Paul Wotton at Hampton. Pic from PPAUK
Love Affair with Radio
by David Evans
Presenter Torbay Hospital Radio
‘With technological innovations now so frequent that we’ve hardly had time to take in the last one before the next arrives, it’s easy to forget that there was once a world without TV. Its advent, however, failed to impress my parents, who refused to have one in the house - and stuck to their guns until after I’ d left home. I didn’t care. I knew I already had something special, something I still have to this day. I had radio.
In the busy, rambling old house I grew up in, there seemed to be a radio in every room - and they were put to very good use, too. The house was always alive with music, with the occasional cricket and football commentary thrown in for some balance! My parents were broad - minded in their tastes, and though classical music was a firm favourite, my first musical memory is ‘Rubberball,’ a hit for Bobby Vee in 1961 - and one of my first memories is my mother singing along to it….’Like a Rrrruberball, you come bouncing back to me’……
Later, in the lyrics of his classic 70s hit ‘Music’, John Miles says that ‘Music is my first love, and it will be my last’. That’s exactly how I feel about music. I listen to it all day. Music makes a great day unforgettable, and a grim one bearable. Just hearing a treasured tune on the radio gives me a little thrill - especially if it’s one I haven’t heard for a while. It sounds somehow different on the radio, too - possibly the closest I get nowadays to listening on vinyl.
As the years, then the decades, rolled steadily by like ocean waves, my love affair with music evolved and deepened. Sometimes I’ d hear a song I’ d never cared for- ‘Love Shack’ by the B52s is a good example - and would realise ‘hey, that’s actually a tune’! My view of an artist can undergo a similar about - turn. This was the case with Oasis, who I dismissed in their early days - now I love them, and their later editions. In recent times, I’ve also fallen head over heels for jazz - which grabs me as a happy, carefree genre. And what more could I ask?
As much as I feel I’ve got to know my music, and love to compete (and, if possible, be victorious) in music quizzes, a few months’ volunteering for Torbay Hospital Radio has broadened my horizons enormously. I’ve realised that if I was to spend several hours researching music every day, I’ d still be on a constant learning journey. Recently, I rocked up at the studio for my show, to find myself asking ‘what on earth is that lovely tune’? It was love at first listen. This uplifting tune was a two - minute treat of a 1960’ s instrumental, ‘Soul Coaxing’, by Raymond Lefevre, who I’ d never heard of. Even better, it’s from 1968 - which, sandwiched between two years packed with epic tunes, always seemed a bit of a backwater to me.
Not any more……
Torbay Hospital Radio is on the lookout for new volunteers, in a surprising range of roles. It’s very friendly and supportive - why not come and join us? I’ m very glad I did!’
by David Evans
Presenter Torbay Hospital Radio
‘With technological innovations now so frequent that we’ve hardly had time to take in the last one before the next arrives, it’s easy to forget that there was once a world without TV. Its advent, however, failed to impress my parents, who refused to have one in the house - and stuck to their guns until after I’ d left home. I didn’t care. I knew I already had something special, something I still have to this day. I had radio.
In the busy, rambling old house I grew up in, there seemed to be a radio in every room - and they were put to very good use, too. The house was always alive with music, with the occasional cricket and football commentary thrown in for some balance! My parents were broad - minded in their tastes, and though classical music was a firm favourite, my first musical memory is ‘Rubberball,’ a hit for Bobby Vee in 1961 - and one of my first memories is my mother singing along to it….’Like a Rrrruberball, you come bouncing back to me’……
Later, in the lyrics of his classic 70s hit ‘Music’, John Miles says that ‘Music is my first love, and it will be my last’. That’s exactly how I feel about music. I listen to it all day. Music makes a great day unforgettable, and a grim one bearable. Just hearing a treasured tune on the radio gives me a little thrill - especially if it’s one I haven’t heard for a while. It sounds somehow different on the radio, too - possibly the closest I get nowadays to listening on vinyl.
As the years, then the decades, rolled steadily by like ocean waves, my love affair with music evolved and deepened. Sometimes I’ d hear a song I’ d never cared for- ‘Love Shack’ by the B52s is a good example - and would realise ‘hey, that’s actually a tune’! My view of an artist can undergo a similar about - turn. This was the case with Oasis, who I dismissed in their early days - now I love them, and their later editions. In recent times, I’ve also fallen head over heels for jazz - which grabs me as a happy, carefree genre. And what more could I ask?
As much as I feel I’ve got to know my music, and love to compete (and, if possible, be victorious) in music quizzes, a few months’ volunteering for Torbay Hospital Radio has broadened my horizons enormously. I’ve realised that if I was to spend several hours researching music every day, I’ d still be on a constant learning journey. Recently, I rocked up at the studio for my show, to find myself asking ‘what on earth is that lovely tune’? It was love at first listen. This uplifting tune was a two - minute treat of a 1960’ s instrumental, ‘Soul Coaxing’, by Raymond Lefevre, who I’ d never heard of. Even better, it’s from 1968 - which, sandwiched between two years packed with epic tunes, always seemed a bit of a backwater to me.
Not any more……
Torbay Hospital Radio is on the lookout for new volunteers, in a surprising range of roles. It’s very friendly and supportive - why not come and join us? I’ m very glad I did!’
