FEATURE: Bandwidth: The Longevity and Passion of Our Best Broadcasters

FEATURE:

 

 

Bandwidth

 IN THIS PHOTO: Steve Lamacq/PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Joyce

 

The Longevity and Passion of Our Best Broadcasters

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YESTERDAY saw the departure…

 PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/Ray Burmiston

of one of Britain’s greatest and most respected broadcasters from BBC Radio 6 Music. To be fair, Steve Lamacq is coming back to the station in January. Rather than working a six-day week, Lammo is doing a weekly Monday show (from January). It was an emotional final weekly show for someone who has backed and championed so many bands. Such a variety of artists! Through his twenty years there, Lamacq has been at the forefront of modern music. Ensuring that some incredible artists reach us. It is his passion and commitment to the role which is inspiring! Radio seems to be one of those professions where you see this decades-long commitment. I am going to carry on in a minute. First, The Independent reported the news of the grand Steve Lamacq’s departure (full-time) from BBC Radio 6 Music:

“Steve Lamacq, a BBC stalwart known for discovering and championing new music, is quitting his Radio 6 Music drivetime show after almost two decades.

The broadcaster and tastemaker, 57, has hosted the slot since 2005, and his final broadcast for the weekday show will fall on Friday 20 October.

Lamacq has taken the decision to step back to spend more time with his family – he is married to psychologist Dr Jen Wills; the couple share one daughter.

Instead of his daily show, Lamacq will return in January 2024 with a new programme, Steve Lamacq’s Teatime Session, which will air weekly on Mondays.

Lamacq said: “It’s been terrific doing six shows a week, but what with all the prep work for the programmes and the ever-increasing volume of new music to listen to, there’s not been nearly enough time left over for my family. And to be honest, after nearly 40 years at the coalface of new music, I think I need a bit of breather.

“Plus, there are other things I’m keen to do. Not least seeing if there’s a more practical role I can play in supporting the live music circuit and the venues across the country that I owe so much to.

“But of course, my heart still lives for discovering and nurturing new bands, so I’m really pleased that these changes mean I can stay at 6 Music, while allowing more time to go searching for emerging artists, who I’ll be channelling into the new Monday show. There’ll be live sessions, interviews, some amazing archive and fingers crossed, at some point, the future of rock and roll.”

BBC radio regular Huw Stephens, who is replacing Lamacq, called taking over from the presenter “an honour”, adding: “Steve has been a music mentor to all of us, his recommendations, thoughts and guidance in music is a huge part of who I am today and to call him a friend as well as a colleague means a great deal.

“I look forward to spending time with the 6 Music listeners every day, sharing new music and celebrating the music we love. So to everyone who’s asked me over the years, ‘When are you getting your own show on 6?’, the answer is, ‘Soon!’ See you on the airwaves!”

The BBC described Lamacq’s move as a “well-deserved” change.

Lamacq, who started out as a journalist at NME, has presented on Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music. He has played an instrumental role in the careers of many artists over his career, including Blur, Pulp, PJ Harvey, Coldplay, Florence + the Machine and Fontaines DC”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Radio pioneer and BBC Radio 1 mainstay, Annie Nightingale/PHOTO CREDIT: David Levene/The Guardian

Look across the airwaves and we see that there are so many broadcasters who have been at the station for decades. Tony Blackburn, Zoe Ball, Annie Nightingale, and fellow BBC Radio 6 Music stablemates of Lamacq, Chris Hawkins, Lauren Laverne and the weekend duo of Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie, have been there for many years. All phenomenal talent who could work at any station, it is clear that they find comfort in the bandwidth they get regarding recommending music of multiple genres. The chances to expose some terrific music. What is clear, when listening to Steve Lamacq speak, is how much is means having the listeners connect! How meaningful it has been for him to discover all these amazing artists through the years. Maybe it is something specific to broadcasting. I have found that there is this passion and sheer dedication to what they do. It is sad that Steve Lamacq is not going to be such a regular fixture on BBC Radio 6 Music! As he has spent so long working all week listening to music, attending gigs and championing music around the country, he does need to spend time with family and take a step back. The fact he remains at the station and will keep broadcasting proves that that desire never goes away. His Monday show will see him return with eagerness, a new perspective and fresh energy. I listen to stations like BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 and I am amazed by the energy and continued desire and commitment broadcasters have still. From Lauren Laverne’s weekday breakfast show on BBC Radio 6 Music to Zoe Ball’s breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, you have these legends still going strong. Ken Bruce going from BBC Radio 2 to Greatest Hits Radio. It seems radio is an industry where you get this endless and undying passion. Whether it is simply the listeners and the relationship formed with them, or the great music new and established, it is always inspiring to hear – and kind of heartbreaking when an iconic broadcaster steps back or is not in our lives in quite the same way after so long!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Shaun Keaveny/PHOTO CREDIT: Press via GQ

Another legendary broadcaster – and an erstwhile colleague of Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music – is Shaun Keaveny. He is a classic example of someone who has that unquenched thirst and passion. At BBC Radio 6 Music for over a decade, he has appeared on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio London, and Greatest Hits Radio. He has his own independent radio station, Community Garden Radio, that has been on air for almost one hundred editions. Set up with producer Ben Tulloh, it is a more liberating and less restrictive way of broadcasting compared to the BBC. A bit more freedom in terms of the music choices and what he can say on the air. Keaveny does a Wednesday afternoon show on the station, in addition to a daily podcast, Shaun Keaveny’s Daily Grind for Radio X. In a recent interview with Jessie Atkinson for GQ, Keaveny discussed his latest venture:

“Daily Grind, like your former BBC Radio 6 show, is all about celebrating the mundane moments in life. What do you think the value in that is?

It goes without saying that the news cycle gets more upsetting everyday, and we don’t want to pretend stuff like that’s not happening, but we do want to look at smaller aspects of life and try and bring some pleasure out of them. It’s this lower stakes business that we’re interested in the most.

What are the pedestrian minutiae of your mornings?

I’ve got a load of kids to get out of the house, so I’ve got to get the dependents out of the way first before I can concentrate on anything else. Our youngest, she has a little owl alarm that lights up, so the first thing I always hear is her flutey little four year-old voice saying: “My owl’s awake, daddy.” The central crank of my getting out of the house and making it a good day is making stovetop coffee. And then I’m going to come to the studio…

What’s it like?

It’s a proper place. My only stipulation was the light had to be quite low. Not off but really toasty and moody like an elderly gentleman’s front room.

No big lights!

People think I’m mad at home; I go around flicking all the big lights off. I understand you need them in an operating theatre — you can’t have smoky lamplight when you’re having a heart bypass — but the rest of the time when you’re just sitting around having a glass of wine you’ve got to turn them off.

Do you have any middle-aged shout outs?

My life is just one long middle-aged shout out. The most obvious recent example is that almost overnight, my eyesight went shitter. The next step for me, I think, is to make the writing bigger on my iPhone. Then I’ll be in the pantheon of late middle-age.

How are you preparing for daily recording again?

I’m not good at giving up things that are bad for me. I’m not Slash in 1993 or anything, but I do like to nip out for a couple of pints here and there. Burn the candle at both ends. Stay up watching music documentaries when I should be in bed. All of that wild and crazy stuff. But in recent times, I’ve been trying to save up my energy a bit because I can instinctually tell that the next few weeks and months are going to be an onslaught.

What will you be drinking while recording?

I’ve got to be careful that I mitigate and limit the amount of caffeine that I drink because otherwise it could be very destructive to my career. But the problem is that I’ve got no willpower at all and the other problem is that there’s a decent coffee machine next door with the Clooney-style pods.

What music have you been listening to lately?

On Community Garden Radio I choose an hour’s worth of music. We just played a fantastic young artist called Lola Young. Glass Beams are really good, and the new Stones album is bloody good, too. People like Young Fathers blew me away at Glastonbury. CMAT: she’s absolutely fantastic as well.

Is there anything you’re convinced people are just pretending to like?

The latter albums of Bob Dylan. And cold brew coffee: I’ll never understand that.

Hopefully you won’t be on a similar list for too many people.

I think sometimes you’ve got to keep doing something until either people accept and enjoy it or leave it and move onto something else”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne (centre) photoed with Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

I have the utmost respect for broadcasters who have been where they are for years. Some of my absolute favourites – from Chris Hawkins, Lauren Laverne, Shaun Keaveny, Steve Lamacq, Annie Nightingale, and Zoe Ball – have been in the industry for decades. Radio seems to have this allure that makes it near-impossible to say goodbye to step away from! I think it is the endurance that these broadcaster have that amazes me the most. In a role that is tiring and takes up a lot of your time, they remain there. Always committed to their craft and audience! It is that knowledge that there is a loyal audience listening to them that fuels them. Unlike most professions, you get that direct connection with the audience. I think it is that chance to bring new music to people. The thrill of uncovering a small band who will then go on to be a big thing. Maybe, as Steve Lamacq has said, that band might not go anywhere. That does not mean they are no good. They mean something to someone! We get the impression that music discovery and radio is about the big artists. A lot of it is about the underground sounds. Catching an artist in their first phases. It seems almost like a duty. I can understand why it is so hard to step away from that! I wanted to salute the brilliant Steve Lamacq and his tireless service to radio. I also wanted to nod to some of the country’s most respected broadcasters and the years they have already committed to radio. We offer huge thanks to these amazing broadcaster who…

MEAN so much to us.

Sam Liddicott