Project 'Destroy BBC Radio London' nears completion

 Back in 2020, when lockdown was in full swing, I wrote a blog entitled "10 random thoughts about lockdown".  Point 7 was

7. We need BBC radio and television. We've had BBC Radio London on constantly, with presenters such as Robert Elms, Jo Good, Vanessa Feltz. I want to know what is happening in my City and they have been doing an amazing job keeping us informed. There are those on the right who snipe at the BBC, but when it comes down to it, the Corporation has made more great TV and radio than anything else in the history of the planet. Anyone who can't see that is quite plainly an idiot.

Who's the idiot now? I would have taken a bullet to defend my local radio station. In hindsight, I realise I sould have included Garry Crowley, Eddie Nestor and Carrie and David Grant in the list (although to be fair to me, Carrie and David hadn't been doing the show very long then). 

In the next week, we'll see the departure of Vanessa Feltz. Robert Elms has lost his weekday show, having been shunted to inconvenient weekend times and Jo Good has been shunted off to the late night graveyard slot, at a time when I simply don't listen to radio. Eddie Nestor, who was a brilliant drive time presenter, has been stuck on the Robert Elms slot. I like Eddie, even though he banned me from the show, but he's a million times better on drivetime. Robert Elms has an encyclopedic knowledge of London culture, a stack of music contacts and the show had a whole raft of well loved slots, most of which informed us about our city. Slots such as the Listed Londoner and Notes and Queries helped me learn so much about our city. N&Q is only on every other week and is two or three queries. The listed Londoner is on a Sunday at a time that most people are doing their Sunday stuff and not listening to the radio. The show is on at different times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I'm still not 100% sure when its on.  Eddie's show simply hasn't done anything to inform listeners about the art and culture of London. It is very similar to LBC and James O'Brien already does a great job as a phone in host in that slot. My beef with the demise of the Elms weekly show was never about the people as much as the removal of a vital platform for London artists and as a conduit for sharing information about London's cultural life. Eddie has had a simply appalling playlist thrust upon him and we no longer have artists on the show on a daily basis, both new and established, informing us of shows etc. To me this is a criminal act of cultural vandalism by BBC management. 

I get the fact that the BBC should bring through new presenters and cater for London's wider cultural audience, but the fact that they have struggled to replace Jo, with the chosen aire to that throne deaprting after no time at all and Jomoke having to be parachuted in to save the slot says it all. Eddie's old slot, the drivetime show has inexplicably largely been replaced by a London Sports show, that is a complete waste of the spot. I love sport almost as much as music, but Eddie was great at capturin g the Zeitgiest of London commuting. If you are stuck in traffic on the way home and you want to know the news, listening to an interview with the Dagenham and Redbridge manager is not what you want to listen to. If you do, there is talksport. 

And then there is the departure of Vanessa. The sad truth for BBC radio London is that Vanessa is the best in the business at that sort of show. For years they had Danny Baker, who did an excellent show. After he slung his hook, it wasn't until Vanessa was moved to the earlier slot that they really got it right. What I've found interesting is that when Eddie Nestor stood in for her, he sounded as if he'd not enjoyed listening to the alarm clock going off at 4am for work. Eddie is better on drivetime when he's wolken up. 

I get that they have to change things and freshen things up, but the new formats are clueless. BBC Radio London should be primarily about life in London. It should focus on London arts and culture in the mid morning and early afternoon slots. They should not play bland AOR playlist music. They should be playing quality music with a London association, that you don't hear elsewhere. They should be giving artists a platform and promoting plays, art exhibitions and the joys of London. For the morning and evening commuter slots, they need proper presenters who can hit hard. There are plenty of slots for new presenters to hone their skills. What amuses me is that the BBC managers clearly want to have more 'edgy' presenters, but the managment are very white and middle class. What they don't seem to get is that presenters like Robert Elms don't need to be edgy to get great guests, who are at the cutting edge of music. Elms was the first to play Amy Winehouse. Who will be the presenter to champion the next Amy? I'm sure that Eddie Nestor would love to but he's lumbered playing Fleetwood Mac and Adele from the playlist. 

I have wondered if there is a conspiracy to run the station down, so the BBC can say it is not worth funding. Personally, I'd like to see a new generation of management, who instead of managing decline, make a compelling case for giving the corporation more money. The BBC is at the heart of the UK's culture and it is why we lead the world in arts and culture. We have a culture secretary who simply doesn't understand this. We need people who can cut through the BS and make the case and that can only be done with amazing content.  When it comes down to it, it's content that matters. The quality of the content on the station has markedly deteriorated since I wrote that paragraph two years ago. If I was responsible for presiding over that as a manager, I'd be ashamed to show my face. 

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