RADIO ACTIVE
Formed: London, England, UK
The fucking BBC - or chiefly producers Malcolm Brown and Mike Harding - were the masterminds behind this "musical salute to Radio One's Tenth Anniversary". The rest of the ad hoc band comprised other BBC employees - Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Assistant Controller Bryant Marriott, engineer Mike Franks - and Nick Curtis, described in the same press release as "an ace session singer, who handles the vocal parts on the 'A' side. The results are awful. Even though the proceeds of the record were to go to charity, it was considered so feeble that they didn't even bother playing it, despite the press release calling it "a strong contender for chart success".
The A-Side is a naff celebration of a station that, Peelie aside, had no cred. Here's some lyrics:
Ten, ten years after
You first turned on to radio one
Ten, ten years after
We're still going strong and we're singing this song
Ten, ten years after
You came to know your favourite show
Ten, ten years after
With your top DJ and the tunes that he plays
CHORUS:
So if you love us you must join us
You must raise your glasses and cheer
Here's to the next ten years
Ten, ten years after
The kids we've known have all left home
Ten, ten years after
Our next europe's voice [??] is the junior's choice
Ten, ten years after
You're still not blue cos we're bringing to you
Fun, fun and laughter
We'll make your day the radio day
The B-Side, though, 'Alltime Needletime Loser', is a punk piss-take of some note that demonstrates just how out of touch they were with the new wave. But it's sort of enjoyable, and the singer summons up an impressive punk sneer.
So: shit A-Side, fun B-Side. A promo copy of this sold for nearly fifty quid on ebay.
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DISCOGRAPHY
Singles & Albums
Ten Years After (7", 1977)
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Links
