The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

It's the BBC’s 99th birthday! Well it was on the day this episode landed. So for episode 37, here’s the podcast’s story so far...   Between season 2 (covering the BBC in 1922) and season 3 (the BBC in 1923), we’re on a run of specials. So here we summarise EVERYTHING we’ve learned so far. 36 episodes condensed into one.   Condensed, yet also extended - because we recorded a shorter version of this episode for The History of England Podcast. So to lure in folks who’ve heard that already, I’ve added a ton of new stuff, including some brand new bits. By which I mean, very old bits. As well as hearing the voices of: First teenager to listen to the radio in his bedroom GuglielmoMarconi First major broadcast engineer Captain HJ Round First voice of the BBC Arthur Burrows First regular broadcaster Peter Eckersley First slightly terrifying boss John Reith …You’ll now also hear from: First broadcast singer Winifred Sayer First BBC pianist Maurice Cole (the most wonderful accent, “off" = "orff") First BBC singer Leonard Hawke (although WE know from episode 28 that the Birmingham and Manchester stations broadcast music the day before - but the BBC didn't know that) That's a lot of firsts. Plus more recent voices - hear from these marvellous experts: Professor Gabriele Balbi of USI Switzerland Marconi historian Tim Wander (buy his book From Marconi to Melba) Radio historian Gordon Bathgate (buy his book Radio Broadcasting: A History of the Airwaves)   SHOWNOTES: This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and dogsbodied by Paul Kerensa You can email me to add something to the show. eg. Send your ‘Firsthand Memories’ - in text form, a time you’ve seen radio or TV being broadcast before your eyes: a studio, an outside broadcast - what were your behind-the-scenes insights? Or record your ‘Airwave Memories’ (AM) - a voice memo of 1-2mins of your earliest memories hearing/seeing radio/TV. Be on the podcast! My new one-man play The First Broadcast is now booking for dates in 2022. Got a venue? Book me for your place. Here's one - The Museum of Comedy. Join me, in April or in November on the very date of the BBC's 100th birthday! Thanks for joining us on Patreon if you do - or if you might! It supports the show, keeps it running, keeps me in books, which I then devour and add it all to the mixing-pot of research for this podcast. In return, I give you video, audio, advance writings, an occasional reading from C.A. Lewis' 1924 book Broadcasting From Within etc. Thanks if you've ever bought me a coffee at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. Again, it all helps keep us afloat. Like our British Broadcasting Facebook page, or better still, join our British Broadcasting Century Facebook group where you can share your favourite old broadcasting things. Follow us on Twitter  if you’re on the ol’ Twits. I have another podcast of interviews, A Paul Kerensa Podcast, inc Miranda Hart, Tim Vine, Rev Richard Coles and many more. Give us a listen! Please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  My mailing list is here - sign up for updates on all I do, writing, teaching writing, stand-up, radio etc. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops, inc Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Coming in 2022: a novel on all this radio malarkey. Archive clips are either public domain or used with kind permission from the BBC, copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Oh yes they are. Next time: What Marconi Thought of Broadcasting - plus 1920s adverts, voiced by listeners...       APPROX TRANSCRIPT:   Marconi himself appeared on the BBC in 1936, playing himself in a reconstruction of when he first sent Morse code across the Atlantic in 1901...   Those are Marconi’s last recorded words before he died, there with his assistants Pagett and Kemp, though

1922 (and season 2 of the podcast) closes with, you guessed it, New Year's Eve. But this one's special. For the first time, Brits don't need to go out to celebrate. They can stay home and listen to the wireless: concerts, dance music, no Big Ben's bongs yet (the only BBC New Year without them)... and a preach from Rev Archibald Fleming. We bring you all this - including the voice of Rev Fleming himself, along with Reith, some newspaper cuttings of the day, and everything you never knew you needed to know about December 31st 1922 on the air. Plus a guest! BBC producer and presenter Paul Hayes has written a new book on the birth of the modern Doctor Who. We talk about The Long Game - 1996-2003: The Inside Story of How the BBC Brought Back Doctor Who. Get your copy by clicking that link, from Ten Acre Films publishing. Paul also tells us about his radio documentaries, Eric Maschwitz, John Snagge, Emperor Rosko (who you can hear on our early episodes) and lots more. A huge thanks to Andrew Barker for being our Newspaper Detective again and finding the listings in this episode. This may be the end of season 2, but the specials begin very soon, then very soon we'll be embarking on 1923: the year that made the BBC. So stay subscribed for more of this, and see below for transcript and shownotes. Thanks for listening!   SHOWNOTES: This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and corralled by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history. Your contributions are welcome. My new one-man play The First Broadcast is now booking for dates in 2022. Got a venue? Book me for your place. Here's one - The Museum of Comedy. Join me, in April or in November on the very date of the BBC's 100th birthday! Thanks for joining us on Patreon if you do - or if you might! It supports the show, keeps it running, keeps me in books, which I then devour and add it all to the mixing-pot of research for this podcast. In return, I give you video, audio, advance writings, an occasional reading from C.A. Lewis' 1924 book Broadcasting From Within etc. Thanks if you've ever bought me a coffee at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. Again, it all helps keep us afloat. We talk about the Doctor Who memos on the podcast this time. The reports in 1962 on a possible sci-fi show. Want to read them? Here they are! Five reports - just scroll down to 'Doctor Who'. Fascinating reading. We post more interesting links like that in our British Broadcasting Century Facebook group. Join us there! I post similar things on Twitter too - The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews is A Paul Kerensa Podcast. Have a listen! Please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  My mailing list is here - sign up for updates on all I do, writing, teaching writing, stand-up, radio etc. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops, inc Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Coming in 2022: a novel on all this radio malarkey. And don't forget Paul Hayes' book The Long Game - 1996-2003: The Inside Story of How the BBC Brought Back Doctor Who is available now. Archive clips are either public domain or used with kind permission from the BBC, copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.   APPROXIMATE TRANSCRIPT: Previously on the podcast... 1922, what a year! In January, PostGen Mr Kellaway announces he’ll allow 15min of speech and music alongside 15min of Morse, from just one station, and only to calibrate wireless sets. In February, 2MT Writtle goes on the air, with that weekly 30min transmission, again, just for calibration purposes. Yeah right. In March, Peter Eckersley seizes the mic on 2MT Writtle, and wins over the hearts and minds, but mainly ears of the nation In April, Reith leaves Scotland

December 29th-30th 1922: General Manager John Reith begins work! The good ship Broadcasting finally gets its captain. On Episode 35 of The British Broadcasting Century, we bring you the complete tale of not only Reith's first day - the liftsman, the lone office, the "Dr Livingstone, I presume" moment - but also his commute to work, from Scotland to London via Newcastle. Here he investigates/interviews/interrogates poor Tom Payne, director of Newcastle 5NO, a BBC station that's only five days old, temporarily running from the back of a lorry in a stable-yard. We'll hear from Reith, Payne (who claims to be the only person to bank-roll a British radio station), Birmingham director Percy Edgar, early BBC governor Mary Agnes Hamitlon. Plus we'll hear from Mark Carter of BBC Radio Sussex, BBC Radio Surrey, Susy Radio, Wey Valley Radio, across which he's been presenter, producer and now Executive Editor. There's also a treasure trove of radio memoribilia including 'the green book' of what you can and can't say on the radio - in 1948 - courtesy of the collection of former BBC Head of Heritage Justin Phillips. We're ever so grateful to his family for sharing that with us.   SHOWNOTES: This episode leans on several books, the chief of which is probably Garry Alligan's 1938 book Sir John Reith, but also Asa Briggs' various books, Brian Hennessy's The Emergence of Broadcasting in Britain, and The Reith Diaries edited by Charles Stuart. Plus about a dozen others.  Join us on Patreon for a tour of my radio history bookshelf, plus extras, audio, video, an occasional reading from C.A. Lewis' 1924 book Broadcasting From Within, plus the glowing feeling of supporting this podcast. Thanks to all who support us there and keep us ticking over. For a one-off contribution, you could buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. Thanks! It all helps keep us afloat. This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and corralled by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history. Your contributions are welcome. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Join us there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Join us there too. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Join us there three. My other podcast of interviews is A Paul Kerensa Podcast. Have a listen! My mailing list is here - sign up for updates on all I do, writing, teaching writing, stand-up, radio etc. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops, inc Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Coming in 2022: a novel on all this radio malarkey. Archive clips are either public domain or used with kind permission from the BBC, copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.      APPROXIMATE TRANSCRIPT: Previously on the BBCentury...   The 6-week-old BBC now has 4 plucky stations! Yes, the Geordies have joined the Cockneys the Brummies and the Mancunians... Except 5NO Newcastle has had a few teething troubles. No one there’s run a radio station before! So on Christmas Eve Eve 1922, their first is broadcast from the back of a lorry in a stableyard.   But fear not, with Christmas behind us, Head Office are on the case! And the BBC’s first and only General Manager John Reith is well-rested, he’s even asked a friend what broadcasting is, and he reckons he’s ok to take control. He’s always liked fishing. That’s what broadcasting is... isn’t it?   THIS TIME... Still puzzling out what his job is, John Reith begins work! We’ve got all the info on his legendary first day, his ‘Dr Livingstone I presume’ moment... and his first task of running the Beeb: fixing Newcastle. He seeks to inform, educate and entertain, but first troubleshoot.   Plus bang up to date, we’ll h

It's Christmas! (Well not now, it's Sept 2021 as I write/record this, but it was Christmas, in 1922.) Time for a 4th BBC station... the first to be constructed from scratch under the BBC banner. Hear the voices and the troubled tale of Newcastle 5NO's shaky start, on the back of a lorry in a stableyard. Plus we'll see what 5IT Birmingham and 2ZY Manchester looked like six weeks into the BBC's being. So we'll hear from original BBC pioneers like Percy Edgar, Victor Smythe and Tom Payne as they tell us all about it. We've also got an Airwave Memory from Leila Johnston, aka The Punk Hotelier. New this time, below, a transcript. Of sorts...   SHOWNOTES: We mention Paul Hayes' marvellous documentary on BBC Radio Norfolk, on Nexus: Norfolk's Forgotten TV Station. Dead Girls Tell No Tales is the dramatisation of ITV's launch night vs The Archers special. The full Amateur Wireless article from Dec 30th 1922, on the Manchester Broadcasting Station in all its technical geekery, is here on our Facebook group. Do join it and join us! Join us on Patreon for extras, behind-the-scenes things, bonus video and audio, and the British Broadcasting Century Book Club, where I'm currently reading at you Broadcasting From Within by C.A. Lewis. And thanks to all who support us there, keeping us ticking over. For a one-off contribution, buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa? Thanks! It all helps keep us (me) in books and caffeine. This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and corralled by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history. Your contributions are welcome. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews is A Paul Kerensa Podcast. Have a listen! My mailing list is here - sign up for updates on all I do, writing, teaching writing, stand-up, radio etc. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops, inc Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Ho ho ho. Archive clips are either public domain or used with kind permission from the BBC, copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Alright? Sreserved. Please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: Reith begins!   =======   Now, we've never done a transcript before. But then I just thought... I have oodles of notes each episode, so why not just post that? It's 80% of the podcast right here. So transcript fans, read on for essentially the podcast in text form (without the articles and guest bits)   LOOSE TRANSCRIPT (it's loose, so excuse spelling errors or weird word clangs): Previously on the podcast... Christmas 1922, and the BBC has been on the air for 6 weeks, in London, Birmingham and Manchester. But when the govt agreed this BBCo could exist, the deal wasn’t for 3 stations that already existed, but for 8! All across Blighty. So where the blazes are they? Isn’t it time for a new pop-up radio station to, well, pop up? Wouldn’t that be the best Christmas present a Geordie radio listener could ask for?   This time... Let it 5NO, let it 5NO, let it 5NO! Newcastle 5NO joins the airwaves, in time for Christmas? Just. Maybe. Plus behind-the-scenes at 5IT Birmingham and 2ZY Manchester as we tune into Christmas 1922 – AND hear the voices of the three wise station directors of the BBC’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th stations. Christmas Eve 1922 is where we find ourselves this episode, which is why we’ve broken out the jingling bells in our backing music! So whether it’s Christmas or not, hop on our time-sleigh set for 99 years ago – Christmas in Newcastle! On the British Broadcasting Century...   TITLES   Hullo hullo, P

Our story of early British broadcasting reaches the week before Christmas 1922. The BBC staff of four have found Savoy Hill, made an offer, but for now have one room at GEC's Magnet House lined up for the first few months of 1923. But while Reith goes off on his hols, and Major Anderson the secretary puzzles out the new BBC accounts (see last episode), the other two head office staff won't wait for a Head Office, because they're still broadcasting down the road at Marconi House... Arthur Burrows as Uncle Arthur and Cecil Lewis as Uncle Caractacus. Here we meet other broadcasters, including the first couple of the BBC, L Stanton Jeffries (Uncle Jeff) and Vivienne Chatterton (not an official radio 'Auntie', even though she was second voice on London's first Children's Hour - AND married to an 'Uncle'). Married in 1921, on air in December 1922, you'll hear their voices from years later. Plus we have reminiscences from Harold Bishop, Cecil Lewis and Arthur Burrows, and press cuttings of the day courtesy of our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker. There's also the return of our AMs and FMs - Airwave Memories and Firsthand Memories. Send us yours, in word form or voice form via an emailed Voice Memo to paul at paulkerensa dot com. That's what Poppy did, and she brings her tale of trying to Michael Bentine back on air. Poppy's podcast is confessionsofaclosetromantic.com. This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and corralled by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history. Your contributions are welcome. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - discover extra things there, including our new British Broadcasting Century Book Club, where I read and explain/interrupt Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, from 1924. You can hear Cecil Lewis' voice on this podcast. THANK YOU if you support us there, or with one-off chip-in tips at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and the latest episode there is the FULL chat with Gareth Jones, who appeared on this podcast some episodes ago, with tales of children's broadcasting in the 1990s, ITV companies, and his wonder for all things science. Have a listen! And subscribe there for more like that. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Archive clips are either public domain or the BBC's or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: All I want for Christmas 1922 is a new radio station: Newcastle 5NO is born! Just.

December 22nd 1922: The Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee writes to the Postmaster General urging him to address the licence fee problem. "Listeners-in" are already dodging the tariffs... and John Reith hasn't even started yet! Here on episode 32, aka season 2 episode 5, we look at the problems facing the pre-Reith BBC with regard to income. Gladly a hundred years later, the BBC has solved that licence fee problem... er... nearly. And the return of radio reverend Cindy Kent, with tales of commercial radio, announcing celebrity deaths and the joys of pandemic Poirot. Plus we have news of a meet-up! May 22nd-ish 2022 - Writtle, Essex. More info soon. AND radio historian Alan Stafford plays us on his piano one of the earliest songs about radio: Ernest Longstaffe's 'Everybody's List'ning In'. We are a one-man band - we're NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - this podcast is entirely run by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history, offer any correspondence, or send us a short audio clip of your earliest broadcasting memories (not as old as 1922, don't worry) for inclusion on a future episode. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - if you'd like to join this growing band of marvellous people, I upload extra things there, about half of which are to do with this podcast and radio history (the latest of which is a reading of Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, in 1924), and about half of which are general comedy/writing things more like to the weekly Facebook Live I do. Join us on Patreon, and keep us in books and web hosting. It all helps keep us making episodes - we'd genuinely have stopped by now if no one had! So THANK YOU. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Archive clips are either public domain or the BBC's or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: The staff grows! We look at Marconi House in late December 1922, with the first couple of the BBC. Aw... Subscribe / share / thanks! Closing down now, closing down.

Season 2 Episode 4 (aka Episode 31 in total) flashes us back to Arthur Burrows' pre-BBC days, and brings us to December 17th-20th 1922, when 4/5 of the BBC workforce (ie. 4 people of the 5) tour central London searching for a building. They can use Magnet House for now, on loan from General Electric, but after that, where? After deciding against a gold-flatting mill (now a Gym Box), they discover a nice little premises on Savoy Hill. But before that, Arthur Burrows shows John Reith the ropes, via a chart, of everything this new BBC will need, from engineers to commissionaires a lady's assistant. Reith is still baffled. But before THAT - several years before that - Burrows was the lone voice trying to convince the Marconi Company that broadcasting was a Good Thing. The Marconi bosses didn't agree. Our special guest knows all about this: Professor Gabriele Balbi, Associate Professor of Media Studies at USI in Switzerland, has written a paper called 'Wireless’ Critical Flaw: The Marconi Company, Corporation Mentalities and the Broadcasting Option'. He fills in Burrows' back-story, explains how several voices can be heard within a company's culture, and is a lone voice in academia too, suggesting that the Marconi Company still didn't get behind broadcasting even when the Melba concerts showed it was possible. Even then, he argues, the transmissions were just to show home-users that wireless communication was easy. So perhaps when Burrows was explaining to Reith everything about broadcasting, he was STILL fighting the corner for his vision of what radio was, and could be. And broadcasting has clearly reached its pinnacle in this podcast, so thank you for supporting it... We are a one-man band - we're NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - this podcast is entirely run by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history, offer any correspondence, or send us a short audio clip of your earliest broadcasting memories (not as old as 1922, don't worry) for inclusion on a future episode. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - if you'd like to join this growing band of marvellous people, I upload extra things there, about half of which are to do with this podcast and radio history (the latest of which is a reading of Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, in 1924), and about half of which are general comedy/writing things more like to the weekly Facebook Live I do. Join us on Patreon, and keep us in books and web hosting. It all helps keep us making episodes - we'd genuinely have stopped by now if no one had! So THANK YOU. I guest-presented an episode for The History of England podcast. Hear it here! It's essentially the entire first season of this podcast, squidged into half an hour. (If it vanishes from their feed, we'll be posting it as a special episode on this podcast in a few months' time). 30,000 people have heard that episode now - 100 times the listenership of our episodes here! So welcome if you've joined us from there... The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Memos included in this episode are BBC copyright content, reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation, all rights reserved. Archive clips are either public domain or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and k

"I had little idea what broadcasting was." So said John Reith after his job interview to become General Manager of the brand new BBC. On this exciting episode, meet your first General Manager (Reith), Director of Programmes (Arthur Burrows v Cecil Lewis - who'll get the job?), Secretary (Major Anderson beats 245 others to it, but doesn't last six months) and Chief Engineer (R.H. White - nothing to do with the lemonade - he's appointed but doesn't last the weekend...). Spanning December 7th-16th 1922, we've got the nerves, the prayers, the interviews, the winks, the nudges, the near-misses (discover who turned down the top job before it was offered to Reith - how different it could have been...) and the programmes. You'll hear Charles Penrose's The Laughing Policeman, Peter Eckersley spoofing the chimes, A.E. Thompson literally nailing down where the police band sit... plus complaints, correspondence and memos about the broadcasts one month into the BBC's being. Our special guest is 'Diddy' David Hamilton (who was not one of the first staff, to clarify our episode title). David's a delight, and brings tales of playing Elvis to Elvis, introducing the Beatles and the Stones, and his latest radio home, Boom Radio.   LINKS FOR YOUR CLICKING PLEASURE: Watch the full David Hamilton interview, including his face, my face + audio from a future episode, here on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47583443. You'll need to sign up to our Patreon, but a) you only need sign up to the minimum level to watch the video, b) you can cancel any time, and c) it all helps support this podcast and keeps us in web-hosting and books. Books like... David Hamilton's fab radio books are The Golden Days of Radio 1 and Commercial Radio Daze - recommended. I guest-presented an episode for The History of England podcast. Hear it here! It's essentially the entire first season of this podcast, squidged into half an hour. (If it vanishes from their feed, we'll be posting it as a special episode on this podcast in a few months' time). 30,000 people have heard that episode now - 100 times the listenership of our episodes here! So welcome if you've joined us from there... The Britishbroadcastingchallenge.com is on a mission to open up the future of public service broadcasting Want to hear the full version of Charles Penrose's The Laughing Policeman? Course you do... The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen.  My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Support us at patreon.com/paulkerensa or paypal.me/paulkerensa - Thanks to those who do/have/will! We're nothing to do with today's BBC - we're talking about the BBCompany, not made by or anything to with the BBCorporation. But they have loaned us the memo we read out - so that's BBC copyright content, reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation, all rights reserved. Archive clips are either public domain or someone's domain and we don't know whose. But we thank them and reiterate that all copyright belongs to them, whoever they are... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us. We are a one-man band. I mean, I am. Not we. I. Email the podcast here. Your comments are always welcome. Next time: Burrows' broadcasting company vs Marconi's messaging company. Who'll win? Both!  Subscribe to get the podcast in your in-tray. Thanks for listening! Now stand for the National Anthem.

Yellow highlighters at the ready - the listings have arrived! Except it's weeks 2 + 3 of the BBC, back in Nov/Dec 1922, and the Radio Times is nearly a year away. So how do we know what's on the wireless? And is it called radio yet? A few trusty local newspapers printed a few listings - though watch this space, as they'll decide differently in a few episodes time. From The Pall Mall Gazette to The Derby Daily Telegraph, we've cobbled together the first BBC listings, thanks to our newspaper detective Andrew Barker. Plus a few memos read by the early BBC staff who received them, an insight into the first Children's Hour, and the debuts of comedian Norman Long and the 2LO Wireless Orchestra. There's also the return of the Parliamentary Podcast Players to shine a light on some dodgy dealing in Westminster (Government sleaze? At least that's no longer with us). It's all down to ex-Postmaster General F.G. Kellaway, who negotiated with the Marconi Company and co to help set up the BBC, now becoming a Marconi Company director. Could he have set up his own company for a windfall? We also whizz back to the Marconi Scandal of 1912, when shares were scooped up by government ministers thanks to some alleged insider dealing. Our guests are Andrew Barker and Alan Stafford (Alan's books include It's Friday, It's CRACKERJACK). Hear rare archive clips from: 2LO Musical Director Stanton Jefferies 5IT Chief Engineer A.E. Thompson 5IT Station Director Percy Edgar Comedian Helena Millais Percussionist Billy Whitlock Comedian Norman Long   And thanks to our Parliamentary Podcast Players: Mr Speaker - Wayne Clarke Captain Benn - Edi Johnston Mr Short - Lynn Robertson Hay Mr Hurd - Philip Rowe Mr Middleton - Paul Stubbs The PM Mr Bonar Law - Daniel Edison Mr Neville Chamberlain - Pete Hawkins   SHOWNOTES: Our Norman Long excerpt is from AusRadioHistorian - see his Youtube channel for hundreds more old gramophone records. We mention singer Topliss Green - you can see and hear him sing, later, in this footage from British Pathe.  The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. Paul Kerensa's other podcast of interviews, from Miranda Hart, Sally Phillips and Tim Vine (scroll way back for those) to more recent mid-pandemic catch-ups with comedians and writers, can be found here. Paul's mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with his (my) goings-on. Paul's books are available here or orderable from bookshops. The first few chapters of Paul's new historical novel on the BBC origin story - the novelisation of this podcast, pretty much - will be available soon on patreon.com/paulkerensa - and joining there also helps support this podcast...  ...or one-off tips of a few quid are most welcome at paypal.me/paulkerensa - it all keeps us (me) in web-hosting and books. The more I can research, the more complete this podcast gets.   We're unconnected to the BBC - we're talking about the BBCompany, not made by or anything to with the BBCorporation. I thank you for rating and reviewing this podcast where you found it... or liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps bump us up the social medias. Email the podcast here. Your comments are always welcome. Next time: the first four employees... including the arrival of John Reith. Subscribe to get the podcast in your in-tray. Thanks for listening! Now stand for the National Anthem.

Season 2 begins! So please welcome to the microphone: entertainment! The very first. Journey back to November 16th 1922 - Day 3 of the BBC - to meet Auntie's first entertainers. But history being history, nothing's easy... Discover why the BBC's first entertainers weren't the first after all, whether London, Birmingham or Manchester brought us the BBC's first entertainment concert - and why each of them has a claim to it. Our fabulous guest is comedian, actor, writer and professional liar Lee Mack, with tales from Not Going Out, Would I Lie To You and his earliest memories of broadcast comedy (who remembers Wait Till Your Father Gets Home?). You'll also hear rare clips of the original broadcasters (there are hardly any recordings from 1920s' broadcasts, so these are clips looking back), including Percy Edgar, Peter Eckersley, Hugh Bell, Leonard Hawke, Helena Millais, Ernie Mayne, Tommy Lorne and the Ziegeld Follies. Plus BBC Radio Norfolk's Paul Hayes brings us a follow-up from the previous Percy Edgar special, with tales of Barrie Edgar, footballing firsts and archive clips of Jimmy Jewell and Richard Dimbleby. From Billy Beer to Bobby Ball, via the first BBC song (Drake Goes West - or was it?), the first song about the BBC (Auntie Aggie of the BBC), the world's first radio song (List'ning on Some Radio) and the earliest live British TV football coverage still available (from 1949), we've compiled everything that kickstarted British broadcast entertainment.   SHOWNOTES: Read more of Billy Beer, the BBC's first comedian, written by his descendant Bill Beer. Lee Mack joined us as part of a fundraiser for a young woman called Jenny. Read more and donate here. Your host Paul contributed a guest episode to The History of England podcast - a summary of our season 1 on half an hour, via some new (old) clips. It sums up the story so far - you can hear that here from summer 2021. Paul Hayes' documentary The Lost Voice of Football can be heard here. Paul Kerensa's other podcast of interviews, from Miranda Hart, Sally Phillips and Tim Vine (scroll way back for those) to the full Gareth Jones interview, can be found here - do subscribe. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. Paul's mailing list is here. Do subscribe. Paul's books are available here or orderable from bookshops.   We're a lone operator, unconnected to the BBC - we're talking about the BBCompany, not made by the BBCorporation. We're just one person really, who you can help with the podcast via tips at paypal.me/paulkerensa... or via monthly shrapnel in exchange for extra audio/video/writings on patreon.com/paulkerensa... or via rating and reviewing this podcast where you found it... or via liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online - it all helps bump us up the social medias. Email the podcast here. Your comments are always welcome. Next time: the first listings - nearly a year before the Radio Times. Subscribe to make sure you get the podcast in your in-tray. Thanks for listening!

Ahead of season 2 (covering the first year and a bit of the BBC, from November 16th 1922 to December 31st 1923), here's a recap of season 1 - told by the people who were there: eleven broadcasting pioneers.   GUGLIELMO MARCONI: Inventor of 'wireless' H.J. ROUND: First to send speech west across the Atlantic PETER ECKERSLEY: First regular British radio broadcaster WINIFRED SAYER: First woman on the radio, first professional radio performer DAME NELLIE MELBA: First star broadcaster ARTHUR BURROWS: First voice of the BBC KENNETH WRIGHT: First director of the BBC in the North JOHN REITH: First General Manager then Director General of the BBC ERNIE MAYNE: First British novelty record about broadcasting  HELENA MILLAIS: First broadcast character comedian  A.E. THOMPSON: Second voice of the BBC + LEE MACK DAVID HAMILTON ...who are a little more recent in terms of broadcasting. Hear them on season 2 of the podcast, as we explore the first entertainers, the first staff, Magnet House, Savoy Hill, Women's Hour, the Radio Times, battles with the press and the government and much more.   As ever, we are nothing to do with the current BBC. As ever, we're on Twitter.com/bbcentury and Facebook.com/bbcentury, with a more interactive group at Facebook.com/groups/bbcentury As ever, your support at patreon.com/paulkerensa is very much appreciated. Watch the full David Hamilton video interview there, tour Paul's radio history bookshelf, and know you're helping to keep us (me - there's no one else here) making podcasts.    Stay informed/educated/entertained/subscribed.   Season 2 soon...

Percy Edgar was there right at the start of the BBC. One of the first voices, he booked the acts, managed the station, then became Director of the Midland Region. He was the most influential regional director from 1922 to 1948, far outlasting Reith and, well, every other early radio pioneer I can think of. His grandson, the playwright David Edgar, has dusted down Percy's memoir and reads it for us on this our final special. Hear all about the foggy first night, the first children's programmes (including Susan the Blue Cat with Yellow Spots), the dancer who wouldn't stop moving, Edgar's encounters with Reith, his double act with A.E. Thompson, and the involvement of Percy's son (David's father) Barrie, who helped inspire the first regular children's programme, then went on to produce Come Dancing, Songs of Praise and Muffin the Mule amongst others. Most of this episode has David read his grandfather's words, but now and then we have cameo clips from Percy Edgar and A.E. Thompson too. We are indebted to David and the Edgar family for sharing the memoir with us. You can read along in its typewritten/hand-scrawled marvellousness on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BBCentury/posts/197527178633126 While you're there, join our group facebook.com/groups/bbcentury. We're also on twitter.com/bbcentury - and our host Paul can be followed at facebook.com/paul.kerensa and twitter.com/paulkerensa We hasten to add we have no connection to the BBC - we're talking about them not with them. Even then, we're talking about the BBCompany, not the BBCorporation... yet. We'll get to how what happens in about 50 episodes' time. Thank you for supporting the podcast, either via tips at paypal.me/paulkerensa or via monthly shrapnel in exchange for extra audio/video/writings on patreon.com/paulkerensa (some are broadcasting-specific, like my video interview with Diddy David Hamilton, some are wider writings and advance articles I write elsewhere). It all helps keep us in web-hosting and books - there's no profiteering here. Your ratings/reviews really help spread word of the podcast too - we're a one-man operation. Not that dissimilar from when Percy Edgar ran the show... Enjoy the episode! The full works are at bbcentury.podbean.com

Part 2 of our parliamentary re-enactment is a dense and complex beast - but then so is Parliament. Good luck! Following last episode, we're re-enacting every political discussion on broadcasting in 1922: the year the word caught on, and the year the BBC was launched. So this episode is like listening to radio in the 1920s... expect to not get every word, but enjoy trying. You may need to tune your ears to catch what the House of Commons was echoing with a century ago.  We're between seasons, with a few specials. Here for the first time, our cast of 20 bring to life the MPs of a century ago. These are the full works, no editing to the highlights - we'll leave that for your brain to do. This episode the MPs accuse the Postmaster-General of a power-grab, over-regulation, and stopping greater discussion by scaremongering. The PMG says how awful (and dangerous) the airwaves will be if left to run wild, and defends the so-called monopoly he's put together by assembling this 'B.B.C'. The PMG is determined that only British manufacturers of wireless radios will be permitted for the first two years... but will that prevent foreign innovation? Our four debates are: July 28th 1922 - Our biggest debate, half an hour on The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904. It's under this act that the PMG has assumed control of broadcasting, and this act forms the basis of the early licences. But he's being called out - is he seizing too much control? https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-28/debates/4d8137d9-017d-494c-8eed-fb52ef2c9e27/Clause3—(CertainActsToBeContinuedTemporarily)?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-08349217-2ba4-41d0-9afd-c7f72b485063 July 31st - A snappier few questions about the Britishness of this company, concerns over forcing wireless manufacturers to join this 'combine', and whether buyers of radio sets will get a fair price: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-31/debates/b501f399-7f6c-42da-a635-64e351276ad8/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-09b16f81-a3a1-4d71-bc51-d6cef6723c6e Aug 1st - Doubts over The Marconi Company's dominance of this new B.B.C... and what's taking so long in getting this broadcasting malarkey started? https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-08-01/debates/5ac33a1e-790a-4064-ae15-a99e11698bfa/RelessBroadcasting Aug 4th - Mr Foot (Michael Foot's father) and Captain Benn (Tony Benn's father) are the main two MPs taking issue with price-fixing, the licence fee and government control of broadcasting. The PMG Mr Kellaway defends his decisions, gives his plans for eight radio stations, and offers a summary of how we've reached this point. Lastly, Captain Benn has a long rant at the PMG's attitude and actions, especially regarding overseas markets: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-08-04/debates/d3ec5956-d274-4b63-b554-f412313385bc/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-3a20aee3-3859-4068-9f77-3d62486003be The text is all courtesy of Hansard; this episode contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 (https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/).   Our cast this episode: Wayne Clarke - The Speaker of the House Cameron Potts - Capt Benn Philip Rowe - Sir William Lane-Mitchell (his podcast: The History of European Theatre) Shaun Jacques - Mr Kiley (his podcast: Tell Me A Bit About Yourself) Jack Shaw - Sir Donald Maclean (his podcast: Wrong Term Memory) Paul Hayes - Sir Douglas Newton Alan Stafford - The Deputy Chairman James Maidment-Fullard - Mr Malone Philip Corsius - Mr Hailwood and Mr Raffan Andrea Smith - Lt Comm Kenworthy David Kirkland - Mr Ashley and Mr Percy Mike Simmonds - Lt Col Murray Daniel Edison - Lt Col Ward Paul Savage - Mr Foot Lynn Robertson Hay - Lt Col Hall Paul Kerensa - The Postmaster-General Mr Kellaway ...Thanks to them all!   You can support our work at patreon.com/paulkerensa, where you'll currently find our full unedited video inter

Westminster, 1922: Parliament learns a new word, 'Broadcasting'. And they LOVE to argue about new words. In this special, our cast of 20 brings to life EVERY broadcasting debate from 1922, no matter how big or small. No editing here. On our specials we outstay our welcome and we dig a little deeper. So approach this episode as if you're tuning into the BBC Parliament channel, only it's a century ago and they're deciding if and how there should be a BBC. Some parts may be an easier listen than others. You may need to tune your ears to their 'old-fashioned Parliament' setting. But listen closely and your ears will be rewarded with never-before-heard insights into how and why we've ended up with today's broadcasting landscape: how the licence fee, protectionism, public service broadcasting, innovation, French weather reports, and so much more all jostled for attention a hundred years ago. MPs' decisions then affect us now. While the engineers and broadcasters were pioneering this new tech, Postmaster-General Frederick Kellaway adopted a strict approach. You'll hear how the chaos of America was to be avoided, but how MPs differed on whether the PMG was taking too firm a line on this fledgeling invention. We have eight debates of varying sizes to bring you - too many for one podcast, so part 2 will pick up the tale. We're grateful to our cast; in this episode you'll hear: Paul Hayes - Sir Douglas Newton Mike Simmonds - Lt Col Murray Paul Stubbs - Mr Kennedy Wayne Clarke - The Speaker of the House James Maidment-Fullard - Mr Malone Andrea Smith - Lt Comm Kenworthy Adam Hawkins - Capt Guest Paul Kerensa - Postmaster-General Mr Kellaway + Sir Henry Norman The text is all courtesy of Hansard; this episode contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 (https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/). You'll hear the following moments: The first written mention of 'broadcasting' in Parliament, April 3rd 1922, ten days after Peter Eckersley seized the mic of 2MT Writtle, starting a broadcasting craze in Britain: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-04-03/debates/5fa46744-068c-45f7-be31-daef38c64cc6/WirelessTelephony?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-54b7ff39-2321-4503-8114-4a0625d01fc4 May 4th, the first verbal mention of 'broadcasting' in Parliament: https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1922/may/04/wireless-messages-broadcasting May 23rd, a fob-off answer while the 'big six' wireless manufacturers meet to thrash it all out, settling on one British broadcasting company: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-05-23/debates/f6abd513-b5f3-41e3-902a-0a07404868dd/WirelessBroadcasting  June 16th, a reading of the Wireless Telegraphy and Signalling Bill is seen by some to be a power-grab by the Postmaster-General, but by others as a necessary part of the development broadcasting, something many MPs in the house, like Sir Douglas Newton, were keenly interested in: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-06-16/debates/4a1e7b29-0c59-4681-b86f-7acdd98a06e1/WirelessTelegraphyAndSignallingBill?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-71376b97-ca94-4d9d-938b-f6b2a727a4d6   June 28th, Parliament started looking across the Channel for what radio could do next: Weather Reports... https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-06-28/debates/d34b1736-e64e-4547-8e75-e6bfcb5bf117/WirelessTelephony(WeatherBulletin)?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-2d1571f4-9a60-45e6-b820-c3ef39ce450b July 26th, the PMG wants to keep British broadcasting British: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-26/debates/14a1dd4a-2a48-4602-87aa-450aeb2c89e1/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-f77d3eb0-a4cc-4db4-8c98-2b6cf61a94e8 Part 2 will pick up the story. Elsewhere in this episode we mention the Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame blog, re May 16th 1922's first Irish singer of the wireless: Isolde O'Farrell. Do have a read of their marvellous blo

A special minisode championing Gertrude Donisthorpe: one of the world's first female broadcasters and arguably Britain's first DJ. Yet she's hardly to be seen in any of the history books. Google her now, go on. What do you find? Radio silence. We mentioned her a couple of episodes ago but didn't even know her first name. So thanks to a tweet from Dr Elizabeth Bruton of the Science Museum, I now know what the history books and the internet at large couldn't tell me. So now I want to tell you. Gertrude Donisthorpe. This one's for you. In 1917, she was spinning discs (of a sort), announcing the hottest tracks (the valve in the radio set was quite hot anyway) and doing shout-outs for her audience (of one, her husband). Later, wireless concerts for local troops increased her (and his) audience. But I think they need a bigger audience yet. No recordings exist from back then, so all you have is my impression - but her words. Also on this episode, a sneak-peek of next episode's Parliamentary reconstruction, plus Alan Pemberton's glossary of our Captain Round episode. If you struggled with any of the old lingo last episode, Alan's here to help - here on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BBCentury/posts/246631957055981  ...which you can of course 'like', or 'join' our Facebook 'group'. We're also on Twitter and on Patreon with extra bonus things, including unedited video interviews with some of our previous guests, who you'll have heard in bitesize audio form on the podcast. Or your tips are always welcome on Paypal, to keep us in books and web-hosting. Thanks if you do! Here's a little blog post I've written about Gertrude Donisthorpe. Why? Because: see bit above about her ungooglability. If she is Britain's first DJ, and one of the first female broadcasters IN THE WORLD, she needs a bit more on the internet about her. + I mention in the episode a 1922-23 booklet written by Captain H Donisthorpe: Wireless at Home - one of the earliest books on radio, a how-to guide written before there was much to listen to. Well I couldn't resist - I found a copy online, and there's a video of me flicking through bits of it here. We're unaffiliated with the BBC - in fact we're just one person, more an I than a we - it's Paul, hello. So your help with this podcast is hugely appreciated. Tell the world! Your ratings and reviewings are most welcome, and subscribe to each episode direct to your podbox. Happy listening!   facebook.com/groups/bbcentury