As I write, I am currently putting together this week’s show which is my next Decades Night: A Seventies Spectacular. Choosing the music each week is where the creativity really comes in to its own on my show!
The way I put together my shows has always been inspired by the radio DJs I enjoy listening to. An avid Radio 2 listener since the age of about 9 or 10, Johnnie Walker and Terry Wogan were my favourite broadcasters, back in the day.
Talking of Radio 2…
Radio 2 is in the headlines at the moment, following the sudden dismissal of Breakfast presenter Scott Mills. A shock for all I think – no one saw it coming. I do wonder who will take over. Wogan – Evans – Ball – Mills – And now who? Radio 2 Breakfast doesn’t change hands terribly often.
I’ve been enjoying Gary Davies the last few weeks, but I doubt he’ll get the gig full time. My money is on Sara Cox or Vernon Kay. I’d quite like Mark Goodier too – although realistically I would expect Radio 2 to skew Breakfast slightly younger than the core audience, to pick up listeners from the older end of Radio 1, so he’s probably not the right fit at the moment.
I posted last month about using AI to shape my show. After Scott Mills hit the headlines I jumped straight back in to the AI music composition system I use and edited his jingle – swapping his name for mine. I then sent it to a couple of friends saying I had ‘worked out who should replace Scott Mills‘ – a pipe dream of course… but it worked really well!
Too well in fact, so then I thought “I wonder what happens if I change all the other Radio 2 jingles”. I then spent, probably far too long, making my very own Radio 2 jingles – and then I totally reimagined Radio 2’s jingles: rewriting the lyrics completely, to work with the shows I present at the moment. (I’ve even played one or two on air….just to see if anyone would notice!)
Choosing the Music
But beyond the fun of that, it actually says quite a lot about how I think about radio – and how I choose the music for my own shows.
The simple ethos of my show is: An eclectic music mix with something for everyone. I love a wide range of music. Country, Folk, Jazz, Blues, 60s & 70s Classic Pop & Rock, and current chart hits – alongside international tunes from Greece, Germany, Belgium, France, and beyond!
Building the perfect show is not about playing every single genre, just to tick a box. From my point of view I am picking songs based on what fits. I try to avoid grouping together all the Country songs in one go, followed by all the Jazz songs. I mix them all up – and decide, based on listening to the songs, what I think works. If a jazz song works next to a rock song, great. If not, I’ll put two or three between them to ease that transition.
I don’t like to always play the “obvious” song choices. Instead of playing ABBA’s Dancing Queen, I might go in search of a less well known song of theirs (but Dancing Queen is in my 70s Night tomorrow). At other times, the obvious song choices are the best choices.
It is about finding that balance: I don’t want to put the listener off because the song choices are too niche – but equally, I want to add a level of interest. If only the well known obvious song choices were played…you might as well stick on a Spotify playlist!
I often think of my show as being like a journey. The opening song – hooks the listener in. I like a strong song which persuades the listener to stay listening throughout. As I build my show ahead of transmission, I’m thinking ahead to ‘what direction will the show head after this?’ A change of pace, of energy – a break for news – a feature (such as ‘A Song for My Best Friend’ or ‘Country Crossover’): Sometimes I’ll choose songs which contrast, but also compliment, what is played around them.
I am constantly tweaking my playlist right up until the point when I hit play. Sometimes, I find I’ve squeezed in too much so I have to choose, in the spur of the moment, which songs get cut and which ones stay. Sometimes, as the show is going out, I’ll realise I want to take things in a different direction so I might swap songs about or re-order as I go.
In some ways, a live music radio show, is a living and breathing being.
I find choosing the music one of the most enjoyable parts of prep for a live broadcast. Headphones on, volume up, and listen along…. I go in to my own little world!
Every show ends up a little bit different, even if the basic idea starts in the same place every week. That is part of what I enjoy about it: No two playlists ever quite come together in the same way. It is not just about the songs themselves, but how they fit, how they flow, and how they feel in that moment. That’s what makes it radio.
FH.
