fan of Steve Wright myself, and the time he got the daily slot marked the beginning of the end of Radio 2 for me, the first nail in the coffin. When I was young, Radio 2 was an old fogey station which subsequently moved younger; nowadays I've long outgrown it. Our paths crossed mainly in the late 1990s.
But I did listen to a bit of Tony Blackburn's Golden Hour last Friday. Only a bit, mind. It's clearly his own, undiluted choice of music, being almost all soul/disco stuff (rather like Johnnie Walker's Sounds Of The Seventies is a rock snob's view of the decade) and then he laid on some truly stomach-churning sycophancy regarding the BBC Sounds App. Why on earth he (and Gambo, for that matter) continues to do work for the BBC after the way they treated him back in 2016 is beyond me.
I believe Arnold died some years back, having lived well into his forties - something like 300 dog-years
They being the BBC. They were allowed to switch some AM off, but it still requires government approval to migrate 5 live, Radio 4 LW and the remaining BBC LR stations to FM or digital platforms. There will certainly be some pushback from the Senedd about switching off Radio Wales 882 AM given the difficult terrain for FM/DAB in its coverage area.Who are 'they'? Stations don't need approval to switch off AM. Commercial stations can switch them off at any time if they feel they are no longer commercially viable. A lot have been shut down already. The BBC has also shut down a lot of AM transmitters. BBC local radio and Radio Wales only have a few left. Radio Ulster has switched off AM entirely.
I would agree that FM has years left. It may even outlast DAB.
They being the BBC. They were allowed to switch some AM off, but it still requires government approval to migrate 5 live, Radio 4 LW and the remaining BBC LR stations to FM or digital platforms. There will certainly be some pushback from the Senedd about switching off Radio Wales 882 AM given the difficult terrain for FM/DAB in its coverage area.
We do plan to stop scheduling separate content for Radio 4 Long Wave, consulting with partners, including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, ahead of the closure of the Long Wave platform itself. 5Live on Medium Wave will also close no later than December 2027, in line with a proposed industry-wide exit from the platform.
• The Radio Guernsey and Radio Jersey AM transmitters were originally retained to provide opt-outs from the main service covering the island assemblies. These opt-out services are now available on DAB, so these transmitters are likely to be switched off in the BBC’s next closure round.
• The Radio Cumbria (North and South), Radio Derby, Radio Norfolk (West) and Radio Somerset transmitters serve similar FM and DAB coverage gaps to the AM transmitters that have already been switched off. Consequently, they are also likely to be closed in the next round.
• The Radio Gloucestershire (West) transmitter serves areas with very poor FM and DAB coverage. This area is the most likely candidate for additional FM transmitters, in which case AM would be retained until they are installed. If no improvements to FM coverage are planned, the AM transmitter could be closed in the next round or it could be retained until the final Five Live AM transmitters are switched off.
• The original Radio Wales (South) transmitter was replaced by a new lower power transmitter in 2021. This makes it unlikely that the transmitter will be switched off in the near future. However, it could be transferred to Five Live, enabling closure of the Clevedon transmitter. The BBC might consider an additional FM transmitter to serve Monmouth. Alternatively, Radio Wales could be added to the BBC National DAB multiplex (probably using DAB+), plugging both the Monmouth and Garth coverage gaps.
• The Radio Scotland transmitter at Westerglen serves significant FM coverage gaps in the road network, so may be retained until the final Five Live AM transmitters are switched off, potentially with a power reduction. The FM coverage gaps served by the Burghead transmitter have much lower traffic/population levels, so Burghead is more likely to close in the near future. However, Burghead does provide coverage of sports opt-outs in places unserved by DAB. Thus, closure may be delayed until improvements in coverage to the Inverness DAB multiplex that are due to be made before the licence renews in August 2023.
Good riddance. In the article he spouts about how the BBC have allowed him to be so creative. But his show hasn't changed at all for over a decade!
Lazy, fairly talentless individual paid way too much and thinking way too much of himself for playing some records and making the same inane "gags" day after day, week after week, year after year.
Good riddance. In the article he spouts about how the BBC have allowed him to be so creative. But his show hasn't changed at all for over a decade!
He's another one I can't stand. Sanctimonious twerp.I must admit, I only really started listening to the show regularly during lockdown, so I can't comment on it ten years ago, but if the format hasn't changed, so what ? Jeremy Vine's show has been the same format since the 1970's (so I'm told by my family).
Is there an audience for it though or do people just have it on out of habit. I used to listen to Radio 2 for the variety of music, but I just can't stand Steve Wright and it got to the point I decided it wasn't worth putting up with him for the music. I listen to Absolute Radio now, which seems to play "my" kind of music without too much daft chatter and fake corpsing at co-presenters gags.From a couple of listens it's the very same format as the R1 show I used to hear when getting home from school..thirty five years ago. There's evidently still an audience for this stuff, no doubt the podcast will retain some sort of listenership if the full SWitA format doesn't find a new national radio home elsewhere.
I listen to Absolute Radio now, which seems to play "my" kind of music without too much daft chatter and fake corpsing at co-presenters gags.
This is true. But apparently if you listen through their app there are no adverts. Might try it as for some reason many of the streaming websites (including their own!) no longer work.Ah, but is it riddled with adverts !
I listen to Absolute Radio now, which seems to play "my" kind of music without too much daft chatter and fake corpsing at co-presenters gags.
Good riddance.Scott Mills to replace Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 afternoon show
The broadcaster and DJ's longstanding midweek afternoon slot will be filled by Radio 1's Scott Mills.www.bbc.co.uk
Knew the ******* BBC were up to something.
Don't get me wrong, Mills is a nice enough lad, but he's filled in for Wright before and it was a litany of modern music, barely anything before the 1980's. This seems to be part of the damned BBC's conspiracy to turn Radio2 into Radio1 "lite".
Good riddance.
His format was annoying on Radio 1 and equally annoying on Radio 2. And I’d hardly call 80’s, 90s and even early 2000s radio 1 lite.
one smarmy unfunny so and so replaced by another smarmy unfunny so and so. nothing to see here.
Steve Wright was funny in 1986. His time has come and gone.
Right @yorksrob. Stop fighting your age, it’s Radio 4 for you now and then when that feels a bit too lively it’ll be on to Radio 3 to calm things down into your retirement years…
We’ll have none of this new fangled ‘Indie’ music at your age.
The Grundy love triangle on The Archers is far too raunchy for me I'm afraid
Gawd, this should be in the 'You know when you're old when.. ' thread.Does wikipedia say what happened to "Arnold" ?
It was always my bedtime at the end of The Archers theme tune when I was little. I still can’t listen to it without the involuntary onset of narcolepsy.