Self-Praise Is No Recommendation . . .

They say don't blow your own trumpet

When we set out on the road of being radio presenters on Valley Free Radio (http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/ ) hosting "The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast", we knew we had to offer something different from what was on offer already. It was our mission to be as professional sounding as possible and broadcast as professional a show as two novices to the game could do.

Our choice of music was, for the most part, commercial, but it also offered the listener a chance to hear album tracks and information about the songs, albums and artistes. That was what set us apart from the rest of the "on air talent" at VFR, in my opinion.

 In the time we've been off-air we've had the chance to look back and take stock at what we did. How good were our choice of songs, of artistes, and how we presented ourselves - these questions are ones we've asked ourselves. Could our show, one we're very very proud of to this day, have cut the mustard with "the big boys"?

We had a good indication yesterday evening that we were playing on the same field, using the same playbook, (use whatever sporting metaphor you like!) whilst listening to Absolute Radio (http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/)  on line. Let me paint a picture for you for a moment: this is a national radio station in Great Britain, availalble on medium wave, on digital and online. It used to be known as Virgin Radio - it was owned by Richard Branson and also by the celebrated DJ Chris Evans.

The presenter on the air last night was commenting after Depeche Mode's 1989 top 20 hit "Personal Jesus"  had been played. The presenter was waxing lyrical about how good that song was, but went into overdrive when he started talking about songs he might play on his last show which was coming up in the next few weeks. He started to talk about Johnny Cash's version of the song, which appeared on the great man's 2002 album "When The Man Comes Around".

Now, far be it for me to say that Linda and I are on the same wavelength as professional radio presenters when picking quality tunes for the discerning listener to listen to, but, hey, we are! The song is very different from the original and Johnny does make it his own. It's a very good tune. I've mentioned how well Johnny Cash was accepted by the Pioneer Valley listener in past articles.

It gave Linda and I an immense deal of satisfaction to know that we really were professional in our attitude towards our show. I say professional in terms of being able to choose correctly the right type of music for what we considered our demographic - the mature adult with a wide taste in music. By the way, the "Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast" listener was also someone who listened to our show whilst having their evening meal on a Sunday!

Good production is key to broadcasting a really good radio show. Know your job and who your target market is - we did!

They say "self praise is no recommendation"; but if you don't blow your own trumpet who will! We were proud of our radio show - we still are. We always will be. Maybe we'll be back on the air again one day. I like to think so in one way or another. Only time will tell.

The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast Video Memories

Johnny Cash truly is a legend. His American Recordings albums got me into him in a big way. They provided the backbone for our "Tribute Nights" to "The Man in Black". Here he is doing "Personal Jesus"

That's the "Nightclub" memory for this time. To celebrate the part of the show (The Late English Breakfast) that was "an homage to all things British on a station full of Yanks" (wish I'd had the smarts to get that copyrighted!) I'd like to feature a song that was number 1 in Great Britain at Christmas time in 1971. To have a number 1 in Great Britain at that time is a big, big deal. It was number 1 for 4 weeks if I'm not mistaken. The singer of the song is a famous comedian. He's someone who the Americans loved for many years. I was amazed when I arrived here in the USA that he was still on telly.

Who am I referring to? Benny Hill, that's who! Here's the wonderfully funny "Ernie The Fastest Milkman in the West"

Enjoy listening to your music wherever you are and keep on winning

Ed

Laughter is the Music of the Heart

Music conjures up all kinds of emotions in human beings. Sadness, happiness, sensuality - you name it! However, the plaque hanging up in our front room and the title of this article really does encapsulate how "The Late English Breakfast" and "The Nightclub" on Valley Free Radio (http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/ ) valued comedy as part of our shows.

From the word go comedy played a central part of the programmes' planning. As far as we were concerned, the staple diet put out to the listener had to contain comedy.

There's enough serious stuff going on in the world right now - you don't need me to remind you of that. I like to think of myself as someone who has always liked to entertain. It was our duty to entertain the listeners of the Pioneer Valley whenever we were on the radio. People need to have a smile put on their faces by what music was played, what comedy was played and the way we entertained people. It was important to show the listeners that you were having fun doing the show and that we cared about what we did. My show, "The Late English Breakfast" was, as the jingle went, " . . . an homage to all things British on a staion full of Yanks! "

I'm from the North West of England. I used to listen to BBC Radio Manchester, primarily for the sport and on Sundays to Jimmy Wagg and Eamon O'Neal. They played a comedy show called "The Bradshaws" (http://www.thebradshaws.biz/ ) It was a tale set in a bygone era, when we as a world were less cynical and yet the show was, and still is for that matter, very relevant today. It was a story of Alf, Audrey and their little lad Billy and it told tales of going ot the zoo, winning competitions, of neighbours and playing games with next doors' kids. The magical part about it was it was performed by one man - Buzz Hawkins - here's a picture of him

Buzz Hawkins - master entertainer

Buzz has created many stories revolving around Alf, Audrey and Billy and I was proud to play it on both "The Late English Breakfast" and when the show merged with "The Nightclub". My wife Linda has grown to love the stories we featured and loved the way certain words were mixed up to great comedic effect.

Here's an episode of The Bradshaws for you to listen to 

Now, "The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast" didn't just feature British comedy. We played Jerry Seinfeld on numerous occasions but our crowning glory, in my humble opinion, was when we found material from the legend that is George Carlin to play on air! 

The late great genius George Carlin

We were fortunate to see the great man (left)  in concert in 2008 not long before he died. We went to The Calvin Theater in Northampton. I still have the T-shirt from the gig! It was a fabulous night.

As I mentioned earlier, we prepared our shows very meticulously. So , you can imagine how excited we were when we found material from his 1972 album "FM AM" that was broadcastable!

It was a wonderfully funny album to play. Here's a clip from that album

However, his most famous routine, apart from the one about those seven oh so naughty words, was the legendary weather forecast given by "Al Sleet" the famous "Hippy Dippy Weatherman" 

Here's George performing Al back in the 1970's

Comedy when done well is truly a joy to the heart and soul and long may people continue to perform . . .

The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast Video Memories

Talking of fun as I have been doing, no band encapsulated fun better in Great Britain during the 1980's than "Madness" Here's one of their classics from that era "House of Fun" - couldn't have picked anything else could I?!

"House of Fun" got to number 1 in April 1982. Wow, it's hard to imagine the song's nearly 30 years old. Now, probably one of the best singers America has ever produced was Johnny Cash. One of Johnny's most famous and certainly in my eyes one of his funniest was the classic that is "A Boy Named Sue". It's only fitting that to round off this feature we feature the man who featured on the show numerous occasions and several times as the subject of one of our tribute nights when "The Nightlcub featuring The Late English Breakfast" really did make "staying in the new going out!"

As Ed McMahon famously said "Here's Johnny" See you next time and make sure you find a good comedy to watch!

Keep on winning,

Ed