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Heritage Stations: (Part 3) A Boom in quality over quantity.

  • Writer: SafeHouse Productions
    SafeHouse Productions
  • Jun 11
  • 2 min read

By Paul Dempsey


My wife will never agree. Come to think of it several of my closest friends will never agree but Radio’s future, for my generation and the more open minded amongst the general population, lies in the past. To be more exact in Radio’s past. Just when I thought I couldn’t listen to Karma Chameleon orParklife one more time I discovered Boom Radio. It was a serendipitous moment whilst listening to BBC Radio 4 (I know, the irony!) The Media Show was interviewing to stalwarts of radio, both semi-retired. Phil Riley and David Lloyd, two radio executives with lengthy careers in commercial radio, who felt there was a gap in the market for a station aimed at the baby boomer generation, which they felt was being overlooked by other stations. Hence the name. They set about producing content for those potentially 14 million people born between 1946-1964.


Now this is where it gets interesting. The station went from 226,000 listeners in 2023 to over 600,000 listeners in about 18 months. They hired old hands, presenters steeped in pop history, legends of the rich hinterland of radio broadcasting. Simon Bates, David Hamilton, Roger Dene and many others present programmes on the network. But the actual proof of the pudding is in the quality of the music. Their playlist can delight, surprise, unlock times, places and people half remembered. And yes, at times, cause you to involuntarily shudder at some half-baked nonsense from anywhere betweenthe late 1950s to 2000. They do not completely eschew new releases, and each programme will be truly eclectic. Therefore, we get ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ rather than Help!Or ‘I die You Die’ rather than ‘Are Friends Electric?,’ ‘The Tiger’ rather than ‘Dancing Queen’. I’m sure you get the picture.


The shows are full of surprises most good and some not so – but in truth I’d rather that than hear ‘Material Girl’ for the sixth time in three weeks. Where Boom absolutely smashes it though is in the brilliant vintage chart show which covers two years in a particular week. Hosted until his death in June 2025 by John Peters. An unbridled treat even when the chart has Donny Osmond, Brotherhood of Man – why? Because Bowie will pop up with a banger. I am an avid consumer of the station and count myself lucky to have discovered the station.

 
 
 

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