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[Neil]

Nice to hear you Ken on BBC Radio 4 this morning. Bing - For One Night Only was a pleasure. In a time when I consider Bing to be a dirty word at the BBC (Sarah Kennedy getting a rollocking for slipping a Bing record into her programme was the last straw for me for Radio 2), it was good to see a full half hour to devoted to Bing so prominantly.

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks Neil, Bing isn't entirely overlooked on Radio 2, Russell Davies still plays him - and there are many local stations where he is always in demand. But most of Radio 2, I agree, are out of touch.

Thanks
Ken

[Neil]

I think Radio 2 has gone down a lot over the last few years. I sorely miss Benny Green and Alan Dell and I don't think Elaine Paige is any match for them, though Davis is a reasonable replacement for Benny Green.

As a fan of Terry Wogan I miss listening to him but I find the music does not appeal to me any more and there is little to entice me. I know it is very successful and it's me who is out of kilter, and that to maintain audiences this is the way they had to go, but it's just not for me. I liked the old Radio 2. I grew up listening to it, the days of Wogan, JY, Pete Murray's Open House, Waggoners Walk, John Dunn during the week and then Benny and Alan at the weekend. Totally at odds with the rest of my school mates who listened to radio 1 and liked pop and rock!!!! Anyway I finally ditched ship for Radio 4 about 3 years ago. The likes of Steve Wright and Chris Evans are definately not for me.

[andarno]

Ken Barnes was also featured in the recent Radio 2 four-part documentary on Dick Haymes, and had some interesting contributions to add to the story.

So, all is not lost with Radio 2 but I agree with Neil's general comments about the station. It used to be something of a musical education with knowledgeable presenters like Benny Green and John Dunn (who I particularly miss). Even the old daytime presenters like David Jacobs and Gloria Hunniford would usually play some unusual but enjoyable records.

Oh, well .........

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks,Andarno for your enthusiasm. It was a pleasure contributing to the 4-part Dick Haymes radio biography, but an even greater pleasure compiling the new 2-CD set -DICK HAYMES-THE COMPLETE CAPITOL COLLECTION.

I agree with you and with Neil that Radio Two seems to have lost its way.
Except for Russell Davies' Sunday afternoon show they seem to chasing a
new audience and forsaking lovers of quality music. I'm sure they can come up with an argument this viewpoint, but they might be well advised to at least increase the quota of classic popular music and give us a more balanced menu.

On the subject of a Fred Astaire discography, I'm not sure if one exists.
The closest I hace come to this was in laying out all of the recording dates in the EMI box set FRED ASTAIRE - THE COMPLETE LONDON SESSIONS - which constituted the beginning and the end of Fred's recording career.

Thanks for your interest

[Neil]

I think what really annoyed me was when Sarah Kennedy got a telling off a few years for slipping Bing's 'Row Row Row' in at around 6.30 one morning without her producer's permission. She was carpeted for playing records that were not appropriate by Jimmy Moir who was conroller of the station at the time. The last I heard was they intended to remove most of the 'easy listening' stuff from the network now. You only have to read other websites to see some people complaining that Sunday is a poor day on Radio 2 now, in comparison with the remainder of the week.

Oh but for the old Sunday line ups with Benny Green and Alan Dell when you really got education and entertainment together. Green's programmes were excellent for his stories of the great songwriters and his taste was perfect. He introduced me to some great music over the years. His programmes on Johnny Mercer in particular were quite excellent. Mercer's 'Run Run Run Cinderella' was one song which has stayed with me as a favourite.

[Ken Barnes]

I agree with you, Neil. Benny Green and Alan Dell left us much too soon.
Fortunately we do have Russell Davies who does keep the flag flying. But that's only one hour a week, so the original philosophy of Sundays on Radio Two is worfully off-balance.

[Ken Barnes]

You're absolutlely right, Mark. If you spread a wide enough net there is a fair bit of quality to be had and maybe we shouldn't complain quite as much as we do.

Thanks for this breath of fresh air.

Ken