Classic Hits Forest Radio

50 Years Strong… and Now an Award to Match

Sat, 02 May 2026 09:08:26 GMT

We’ve Got Some News… And It’s Pretty Special

 We’re absolutely buzzing to share this one…

Forest Radio has been awarded Epping Town Council’s Community Award ��

Not bad for a team that started out broadcasting to hospital beds back in 1976.

From Hospital Wards to 30,000 Listeners a Week

What began as a small, volunteer-run hospital radio service has grown into something much bigger than we ever imagined.

Today, Forest Radio reaches over 30,000 listeners online every week, bringing you:

�� Classic hits you actually want to hear
�� Local news via Everything Epping Forest
�� Health and wellbeing content that genuinely helps

And the best part? It’s all still powered by volunteers who simply care about the community.

Our Big Year Just Got Bigger

If that wasn’t enough, this year already had a pretty major moment…

In February, we officially launched Classic Hits Forest Radio on DAB ��

That means you can now tune in across:

Epping
Harlow
Bishop’s Stortford
And surrounding areas

The launch was led by Town Mayor Councillor Janet Whitehouse and marked a huge step forward, as we joined the Xtra DAB multiplex alongside a range of other brilliant stations across east Herts and west Essex.

Collecting the Award

Then Epping Town Council decide that we should be this year's recipient of the Community Award.

Our trustees, Deborah Smart and Mark Wilson-Brown, picked up the award at the annual civic reception at Epping Hall. Deborah summed it up perfectly:

“Receiving this award is truly an honour, and it is particularly special for us to be recognised in our 50th anniversary year. At the heart of Radio Forest is our mission to serve, inform and entertain, and this award reflects the positive impact we continue to make in the lives of local people.”

This One Belongs to the Team (and You)

Awards like this don’t just happen. They’re built on:

every volunteer who gives up their time
every presenter behind the mic
every person working quietly behind the scenes
and every single listener who tunes in

So whether you’ve been with us for years or just discovered us on DAB… thank you. You’re part of this story too.

What’s Next?

Honestly? More of the same… just bigger, better, and reaching even more people.

We’re proud of where we’ve come from, but we’re even more excited about where we’re going.

And if this award is anything to go by… we’re heading in the right direction ��

Feel Good with Forest Radio

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 10:26:40 GMT

Our Feel Good Team is made up of staff from Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) and Classic Hits Forest Radio who have worked collaboratively to bring this project together.

EPUT West Essex Integrated Community Physical and Mental Health teams joined together to develop a range of helpful soundbites to advise and support health promotion strategies for listeners.

The Feel Good team invite you to tune in to Classic Hits Forest Radio for regular Feel Good information on how to make small changes that could have a big impact on your mind, body and spirit. We hope you enjoy listening.

For more information on our Feel Good soundbites please click on the links below.

Advice on all NHS services, self-help guides for better health and links to other health organisations please visit the NHS website www.nhs.uk

For information about EPUT services please visit the EPUT website www.eput.nhs.uk

For information regarding mental health and helpful resources please visit the MIND website www.mind.org.uk

For information and advice for people worried about their memory please visit the Alzheimer’s Society website www.alzheimers.org.uk

Frontline is an online and app based resource that holds information about local resources, groups and support in the local area essexfrontline.org.uk

Information related to planning for the future

Writing a Will

Making a will: Write your will - GOV.UK

Lasting Power of Attorney

Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney: Overview - GOV.UK

Organ Donation

Home - NHS Organ Donation

What type of Funeral would I want?

Types of Funeral | Funeral Service Options | Dignity Funerals

Explore and Compare the Different Types of Funeral Ceremonies

What is end of life care?

What is end of life care? Support in the last year of life | Marie Curie

Macmillan Support

Cancer support services - Herts and West Essex ICS

Cancer information and support - Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Macmillan Cancer Support | The UK's leading cancer care charity

Dying Matters Awareness

Dying Matters | Hospice UK

Advance Care Planning

NHS England » Universal Principles for Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Welcome to the Advance Care Plan resource for England & Wales - Advance Care Plan

Planning for your future Care

EoLC-Planning-for-your-future-care.pd f

All about Epping

There are also some other links below that are more local to the Epping area.

Youth Activity - https://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/community/youth-projects/

Digital Inclusion Programme - https://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/community/digital-inclusion/

What’s on activity brochure - https://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/leisure/whats-on/

Community Bulletin Board

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 07:22:02 GMT

On our community bulletin board you can find details of events, exhibitions and things to do in the Epping area.

If you'd like to tell us about your event, look out for contact details at the foot of this page.

The Epping Brass Band

When: 15 May, 7:30pm

Where: St. John’s Church, St. John’s Road, Epping, Essex, CM16 5DN

What is it: The Epping Brass Band join with their German twin band the Eppingen Stadkapelle for a festival of music and culture. The Band is raising money to support costs after getting through to the National Brass Band Finals in York in September.

Cost: Adult £10 per ticket, children under 16 are free.

Find out more

The Loughton Operatic Society Presents Oklahoma

When: 13 May to16 May, 7:30pm,

Where: Lopping Hall, Loughton, IG10 4LF

What is it: A musical set in the territory of Oklahoma in the early American 1900s. It follows the cowboy Curly and the farm girl Laurey through love and rivalry. It has memorable songs like Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ and The Surrey with the Fringe on Top.

Cost: £18.00 per ticket.

Find out more

Jo Whiley’s 90 Anthems

When: 15 May, 7:30pm

Where: Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend, Essex, SS0 7RA

What is it: Jo Whiley plays the very best of 90s Anthems Jo takes you on a personal tour of her finest musical memories of the 90s.

Cost: Tickets from £35. Online Sales Only.

Find out more

Tottenham Hotspur Legends

When: 13 May, 7:30pm

Where: Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend, Essex, SS0 7RA

What is it: Hear from your favourite players talking about their careers, games, dressing room/training ground stories, managers and fallouts. Plus a Q&A session and more.

Cost: From £42.75 per ticket.

Find out more

Fish & Chip Evening at Colne Valley Railway

When: 09 May, 6:30pm

Where: Colne Valley Railway, Hedingham Station, Yeldham Road, Castle Hedingham, Essex, CO9 3DZ

What is it: Enjoy a train ride in rural Essex with fish & chips served to your table.

Cost: £25.00 per ticket

Find out more

Artisan Food and Drink Market

When: 16 May, 10am to 4pm

Where: Billericay, High Street, Billericay, Essex, CM12 9AJ

What is it: A celebration of local flavour offering chilli, jams, pastries and more. Plus browse handcrafted goods, taste delicious treats and discover the unique.

Cost: Free.

Find out more

Harlow Recovery Cafe

When: Weekly, every Wednesday at 10:30am

Where: The Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1LS

What is it: A clean and sober place for people 'in recovery' to meet and have a chat.

Cost: Free

Find out more

The Wednesday Health Walk

When: Weekly, every Wednesday at 12:00pm

Where: The Herts and Essex Community Hospital, Cavell Drive/Haymeads Lane, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 5JH.

What is it: A gentle walk aimed at most abilities lasting 20 to 30 mins. Meet at Reception at midday. New joiners to arrive 15 minutes earlier to register.

Cost: Free

Find out more: Phone: 01279 655191

Tell us about your event

Got something going on that listeners in the Epping area would love to know about? Click on the button below and tell us all the details.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DURAN DURAN

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:00:09 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 500 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Duran Duran. But don't get too comfy, it is only 500 words (ish).

All you need to know about Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English rock band formed in Birmingham by Stephen Duffy (bass and voice), Nick Rhodes (Keyboard) and John Taylor (guitar and bass) in 1978. Over the next few years the line up of Duran Duran changed with the addition of Roger Taylor as the drummer, Andy Taylor on guitar and lead vocals from Simon Le Bon.

The band is named after Dr. Durand Durand from the science fiction film Barbarella released in 1968 and they released their first album in 1981 called Duran Duran which featured the bands first single 'Planet Earth'.

The band has released 15 studio albums, 4 live albums and 46 singles. In the UK, Duran Duran had 2 no.1 singles with 'Is There Something I Should Know?' in 1983 and 'The Reflex' in 1984. They had many singles in the top 10 including 'Girls On Film' reaching no.5 in 1981, 'Hungry Like The Wolf' reaching no.5 in 1982 and 'Ordinary World' reaching no.6 in 1993.

Only one of the bands albums reached no.1 and was Seven and The Ragged Tiger released in 1983. The album contains hits like 'The Reflex' and 'New Moon On Monday'. The Album Rio reached no.2 in 1982 and Decade reached no.5 in 1989.

The bands most recent albums have both made the top 10, Paper Gods reached no.5 in 2015 and Future Past reached no.3 in 2021.

Duran Duran are well known for their music videos and the MTV cable Chanel was launched around the same time as Duran Duran. The band were one of the first to have a music video shot with professional movie camera rather than on videotape and in 1984 were one of the first bands to introduce video technology into their live stadium shows by providing video screens above the stage.

Duran Duran have won 2 Brit Awards for 'Wild Boys' in 1985 with Best British Video and in 2004 for outstanding contribution to music. They have also won 2 Grammy Awards, 2 Q Awards, 3 Ivor Novello Awards and 1 MTV Europe Music Award.

In 2022, the band were enrolled into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1993 were inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Duran Duran are currently on tour in the USA.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

JERRY LEE LEWIS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 11:16:26 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Jerry Lee Lewis. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Jerry Lee Lewis in 250 words (ish)

Jerry Lee Lewis (1953 - 2022) was born in 1953 and is an American singer and pianist. He is known as one of the founders of Rock 'n' Roll. As a child his parents mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano, he was inspired by his older cousin who was a piano player and the hits on the radio.

Lewis joined the record label Sun Records in 1956 and is one of the last surviving members. Sun Records was founded by Sam Phillips and recorded artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison.

Lewis released 40 studio albums, 4 live albums and 77 singles. In the UK, he had 1 No.1 single ‘Great Balls of Fire’ released in 1957 and spent 2 weeks at No.1. Some of his best loved singles include ‘High School Confidential’, ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ and ‘Breathless’.

‘Jerry Lee Lewis’ was his first studio album released in 1958 and is sometimes known as ‘High School Confidential. The producer of the album, Sam Phillips, left out ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’.

Jerry Lee Lewis released his latest album in 1024 ‘Rock & Roll Time’. The album featured musicians like Neil Young and Robbie Robertson. In 2010 the album ‘Mean Old Man’ was released and made up of duets with famous artists including Eric Clapton, Tim McGraw and Keith Richards.

In 2005 Lewis was awarded the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and in 1989 was given a star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1986 he was the first person in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and in 2017 he was given the Ameripolotan Music Awards Master. Jerry Lee Lewis is well known for his piano playing skills and has inspired many artists including Elton John.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

CHAS & DAVE IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 01 May 2022 10:06:27 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 400 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Chas & Dave. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Chas & Dave in 250 words (ish)

Chas & Dave was a British pop rock duo from London, made up of Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. The pair met in 1963 and started to write songs together in 1972. Between the 60s and 70s, Hodges and Peacock were in various bands and groups.

In 1972, Hodges contacted Peacock about creating a band where they could use their own accent and sing about topics and thing that they were familiar with. They recorded their first album as Chas & Dave in 1974 and ‘One Fing ‘n’ Anuvver’ was released in 1975.

Their music can be described as comical and rockney (a combination of rock and cockney). They sang using a London accent and often used speaking rather than singing to help keep the London accent in the music.

The duo released 51 singles and 15 studio albums. They had 3 singles in the top 10: ‘Rabbit’ (1980) r

reached no.8, ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’ (1982) reached no.2 and ‘Snooker Loopy’ (1986) reached no.6.

The band also had 3 albums in the top 10: ‘Chas and Dave's Knees Up - Jamboree Bag Number 2’ (1981) reached no.7, ‘Street Party’ (1995) reached no.3 and their ‘Gold’ album released in 2018 reached no.8.

In 1983, Chas & Dave presented their own variety show ‘Chas and Dave’s Knees Up’ on ITV which was set in an East End Pub. The show lasted for 6 episodes in 1983 and one Christmas special in 1982. Each episode featured many famous faces including Lulu, Paul Shane and Eric Clapton.

Chas Hodges died in 2018 and their music has influenced many artists including The Libertines.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

All You Need To Know About Classical Music

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 11:39:43 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a musical genre we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 600 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about classical music. But don't get too comfy, it is only 600 words (ish).

Classical Music

Classical is a type of genre which refers to western formal orchestral, solo and instrumental music which is different to folk and popular music. Traditionally classical music follows certain rules and guidelines which fit into certain periods of music. Each era has a variety of different instruments and structures. These periods are:

-Medieval (up to 1400)

-Renaissance (1400 – 1600)

-Baroque (1600 – 1750)

-Classical (1750 – 1830)

-Romantic (1830 – 1900)

-20th Century (19 00 – 2000)

-Contemporary/Modern (2000 – present)

Medieval and Renaissance Era

Most Medieval and Renaissance music was created for events or religious ceremonies. This is because churches were the only place for people to come and listen to music. Composers in these eras include Dunstable, Gabrieli and Byrd.

These eras were very focused around musical rules and had limited access to instruments. Around the 1400, the first harpsichord appeared making music even more accessible to others.

Baroque Era

During the Baroque period, composers like Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and Purcell were gaining popularity. The music from this period was often dramatic and had an emphasis on balance, sudden changes between loud and quiet, and regularly used short melodies which were easy to follow.

It was during this period that music became a little more available. If people had the money, they could buy a harpsichord for their houses and learn how to play music or have others come to them and play.

Classical Era

The Classical era bought composers like Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven to the stage as well as a lot of change. During this period, instruments like the clarinet first appeared and were used by Mozart in many of his pieces. The piano was developing and was gaining popularity.

Haydn was known as the father of the string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) and Beethoven was best known for making the orchestra bigger and louder. With this came a relax in musical rules and music was more accessible.

People could play this music in their houses or go to concert halls to listen to orchestras, watch operas and buy all the instruments to learn and play.

Romantic Era

The Romantic period bought significant change as piece of music started to get titles and change in mood very suddenly and quickly in a piece. There was more emotional and individual expression and pieces often reflected feelings, experiences, art and literature and philosophy.

Beethoven was seen as the drive towards the Romantic period with his large orchestra similar to what we see today. Romantic composers include Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Chopin and Dvorak.

Music during the Romantic period was more relaxed and used to be a little more daring with clashing notes and sometimes unusual sounds. Instruments were used to their full potential and sometimes even stretched further, music became louder and program music became very popular.

New and different musical structures and pieces were created, composers were finding new ways of making music interesting and music was easier to watch and learn.

20th Century Era

The 20 ^th Century era gave music which had never before been heard and bought great change to what it meant to be a composer. Music rarely followed rules and was more outgoing than any other period. Composers would make their music clash and would make it as unusual as possible.

Composers from this period include Stravinsky, Gershwin, Cage, Britten and Holst. Modernism and Neoclassicism was popular during this period as well as the rise of Jazz. Composers would alter instruments by placing nuts and bolts into pianos and changing the shape of wind instruments.

By the mid-20 ^th century, music was accessible to listen to by all. It was very easy to find a performance of a piece of music, buy instruments and access instrumental lessons.

Contemporary/Modern Era

Current day classical music has taken on aspects from all the past musical eras. With the introduction of music technology, anyone can be a composer and can compose in various different genres or eras. Music is often still contemporary but minimalism has been gaining popularity.

Modern composers include Philip Glass, Stene Reich, John Williams and John Adams. Technology is now used within performances to add tracks to instrumental music and instruments are able to have their sound altered by pedals.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an genre can feature click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

New paragraph

PHIL COLLINS IN 400 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 11:08:54 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Phil Collins. But don't get too comfy, it is only 400 words (ish).

Phil Collins in 400 words (ish)

Phil Collins was born in London in 1951, his father was an insurance agent and his mother worked at a toy shop and later for a performing arts school. Collins was given a drum kit when he was 5 and as he got older, he started playing alongside music on the television and radio.

As a child, Collins was highly influenced by The Beatles, especially Ringo Starr. When he was a teenager, Collins received piano and music lessons from his father’s aunt and took drumming lessons. When he was 14, he quit school and became a pupil at Barbara Speake. This is where he landed roles like the Artful Dodger at two West End runs of Oliver! And a role in Calamity the Cow.

Phil Collins has released 8 studio albums, 1 live album, 2 soundtrack albums and 50 singles. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide and his first solo album ‘Face Value’ released in 1981 reached no. 1 in the UK, Canada and Sweden.

In the UK, Collins has had 3 no.1 singles including ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ in 1982, ‘Easy Lover’ in 1985 and ‘Groovy Kind of Love’ in 1988. He has had a further 10 singles in the top 10 including ‘In The Air Tonight’ released in 1981 and reached no.2 and ‘Two Hearts’ released in 1988 and reached no.6.

Collins had 6 albums reach no.1 in the UK including ‘No Jacket Required’ (1985), ‘…But Seriously’ (1989), ‘Both Sides’ (1993) and ‘Going Back’ (2010). He also had 6 other albums in the top 10 including ‘Hello I Must Be Going’ released in 182 and reached no.2 and ‘Dance into the Light’ released in 1996 and reached no.4.

Phil Collins was also a member of the Band Genesis where he took over as lead singer for the release of ‘A Trick of the Tail’ and ‘Wing & Wuthering’ in 1976 and then stayed until 1996. He later joined again for a tour in 2007 and 2021.

Collins has won 8 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year in 1986 for ‘No Jacket Required’ and Best Soundtrack Album in 2000 for Disney’s Tarzan. He has also won 3 American Music Awards, 6 Brit Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 1 Academy Award and 2 Golden Globes. He has also received the Disney Legend Award in 2002 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

MEAT LOAF IN 400 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 11:21:05 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Meat Loaf. But don't get too comfy, it is only 400 words (ish).

Meat Loaf in 400 words (ish)

Michael Lee Aday, otherwise known as Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor born in Texas on 27th September 1947 and died on 20th January 2022. He was best known for releasing the ‘Bat Out of Hell’ trilogy and his incredible vocal range.

His first band was called Meat Loaf Soul which was inspired by his football coach’s nickname; they had their gig in 1968 at Huntington Beach. Meat Loaf joins the Los Angeles production of ‘Hair’, a rock musical, and then was invited to record with Motown.

Meat Loaf released 12 studio albums, 5 live albums and 39 singles. In the UK, Meat Loaf had 1 no.1 single ‘I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’ (1991) and 5 top 10 singles including ‘Dead Ringer For Love’ at No. 5 in 1981, ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ at no.8 in 1979 and ‘I’d Lie For You (And That’s The Truth)’ at no.2 in 1995.

Meat Loaf had greater success with albums in the UK with 2 reaching no.1 ‘Dead Ringer’ (1981) and ‘Bat Out Of Hell II – Back Into Hell’ (1993). He had 10 albums in the top 10 including ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ which peaked at no. 9 in 1978, ‘Hanging Cool Teddy Bear’ (2012) and ‘Braver Than We Are’ (2016) which both reached no.4 and ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ (1995) and ‘Bat Out Of Hell 3 – The Monster Is Loose’ (2006) both reached no. 3.

‘Bat Out Of Hell’ released in 1977 has sold over 44 million copies worldwide and sold 3.4 million copies in the UK. It is the 21st best-selling album in the UK. ‘I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)’ reached no.1 in 28 countries around the world and was the best-selling single in 1993 in the UK.

Meat Loaf had lots of success as an actor as well as a musician staring in films like ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ as Eddie in 1975, ‘Wayne’s World’ as Tiny in 1992, ‘Fight Club’ as Robert Paulson in 199 and ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’ as Monsignor Muldon In 2014.

He has also featured in TV shows such as Glee, Elementary, South Park and House.

In 1994, Meat Loaf won the Grammy Award for Beat Rock Vocal Performance and the Brit Award for Best-Selling Album and Single.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

DESMOND DEKKER, BOB MARLEY AND UB40. THE SOUND OF REGGAE.

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 12:27:25 GMT

Reggae is a musical genre that originated from Jamaica and gained popularity in the 1960s. The genre was highly influenced by American jazz, ska, rocksteady and rhythm and blues.

Usually, reggae music is off beat, has a slow tempo and is drum and bass heavy. Lyrics often were politicised and stressed the social and economic injustices in the world. The genre is often linked to Rastafarianism and has spread to countries across the world. Reggae spread to the UK in the 70s and influenced bands such as UB40, Steel Pulse and Aswad.

Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley and the Wailers and UB40 are three of the most influential and successful reggae artists of all time. See below a little about each artist.

Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker (1941 – 2006) was a ska, reggae and rocksteady singer from Jamaica. From a young age he enjoyed singing hymns and while working as a welder he was encouraged to pursue a career in music. He released his first single 2 years after signing a record deal; he also worked with the Jamaican vocal group The Aces.

Dekker has released 12 studio albums and 47 singles. In the UK he released 7 singles, ‘The Israelites’ reached no 1 in 1969, ‘You Can Get it if You Really Want it’ reached no.2 in 1970 and ‘It Miek’ reached no.7 in 1969.

‘The Israelites’ was the first UK no.1 and combined Rastafarian with rude boy concerns. It was written after hearing an argument. ‘You Can Get it if You Really Want’ was written by Jimmy Cliff but then released as a cover by Desmond Dekker a few weeks after.

Bob Marley

Bob Marely (1945-1981) is considered as one of the pioneers of reggae. His writing style and vocal sound are recognisable around the world and is well known for fusing reggae, ska and rocksteady to create his own style of music. He was a Rastafarian and became an icon, his music often had a sense of spirituality and peace. Marley was spotted by Desmond Dekker.

Bob Marley and the Wailers formed in 1963 by Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Singers Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith joined late 1963.

Bob Marely and the Wailers released 13 studio albums, 6 live albums, 1 soundtrack album and 133 singles. The group had 7 singles in the Uk singles charts including ‘Is This Love’ (1978), ‘No Woman No Cry’ (1983), ‘Buffalo Soldier’ (1983) and ‘One Love/People Get Ready’ (1984).

UB40

UB40 are an English reggae and pop band from Birmingham formed in 1978. The band is named after the Unemployment Benefit Form 40 and was formed when Ali Campbell, Jimmy Brown and Earl Falconer started to rehearsing reggae songs and their own work. They then were joined by Yomi Babayemi, Norman Hassan, Brain Travers and Jimmy Lynn.

The band were inspired by ska, folk and reggae, their early music was influenced by analogue synthesisers, dub, saxophone and psychedelic rock.

The band released 20 studio albums, 7 live albums and 62 singles. They have sold over 70 million records worldwide. ‘Red Red Wine’ (1983), ‘I Got You Babe’ (1985) and ‘(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You’ (1993) all reached no.1 in the UK single charts. They also had 14 singles in the top 10. ‘Labour of Love’ (1983) and ‘Promises and Lies’ (1993) were both no.1 albums in the UK.

UB40 have been monimated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album 4 times and have been nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Group.

PINK FLOYD IN 500 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 11:05:42 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Pink Floyd. But don't get too comfy, it is only 500 words (ish).

Pink Floyd in 500 words (ish)

Pink Floyd was an English rock band formed in 1964. The band was founded by Syd Barrett (guitar, lead vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals) and Bob Klose (guitars). Klose left the band in 1965 and guitarist David Gilmour joined in 1967.

The group were considered to be one of the first psychedelic music groups in the UK and touch on genres hard rock, blues, electronic music, folk and country. This made the band have an experimental rock and progressive rock sound.

The band released 15 studio albums, 4 live albums and 27 singles. They have sold over 250 million records worldwide and sold over 30 million copies of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.

In the UK, the band had 1 UK no.1 single ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ released in 1979, and 1 single in the UK top 10 ‘See Emily Play’ in 1967.

Pink Floyd had 6 no.1 studio albums and 12 in the top 10. ‘Atom Heart Mother’ (1970), ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975), ‘The Final Cut’ (1983), ‘The Division Bell’ (1994), ‘Pulse’ (1995) and ‘The Endless River’ (2014) all reached no.1. ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973) and ‘Animals’ (1979) both reached no.2. ‘Meddle’ (1971), ‘The Wall’ (1979) and ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ (1987) all reached no.3.

The albums artwork is a distinctive feature of Pink Floyd’s sound and image; most do not contain any text or the band’s name. The cover for ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ was collaboration with graphic designer George Hardie. The cover for ‘Animals’ features an inflatable pig moored to Battersea Power Station and ‘The Wall’ has a minimalist design on the outside and the characters of the story in side, this was designed by Gerald Scarfe.

The band is best known for their lavish live shows which combine visual effects and music to create a show where the performers are no longer the main event. They were one of the first bands to use a travelling light show and often used strobe lights and liquid lights to hide the performers. Pink Floyd was also well known for using dry ice, pyrotechnics and special effects during their live shows.

Pink Floyd has won several awards including Best Original Song Written for a Film in 1983 for the film The Wall which featured ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. In 1995, the bands won Best Rock Instrumental performance for ‘Marooned’ and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2005, Pink Floyd reunited for Live 8, the first time that the band had performed together in 24 years. The image of a hug on stage made newspapers the day after as a highlight of events which happened during the concert.

Artists like David Bowie, Queen, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, the Orb and the Smashing Pumpkins have all been inspired by Pink Floyds sound and image. The band were also the second band to be featured on a Royal Mail stamp and in 2017 had an audio-visual experience opened at the Victoria and Albert museum to mark their 50th anniversary

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

MADNESS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 10:46:12 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Madness. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Madness in 250 words (ish)

Madness is a two-tone ska band from Camden Town and formed in 1976. They were most successful in the 80s and released 12 studio albums, 4 live albums, 2 soundtracks albums and 42 singles.

The band was formed by Mike Barson, Chris Forman and Lee Thompson; they were later joined by John Hasler, Cathal Smyth and Dikron Tulane. The band still performs today with 6 out of the 7 original members.

The band has had 1 UK no.1 single ‘House of Fun’ in 1982 and 16 singles in the top 10. ‘Wings of a Dove’ (1983) reached no.2, ‘My Girl' (1980) and ‘Baggy Trousers’ (1980) both reached no.3. ‘Embarrassment’ (1980), ‘Grey Day’ (1981), ‘It Must Be Love’ (1981) and ‘Driving in my Car’ (1982) all reached no.4.

Madness had 2 no.1 albums ‘Complete Madness’ (1982) and ‘Divine Madness’ (1992), both albums spent 3 weeks at no.1. They also had 8 albums in the top 10.

The band’s first album ‘One Step Beyond’ released in 1979 and reached no.2. The album was recorded and mixed in 3 weeks and stayed in the charts for over a year.

In 1983 and 2000 the band were awarded Ivor Novello Awards and in 2007 they received a Brit Award and in 2010 were awarded a Idol Award at the Q Awards.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

THE WHO IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 11:13:25 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about The Who. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

The Who in 250 words (ish)

The Who is an English rock band formed in 1964. The members were singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle (1944 – 2002) and drummer Keith Moon (1946 – 1978). Other members were Doug Sandom (1930 – 2019) (original drummer) and Kenny Jones (drummer).

The band was developed from the Detours and had to change their name due to another group sharing the name. They considered names like ‘No One’ or ‘The Hair’ but settled with The Who.

The Who released 12 studio albums, 16 live albums, 4 soundtrack albums and 58 singles. The band had 14 singles in the UK top 10 including ‘My Generation’ (1965) which peaked at no.2, ‘Happy Jack’ (1966) which peaked at no.3 and ‘Pinball Wizard’ (1969) which peaked at no.4.

The band had 1 no.1 album ‘Who’s Next’ (1971) and 15 albums in the top 10. ‘Tommy’ (1969), ‘Quadrophenia’ (1973), ’The Story Of The Who’ (1976) and ‘Face Dances’ (1981) all peaked at no.2.

‘My Generation’ was the band first studio album released in 1965 and peaked at no.5 in the album charts, the album currently has Gold certification.

The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and won the first Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement award in 2006. Three of the bands albums have been welcomed into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Who also had 7 albums on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003 and for a long time were the Guinness Book of Records loudest band in the world.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

WHO ARE FOREST RADIO?

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 09:34:19 GMT

WHETHER YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING FOR YEARS OR HAVE JUST DIDCOVERED US, OUR STORY GOES BACK FURTHER THAN YOU THINK.

In fact it goes right back to 1976 when a small group of volunteers got together with a local estate agent.

Take a look at our story below and find out how we grew from humble beginnings to a nationwide home for good time oldies.

1976: Forest Radio for the Forest Hospital

Originally called Forest Radio and later changed to Radio Forest , the organisation was founded in November 1976. We were the brainchild of local Buckhurst Hill estate agent Heather Thirtle. We were established initially to provide music and entertainment to the patients and staff of the Forest Hospital in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

A small team of eight people including co-founder Nick Churchill, Noel Carter, Chris Potter and Ken Warriner, built the studio and installed the equipment required to get the station on air.

In 1978 Stuart McDonald became the first elected Chairman, and registered Radio Forest as a charity "to relieve sickness through entertainment". For many years Stuart was the guiding light of the organisation and maintained that commitment throughout his career as a well-respected Television Director, until his untimely death in 2021.

The photo above shows some of our volunteers back in 1980 huddled around our first studio at St. Margaret's Hospital in Epping.

1980's: Moving to Epping

By 1980 the organisation had grown with 30 people providing a radio service six nights a week. The studios expanded and moved to St. Margaret’s Hospital, Epping in 1980 but continued to broadcast to the Forest Hospital via a landline until it eventually closed.

By 1985 over 40 volunteers were broadcasting, ward visiting and raising funds seven days a week.

The photo above shows some of our volunteers back in 1980 huddled around our first studio at St. Margaret's.

1990's: Radio Forest FM

In 1990, as Radio Forest continued to expand, we opened our third on air studio. Further new equipment enabled the station to provide recorded music and information overnight making us one of the first of our kind to provide a 24-hour service .

In 1996 Radio Forest was granted a license by the Radio Authority (later Ofcom ), to broadcast on FM for 28 days to the Epping Forest area over the Christmas period. The public response was incredible, enabling the station to compete commercially with other local stations and raise much needed funds.

Above you can see our lunch time presenter David Bartley in the studio.

A move within St. Margaret's Hospital in 1999 meant the building of new studios and the embracing of modern digital technology. Radio Forest was once again a pioneer by developing its own digital sustaining service , with the ability to provide a true 24-hour service including local and national news.

2000's: Classic Hits Forest Gold

In November 2002 Radio Forest launched its second radio service 'Classic Hits Forest Gold'. Playing a non-stop mix of hits form the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

In 2003 Classic Hits Forest Gold launched at Ongar War memorial Community Hospital, in Essex, via a radio link and b y 2005 Radio Forest was also able to provide 'Classic Hits Forest Gold' to Plane, Poplar and Orchard wards at St. Margaret's Hospital.

201o's: Forest Gold goes global

By 2010 Forest Gold and its sister station Forest One were broadcasting to the Derwent Centre in Harlow, Saffron Walden Community Hospital, Brentwood Community Hospital and the newly rebuilt St. Margaret's Hospital.

Many of our listeners within the hospitals we served started asking us if there was a way they could continue to listen from home, so in 2012 we celebrated Forest Gold’s 10th birthday by launching as an internet radio station . Now fully presented and playing good time oldies from the 50’s to the 90’s.

202o's: Digital radio

By 2020 Classic Hits Forest Gold had grown a loyal fan base outside the NHS making us the second most popular internet radio station in Essex on TuneIn Radio (the popular radio app that serves Alexa and Google Play). Over 24 thousand people across the UK and beyond were now regular listeners.

In 2021 Ofcom issued a handful of FM licences to serve small communities as a 12-month trial. Forest Gold applied and won a licence. We began broadcasting on 99.3 FM to the St Margaret's area of Epping on 5th September 2021.

2024 saw a name change, when Classic Hits Forest Gold became Classic Hits Forest Radio , a full circle to 1976, with a return to our original name.

In 2026 Classic Hits Forest Radio has over 30,000 listeners a week online and now is available on DAB in West Essex and East Herts, providing music to remember along with health and wellbeing information, community & events news and a family of presenters.

50 years in the making

Throughout our 50-year history, Radio Forest has been run entirely by volunteers. We have been a registered charity for much of that time and despite our success beyond the NHS corridors, providing entertainment to hospitals and long-term care facilities will always be an essential part of what we do. We're truly grateful to all our loyal listeners who have joined us along the way and continue to support us into our 5th decade.

We pride ourselves on producing radio that stands up alongside commercial and BBC radio. Many of our volunteers have gone on to carve professional careers in broadcasting. In fact, many of the voices you hear on air today also work in the media.

KATE BUSH IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 10:39:46 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Kate Bush. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Kate Bush in 250 words (ish)

Kate bush is an English singer, dancer, songwriter and musician from Bexleyheath in Kent. Her family had a background in the creative arts and this inspired her to teach herself piano and write songs at the age of 11.

She has released 10 studio albums, 39 music videos and 33 singles. In the UK, Bush has had 3 no.1 albums including ‘Never For Ever’ (1980) and ‘Hounds of Love’ (1985). She released her last album in 2019 which reached no.18 on the UK charts.

Bush had several singles in the top 10 UK singles charts including ‘Man with the Child in his Eyes’ (1978) which reached no.6, ‘Babooshka’ (1980) reached no.5 and ‘Running up that Hill’ (1985) reached no.3.

Bush released her debut album in 1978 when she was 19, all the songs on the album were written by Bush, some from when was aged 13. ‘The Kick Inside’ contained her only UK no.1 single ‘Wuthering Heights’ and the album peaked at no.3 on the UK album charts.

Kate Bush has been nominated and won several awards. In 1979 she won Best International Single for ‘Wuthering Heights’ and the NME award for the Best Female Singer. She was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards, 13 Brit Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 3 Progressive Music awards and won 2 Ivor Novello Awards, 1 NME Award and 1 Brit Award.

Musicians and performers like Ellie Goulding, Adele, Coldplay, Kate Nash, Beverley Craven and The Divine Comedy have all been inspired by Kate Bush’s music, 2014 comeback and imagery.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

NAT KING COLE IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 10:31:41 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Nat King Cole. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Nat King Cole in 250 words (ish)

Nat King Cole (1919-1965) was an American jazz pianist and singer born in Alabama. Cole’s mother, Perlina Cole, taught him the organ from a young age. When he was 12, he started learning the piano and explored genres like jazz, gospel and classical.

When Cole was 15, he dropped out of high school and pursued a career in music and in 1937 he moved to Los Angeles where he led a big band and played jazz in night clubs. His first hit was in 1940 with ‘Sweet Lorraine’.

Cole released 28 studio albums and had 15 singles in the top 10 UK singles charts. ‘Love is the Thing’ (1957) reached No.1 on the UK albums charts and spent 14 weeks in the top 10. Some of his best-known hits are ‘Smile’ (1954), ‘When I Fall in Love’ (1957) and ‘Ramblin’ Rose’ (1962). His last album before his death was ‘L-O-V-E’ released in 1964.

In 1956, Cole hosted The Nat King Cole Show which in total aired 42 episodes on NBC and featured in films like ‘Breakfast in Hollywood’ (1946), ‘The Blue Gardenia’ (1953) and ‘The Scarlet Hour’ (1956).

Cole was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and was featured on an American postage in stamp in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was enrolled into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

ELVIS PRESLEY IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 10:42:59 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Elvis Presley. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Elvis Presley in 250 words (ish)

Elvis Presley was born in Mississippi in 1935 and died in 1977 at the age of 42. He is otherwise known as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ and played the piano and guitar. Presley began his music career at Sun Records in 1954 and recorded with the band The Blue Moon Boys (Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black). The bands first songs together include ‘Harbor Lights’ and ‘I Love You Because’. Between 1958 and 1960, Presley served as part of the United States of America Army as a Sergeant.

Presley released 117 singles, 23 studio albums and 7 live albums. In the UK Elvis had 21 No.1’s and spent a total of 80 weeks at No.1. His No.1’s includes songs like ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (1958), ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ (1961) and ‘Return to Sender’ (1962). 13 albums reached No.1 in the UK such as ‘Elvis is Back’ (1960), ‘Pot Luck’ (1962) and ‘From Elvis in Memphis’ (1970).

It is estimated that Presley has sold over 600 million records, but it could be also as close as 1 billion records sold. He is one of the best-selling solo artists of all time. Not only was he famous as a musician but also was successful in films and television. Presley featured in films like ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (1957), ‘G.I. Blues’ (1960) and ‘Flaming Star’ (1960).

Presley has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a household name around the globe. He won 3 Grammy awards and was nominated for 14. He inspired many artists and bands to this date and was one of the most important artists in popular music. His music changed the face of popular music, style, and image.

Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation was created after his death to support the community, charities and young people who want to persue a career in music, film or television.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

SHIRLEY BASSEY IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:44:27 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Gold all squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Shirley Bassey. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Shirley Bassey in 250 words (ish)

Shirley Bassey is a Welsh alto from Cardiff. She is well known for recording 3 James Bond title songs. ‘Goldfinger’ (1964), ‘Diamonds are Forever’ (1971) and ‘Moonraker’ (1979). She is the only artist to record more than one James Bond title song. She also recorded a version of ‘Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ for ‘Thunderball’.

In the UK, Bassey has had 2 No.1 singles ‘As I Love You’ (1958) and ‘Reach for the Stars/Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ (1961). She had 10 hits in the UK top 10. She has also had 7 top 10 albums including ‘Something’ (1970), ‘Something Else’ (1971) and ‘Get the Party started’ (2007).

Bassey released 37 studio albums, 6 live albums and a massive 105 singles. ‘I Am What I Am’ released in 1984 has reached Gold certification, ‘25th Anniversary Album’ released in 1978 reached Platinum certification, ‘The Performance’ released in 2009 has reached Gold certification. She will be releasing ‘I Owe It All to You’ in November 2020 with Decca Records.

Bassey had a Saturday night BBC TV show called ‘Shirley Bassey’ which ran for 2 series. She has also 20 BBC TV specials dating from 1957-2009.

In 1959 and 1960 she was voted favourite British female singer, in 1976 she received an EMI award for twenty years as a UK recording artist and in 1977 was awarded a Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years.

In 2000 Bassey was awarded with a DBE and in 2008 ‘Goldfinger’ was introduced into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2019 Bassey’s handprints were unveiled at the SSE Arena in London.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

THE MOODY BLUES IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 11:13:21 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about The Moody Blues. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

The Moody Blues in 250 words (ish)

The Moody Blues are an English rock band formed in Birmingham, 1964. They fit into the genres of progressive rock, psychedelia and symphonic rock and often use a fusion of classic music with rock music.

The original members were Mike Pinder (keyboard), Ray Thomas (flute), Denny Laine (guitar), Graeme Edge (drums) and Clint Warwick (bass). The current members are Graeme Edge, Justin Haywood, and John Lodge.

The Moody Blues had 1 UK No.1, ‘Go Now’ in 1964. They had 2 singles in the top 10, ‘Nights in White Satin’ (1968) and ‘Question’ (1970). The band had 3 No.1 albums ‘On the Threshold of a Dream’ (1969), ‘A Question of Balance’ (1970) and ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ (1971).

The band has released 16 studio albums, 6 live albums and 36 singles. ‘Go Now’ is a cover of a song by Bessie Banks (January 1964) and was released as a single by The Moody Blues 11 months later in November. The single went straight to No.1 and was the band’s first and only No.1.

‘Days of Future Passed’ was released in 1967 and is a fusion between rock music and orchestral music. It is one of the first albums featuring progressive rock music. The orchestra featured in the albums was provided by the London Festival Orchestra. In the UK, the albums reached No.27 and the single ‘Nights in White Satin’ reached No.9 and No.3 in the US. 'Tuesday Afternoon' was also a single from the album but only charted in the US and Canada.

The bands characteristic sound inspired and influenced groups like Electric Light Orchestra, Yes and Genesis. They were included onto the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. The Moody Blues helped to make synthesisers part of mainstream rock.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

GLENN MILLER IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:26:19 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Glenn Miller. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Glenn Miller in 250 words (ish)

Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was an American trombonist, composter and swing bandleader from Iowa, USA. His family saved money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in Grant City town orchestra. Miller graduated school in 1921 and became a professional musician.

Miller released 37 Eps, 24 V-Disks and 266 singles. His singles were released on 10-inch shellac 78 rmp phonograph records. Some of his well-known singles were ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’, ‘At Least’, ‘In the Mood’, ‘Moonlight Serenade’ and ‘Little Brown Jug’.

In 1928, Miller wrote his first composition ‘Room 1411’ with Benny Goodman and in 1930 he worked as a composer, arranger, and trombonist for the band The Dorsey Brothers. Miller’s compositions with the band include ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’ and ‘Des Dem Dose’.

Miller featured in 2 Twentieth Century Fox motion pictures ‘Sun Valley Serenade’ (1941) with the single ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’, and ‘Orchestra Wives’ (1942). His first appearance on the big screen was in ‘The Big Broadcast of 1936’ performing ‘Why Starts Come Out at Night’ with The Ray Nobel Orchestra.

In 1938 Miller started recording for Bluebird and in 1939 sold 115,000 copies of ‘Tuxedo junction’ in the first week of its release. He appeared at Carnegie Hall on 6th October 1939 with Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, and Fred Waring.

Miller was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in the United States Army and had 3 singles included into Grammy Hall of Fame ‘Moonlight Serenade’ in 1991, ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’ in 1996 and ‘In the Mood’ in 1983.

On the 15th December 1944, Miller disappeared over the English Channel while on a plane to Paris. His music lives on today and is just as popular as it was back in the 1940’s.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

CLIFF RICHARD IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:08:53 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Cliff Richard. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Cliff Richard in 250 words (ish)

Cliff Richard (Harry Webb) is a British singer and musician from London born in 1940. When he was 16, he was bought a guitar and was singing vocal harmonies in a school group called The Quintones.

From 1958 to 1968 he was the lead singer of Cliff Richard and the Drifters where he played guitar and sang lead vocals. The band released ‘Living Doll’ which was No.1 in 1959 and later changed their name to The Shadows.

Richard has released 46 studio albums, 11 live albums, 7 soundtrack albums and 146 singles. He has 14 No.1 singles including ‘Please Don’t Tease’ (1960), ‘Summer Holiday’ (1963), ‘Congratulations’ (1968) and ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ (1988). He has had 54 singles in the top 10 and 38 albums in the top 10. Richard had 7 No.1 albums including ‘The Young Ones’ (1961), ‘Summer Holiday’ (1963), ‘Love Songs’ (1981) and ‘The Album’ (1993).

Cliff Richard is the only singer to have a No.1 single for 5 consecutive decades in the UK. 4 of his No.1 singles were No.1 at Christmas including ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ (1988) and ‘Saviour’s Day’ (1990). He has sold over 250 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has sold over 21 million singles in the UK.

Many of his albums have gained certifications including ‘I’m No Hero’ (1980) which has a Gold Certification, ‘Always Guaranteed’ (1987) received a Platinum Certification and ‘Cliff at Christmas’ (2003) which has also received Platinum Certification.

Richard has won 23 NME Reader Polls awards, 3 Brit Awards and 9 Melody Maker Awards. In 1980 he received an O.B.E. from the Queen, 1989 received a Lifetime Achievement Award and in 1995 received a Knight Bachelor at Buckingham Palace.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 09:33:30 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Bruce Springsteen. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Bruce Springsteen in 250 words (ish)

Bruce Springsteen is an American singer, musician and songwriter born in 1949 in New Jersey. Springsteen was inspired by Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Elvis Presley, his mother rented him a guitar when he was a young boy, and he bought his first guitar in 1964. Springsteen is a solo artist and leader of the E Street Band since 1972. Springsteen plays the piano, harmonica and guitar.

Springsteen has released 20 studio albums, 23 live albums and 72 singles. In the UK, Springsteen has no No.1 singles but had a whopping 11 No.1 albums including ‘Born I the USA’ (1984), ‘Tunnel Of Love’ (1987), ‘The Rising’ (2002) and ‘High Hopes’ (2014). In June 2019, Springsteen released ‘Western Stars’ which stayed at No.1 for a week and in the Top 10 for 4 weeks.

‘Born in the USA’ (1984) is one of Springsteen’s bestselling albums, selling 30 million records worldwide and reaching 3x Platinum certification in the UK (1,120,000 sales). Singles on the album include ‘Dancing in the Dark’, ‘Born in the USA’, ‘My Hometown’ and ‘Glory Days’. The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 1985.

Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, 4 American Music awards and 1 Brit Award. He has sold over 135 million records worldwide and was welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. A minor planet which was found in 1999 was named Springsteen in his honour and received a Polar Music Prise in 1997.

In October 2020, Springsteen is releasing ‘Letter To You’ which is a documentary about the E Street Band and the effects it has had on his life.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

THE BEACH BOYS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 10:43:30 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about The Beach Boys. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

The Beach Boys in 250 words (ish)

The Beach Boys are an American rock band from California formed in 1961. The original band members were Brain Wilson (vocals, bass, keyboard), Dennis Wilson (vocals, drums, keyboard), Carl Wilson (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard), Mike Love (vocals, percussion, theremin, saxophone) and Al Jardine (vocals, guitar, bass, banjo).

Other members include Bruce Johnson (vocals, percussion, bass, keyboard) who joined in 1965, David Mark (vocals, guitar) replaced Al Jardine on rhythm guitar in 1962, Ricky Fataar (vocals, drums, guitar, flute) joined in 1971 and left in 1974, Blondie Chaplin (vocals, bass, guitar) was a singer and guitarist during the early 70s.

The Beach Boys have a very distinctive sound including vocal harmonies, 1950’s rock and roll style, R&B and classical elements. The Band have been active since 1961. They released 30 studio albums, 23 EP’s and 71 singles.

In the UK, The Beach Boys had 2 No.1 singles ‘Good Vibrations’ (1966) and ‘Do It Again’ (1968) as well as 11 singles in the UK top 10.

They also had 2 UK No.1 albums ’20 Golden Greatest’ (1976) and ‘The Very Best of the Beach Boys’ (1983). The band also had 13 albums in the UK top 10 including ‘Beach Boys Party’ (1966) at No.2, ‘Summer Days (And Summer Nights)’ (1966) at No.4 and ‘Summer Dreams’ (1990) at No.2.

The Beach Boys were given a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1980. In 2005 a Beach Boys landmark was revealed in California and in 2017 a street was renamed to Beach Boys Way.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

BILLY JOEL IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 10:09:02 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Billy Joel. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Billy joel in 250 words (ish)

Billy Joel is an American singer-songwriter and pianist from The Bronx, New York, U.S. His father was a classic pianist and began piano lessons at the age of four. Joel was inspired by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and the Everly Brothers.

Joel released 14 studio albums, 5 live albums and 61 singles. In the UK, he had 1 No.1 hit ‘Uptown Girl’ (1983) which spent 5 weeks at No.1. He had 8 albums in the top 10 including ‘Glass House’ (1980), ‘Storm Front’ (1989) and ‘River of Dreams’ (1993). Joel’s most recent single on the charts is ‘She’s Always a Woman’ which was a released as a single in 1977 but was re-entered into the charts in 2010.

‘An Innocent Man’ (1983) was Joel’s ninth studio album and features 3 of his biggest hit singles ‘Tell Her About It’, ‘Uptown Girl’ and ‘An innocent Man’. In the UK, this album reached No.2 on the UK album charts and has reached 3x Platinum (900,000 sales).

One of Joel’s best-selling hits is ‘Piano Man’ and was released in 1973, however the song did not really chart well reaching No.20 in Australia, No.25 in U.S and No.10 in Canada. The song was not in the UK charts but has reached a Platinum status after selling 600,000+ records. ‘Piano Man’ was released on the album ‘Piano Man’ in 1973.

Joel has won 5 Grammy Awards, received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, and has received 7 doctorates. He is also the first non-classical musician with a portrait in Steinway hall and in 1986 was on the site selection committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 10:32:15 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Electric Light Orchestra. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Electric Light Orchestra in 250 words (ish)

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band created in 1970 by Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan. Their sound is fusion between classical arrangements and 60’s pop, the band used a combination of classical and rock instruments. Jeff Lynne wrote and sang most of the band’s songs.

The band released 14 studio albums, 7 live albums and 50 singles. ‘The Electric Light Orchestra’ was the bands first studio album, released in 1971 it reached 32 on the UK charts and contained their first single ‘10538 Overture’ which reached no.9 on the UK charts.

ELO have had 1 No.1 single ‘Xanadu’ with Olivia Newton John and 15 singles which made it into the top 10. They also had 4 albums ‘Discovery’ (1979), ‘Time’ (1981), ‘All Over the World- The Very Best of’ (2005), ‘From Out of Nowhere’ (2019). ‘Discovery’ spent 5 weeks at No.1 containing singles like ‘Shine a Little Love’, ‘The Diary of Horace Wimp’, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, ‘Confusion’ and ‘Last Train to London’.

Jeff Lynne (lead vocals, guitar, piano, bass drums) and Richard Tandy (piano, synthesiser, backing vocals) are the principle and current members of the band but past members include Roy Wood (vocals, guitar, cello, oboe, bassoon, 1970-1972), Bev Bevan (drum, 1970-1986), Hugh McDowell (cello, 1972-1979), Mik Kaminski (violin, 1973-1986) and Kelly Groucutt (bass, lead vocals, 1974-1983).

ELO were inactive between 2001 and 2014, the band did many mini reunions however in 2014 was reformed under the name Jeff Lynne’s ELO. Since the reunion, ELO have released 3 albums including a live album ‘Wembley or bust’ (2017).

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

FREDDIE MERCURY – THE ORIGINAL GREATEST SHOWMAN!

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 19:15:54 GMT

Freddie Mercury is well known as having been the lead singer of Queen up until his death in 1991.

Following the release of the film biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ about Freddie’s life in 2018, you could be forgiven for thinking you know everything there is to know about this legendary frontman.

But hopefully in the next couple of hundred words will have a surprise or two for you!

Early Life and Childhood

Freddie was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) in 1946. As a child he attended boarding school in India, and it was here when he was just 12 years old that he formed his first band, The Hectics, which specialised in Cliff Richard and Little Richard covers. It was also around this time that he started calling himself Freddie. In the mid-1960s that Freddie and his family moved to Britain and settled in Feltham in Middlesex. Freddie’s family were followers of Zoroastrianism – one of the world’s oldest continuously practised religions, but the revolution in Zanzibar at that time meant that the family’s religion put them at risk of persecution. As Zanzibar had been a British protectorate the family were British subjects and able to find sanctuary in the UK.

Once settled in what is now West London, Freddie studied graphic design (something which he would put to good use later when designing the artwork used by Queen). It was in 1970 that Freddie joined the band that Brian May and Roger Taylor had formed and became their lead singer.

Performance Skills

Freddie was different from most other frontmen, not just because of his stage presence, but because of his 4-octave vocal range (most people sing with 2 a range of 2 octaves!). This meant that he could sing anything from a low bass to a high soprano. If you’ve ever tried singing along to certain Queen songs, it’s also why you’ll struggle at certain points. In fact, when preparing to sing at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert after his death, many performers had to ask Queen to alter the arrangements of some of their most famous songs because of this!

Solo Career

Despite Queen’s success as a band, Freddie’s solo work was never as successful in the charts. In fact, Freddie’s only solo number 1 single came after he died in 1993 when a remix of ‘Living on my Own’ was released.

One of his most commercially successful solo projects was the ‘Barcelona’ album, a collaboration with Montserrat Caballe widely regarded as the most successful rock/opera crossover there has been. What most people don’t realise about this project is that it was Montserrat Caballe who requested that Freddie Mercury work with her on the project. And that Freddie was very nervous about meeting the operatic legend!

Later Life

Sadly, Freddie didn’t get to perform Barcelona, or see it performed, at the Olympic Games held in the city in 1992. In November 1991, after many years of speculation about his health, and having confirmed to the press just 24 hours earlier that he was suffering from AIDS, Freddie died at his home in Kensington of AIDS related pneumonia.

The last Queen single released prior to Freddie’s death was ‘The Show Must Go On’, released just 6 weeks prior. Thanks to the amazing back catalogue of songs that Freddie left behind, nearly 30 years after his death the show definitely is still going on. And with the kind of magic that Freddie had, will no doubt continue to be enjoyed for many years to come.

Did you ever get to meet Freddie Mercury?

We would love to hear if you ever met the Freddie Mercury and would like to hear your stories. To get in touch with us click here or comment below.

ELTON JOHN IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 10:50:55 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Elton John. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Elton John in 250 words (ish)

Sir Elton Hercules John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight) is an English pianist, composer, singer and songwriter born in Middlesex 1947. Both of his parents were musical and used to buy lots of records which inspired Elton John to pursue a career in music. He was influenced by artists like Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.

When he was 15 a local pub hired John as a pianist and was known as Reggie. In 1967 he met Bernie Taupin. This sparked a lifelong collaboration and they have made over 30 albums together. Taupin wrote the lyrics for songs like ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Daniel’, ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and ‘I’m Still Standing’.

Elton John has released 30 studio albums, 133 singles and 7 soundtrack albums. In the UK, he has had 7 UK No.1 singles including ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ with Kiki Dee and ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’ with George Michael. John’s had 31 singles in the top 10 and 66 in the top 40. Out of the 30 studio albums released, 7 made it to No. 7. Including ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player’ (1973), ‘Sleeping with the Past’ (1989) and ‘Caribou’ (1974).

Elton John wrote the soundtrack to Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ in 1994, the score was composed by Hans Zimmer. In the UK the soundtrack has reached Platinum certification and won loads of awards including the Golden Globe for best original song and Grammy award for best male pop vocal performance. The film was adapted for stage with the music still by Elton John and is currently in London’s West End.

John has won tons of awards including Disney Legends in 2006, Best British Male Brit Award and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for ‘Candle in the Wind’. In 1988 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and in 1975 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

DAVID BOWIE IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 10:16:37 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about David Bowie. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

David Bowie in 250 words (ish)

David Bowie was an English singer and is seen as one of the most influential musicians of the last century. He was born in Brixton London in 1947 and died in 2016. As a child Bowie was inspired by a collection of American 45s brought by his father. Shortly after this he took up the ukulele and started to play the piano. When Bowie was in school, he was punched in the left eye and after treatment was left with a permanently dilated pupil, one of his most recognisable features.

Bowie released 27 studio albums, 11 live albums and a whopping 128 singles. In the UK he had 5 No.1 singles and 25 singles in the UK top 10. His No.1s include ‘Space Oddity (1975)’, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and ‘Let’s Dance’. Out of the 27 studio albums Bowie released 11 made it to No.1 in the UK.

‘Scary Monster and Super Creeps’ (1980) stayed at No.1 for 2 weeks. ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973) and ‘Pin Ups’ (1973) both spent 5 weeks each at No.1. ‘Let’s Dance’ released in 1983 was Bowies 15th studio album. The album has sold 10.7 million copies worldwide and in the UK is on its silver certification.

Throughout his career, David Bowie had many alter egos, the most well-known being Ziggy Stardust. There is a statue of Bowie in Aylesbury where he debuted as Ziggy Stardust. His 5th studio album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ (1972) was based around a concept of a fictional glam rock star sent to save Earth from an apocalyptic disaster. The single ‘Starman’ was released on the album and was inspired by the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’. The chorus is loosely inspired by the song ‘Over the Rainbow’. The songs ‘Hot Love’ and ‘Telegram’ by T-Rex also inspired the song.

David Bowie won many awards over his career including 6 Grammy awards and 4 Brit Awards. In 1999 the French government made him Commander of the Ordre Des Arts et des Letters. However, he declined a knighthood in 2003 saying it was not what he spent working for.

The spider Heterophoda Davidbowie was named after him in 2008 and in 2015 an asteroid was named 342843 Davidbowie.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

10 SINGERS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE IN THE MOVIES

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 13:15:36 GMT

While watching Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows last week I noticed that Alice Cooper made a cameo performing No More Mr Nice Guy and Ballard Of Dwight Fry. It got me thinking, which other films have cameos from musicians.

So, I made a list, 10 singers you may not have known were in your favourite films.

1. Tom Jones in Mars Attacks

Directed by Tim Burton, this all-star 1996 classic was a spin on the 1950’s style of an alien invasion. Loads of celebrities and musicians appeared in this movie including Jack Black, Michael J. Fox and Danny DeVito.

Playing himself, Tom Jones is performing It’s Not Unusual when the Martians invade and replace the backing singers.

2. Alice Cooper in Wayne’s World

Wayne’s world (1992) is a much-loved American comedy about a pair of rock music lovers who host a public access television show starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. Alice Cooper has cameoed in many films including Dark Shadows, Diary of a Mad Housewife and Bigfoot.

Alice Cooper's scene see Wayne and Garth going backstage to meet Alice after his Milwaukee show.

3. Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End.

The third Pirates of the Caribbean film starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly sees the trio venture to gather the 7 pieces of 8 from Davey Jones. During their adventures We meet meeting Captain Teague, Jack Sparrows father, played by the legendary Keith Richards.

Keith Richards is actually a close friend of Johnny Depp and he also appeared in the fourth film, On Strangers Tide.

4. Aretha Franklin in Blues Brothers

Originally released as a single in 1968, 'Think' was reimagined into the musical The Blues Brothers staring Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi in 1980. 'Think' reached No.10 on the UK charts in 1967.

Aretha Franklin played Mrs Murphy, wife to Matt Murphy who owns a restaurant. 'Think' was performed in the restaurant to try to stop her husband re-joining the band.

5. Ian Brown in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Ian Brown, lead singer of The Stone Roses, made a cameo in the third Harry Potter film as the wizard in the Leaky Cauldron reading A Brief History of Time. Ian Brown is one of many people who have appeared in Harry Potter, some others being John Cleese, Johnny Greenwood and Jarvis Cocker.

His cameo was brief, blink and you'll miss it, but it’s cool that he’s part of the wizarding world.

6. David Bowie in Zoolander

One of my favourite cameos is in the film Zoolander. David Bowie’s cameo is definitely one to remember. Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell.

David Bowie plays himself as the judge of ‘The Walk Off’ between Derek and Hansel, his famous line being 'If nobody has any objections, I believe I might be of service.' What a legend.

7. Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge!

Another blink and you'll miss it cameo. In the 2001 hit musical Moulin Rouge! Kylie plays the Green Fairy on a bottle of Absinthe, singing ‘The Sound of Music’.

Kylie starred along side Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Her cameo was small but defiantly rememberable.

8. Dave Grohl in The Muppets

The Muppets Movie released in 2011 is about Kermit getting the band back together after The Muppets had all gone their own way. Fozzie bear is playing with a tribute band The Moopets.

Well known for his work with the Foo Fighter and Nirvana, Dave Grohl plays Animool in the band The Moopets.

9. Madonna in Die Another Day

Not only did Madonna sing the theme to the 2002 James Bond film but she also cameoed as the character Verity, a fencing instructor, who meets Bond in the fencing room and introduces him to Gustav Grave s.

Die Another Day (theme song) reached No.3 on the UK charts.

10. Peggy Lee in Lady and the Tramp

This Disney Classic film released in 1955 is the 15th film in the Classics list and stared Peggy Lee as Darling, wife to Jim Dear, Is and Am and Peg.

The Pekingese stray sings He’s A Tramp a song about the notorious dog Tramp. Co-written and performed by Peggy Lee this remains one of Disney’s most loved songs.

SUZI QUATRO IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 09:02:27 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Suzi Quatro. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Suzi Quatro in 250 words (ish)

Suzi Quatro is an American rock singer-songwriter born in Michigan, 1950. She started music at a young age performing in her father’s jazz band The Art Quarto Trio. Later she joined her sister in an all-girl band called The Pleasure Seekers, the band toured for 7 years where she played bass guitar and was the lead singer.

In the UK Quatro has had two No.1 singles ‘Can the Can’ (1973) and ‘Devil Gate Drive’ (1974). She has released 17 studio albums, 1 live album and 54 singles. Quatro has sold over 50 million records and was the first woman to become a major rock star as a bass guitar player.

Quatro is a multi-instrumentalist and covers many genres like glam rock, garage rock and hard rock. She often shows her bass stills during solos in songs and would also appear as just the bass player and not the singer. Her first album ‘Suzi Quatro’ released in 1973 reached No.2 in Australia and contains one of her most famous singles ‘Can the Can’.

Quatro’s sixth studio album ‘Suzi… and Other Four Letter Words’ was released in 1979 and was the last album to be recorded with RAK, she later moved to Britain and signed with Dreamland Records where she released ‘Rock Hard’ in 1980. This was her last studio album to chart until 2006 when she released ‘Back to The Drive’, her eleventh studio album with EMI.

Suzi has received six Bravo Otto Awards and was awarded a honorary doctorate in Music from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. In 2013 she was awarded the Woman of Valor Award for inspiring female musicians.

Quatro has appeared in many TV programmes including ‘Minder’, ‘Midsummer Murders’ and ‘Happy Days’. In 2019 the film ‘Suzi Q' was released in Australia about her life and struggles during her career.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

COLE PORTER IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 10:14:03 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Cole Porter. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Cole Porter in 250 words (ish)

Cole Porter was born in 1891 and died in 1964. He was an American songwriter and composer. As a child he was classically trained in the violin and piano. He was drawn to musical theatre and Broadway and started to become successful in the 1920’s. Some of his musicals include ‘Anything Goes, ‘Silk Stocking’ and ‘Can-Can’. Many of his songs have become standards in the music industry.

Porters first Broadway success was with the musical ‘Paris’ released in 1928, the song ‘Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love’ was one of the most popular songs from the musical and has been covered by many artists since. It has been used in films like ‘Midnight in Paris’ (2011) and ‘Tank Girl’ (1995).

The Musical ‘Anything Goes’ is an all-time favourite and has been revived many times in the West End and Broadway. Its most recent tour was in Australia in 2015. It has been turned into two films and has won awards for its many reruns. The song ‘Anything Goes’ is one of the most popular from the musical, it has been covered by Artists including Paul Whiteman in 1934 and on Fox’s TV show ‘Glee’. The song was translated into Mandarin for the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’.

Porter composed for films during the mid 1930’s including ‘Born to Dance’ (1936) and ‘Paree, Paree’ (1935) and ‘You’ll Never Get Rich’ (1941). In 1937 Porter was injured while riding and was in hospital for seven months. After his accident Porter did go back to work and released ‘You Never Know’ in 1938. Which ran for 78 performances. ‘Panama Hattie’ released in New York, 1940, and had 501 performances. ‘Let’s Face It’ was released in 1941 and was his longest running musical with a total of 547 performances.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

KYLIE MINOGUE IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 19 Jul 2020 09:28:25 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Kylie Minogue. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Kylie Minogue in 250 words (ish)

Kylie Minogue is an Australian-British singer-songwriter born in 1968 and is known as the Princess of Pop. Her musical style and fashion have helped to make her a style icon and a heavy musical influencer. Minogue starred in the Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours’ and became a recording artist in the late 1980’s, releasing her first studio album ‘Kylie’ in 1988.

Minogue has released 14 studio albums, 7 live albums and 74 singles. She reached No.1 in the UK 7 times with singles like ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ (1988), ‘Hand on Your Heart’ (1989) and ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ (2001). She has also had 7 No.1 albums including ‘Fever’ (2001) which spent 2 weeks at No.1 and ‘Aphrodite’ (2010).

Minogue has sold over 80 million records worldwide and over 10 million in the UK. ‘The Loco-Motion’ was released in 1988 in the UK and reached No.2, originally released by Little Eva in 1962. The release helped Minogue get a record deal with PWL Records in London.

Before her musical career, Minogue was an actor and continued to take acting roles during her musical career. She appeared in films like ‘Moulin Rouge!’ in 2001, ‘A Christmas Star’ in 2016 and ‘The Magic Roundabout’ in 2005 where she voiced the main character Florence. She has stared in Many TV shows including ‘Doctor Who’ in the Christmas special ‘Voyage of the Damned’ and ‘Kath & Kim’ in 2004.

In total Minogue has won 199 awards including a Grammy in 2004, Brit Awards in 2002 and 2008, Top of The Pops Awards in 2001 and 2002 and 17 ARIA Music Awards. She Received an OBE in 2008 and the Britain-Australia Society Award from The Duke of Edinburgh in 2016.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

What Was Live Aid?

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 19:21:35 GMT

Do you remember Live Aid? Were you there? What inspired this benefit concert?

Let's dip in and answer those questions, other questions, find out the back story, who played, the charity. Basically a whole bunch of stuff about Live Aid.

Before Live Aid

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure initially collaborated on a charity single aimed at raising money for the Ethiopian Famine crisis. The song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was written by Bob and Midge as a response to a series of television reports of the famine in Ethiopia by Michael Buerk. The single was released on the 3rd December 1984 performed by Band Aid, a group consisting of some of the biggest music artists in Britain and Ireland.

The super group USA for Africa followed on 8th March 1985 with ‘We Are the World’ a charity single made up of some of the biggest American artists written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

The Global Jukebox

Following the success of the single, a concert was planned for 13th July 1985. Live Aid was staged with the help of Harvey Goldsmith in the UK and Bill Graham in the USA. The concert was held at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.

Live Aid started in the UK at 12pm (BST) and finished at 22:00 (BST) at Wembley Stadium in London. the Philadelphia leg was held at John F Kennedy Stadium and began at 13:51pm (BST) finishing at 04:05 (BST). The two concerts were simultaneous and in combination ran for over 16 hours.

The concerts were broadcast worldwide and an estimated audience of around 1.9 billion people watched. There were 72,000 people watching live at Wembley Stadium and over 89,000 at John F. Kennedy Stadium. It is estimated that about £150 million was raised in total.

Who performed at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium?

Artists that performed at Wembley included Queen , Elton John, U2, Phil Collins, David Bowie, Sade, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Paul Young, The Who, Cliff Richard, Status Quo and Dire Straits.

Some Notable performances from Wembley included:

- Queen ’s 21 minute set which is now widely regarded as the stand out performance of the event.

-U2’s 14 version of ‘Bad’ which had Bono jumping off the stage to join the audience

-Phil Collins performed a set in the UK then flew via Concorde and helicopter to Philadelphia where he performed with Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin.

-Dire Straits ‘Money For Nothing’ with Sting

-Elvis Costello asking for help to sing an old northern English folk song which was ‘All You Need Is Love’

-The Who performing 'Won't Get Fooled Again'

-Elton John’s 32 minute set including a duet with George Michael ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’.

-Paul McCartney singing 'Let it Be' with Alison Moyet, David Bowie, Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof

-Finale of the concert a group performance of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

Who performed at Live Aid in John F. Kennedy Stadium?

In Philadelphia artists like Madonna, Bob Dylan , Judas Priest, Run DMC, Pretenders, Simple Minds, The Beach Boys, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Thompson Twins, Bryan Adams and Tina Turner.

Some notable performances included:

- Bob Dylan breaking a guitar string while playing with the Rolling Stones

-Black Sabbath performing 'Paranoid' with Ozzy Osbourne

-Simple Minds playing 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'

-Mick Jagger and Tina Turner’s duet of ‘It’s Only Rock and Roll’

-The Thompson Twins Thompson playing 'Revolution' with Steve Stevens, Nile Rodgers and Madonna

-Kenny Loggins performance of 'Footlose'

-Duran Duran’s set of four songs including a memorable version of ‘A View to a Kill’

-The energetic performance of 'Get Ready (Cos Here I Come) by Hall & Oates, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin

-Phil Collins 17 minute set with Eric Clapton and a solo piano version of his hit ‘In The Air Tonight’.

-The finale of 'We Are The World'

Were you at Live Aid?

We would love to hear if you attended Live Aid or remember where you were or what you were doing. To get in touch with us click here or comment below.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 14:28:00 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Simon & Garfunkel. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Simon & Garfunkel in 250 words (ish)

Simon & Garfunkel (Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel) were an American Folk-Rock duo active from the late 1950’s to 1970.

The duo met in elementary school in 1953 and started writing together. They released ‘Hey School Girl’ in 1957 under the name Tom & Jerry then changed their name to Simon & Garfunkel in 1963 after signing with Columbia Records. They released 5 studio albums, 4 live albums and 26 singles.

In the UK the duo had one No.1 hit ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ in 1970 and two No.1 albums, ‘Bookends’ (1968) and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (1970).

‘Bridge Over Troubled Water' was their fifth and final studio album which spent a massive 33 weeks at number one in the UK. They sold over 25 million copies of the album worldwide. It won a Grammy for the Album of the Year. ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ the single was the last song recorded for the album and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1971. The song has been covered by artists like Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Peggy Lee.

Simon & Garfunkel wrote the soundtrack to the film ‘The Graduate’ in 1968 which features the single ‘Mrs. Robinson’. It won Record of the Year in the 11th Annual Grammy Awards.

The duo split in 1970 when Art Garfunkel started acting and Paul Simon started writing solo material. They have reunited many times the past and in 1993 they undertook an international tour. In 2003 they received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

STEVIE WONDER IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 05 Jul 2020 12:15:33 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Stevie Wonder. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Stevie Wonder in 250 words (ish)

Stevie Wonder (Stevland Hardaway Morris) was born in Michigan in May 1950. He became blind shortly after his birth was regarded as a child prodigy from the age of 11 when he signed with Tamla Motown. His first single, ‘Fingertips’ was released when he was 13 and reached No.1 in the USA. He is the youngest artist to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts.

Wonder has released 23 studio albums, 4 live albums, 3 soundtrack albums and 98 singles. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide. His single ‘I just Called To Say I Love You’ topped 19 charts making it one of his most successful. Wonder has composed music for films including ‘The Woman in Red’ and ‘Jungle Fever’.

During the 1970’s he released a series of influential albums often regarded as his best work culminating in the double album ‘Songs In The Key of Life’. During this period, Stevie fused funk, jazz and soul whilst playing many instruments himself and experimenting with early synthesizers. He was also a pioneer of digital recording.

Stevie Wonder has won 25 Grammy awards, including 3 best selling albums awards. In 1966 he was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. In 2017 he was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Yale University. He is also well known for his civil rights work. He is one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace and has received a Life Time Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

TOM JONES IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 05 Jul 2020 12:12:03 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Sir Tom Jones. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Tom Jones in 250 words (ish)

Tom Jones (Sir Thomas John Woodward) is a welsh singer active from 1963. He started singing at a young age but stopped at 12 when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Jones was influenced by Little Richard , Jerry Lee Lewis and Jackie Wilson. Known for his powerful baritone voice he’s had 3 no.1 singles including ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and 3 No.1 albums ‘Delilah’ (1968), ‘Reload’ (1999) and ‘20 Greatest Hits’ (1975).

Jones has released 41 studio albums, 5 live albums. 104 singles AND has sold over 100 million records. ‘She’s a Lady’ was written by Paul Anka and was released by Tom Jones 1971 and reached No.2 in the UK but reached No.2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 making it one of his most successful hits in the US. His last album ‘Long Lost Suitcase’ was released in 2015 and was produced by Ethan Johns, it peaked at No.17 in the UK album charts.

Jones sung the theme for the 1965 James Bond film ‘Thunderball’ and is a judge on the talent show ‘The Voice UK’. He has appeared in many films and TV show including Tim Burtons ‘Mars Attacks’ (1996), ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ (2000) and ‘Under Milk Wood’ (2014). In 2012 Tom performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert in June and also performed a 50 minute set at the V Festival that August.

In 1966 Jones won a Grammy award for Best New Artist and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989. In 1999 Jones was awarded an OBE and in 2006 was knighted for Services to Music.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

WHAT WAS LIVE 8 AND WHY DID IT HAPPEN?

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 19:34:06 GMT

Do you remember Live 8? Were you there? Why was this benefit concert needed?

Let's dip in and answer those questions, other questions, find out the back story, who played, the charity. Basically a whole bunch of stuff about Live 8.

What was Live 8?

On July 2nd 2005 music venues across the globe were awash with people witnessing the follow up concert to ‘Live Aid’, it was called called ‘Live 8’. 10 concerts were played simultaneously across the world including Berlin, London, Rome and Moscow.

Over 1000 musicians performed to support the UK’s ‘Make Poverty History’, ‘Global Call To Action Against Poverty’ and to make awareness of issues in Africa like AIDS issues, poverty, hunger and government debt.

The concerts were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio stations. On the 6th July there was an eleventh concert ‘Edinburgh 50,000-The Final Push’ and was the closest concert geographically to the location of the G8 summit. On the 8th July the G8 summit ended and the leaders pledged to increase the aid to Africa from $25 billion to $50 billion by 2010. The concerts were held around the 20th anniversary of Live Aid in 1985.

The Live 8 project was launched on 31st May 2005 by Bob Geldof with the aim to raise awareness of issues in Africa. He organised eleven free concerts in London, Berlin, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome, Barrie, Cornwall, Edinburgh, Johannesburg, Moscow and Chiba. Tickets were released for these concerts via a text lottery in the UK and the messages cost £1.50, over 2 million people messaged and £3 million was raised from the messages alone.

Which artists performed in Live 8?

Live 8 consisted of ten concerts on the 2nd July and one concert on the 6th July. Below is just a snippet of the many artists that performed at the events.

Hyde Park had over 25 performers including:

Coldplay, Dido, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Scissor Sisters, Madonna, The Killers, The Who and Elton John. It was presented by Peter Kay.

Cornwall:

Peter Gabriel, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Kalsi hosed. Coco Mbassi, Mariza and Ayub Ogada were some of the acts that performed in the Eden Project ‘Africa Calling’ concert.

Japan:

Included performances from Mcfly and Björk.

Germany:

Phill Collins, Green Day, Söhne Mannheims and A-ha as well as many other artists performed.

Park Place in Barrie:

Over 20 artists including Deep Purple, Celine Dion, Neil Young and Jet.

Johannesburg:

Hosted by Nelson Mandela and featured music by Oumoi Sangare, Lucky Dude and Zola.

Red Square Moscow:

Included performances from Pet Shop Boys and Bravo.

Paris:

Presented by Laurent Boyer and Solidarity Side featuring artists like Muse, The Cure and Andrea Bocelli.

Philadelphia:

Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Kanye West and Simon & Garfunkel.

Rome:

Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Faith Hill.

Edinburgh:

Artists included Wet Wet Wet, The Proclaimers and James Brown.

What were some key events in the lead up to the concerts?

From the 31st May, 2005, there were a few major events that happened during the build up to Live 8, some include:

3rd June 2005, Gordon Brown (British Chancellor) wiped all the VAT for the concert saving the organisers around £500,000.

11th June 2005, G8 cancelled the debt of 18 of the poorest countries 17th June 2005, a petition was created to send to the G8 leaders.

2nd July 2005, a peaceful protest which was organised by ‘Make Poverty History’ started in Edinburgh with around 200,000 people.

Were you at Live 8?

We would love to hear if you attended any one of these concerts. To get in touch with us click here or comment below.

ROD STEWART IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 18:57:10 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Rod Stewart. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Rod Stewart in 250 words (ish)

Rod Stewart (Sir Roderick David Stewart) was born in 1945 in Highgate. As a child, Stewart was inspired by singer Al Jolson and Little Richard . At the age of 15 his father bought him a guitar and in 1962 he took up the harmonica and was busking with Wizz Jones around London.

Stewart has released 30 studio albums, 4 live albums and 147 singles. In the UK he's had 6 No.1 singles including ‘Sailing’ in 1976, ‘Maggie May’ in 1971 and ‘Do YA Think I’m Sexy?’ In 1987. He's also had 10 No.1 albums, Stewart's second album ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’ released in 1971 stayed at No.1 in the UK for 6 weeks. His last 2 albums ‘Blood Red Roses’ (2018) and ‘You’re In My Heart’ (2019) both reached No.1 in the UK album charts.

Stewart has sold over 120 million records making him one of the best selling artists of all time. In 1977 Stewart reached No.1 with two covers ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About it’ and ‘The First Cut Is the Deepest’, both have reached silver status in the UK.

In 1969 Stewart joined the band Faces and released 4 studio albums including their No.1 ‘Ooh La La’ in 1973 and featured singles like ‘Cindy Incidentally’. The band broke up in 1975.

In 2001 Stewart received the first Diamond Award from the World Music Awards, awarded CBE in 2007, Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1993 and was put into the UK Hall Of Fame in 2006. He is a model railway enthusiast and has a 23 x 124ft layout in his LA home.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

CYNDI LAUPER IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:19:10 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Cyndi Lauper. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Cyndi Lauper in 250 words (ish)

Cyndi Lauper (Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper) is an American singer songwriter born in 1953. As a child Lauper listened to artists like The Beatles and at the age of 12 she started writing songs and playing the guitar.

In the UK Cyndi peaked at No.2 in 1984 with ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and at No.3 with ‘Time After Time’. Her studio album ’Twelve Deadly Sins… And Then Some’ reached No.2 on the UK Album Charts in 1994.

Lauper released 11 studio albums, 33 music videos and 51 singles. She has sold over 50 million records world wide. ‘She’s So Unusual’ was Lauper's debut album released in 1983 and contained 6 singles including ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ which is a cover of the Robert Hazard song first recorded in 1979. ‘Time After Time’ also featured on her debut album, written by herself and Rob Hyman who sung backing vocals on the vocals.

‘The Goonies’ released in 1985 features music by Lauper and she had a cameo in the film. She has also starred in many TV shows and films including ‘Bones’, ‘Mad About You’ and ‘The Opportunists’.

In 2012 she released the hit musical ‘Kinky Boots’ which has successfully toured the USA, UK and Australia.

In 2013 the musical won 6 Tony Awards including the award for Best Original Score. Lauper has won two Grammy Awards, one Emmy Award and one MTV Video Music Award. Cyndi is ranked at No.58 on the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

ABBA IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 08:24:54 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about the best thing to come out of Sweden (unless you're a Volvo fan), ABBA. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

ABBA in 250 words (ish)

ABBA were a Swedish pop group formed in 1972. Their name is an acronym from the first names of the 4 members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

The four members were already well known in Sweden within other bands but came together for the first time in 1970 as a Swedish supergroup. After winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest they went on to become one of the most commercially successful acts in popular music history

In total ABBA released 8 studio albums, 2 live albums and 73 singles. Their biggest studio album was ‘Arrival’ (1976) which contains ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Money, Money, Money’ and ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’. In the UK the album sold over 1.5 million copies and reached Platinum status.

ABBA have sold over 380 million records worldwide and the majority of their songs were written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

ABBA began as two married couples, Agnetha with Björn and Benny with Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Both marriages collapsed during the band's most successful period. Many of the songs written this time dealt with the tensions within the band. ‘The Winner Takes It All’ being a good example of this. The band stopped recording together in 1982.

A musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ was written by Catherine Johnson based around some of ABBA's songs. It became a huge success on London and Broadway stages before being turned into a movie in 2008 with a sequel in 2018. This has helped to keep the band in the public consciousness.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

VERA LYNN IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 06:21:37 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Dame Vera Lynn. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Vera Lynn in 250 words (ish)

Dame Vera Lynn (1917-2020) was a British singer. She is best known for her performances during World War 2 and often dubbed the Forces Sweetheart. During the war she performed for troops in Egypt, Burma and India.

As many of Lynn's recordings were released prior to the start of UK sales charts (in 1952) Lynn had one UK No.1 hit single ‘My Son My Son’ in 1954. She also had a No.1 album in 2009 ‘We’ll Meet Again-The Very Best Of’. Until recently this made her the oldest living person to have a number one in the UK although she is still the oldest living person to have a No.1 album in the UK.

Lynn was well known for her association with the ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association). Her most popular songs being ‘We’ll Meet Again’, ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ and ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’.

The last single she released was ‘I Love This Land’ in 1982 which was released after the end of the Falklands War. In 1952 Lynn became the first British performer to top the charts in the United States with ‘Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart’. This was a cover of the song written by Eberhard Storch in 1950.

Lynn received many awards including ‘Spirit of the 20th Century’ in 2000, outstanding contribution award in 2018 at the Classic Brit awards, OBE in 1969 and DBE in 1975.

On 18th June 2020 Lynn passed away surrounded by her close family. She was 103 years old.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

BOB DYLAN IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 26 May 2020 07:45:17 GMT

Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count).

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Bob Dylan. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Bob Dylan in 250 words (ish)

Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman) is an American singer-song writer born in Minnesota in 1941. He has sold more than 100 million records and is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Recording since 1961, Dylan has released 39 studio albums, 12 live albums and 94 singles. In the UK Dylan has had 8 number 1 albums including The Free Wheelin Bob Dylan (1964), Self Portrait (1970), New Morning (1970). In total he has spent 25 weeks at the top if the UK album charts. Dylan was influenced by many artists including Elvis Presley and Little Richard . During High School he would play Little Richards songs on the piano.

‘The Freewheelin Bob Dylan’was his second studio album and contains a few songs which are considered protest songs. The lyrics were inspired by news stories of the time which included the fears around nuclear warfare and the civil rights movement. Blowin In The Wind is a protest song written by Bob Dylan for his second album containing many rhetorical questions about war, peace and freedom.

Another of his greatest hits is Mr Tambourine Man released in 1965 on the acoustic album Bring It All Back Home. Inspired by poet Arthur Rimbaud and film maker Fegerico Fellini, the song has been covered by many artists including The Byrds and Stevie Wonder.

Dylan has won 15 awards in total including 11 Grammy Awards. He has 5 songs on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and he was the first musician to receive a Noble Prize in 2016 for Literature.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

5 SONGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE COVERS

Mon, 18 May 2020 18:50:19 GMT

Quite often on Forest Radio we like to delve a little deeper than the big hits and play songs you never hear on the radio. Invariably that often includes original versions of songs that became bigger as cover versions.

So we thought we'd share a few here. Five songs that you didn't know were covers ... or perhaps you did!

1. Soft Cell - Tainted Love

This song was a huge hit in 1981 for Marc Almond and David Ball aka Soft Cell. However the original version dates back to 1964. It was written by Ed Cobb from The Four Preps and was released as a B side by Gloria Jones twice in 1965 and 1976. However both times the single failed to chart.

It was also covered by Marilyn Manson in 2001 and Imelda May.

Ooh, fun fact. Gloria Jones went on to sing and play keyboards in T-Rex. She was also in a relationship with Marc Bolan and they have a son together, Rolan.

2. George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You

This was a big solo comeback hit for George in 1987 from his much acclaimed album Cloud 9. Originally it was James Ray who recorded the song back in 1962.

It was written by Rudy Clark who also wrote It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song) . This could also be classed as a hidden cover. It was a number one for Cher in 1990 but originally recorded by Betty Everett in 1964.

3. Blondie - Denis

This song was the first big UK hit for Blondie and one of many hidden gems they covered during their career.

The original was about a girl, Denise and was a big do-wop hit in the US by Randy and The Rainbows in 1963.

Blondie went on to record Hanging On The Telephone in 1979. This was a minor hit for The Nerves the year before and written by Jack Lee. Fun fact: he also wrote Come Back and Stay which was covered by Paul Young in 1983.

The Tide Is High was another big hit for Blondie. This was originally performed by The Paragons in 1967 as a B side to Only A Smile .

Wow! This was only meant to be a list of 5. We're already up to 6!!

3. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

This was the song that launched Cyndi Lauper's career. It was on her debut album She's So Unusual and a big hit worldwide in 1983.

The original though was written and recorded by American musician Robert Hazard in 1979. It was only ever recorded as a demo (hence why it sounds a little scratchy in this YouTube clip). It has since been covered by over 30 different artists. Cyndi's version was nominated for two Grammys.

Another of Cyndi's big hits, I Drove All Night was essentially a cover version too. That song was written by the songwriting duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly for Roy Orbison. Although Roy recorded his version in 1987 it didn't actually get released until after his death in 1992. By that time Cyndi had already recorded her version, had a big hit with it and moved on (her version was a hit in 1989).

4. Kim Carnes - Betty Davis Eyes

We all know the Kim Carnes version of this song. In fact it spent 9 weeks on top of the Billboard chart and was a number 1 in a total of 21 countries in 1981. It also won two Grammys.

It's original version was recorded 7 years before by Jackie DeShannon who wrote it with Donna Weiss. It can be found tucked away quietly on Jackie's New Arrangement album. Kim Carnes performed major surgery on the original DeShannon version making it almost unrecognisable.

Ever wondered what the real Betty Davis thought of it? She liked it. She was 73 when the Kim Carnes version was a hit. In fact after it won two Grammys she wrote to both Kim Carnes and Jackie DeShannon thanking them for making her a 'part of modern times'.

5. Toni Basil - Mickey

It took a couple of stabs for Toni Basil to have a hit with this song. When it did finally get noticed in 1982 it did pretty well. It made number 2 in the UK and then got to number 1 a few months later in both the US and Canada.

Originally though Mickey was a girl. The original was recorded as Kitty by Racey. They had a few bigger hits in the late 70's and early 80's ( Lay Your Love On Me, Some Girls ).

The song was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. They're they guys who wrote many big glam hits for The Sweet, Smokie, Suzi Quattro and Mud. Click here to read more about how Mike Chapman made Blondie a household name.

Noteable mentions

Well we went over our original promise of 5 cover versions a while back so we thought let's really go for broke and mention 5 that may be a little more obvious.

1. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

This behemoth of number one hits was all over 1992 thanks to Whitney and the movie The Bodyguard. It was written by Dolly Parton as a goodbye to her former partner Porter Wagoner.

Dolly recorded her version in 1973 and it went on to be a number one twice, in 1974 and in 1982.

Click here to see and hear Dolly's version.

2. Valerie - Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse

This has almost become one of Amy's signature songs after she sang it for producer Mark Ronson on his Version album in 2006. It got to number 2 in the UK a year later.

The original was a much slower indie rock affair written and recorded by The Zutons in 2006 also. It made the top 10 in the UK and was written about celebrity make up artist Valerie Star.

Click here to see The Zutons original.

3. The Beatles - Twist and Shout

The Fab Four did a lot of covers on their first few albums and by the time John Lennon screamed his way through Twist and Shout it had already done the rounds quite a few times.

Phil Medley and Bert Berns wrote it (both pretty well established songwriters in the early 60's). It was recorded first by The Top Notes (and produced by Phil Spector). When The Isley Brothers covered it in 1962 it became a hit in the US Billboard 100 and the first top 20 hit for the Isleys.

Click here to hear The Top Notes original.

4. The Clash - I Fought The Law

By 1979 The Clash were already an established part of punk royalty (if that was a thing). I Fought The Law appeared on their EP The Cost of Living and quickly became the stand out track for radio.

Its origins go back to 1958 with the original version by Sonny Curtis (from The Crickets) going largely unnoticed. The Bobby Fuller Four however took it to the top 10 in 1966. It has since gone on to earn a place on the Rolling Stone magazine's coveted 500 best songs of all time list.

Click here for the original version.

5. Aretha Franklin - Respect

Aretha's version of this song is now regarded as one of her finest moments and one of the best songs of the late 60's R&B era.

The song was originally written and recorded by Otis Redding for his highly acclaimed 1965 Otis Blue album. Aretha's version picks it up a notch from the original and it was Frankin's arrangement that made it the standard we know and love today.

Check out the Otis original here.

STEVIE WONDER IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Wed, 13 May 2020 08:00:30 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Stevie Wonder. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Stevie Wonder in 250 words (ish)

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

LITTLE RICHARD IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Sun, 10 May 2020 08:39:45 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Little Richard. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Little Richard in 250 words (ish)

Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman 1932-2020) was an American singer. Known as the Architect of Rock and Roll, Little Richard was regarded as a pioneer in the evolution popular music. He has been cited as an influence for many musicians over many genres most notably James Brown, Ray Charles and Prince.

He was regarded by many as one of the first crossover artists appealing to audiences of all races. As a child Richard was inspired by gospel music. His first break was in 1951 and signed a record contract with RCA. Between 1953 and 1960 he performed with the band The Upsetters.

In the UK Little Richard’s biggest hits were ‘Long Tall Sally’ in 1957 and ‘Baby Face’ in 1959. He released 15 studio albums, 3 live albums and 37 singles and has sold over 30 million records worldwide. ’Here’s Little Richard’ was released in 1957 and was his debut album. This album contains two of his biggest hits, ‘Jenny, Jenny’, ’Long Tall Sally’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’. His musical style captured the hearts of many, the loud volume, beats and rhythms helped to inspired musicians and define the rock and roll genre.

Richard performed and wrote songs with many artists including The Beach Boys for the film ‘The Telephone’, Jon Bon Jovi for the film ‘Young Guns’ with the song ‘You Really Got Me’, and a duet with Elton John called ‘The Power’. He recorded a cover of ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ for the Disney album ‘For Our children’.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

DOLLY PARTON IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 05 May 2020 13:13:42 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Dolly Parton . But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Dolly Parton in 250 words (ish)

Dolly Parton (b.1946) is an American singer-song writer known for country music. She is a multi-instrumentalist playing banjo, guitar, piano and harmonica. Parton has released a massive 50 studio albums, 6 live albums, 5 soundtrack albums and 154 singles. Dolly Parton has sold over 160 million albums and is the best-selling female country music artist of all time.

The studio album ‘Jolene’ contains two of Parton’s biggest hits ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’. Released in 1974 it was Dolly’s thirteenth studio album. The latter being covered by Whitney Houston (for the film ‘The Bodyguard’) and Sarah Washington.

The song ‘9 to 5’ was written for the film of the same name in 1980 in which Dolly starred. It was also featured in the musical theatre version of the film which features other Dolly Parton compositions. It premiered in Los Angeles in 2008 and is currently a hit in London’s West End.

Parton has collaborated with many artists including Kenny Rodgers with ‘Islands in the Stream’, Queen Latifah ‘He’s Everything’ and Willie Nelson ‘Everything’s Beautiful (in Its Own Way)’. During her career she has won over 150 awards including 39 BMI awards, 9 Country Music Association Awards, 11 Grammy Awards and 3 People’s Choice Awards. She also has her own theme park in Tennessee ( Dollywood ).

In 1986 The Dollywood Foundation was created. This charity provides free books to children and gives scholarships to children. The foundation’s work still continues today and helps to provide support to people in America.

Hungry for more?

You can learn a little more about little Dolly by checking out her official website .

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

THE CARPENTERS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 05 May 2020 13:06:22 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about The Carpenters. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

The Carpenters in 250 words (ish)

The Carpenters were a sibling duo from America (1969-1983). Karen (vocals/drums) and Richard Carpenter (Keyboards/vocals) were musical in their childhood and started their professional career in the late 1960’s. They released 14 studio albums (2 Christmas albums), 2 live albums and 46 singles. In the UK they had 3 number one albums ‘The Singles 1969-1973’, ‘Horizon’ and ‘Only Yesterday’.

Their musical style was referred to as easy listening, often including lush production with strings and vocal layering thanks to Richard’s love of arranging. Karen’s vocal style has been cited as an influence to many singers, Paul McCartney called it ‘the best female voice in the world’.

The Carpenters signed with the Herb Albert and Jerry Moss’s A&M label in 1969 and released their first album ‘Ticket To Ride’ (formerly Offering) in 1969. They have sold more than 90 million records world-wide to date and are the seventh top selling artists of the 1970s.

Some of their best-selling singles included ‘Top of the World’, ‘Close To You’, ‘Superstar’, and ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’. ‘Top of the World’ has been used in many films and TV shows including ‘Shrek Forever After’, ‘Dark Shadows’ and the Japanese TV show ‘Miseinen’. They released the Christmas Album ‘Christmas Portrait’ in 1978 and included their cover of ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town’ and their Christmas Hit ‘Merry Christmas Darling’.

Karen Carpenter died in 1983 after complications from anorexia and in late 1983 they were given a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After Karen’s death Richard still pursued his music career releasing a solo album ‘Time’ in 1987.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 05 May 2020 13:01:09 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Dusty Springfield. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Dusty Springfield in 250 words (ish)

Dusty Springfield (born Mary O’Brien) was a British singer (1939-1999) enjoying her main success during the 1960’s. She was a mezzo-soprano and is still regarded as one of the most successful British female performers. Dusty was an early example of the genre later classed as blue-eye soul and is often cited as a fashion icon of the Swinging Sixties. Her style included evening dresses, big bleached blonde hair and lavish make up.

She released 21 studio albums, 1 live album and 69 singles. ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ was her only UK number one (1966). Her other big hits included ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’, ‘Little by Little’ and ‘I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten’. Her 1969 Dusty in Memphis album is often referred to as one of the best examples of her genre.

Dusty started her career in 1958 when she joined The Lana Sisters. In 1960 she formed The Springfields who had two top 5 UK hits ‘Island Of Dreams’ and ‘Say I Won’t Be There’. The group released 3 studio albums and 12 singles.

Following a less successful spell during the 1970’s, Dusty had more chart success in the late 80’s which included collaborations with Pet Shop Boys, Hall & Oates and Dan Hartman. In 1990, her thirteenth studio album ‘Reputation’ was her first in 8 years.

In 1999 she received an OBE just 3 months before her death from breast cancer. She was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame two weeks after her death by Elton John.

Hungry for more?

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

FLEETWOOD MAC IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 09:02:21 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Fleetwood Mac . But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Fleetwood Mac in 250 words (ish)

Fleetwood Mac are a British American band formed in London in 1967. The have sold more than 120 million records worldwide and are associated with various genres such as rock, blues and pop.

Their name originates from their drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie. The band has famously had many line-up changes and tensions however Fleetwood and McVie have remained.

They began as one of the blues-revival bands of the late 60’s with Peter Green quickly becoming a big star as their front man and primary songwriter of many hits including their 1968 number one, Albatross.

Following Green’s departure in 1970 and many subsequent line-up changes, they enjoyed their most successful period from 1974 shifting to a rock sound with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and girlfriend Stevie Nicks adding to Fleetwood, McVie and his then wife, Christine McVie.

In 1977 their critically acclaimed album ‘Rumours’ was released. By 2003 it had sold over 19 million copies in the US alone making it one of the best-selling albums of the 70’s. Its popularity was often associated with the songs that were born from relationship issues within the band at the time.

The Rumours line up recorded 3 more albums including the 1987 ‘Tango in The Night’ which has sold 15 million worldwide. The band have been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Grammy in 1978 and a Brit in 1998 amongst many other accolades.

They continue to tour with Neil Finn (Crowded House) and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty) replacing Buckingham after he was ‘fired’ from the band.

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about Fleetwood Mac at their official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

JAMES TAYLOR IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 08:30:29 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about James Taylor including how he influenced one of The Beatles to write a number one. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

James Taylor in 250 words (ish)

James Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born in 1948. He has sold more than 100 million records, released 20 studio albums, 4 live albums and 40 singles starting with his self-titled album from 1968 which was release on The Beatles Apple label. Paul McCartney and George Harrison both appear on the album. One track on the album ‘Something In The Way She Moves’ provided George Harrison with the opening line of his song ‘Something’ recorded the following year.

Typically, his songs fall into the folk rock and country rock genres. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

His first single ‘Fire and Rain’ made number 3 in the US in 1970. The song is about Taylor’s childhood friend Suzanne Schnerr’s suicide. This song was placed at number 85 on the Recording Industry Association of America's Songs of the Century list, which contains 365 songs of historical significance recorded between 1900 and 2000.

Taylor has collaborated with many other artists including Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Carole King who wrote his 1971 hit ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ which also contains Joni Mitchell on backing vocals. Taylor was married to Carly Simon for 11 years and they regularly appeared on each other’s albums.

As well as recording and touring, James Taylor now offers free guitar lessons on his website. He teaches some of his number one hits as well as basic guitar skills. Taylor also plays the keyboard and the harmonica on his albums and when on tour.

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about James Taylor at his official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

5 SONGS THAT ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 16:36:54 GMT

On the surface, there are some songs that seem pretty happy. We sing along when they come on the radio, even take them to our hearts and make them our favourites.

However there are a few that are a little more sinister than they appear on the surface. Let’s look at 5 songs that are not all that they seem. Paul Mumford has more below.

1. The Police - Every Breath You Take

You might think it’s all about love, companionship and togetherness. Some people even choose it as their wedding song. But no, it’s got a much more sinister meaning than that.

According to Sting, the song is about a possessive guy who is ‘watching’ a lost lover. It’s essentially about a stalker. A little Big Brother in fact.

Incidentally, Sting was going through his own little love triangle at the time. Having recently split from his wife, actress Frances Tomelty and hooking up with her best friend and their next door neighbour, Trudie Styler (his current wife). Sting claims the song took him only 30 minutes to write.

This is one of the biggest grossing songs of all time. In 2010 it was estimated that this song alone generates more than a quarter of Sting’s music publishing income.

2. The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

Anything but sweet, this song was written primarily by Mick Jagger and appears as the opening track on The Rolling Stones 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

A delve into the lyrics reveals some pretty taboo subjects. There are references to slavery, rape, interracial sex. Shall I go on? Perhaps not. Oh, OK one more thing. The term Brown Sugar is supposed to be a reference to brown heroin. Had enough yet?

According to Bill Wyman the lyrics were inspired by a backup singer called Claudia Lennear. She and Jagger met when The Stones were touring with Ike and Tina Turner in 1969. David Bowie also wrote a song about her on his album Aladdin Sane.

3. Nena - 99 Red Balloons

I remember seeing this one on Top of The Pops many times when it was number one and thought it was just a nice slice of happy 80’s pop sung by a lovely German girl with hairy armpits. Nope.

The true meaning of the lyrics are actually more about the paranoia of war. This was 1984 and Russia and the US were busy counting nuclear warheads and generally looking over their shoulders. In the lyrics Nena buys a bunch of balloons, lets them go and they show up on radar as unidentified objects. So a whole bunch of planes are hastily scrambled as countries go into full alert anticipating a nuclear attack.

Nena’s guitarist got the idea for the song after seeing balloons being released at a Rolling Stones concert. It was number one for three weeks in the UK in 1984 and was one of two songs about nuclear war to top the charts in that year. The second one being Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

4. Bruce Springsteen - Born In the USA

Sounds like a patriotic song all about how mighty fine it is to be an American citizen right? It’s actually quite the opposite.

The song was originally called ‘Vietnam’ which should provide a clue to it’s true meaning. Bruce Springsteen wrote the song about the problems veterans were suffering following the Vietnam war which ended in 1975.

Springsteen actually considers this as one of his best songs. It was the title track of his 1984 album which sold over 18 million copies and was the first song Bruce wrote for the album.

5. Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear?

Innocent little tune we all bleet out at Christmas right? What’s so creepy about that? Well, when you discover what was in the writer's heads at the time it's not so warm and cuddly.

Although there are Christmassy references, the song is actually more about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker in 1962. They were invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song but came up with this instead. The lyrics are actually a plee for peace amidst the threat of nuclear war.

About Paul Mumford

Paul can be heard on Forest Radio Monday to Thursday 6-8pm and for the Saturday Social, Saturday mornings from 9.

Click here to get in touch.

QUEEN IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 10:51:24 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Queen , our most requested artist. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Queen in 250 words (ish)

Queen are a British rock band formed in 1970. The original line up remained intact until 1991; Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. Initially they were influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Kinks but soon began experimenting with other genres including heavy rock, opera, pop, disco and jazz.

Queen released 15 studio albums, 10 live albums and 72 singles. Their Greatest Hits compilation (1981) is the best-selling UK album of all time with 6.3 million copies sold to date.

The song Bohemian Rhapsody is regarded as their most popular song featuring heavily layered vocals and production techniques. At almost 6 minutes long and without a chorus it was initially dismissed as a single but gained popularity after UK DJ Kenny Everett began championing it. It has since won numerous awards and made number one twice in the UK. In 2018 it officially became the most streamed song of the 20th century.

Queen’s 1981 collaboration with David Bowie, ‘Under Pressure’ was their second UK number one single, controversially sampled by Vanilla Ice in 1990.

Queen’s performance at 1985’s Live Aid concert (see above) is regarded as one of the best live performances ever.

In 1992, following Freddie’s death from an AIDS related illness, a benefit concert was attended by 72,000 people and launched The Mercury Phoenix Trust AIDS charity.

Following John Deacon’s departure from the group, the remaining two members have toured and recorded with Paul Rogers (Free, Bad Company) and Adam Lambert.

In 2002 a musical ‘We Will Rock You’ featuring Queen songs was launched and in 2018, 20th Century Fox released the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ movie based around Freddie’s life.

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about Queen at their official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

HERB ALPERT IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 10:41:43 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Herb Alpert . But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Herb Alpert in 250 words (ish)

Herb Alpert is an American musician (b.1935) well known for his association with the trumpet. He also plays piano and occasionally sings (as demonstrated in his 1969 hit ‘This Guy’s In Love With You). He started playing the trumpet when he was 8.

Herb’s career began as a songwriter, co -writing hits by Jan & Dean and Sam Cooke (including ‘Wonderful World’). As a performer he has released 28 albums and sold around 72 million records worldwide.

He has won 9 Grammy's and had 14 platinum albums. In the UK his biggest single hits were ‘Spanish Flea’, ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’, and he’s had 4 top 10 albums including ‘Best Of The Brass’ and ‘Rise’.

The song ‘Spanish Flea’ has appeared in ‘The Dating Game’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘The Otto Show’, ‘American Pie 2’ and ‘Supernatural’. ‘A Taste Of Honey’ (originally by Bobby Scott and Richard Marlow) won Record of the Year in 1966 and spent 5 weeks at number 1 on the Easy Listening Charts. The song was released on the 1965 album ‘Whipped Cream & Other Delights’, considered one of Herb’s most popular albums.

In 1962, Herb founded A&M Records with record promoter Jerry Moss. The label went on to sign artists like The Police, The Carpenters, Supertramp and Janet Jackson as well as Herb’s own recordings. The label was eventually sold to Polydor.

In 1990 Herb created the Herb Alpert Foundation, an organisation that gives grants to groups and provides support. Herb and his wife Lani Hall highly support the arts and arts education which

prompted him to create the foundation in aim to give back to the community.

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about Herb Alpert at his official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

THE BEATLES IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 14:43:55 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about The Beatles . In 250 words? Really??

The Beatles in 250 words (ish)

The Beatles are regarded as one of the most influential bands in music history, releasing 11 studio albums and 22 singles between 1963 and 1970.

In the UK they had 17 number one singles including ‘She Loves You’ and ‘All You Need Is Love’ and recorded 13 studio albums.

The band members were John Lennon (1940-1980), Paul McCartney (b. 1942), George Harrison (1943-2001) and Ringo Starr (b. 1940). Their style changed throughout their career and took in rhythm and blues, rock and roll, psychedelia and rock with influences ranging from classical to Indian music.

The vast majority of their music was recorded at Abbey Roads Studios in London and produced by George Martin, often regarded as the 5th Beatle. 1967’s ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band’ was regarded as their pinnacle of creativity with 32 million copies sold worldwide, the album also won four Grammy Awards (1968) and was the first rock LP to receive Album of the Year.

The song writing partnership of Lennon/McCartney is one of the most covered and the band are the best-selling music act of all time with certified sales of 600 million units worldwide. The band split on 31st December 1970.

The Beatles starred in 4 motion pictures and briefly re-formed in 1995 to record two new songs based on Lennon demos. They were produced by Jeff Lynne.

John Lennon was murdered outside his New York home in 1980. George Harrison died from lung cancer in 2001. Both Paul McCartney and Ringo star are still recording and touring.

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about The Beatles at their official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

BILL WITHERS IN 250 WORDS (ish)

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 14:15:38 GMT

So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about soul legend Bill Withers . But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).

Bill Withers in 250 words (ish)

Bill Withers was an American singer/songwriter, self-taught guitarist and keyboard player (1938 – 2020).

His music fitted many genres including soul, blues, R&B and funk. Bill never had a number one single in the UK. His song ‘Lovely Day’ was in the UK Top 10 twice (1978, 1988).

Bill won three Grammy Awards (1971, 1981, 1987). His major hits included ‘Lean On Me’, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, ‘Just The Two Of Us’, ‘Lovely Day’ and Grandma’s Hands’. He released 8 studio albums, 1 live album and 34 singles.

‘Just As I Am’ was his first album released in 1971 and produced by Booker T Jones. It features two of his hit singles and he wrote 10 out of the 12 songs on the album. It reached number 5 on the U.S Billboard chart. His second album ‘Still Bill’ explored soul, funk and blues. The hit single ‘Lean On Me’ sold over 3 million copies and became an anthem during the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak as people sang it from balconies throughout Italy.

Bill performed and recorded from 1970 to 1985 when he retired from music after a growing disdain for the industry. He has since been dubbed as a ‘soul legend’, having had a major influence on other R&B artists. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

His singles have been sampled by Blackstreet (Grandma’s Hands in No Diggity 1996) and Shawn Mendes (Ain’t No Sunshine in I Know What You Did Last Summer 2015).

Hungry for more?

You can learn more about Bill Withers at his official website ( click here ).

If you have a suggestion for an artist we can feature in 250 words (ish) click here and get in touch or leave us a comment below.

RECORD PRODUCERS: THE UNSUNG HEROES OF POP

Sat, 14 Mar 2020 16:22:52 GMT

When you listen to your favourite oldies or classic albums how important do you think the producer is in creating what you hear? Does the producer make a difference to the finished article or are they just twiddling the knobs?

Who are the great producers responsible for the music you hear on Classic Hits Forest Radio and how much did they shape the music? Paul Mumford dives in and finds out.

My fascination with the 'knob twidddlers'

I’ve always been interested in the work of a record producer. In fact, the more I learn about some of the greats the more I can hear their influence and personality in the music they have helped to create. However, many great record producers are largely ignored.

Sure, we all know how important George Martin was to the work of The Beatles , how Quincy Jones weaved his magic on Michael Jackson ’s Thriller or how Nile Rodgers taught Bowie to dance and helped Madonna be more Like a Virgin. But what about people like Roy Thomas Baker, the man behind one of the biggest number ones ever? Or Joe Meek who we have a lot to thank for. Do you know who Mike Chapman is? Before talking about some of the best, let’s answer one big question.

What does a record producer even do?

Good question.

The answer really lies with each producer as they are often quite different. Some play a much bigger part in the outcome than others but they are all much more than knob twiddlers. T he music producer can be as influential to the end result as a director is to a movie.

The producer will oversee the sound of the music, how it’s played, what it’s played on, which tracks go on the album, which songs will be released as singles and all points in between. Often producers have a big hand in writing the songs themselves which is perhaps another article for another time. Some producers can turn their hands to a wide range of musical styles and other’s will specialise. Often to the point that it’s easy to see which songs they have worked on … when you discover who they are.

So with all that in mind here are 5 producers you may not have heard of … and what they have been responsible for. I've provided a few Spotify links here so you can go and check out the songs I refer to while reading.

Trevor Horn

Trevor began his musical career as a session bass player. His first big gig was for Tina Charles (I Love To Love) who he was also dating at the time. He turned to production after being influenced by Tina’s producer Biddu (he was responsible for a lot of disco).

Trevor's first hit as a producer was the top 20 hit Monkey Chop by Dan-I. He surfaced again in 1979 and had a big hit writing, singing and producing Video Killed The Radio Star as The Buggles which was number one in the UK and was the first video to be played on MTV two years later. From then on he grew in demand as a producer.

Trevor went on to produce some of the biggest, technically innovative and influential music of the 1980s. Most notably for ABC ( Lexicon of Love ), Dollar , Frankie Goes to Hollywood , Yes ( 90125 ), Malcolm McLaren ( Buffalo Gals ), Grace Jones ( Slave To The Rhythm ) and Pet Shop Boys ( Introspective ). It was his Sarm West Studio in West London where Band Aid’s Do The Know It’s Christmas was recorded in 1984.

From the 90’s onwards, Trevor was a big part of Seal ’s success (he produced his first four albums). He has also produced albums for Robbie Williams ( Reality Killed the Video Star ), Marc Almond , Tom Jones , Rod Stewart , Tina Turner and Cher .

When you listen to the songs he’s worked on you will quickly be able to pick up on Trevor’s influence and style.

Roy Thomas Baker

Roy was only 14 when he started working at Decca Records. His mentor at the time was Gus Dudgeon (Elton John’s producer). Through that connection he was quickly mixing with the music royalty of the early 1970’s. His first production credits can be found on albums by Free and Nazareth .

It was in 1973 that he met Queen and wound up producing their first 5 albums, resulting in a few Grammys and having a fair hand in that epic ‘ Bohemian Rhapsody ’ thing they did. This led to a contract with CBS Music and further production credits on albums by Journey , Ronnie Wood , The Cars , T'Pau and Foreigner .

He also spent a few years as Senior Vice President for Elektra Records signing Simply Red , Metallica and 10,000 Maniacs amongst others.

Brian Eno

You may have heard of this dude already. He was the freaky looking guy at the back of all those early Roxy Music appearances frantically twiddling knobs on his VCS3 synthesiser and other electronica. Clearly thinking knob twiddling was something he enjoyed, he left Bryan Ferry and co after just two albums and started twiddling knobs on his own.

He churned out a set of 4 highly regarded experimental albums and developed many recording techniques that went on to become commonplace in popular music for many years to come.

His name came back into the mainstream as a collaborator with David Bowie on the 3 albums that made up his Berlin period ( Low , Lodger and Heroes ) (all produced by Tony Visconti who I’ll mention later). It’s partly Eno’s knob twiddling that makes the Bowie hit Heroes sound so other worldly.

So, to production (as that’s what we’re here for). He’s knob twiddled his way through quite a few big albums in his time. The three albums that really put U2 on the map ( The Unforgettable Fire , Joshua Tree and Zooropa ), Two huge albums for Talking Heads (More Songs About Buildings and Food , Remain in Light ), We can also add albums by Genesis , Ultravox , James , David Bowie and Coldplay .

Joe Meek

We can’t ignore this fella because he was a bit of a genius knob twiddler and one of the first real pop producers. After the RAF and working for Radio Luxembourg, Meek set up a production company in Islington and started churning out hits.

You can first hear his knob twiddling prowess on Johnny Remember Me , the UK number one by John Leyton. He is also credited for producing the highly ground breaking instrumental Telstar by The Tornados, that song became the first song by a British group to reach number one in the USA and won Meek an Ivor Novello Award.

Amongst his other credits are songs by Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers , Mike Berry , Lonnie Donegan , Billy Fury , Gene Vincent , Tommy Steele . Oh, it’s a mighty long list. You can also thank Joe Meek for National treasure Sir Tom Jones, He was the first person to record Tom as a solo artist.

What is really notable about Meek though is that he invented many of the techniques that are still used today (albeit in a much more digital form). Overdubbing, sampling, using echo and reverb, distortion … there are loads. He was also the first producer to plug electric instrument directly into the mixing desk. Before then all the action was picked up on microphones strategically placed around the studio.

He did also once tell Brian Epstein not to bother signing The Beatles too. Telling him they were just another bunch of noise. So he wasn’t perfect. But I’m prepared to let that one go.

Mike Chapman

This guy was all over the seventies in the UK. The Aussie born really got going when he met Nicky Chinn in 1970. Together with Mickie Most and his RAK record label they wrote and produced hits for The Sweet (Poppa Jo, Wig-Wam Bam, Block Buster, Ballroom Blitz), Suzi Quattro (Can The Can, 48 Crash, Devil Gate Drive), Mud (Tiger Feet, Dyna-mite), Smokie (Living Next Door To Alice) and Racey (Some Girls and Kitty – the song that went on to become Mickey , a number one for Toni Basil in 1982). They were literally the Stock, Aitken and Waterman of the 70’s Pretty impressive so far but Mike Chapman was just warming up.

After parting with Nicky Chinn, Mike moved to the US and focused on production. His first big accolade? Making Blondie a household name. Parallel Lines was released in 1978 and has sold over 20 million copies making it one of the most successful albums of the seventies. Picture This, Hanging on The Telephone, Sunday Girl, One Way or Another and Heart of Glass all came from that one album. He went on to produce the follow up, Eat To The Beat in 1979, another platinum album with Dreaming, Union City Blue and Atomic being the big singles from it. In fact everything Blondie did until their split in 1983 was a Mike Chapman production.

While the Blondie thing was exploding, Chapman produced My Sharona for The Knack (put that next to a Blondie song from that time and you can see the parallels) (see what I did there)? Other credits on his list include Ace of Base , Tina Turner , Pat Benatar , Huey Lewis and The News , and Altered Images .

Notable mentions

I could have included many more on my list. I didn’t talk about Tony Visconti , David Bowie’s long-time producer who worked on his first and last album as well as 11 others. He also produced for T Rex, Sparks, Boomtown Rats and Adam Ant. Oh, he was Mr Mary Hopkin too.

How about Rick Rubin , the very hairy creator of Def Jam recordings? Without him there may have been no Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Run-DMC or maybe even Hip-Hop! We can also thank him for albums by Tom Petty, Justin Timberlake and even Johnny Cash.

There are many great producers that go largely unnoticed but should never be forgotten. Without them, our little radio station would sound very different indeed.

About Paul Mumford

You can hear Paul Mumford every on Forest Radio Monday to Thursday from 6-8pm and for the Saturday Social, Saturday mornings from 9. Wanna pick one (or three)? Click here .

MEETING MY IDOL IN THE FOREST

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 18:15:14 GMT

Have you ever met someone famous? How about bumping into a celebrity when you least expect it? Helen Munro did (you can hear her on air every Sunday). In fact she was in the middle of Epping Forest when it happened.

Read about her chance encounter below and let us know who you've bumped into and what they were doing at the time.

Was that who I thought it was?

It’s not often you bump into a pop icon in an everyday situation, let alone someone who is among your all-time favourites. But that’s what happened to me and my partner in the middle of Epping Forest. You never know when you're going to bump into one of your idols. I need to be more prepared next time.

Back in the 90's I was a keen long-distance cross country runner and Epping Forest was a regular favourite. It was a Sunday morning in April and I was out on a run with my partner. We were on a different route than usual which took in the Copped Hall estate near Epping. Copped Hall is an 18th century house that can be seen from the M25 between junctions 24 and 25. It was there that King Henry VIII supposedly waited in the garden for canon fire from the Tower of London which marked the beheading of his unfortunate second wife, Anne Boleyn.

However, I digress. We were both of us ‘in the zone’ and not disposed to stop for anyone when we saw a line of about 6 or 7 men strolling up the path towards us. As we drew level, one of the men in the middle of the line eyeballed my partner and said, “Any shops up there, mate?”

Somewhat puzzled, my partner nevertheless answered, “No, no shops up there.” We ran on for about fifty yards and suddenly turned to each other and said, “That was Rod Stewart!” So we immediately turned round for a second look – only to see that the star and his entourage were also all looking round – to see how long it would take us to realise! And would you believe, we didn’t even run back to speak to him (such was our running fervour in those days)! We later found out that (until spring of last year), ‘Rodders’, as we refer to him, had a house in Epping, near Copped Hall.

But hang on ... there's more

Fast forward to the following weekend, when we had a couple of friends over for dinner. Of course, our previous weekend’s encounter was prime dinner party conversation fodder, and we opened up with, “Guess who we ran into (pun intended) on Sunday on the Copped Hall estate?” Having established it was Rod Stewart, the next question was, “And what do you think he said to us?” Imagine our astonishment when the husband came straight back with, “Any shops up there, mate?” To say we were gobsmacked would be an understatement. “How on earth did you know?” It transpired that Rod’s publicist had been in the group accompanying him on the walk and a short column filler paragraph had appeared in The Evening Standard one evening that week, relating the story, with a comment that Rod had obviously not lost his sense of humour.

I’ve seen him twice live on stage – once at the Hollywood Bowl in the late 80s and once, more recently, at the O2, when he and wife Penny travelled there incognito on the tube (I was cursing myself when I found out, for not having taken the Central line!). He doesn’t disappoint.

About Helen

You can hear Helen's show every Sunday afternoon from 6 with the best of good time oldies (of course) and loads of music trivia.

THE SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR CHILDHOOD

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:46:11 GMT

What music did were you exposed to when you were growing up? Did your parents have a favourite album that sticks in your mind? How much has the type of music you heard growing up have an influence upon the kind of music you prefer now?

Our Late Show host, Deborah Smart can answer that question very easily. Find out more about the band she loves and why she loves them below.

My Dad and his two obsessions

Thanks to my Dad, I cannot a remember my life before Queen. The music of Queen has always been in my life and for as long as I can remember Freddie Mercury has always been the pinnacle against which all other frontmen would be measured.

My Dad worked a lot when I was a kid, so whenever we were together, I wanted to do whatever he was doing. Invariably that meant either watching motor racing (and yes, this has resulted in me also being a massive Formula 1 fan) or listening to Queen. Sometimes both at the same time. I’m so incredibly grateful to my Dad for introducing me to both.

Why Queen do it for me

Well firstly, there’s the music itself. So much of what Queen did was absolutely groundbreaking at the time it was released. They didn’t stick to a formula either. They were forever pushing themselves to try new things, not just by experimenting in the studio but even mixing musical genres that have never been mixed before … and frankly shouldn’t have worked. Let’s face it, an operatic section in a rock song really doesn’t work on paper. But it’s because they took these chances that their music is so great.

Obviously, I love Queen because their songs will always instantly evoke memories of my childhood. I particularly remember when the Innuendo album was released in 1991. My Dad had bought the CD to play at home, but his car only had a cassette player. So, I bought him an extra copy on cassette so we could listen to it as he drove us to France on our annual family holiday. I hear those songs now and I remember that car, the journey and the campsite we stayed in. Headlong remains my absolute favourite track from that album (if you don’t know it please check it out – it’s awesome).

Freddie's passing

Freddie Mercury’s death in late 1991 may have cut short the lifespan Queen had as a ground breaking, recording band. Knowing that songs like ‘The Show Must Go On’ were recorded while Freddie was very unwell make an already poignant message even more pertinent. It’s such a powerful track with a truly outstanding vocal performance from Freddie. Have you ever tried singing along to it – or any other Queen track for that matter? My advice is only do it in the car or shower because it’s not easy.

I can remember sitting with my Dad and watching the Freddie Mercury tribute concert on TV as it was broadcast live from Wembley Stadium on 20th April 1992. So many of the artists who came to sing those Queen classics had to have the arrangements changed so they could sing them in a different key. Very few of them could even come close to singing those songs the way Freddie did. For me (and my Dad) that has to be the ultimate compliment to the ultimate frontman.

So, despite the fact that this band hasn’t released any new music in 30 years, my love affair Queen them continues. Whenever I’m celebrating, on goes ‘We are the Champions’, whenever I need motivation I play, ‘The Show Must Go On’, and when I want a smile I play ‘Bicycle Race’. Whatever my mood there is always a Queen song to fit it. Oh and whenever Dad and I are on holiday together on goes a massive Queen playlist on shuffle, and we enjoy every single track.

Which band did you grow up with? We’d love to hear your stories of the music you grew up with so please let us know by commenting below or clicking here to get in touch. You never know, we may even feature your story on air.

About Deborah

Deborah plays more than just Queen songs on her Late Show (Monday to Thursday 9 till midnight) but amongst all the other great oldies from the 60’s to the 90’s she makes sure one or two make their way on air somewhere.

THE BEST CONCERT I NEVER WENT TO

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 14:23:22 GMT

What was the best concert you ever went to? When you see your favourite band or singer live or go to a much anticipated concert you will always remember it. You’ll recall it at every opportunity. As soon as a song comes on the radio you’ll say, ‘I saw them at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1972’ (or words to that effect).

If you enjoy live music, you will certainly have one or two stand out concerts that easily come to mind. Paul Mumford (on Forest Radio 6-9pm weekdays) remembers one concert in particular very well. It was the best concert he never went to. Find out more below.

The best Saturday job.

It’s the summer of 1985 and I’m 15. Fresh out of school I had managed to land my ideal first Saturday job, working at a record shop. The shop in question was the unfortunately named Trumps Records in Loughton, Essex. During the few months in between leaving school and starting college I put in as many hours there as I could. Having been an avid record collector since the age of 8, most of the money I earned ended up back in the till.

1985 was a peak year for music sales. CD’s were the latest thing and many people were busy filling their shelves with new, digital copies of their favourite classic albums. People were still buying vinyl too. Not just albums but the 12” single was huge and 7” singles were still selling by the bucket load. Then there were pre-recorded cassettes and blank media. The likes of TDK, Maxell and BASF providing the means for us to copy our mates new albums (naughty, but we all did it) and video meant we could now record stuff off the telly too.

Perks of the job

There were many perks that came with working in a record store in the mid 1980’s. My favourite perk was when the record reps came through the door with a cardboard box full of goodies. They were always giving away samples of their new stock and offering tickets to concerts. I remember there being a bit of a buzz around one particular concert happening that summer. None of us really knew how much of a big event it was to become but we were all talking about it. I am, of course, talking about Live Aid. The Global Jukebox.

So, when one rep came into the store and offered two of us tickets to the concert at Wembley on 13th July we were pretty excited. The problem was that someone had to work in the shop on that day. Only one of the Saturday staff could go. So, in the interest of fairness we both turned down the tickets. What an idiot I was. I turned down the opportunity to be at probably the biggest live music event in my lifetime.

The big day

July 13th arrived and remember, at this point nobody really knew how much of a big event Live Aid would turn out to be. However, almost every major recording artist around in 1985 was going to be playing either in the UK or Philadelphia (or in the case of Phil Collins, both). So I was all too aware that this was a hot ticket I had passed up. I had turned down the opportunity to see Status Quo, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones, Sade, David Bowie (my hero), Paul McCartney and of course let’s not forget that legendary set from Queen. I could have been there for all of it.

So on Live Aid day I showed up for work at that little record shop on the corner of Loughton High Street ready for action. It was a very busy Saturday. I can still vividly remember selling almost nothing but blank videos and blank cassettes for all the Essex music fans who didn’t even get a sniff at a ticket. They were all eager to get home so they could illegally record the event from the TV or radio for prosperity.

As it got closer to the start of the concert at 12 noon, the shop got quieter. Then from 12, it was dead. We didn’t see a soul. Our boss and the owner of the store, Martin had bought in a portable telly so we could watch everything unfold in glorious black and white. As it transpired, we could have easily closed the store that afternoon. Anyone with even a mild musical appetite wasn’t going to be anywhere near a record store on that afternoon. They, like us, were eager to consume every second as it happened.

I do seem to remember us closing the shop early that day. That evening I was being dragged to a barbeque at my Dad’s sailing club. I wasn’t all that keen with the prospect of missing the action, but I had arrived home that afternoon armed with the longest video cassette money could buy. So, I managed to record the rest of the concert as it wrapped up in London and eventually came to a close in Philadelphia.

A second bite of the cherry

So that’s it. My story of the best concert I never went to. Sir Bob Geldof did have another bite at the cherry though 20 years later by staging the similar Live 8 in Hyde Park. This concert didn’t quite live up to the legacy of the first, but I was lucky enough to be there this time around. I watched as Paul McCartney and U2 recreated Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, enjoyed the likes of Madonna, Sting, Elton John, The Who and the reformed Pink Floyd all do their thing. While it was a privilege to be there it really didn’t compare to the original.

I’ve been very lucky to see many of my heroes perform live since and have many happy memories to share as I’m sure you have. What was your favourite concert? Preferably one you actually attended. Or maybe you were lucky enough to be at Live Aid itself? What was it like? Did I really miss out as much as I think I did? I almost don’t want to know … but I kinda do.

Paul can be heard on Foresr Radio Monday to Thursday 6-8pm and for the Saturday Social, Saturday mornings from 9. Click here to send him a request.