Cultural Capital

Reflections on books and the arts from the New Statesman culture desk

Tom Ravenscroft's music blog

An afternoon tuned in to Britain's greatest nostalgia station.

By Tom Ravenscroft Published 27 April 2011 19:05

Angel Radio, based in Havant in Hampshire, is apparently the UK's favourite nostalgia station and is run by older people for older people. Several of the team are over 80, most are over 60 and all are volunteers. I was told about it by an 87-year-old man who seemed to have rather trustworthy tastes and so spent an afternoon while in Portsmouth tuning in.

The vast majority of the music I hadn't heard of, mainly I suspect because they only play music recorded before the 1960s and though I do have a love of early jazz and blues I am not informed enough that I could muster enough music to fill a whole station. In a constant scrabble to hear as many new things as possible you can forget that new to your ears doesn't have to mean new to the world.

I like the idea of getting excited about discovering a new record that someone else got equally excited about hearing 70 or 80 years previously. For someone who hasn't spent much time listening to old music, some of the music on Angel could turn out to sound as innovative, new and inspiring as anything you might hear on "new" music shows, such as the ones I try to put together myself each week on 6 Music.

Tom Ravenscroft's radio show is on BBC 6 Music every Friday at 9pm

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60 comments

Thu, 2011-04-28 10:04 — Herbert (not verified)

Franke Vaughan, Guy Mitchell, Ruby Murray, Dickie Valentine, David Whitfield, Michael Holliday - just a few from my Gran's record collection.

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:11 — jie4v7i14

Margaret Thatcher's favorite song, Joe Meek, you mean, Telstar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOIIaGoGqHY

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:19 — jie4v7i14

By the way, for our younger visitors, the central bit holes was to be abled to be cut out so to be played on US record players, where they had a much bigger tit in the middle on their record players, ahem!, much, much bigger.

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:28 — jie4v7i14

Another brilliant clip with the marvellous Small Faces from the 1960's, on our brit telly, enjoy,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PR6MFy9gl4

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:36 — jie4v7i14

Another simple message,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pZMoZbl20M

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:45 — jie4v7i14

How about some ancient Tom Jones - hold on to your knickers ladies, whatever you do, but that is optional, by the way...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmA-mczzN3Q

Sun, 2011-05-01 03:04 — jie4v7i14

Civil engineering,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76DwlgQXWmo

Tue, 2011-05-03 19:59 — jie4v7i14

The most brilliant US California song in time, easly, with those two godesses, Cass Elliot for her singing, and Michelle Philips for her yum-yum hippy chick looks. Michelle Philips went on to be a super-successful US yank soap actress in the 1970's and 80's, Knot Landing especially - mmmm. I like her, and Cass goes without saying,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtuwM7NBGGk

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:16 — jie4v7i14

Watched Eggheads again on brit telly the other day, and the challengers couldn't pick what in the list was UK/English folk songs that has been built up and put into a museum - heathens. So time for some folk. But struugling to remember the family though, down Sussex way?

REMEMBERED - the Coppersmith family,
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-music-mandolin-tab/the_jolly_copp...

not this, but hey,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR8Lf6qcSIo

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:19 — jie4v7i14

think I got that wrong.

Martin Carthy anyway,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLt4cPzr5ws

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:25 — jie4v7i14

BLUDDY 'ELL. The Copper family of course,
http://www.thecopperfamily.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ9-uWXU4oU

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:28 — jie4v7i14

More, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WvTuaC5_Oo

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:36 — jie4v7i14

Canada, the Northern passage.

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:41 — jie4v7i14

Elvis was fifties, really, wasn't he?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRr68WDl0vg

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:46 — jie4v7i14

Tom Jones says he was a marvellous bloke, and that my friends, is good enough for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXrT8tz5nCc

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:50 — jie4v7i14

More Tom, I did hear the screams, US republican ladies....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UxU8s7Au0A

Tue, 2011-05-03 20:55 — jie4v7i14

Latest Tom, he is getting old, oh yes, and is slowing down,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxHjNJGrUBQ

Tue, 2011-05-03 21:01 — jie4v7i14

Thanks Jon, by the way.

A song for just for you, modern world? Let's live it and try and understand it, isn't it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4eh29a_ORw

Tue, 2011-05-03 21:09 — jie4v7i14

Via Switzerland is good too, ja/qui/si/or any other language that has cash,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cRDEHnD3Bs

Mon, 2011-05-09 16:32 — jie4v7i14

Going on what he Copper family has said above, I have two true loves. I have got myself into a hopeless corner in life, unless I set up a harem and invite both.

Sounds like a line from a Copper song that does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eOc2qfxdCQ

Fri, 2011-05-06 04:24 — jie4v7i14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT5wVLxmDSk

Stange bought, it seems.

Fri, 2011-05-06 04:31 — jie4v7i14

BUT, christ knowns what France is doing with their accummalated waste, putting into ground in movable geology over the next 100,000 years?

Reprocesing could be a good trade to go into, and make it a business.

Fri, 2011-05-06 04:37 — jie4v7i14

vie fi??? Franzl,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67rc96joOz8

Fri, 2011-05-06 04:44 — jie4v7i14

By the way, there is yoddlers in Wales, not usually heard. People from long distant lands in their jeans, sorry, genes.

Fri, 2011-05-06 04:52 — jie4v7i14

The Stones Roses, "audio only",
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuPfbfJm2rc

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:00 — jie4v7i14

bluddy 'ell, mention my favotite member of Girls Aloud recently, and youtube pointed this to me in their infinite no doubt committee wisdom,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbkl-GzVYbI

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:06 — jie4v7i14

Yanks trying to be more clever than us. Who are they trying to kid? They have wasted their natural resources due to concrete brain dogma. And now they want us to lead them again.

Tools.

What do you say, angerfist?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIYt19mdVBo

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:12 — jie4v7i14

By the way, Mr Obama, or whatever name you go through in recent times, I am seriously thinking of buying one of these, rather than any company that is something US. China, the future. MG-6. you'll be impresses, brilliant driving car.
http://www.mg.co.uk/the-models/mg6.aspx

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:17 — jie4v7i14

and yanks, you can stick your post-war Dagenham patronising Fords right up your shitter, to be polite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcpmgQPFTTs

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:23 — jie4v7i14

ooow,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue8WwZkX-Ds

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:27 — jie4v7i14

testing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLglvQsVqFs

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:31 — jie4v7i14

KraftWerk, autobahn - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmBjkARRj0E

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:35 — jie4v7i14

land tracks, that some became roads, but some did not, horse or not.

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:49 — jie4v7i14

Abouvw is bluddy John early morning, Hunphries? Is it? Neither oyjer over polite brit radio channels that use BBC over polite. Grow all up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_SI_xN9-yw

Wed, 2011-04-27 21:38 — jie4v7i14

I have a load of 78's picked up from relatives, and I can say, Frank Sinatra was big in the UK 1950's. One other single that sticks in my mind is Blue Moon, not the usual song - blue moon, is you - it goes, sung by a brit group, well, not a group really, a type of local dance hall group. Haven't played the 78s for a while since the stereophone in the garage with 78rpm speed packed up a few years back.

Shirley Bassey and Matt Monroe became big in about 1960ish, and Cliff of course.

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:53 — jie4v7i14

Above is bluddy John early morning, Hunphries? Is it? Neither over polite brit radio channels that use BBC over polite. Grow all up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_SI_xN9-yw

Was it me that inserted spelling errors or...

Fri, 2011-05-06 05:59 — jie4v7i14

Back to the sixties, and yes, not fecking Cliff, the closet,
ok, yes, his mates, the pathetic bought puppet mates of his, The Shadows,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY-rPDwzM9M

Wed, 2011-04-27 21:42 — jie4v7i14

OOPS, not sterophone, stereogram I meant. A valve went on it, and couldn't be bothered to get another one, since they were bleeding expensive these days.

Fri, 2011-04-29 02:04 — jie4v7i14

Herbert - well said, and not forgetting the first oficial UK number one by Al Martino,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7CeJ43Qpk8

And here is Al again with his later hit, Spanish Eyes, in person,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enIdTGckjKs

Another, from Long John(!!!) Baldry but from the marvellous sixties,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVSgmUIlCz8

Fri, 2011-04-29 02:06 — jie4v7i14

Good link here for the number ones from 1952,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_charts_and_number-one_singles_(1952%E2%80%931969)

Fri, 2011-05-06 06:05 — jie4v7i14

I am sure Cliff will like this, and I love these two blokes, even though I am straight, honest, super honest straight, can't get enough wimmin - wet yourself Cliff,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAf0_UftBNI

Fri, 2011-04-29 02:08 — jie4v7i14

paste the end missing extension onto the end when you get there, wiki links don't always work.

Fri, 2011-05-06 06:08 — jie4v7i14

Rita from Nord Italia too, no idea what ahem!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5b_pyb1s1w

Fri, 2011-05-06 06:18 — jie4v7i14

we are dieing shitting pathetic nation that can mass produce fuck all, at the moment, we are dieing, apart from knobs that live along the Thames, until we work out to take their money over, good and proper...

Fri, 2011-04-29 02:30 — jie4v7i14

The Stargazers, with good early hammond organ, from 1953, brilliant stuff,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXU1bco_7OQ

Fri, 2011-05-06 06:23 — jie4v7i14

realize,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQxi6vZVm_c

Fri, 2011-04-29 02:34 — jie4v7i14

The marvellous Dusty Springfield in the group that really started her off, The Springfields, brilliant, just totally simply brilliant,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhF-Mqn-HEQ