R2OK!

John W · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 3367 Location: Warwickshire, UK

Enjoyed what I caught of today's show (Sunday 17th Dec) particularly the tracks by Anita O'Day who died three weeks ago aged 87 ! What a fine swing/jazz singer she was. I'm not very familiar with her work, the odd track on a CD, but she is occasionally heard on Radio 2.

Surprised when Russell said he preferred O'Day's scat singing style to that of Ella Fitzgerald, what a thing to say! But I'm not able to comment as I have heard so little of Anita O'Day.

John W

John W · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 3367 Location: Warwickshire, UK

I was checking out Russell Davies' beeb web pages, see if they are up to date for the Sunday change. Not quite all up to date (one says 7th January) but found a link Listen to Russell's Highlights with information an all the Lyricists!

20 lyricists I believe, and quite incredibly this link is to an 18 HOUR LONG LISTEN AGAIN!

Anyone who listened to last week's show could not have failed to detect Russell Davies' disappointment that his slot was being moved to late night (the afternoon Songwriter slot goes back to Benny Green's days) he quipped a few aside remarks.

He has written a little note on his show page:

"So – it’s goodbye to our pleasant Sunday afternoon meetings together – but, we hope most sincerely, not goodbye to our meetings. Remember, there’s never anything on television at nine-o-clock of a Sunday evening worth missing the Song Show for. How much more pleasant to spend that hour with the radio, where you can do something else at the same time: washing dishes with your sweetie, putting a shine on your shoes, walking the dog…and even if the call of TV is irresistible, you can always use your ‘listen-again’ facility - and catch the song-show where you’re used to hearing it. Nothing need change! The content of the programme certainly won’t – a heady mix from everywhere and anywhere from the recorded history of the past hundred years".

Thank you Russell for hanging in there.

Lady Boil De Spudswell · Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 429 Location: Location, Location

Well I'm not alone then in disapproving of Russell Davies' new slot. I have no qualms about what he does, but replacing YHBT is just wrong. I want quiet, measured reflection following on from Sunday Half Hour, not Songs For Swinging Lovers.

I can understand how YHBT in 2007 wasn't wow-fab and groovy enough for Ms Douglas, but do we want youthful chummery all the time? NB: I'm in my thirties!

What Titch did was very good and he has a nice chummy style, but the contrast between that and YHBT is one that I think still has a place.
I'm also not sure MFY needs to be two hours. 90 mins was enjoyable without outstaying its welcome.

I can only hope enough people protest, but if the figures for YHBT were dwindling thanks to the Grim Reaper, then I'm not terribly optimistic. This allied to the fact the programme wasn't actually replaced, merely a bit of a re-shuffle took place with two other programmes given an extra half an hour to close the gap it created.

Well, meantime then it's my YHBT archive 9-10pm on a Sunday from now on.
_________________
Who Can Take A Sunrise, Sprinkle It With Dew...

RockitRon · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 7646

Things could have been worse. At least YHBT hasn't been replaced with a Classical Album Chart Show.

I only occasionally managed to listen to Russell in the afternoon but like his style, a brisker version of DC really, and the music. Without him I would certainly never have heard of Janet Seidel and her gorgeous album Moon of Manakoora, to name just one. His removal to the evening means I shall have to Listen Again - dead easy, if only there were more than 24 hours in the day!
_________________
Ron