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the WHOLE story

To explain how ‘The Golden Jukebox’ came about, I must go back to 1989, when I was about to take on the post of Music Director for BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) in Hong Kong.

When I arrived, I was informed that BFBS Hong Kong was to trial a brand-new music scheduling system called Selector. Capital Radio in London was already using this system, and the Programme Controller for Capital had convinced our Programme Director in Hong Kong that it was the future for all radio stations.

I feared that radio would lose its beating heart, which were the presenters.

Many, including me, got into radio because we were passionate about music, and being creative. We were involved in music meetings to decide what new songs would go on the playlist and were made to feel that we played a particularly important role in the station.

The Music Director would always have the casting vote, and he or she would have a rotation system for the playlist which all presenters would adhere to, but everything thing else would be a free choice. This gave us the ability to put our own mark on our programmes, and to be creative.

The advent of Selector programming removed all of that. 

Fast forward to the present. The UK Local Commercial stations, as we knew them, have all but disappeared....with many of today's stations playing the same 250 songs over and over again,

The only option left for me was to develop my own project, doing radio again like it used to be.

I love so many different types of music, and I have a vintage Wurlitzer 1700 Jukebox first produced in the year I was born – 1954!

So, why not call it the ‘The Golden Jukebox’, where I can play my favourite music from the 50’s to the 90’s.

I have a singles collection numbering about 8000 records, and thousands of CD’s, so plenty to choose from.

So far, three stations (details are on the Station List page) have agreed to take my show and I hope to increase that number over the coming year. Watch this space!

It’s great to be back doing radio like it used to be, with total creative freedom.

 

So there you have it............

Welcome to ‘The Golden Jukebox’.

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