Category: radio

Today, Fiona Phillips starts her stint as a radio DJ on Smooth Radio.

If you were up early this morning, you will also have been able to catch Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen presenting the Sunday Spa on Classic FM.

I’m sure these two will be fine in their new job, but what happened to the notion of getting properly-trained radio DJs to present shows, rather than bussing in people famous for their face.

Surely people listen to Classic FM for the music, not to hear a posh interior designer wittering on between a couple of tunes by Satie and Mozart.

And Fiona Phillips might be good at sitting on a couch at 5am and making people feel better about the start of the day, but how does that quality her for a job behind a microphone where no-one can actually see her face.

Celebrity radio has recently become the thing to do. Classic FM also hired Alex ‘I make cheese’ James in their recent revamp, an even more odd choice, if you ask me.

It’s only when you listen to the likes of Brian Matthews presenting Sounds Of The 60s on Saturday morning Radio 2 that you realise what a proper DJ should sound like.

Some ‘famous faces’ adapt quite well – I’m actually quite a fan of Dermot O’Leary, although his Big Brother sidekick Davina McCall did a pretty ropey job standing in for Ken Bruce (I think) last year.

Virgin Radio have tried something similar. They got Shane Richie to try his spinning the wheels of steel last year, which I’m pretty sure developed a flat tyre quicker than you could say Kwik fit.

Now Tony Hadley presents their Saturday night party classics show and is, to coin a Simon Cowell phrase, distinctly average.

I reckon that most of them are going wrong is one simple regard. To sound good on the radio, you have to imagine you’re talking to one person, rather than 1 million.

Perhaps some of these ‘celebrity’ signings should try and see how well it works.

The king of radio DJs Tony Blackburn returned to the breakfast slot last week, as he began his new job at Smooth Radio in London.

Initially standing in for another radio veteran, Graham Dene, Tony was back on the airwaves at 6am last Thursday, before broadcasting in his own new slot on the weekend breakfast show.

It was quite interesting listening to him broadcast, because I can hardly remember from his good old days at Radio 1. Is he really as cheesy as everyone makes out?

Well, clearly on his first day, he was actually very nervous. I heard him effectively say the same sentence three times in a row, when telling everyone that he was sitting in for Graham Dene and then starting his breakfast show on the Saturday.

However, by the weekend, he was well into his stride talking about broadcasting from a rowing boat with a loudhailer off Frinton-on-Sea, and advising a caller on the differences between holidaying in Aruba or Antigua.

The thing about Tony Blackburn is that he clearly loves what he does as a job. Not only that, but he’s pretty darned good at it. You have to be to maintain a successful career for more than 40 years.

Tony, you might not be my preferred choice of DJ, but long may you continue to broadcast.