FEATURE: Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), Sunday Girl: Celebrating Some New Additions to the BBC Radio 2 Schedule

FEATURE:

 

 

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), Sunday Girl

IN THIS PHOTO: DJ Spoony/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

Celebrating Some New Additions to the BBC Radio 2 Schedule

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I love to listen to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Michelle Visage/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

Friday evenings and nights on BBC Radio 2. Previously, Gary Davies’ Sounds of the 80s was on Fridays. Fearne Cotton’s Sounds of the 90s was also on Fridays. Both have been moved to Saturdays. Now, on Fridays, there is a new line-up. Sara Cox gets the party started from 5 p.m. with her all-request show. It is the two new D.J.s that follow her that have some great shows that have their own mood. I am going to come onto a great new Sunday night show but, on Friday evenings, Michelle Visage presents her Michelle’s Fabulous Friday at 7 p.m. The first couple of episodes have been fantastic. A mixture of Dance, R&B, Club, and Disco mixes with great Pop. She then follows this with Michelle Visage’s Handbag Hits. The idea is to keep the mood up and uplift the listener. Her stint finishes at 9 p.m. That is what you want on a Friday evening. Other stations have similar things, but Visage has really settled into her role quickly and sounds a natural at the station. Although I listen to a lot of BBC Radio 6 Music, I tune into BBC Radio 2 for Zoe Ball, Ken Bruce, and Sara Cox. I am also now tuning in specifically for the news shows (I also listen to Fearne Cotton’s Saturday show about the ‘90s). Visage’s double is the perfect way to kickstart the weekend!

Keeping the torch lit on a Friday is the brilliant DJ Spoony. He presents The Good Groove. Running until 11 p.m., he has a great selection of uplifting tracks that very much keep the energy going. Similar to Michelle Visage’s shows, there are familiar tunes with a few deeper cuts. Mixing deeper grooves, party tunes and feelgood floor-fillers, it is not just classics that Spoony plays. There are modern tracks and great remixes that provide this brilliant blend. I loved his first show with a 1990s mixture. He then kept the good vibes flowing with a wonderful assortment of the new and classic. Topping it off with his deeper cuts, you would not want to be anywhere else but BBC Radio 2 on a Friday! A couple of weeks in, all the signs show that DJ Spoony, like Michelle Visage, will be on the station for years. Whereas Fearne Cotton and Gary Davies have their decades-specific shows, the two Friday additions are broader and give that great contrast. Such a charismatic and popular personality, DJ Spoony is someone who fits very easily into the BBC Radio 2 line-up. I hope that he continues strong for years to come. Friday is very much about the party and the happy. You need that end of week sensation that gives you a boost into the weekend. It means that you get this in full force with Michelle Visage and DJ Spoony.

There is plenty of energy and mood-boosting music on BBC Radio 2 very much designed to give you a rejuvenating kick. On Sunday, you are unwinding and preparing to face the new week. Angela Griffin is another welcomer addition to the station. Radio 2 Unwinds with Angela Griffin. Is pretty self-explanatory. She is charged with bosting the mood, but doing so in a relaxing, connective and more holistic way. Between 10 and midnight, you can hear Griffin select some great modern-day and older songs that will definitely help you both relax and recharge. I think of Radio 1’s Sian Elleri and her Chilliest Show. It is good to have these themed shows where you get a dedicated mixture of songs that guarantees a certain mood or objective. Many radio playlists are random, and you get pulled and pushed in terms of the happy-sad balance. By having the likes of Angela Griffin ensure that our Sunday nights are going to be the perfect preparation for the new working week, we are in safe hands. Again, I do hope that she is at BBC Radio 2 for years. After a couple of weeks, she sounds comfortable and in her element. I wonder how BBC Radio 2 decided upon the three presenters for its new shows. Whatever metric or method they employed, it has definitely paid off!

 IMAGE CREDIT: BBC

Although many of us will be aware of the songs Michelle Visage, DJ Spoony and Angela Griffin play on their shows, many won’t. That is particularly true of the newer cuts. Not only do you get these great shows that are full of life and joy. There is the more unwinding and, with each of the three broadcasters, they bring so much enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge. You get to find music you might not have been aware of, plus there is that reliance and security that you get the classics. Line-up changes can be quite risky and fail, but BBC Radio 2 have luckily not lost their shows from Gary Davies and Fearne Cotton or banished them to a bad timeslot. Instead, they have added in three presenters who each bring their own style and musical choices to Friday and Sunday evenings/night. Whether you want some Dance and Disco or prefer some remixes and Club classics, or you just need some smoother or softer tracks to ease the stress, then you are covered. Whether you are an exiting fan and listener of BBC Radio 2 or go for other stations, I would advise you to dip into BBC Sounds and catch up on Michelle Visage, DJ Spoony, and Angela Griffin’s shows. Presented by people who really love their music and are naturally suited to their roles, Friday and Sundays have been given fresh injection! Given the recent hot weather and everything else going on in the world, we do need something uplifting and positive. Radio is providing that. I am listening more to BBC Radio 2 now because of their new shows. In my view, these are…

JUST what we need.

Sam Liddicott