1977 in British radio

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This is a list of events in British radio during 1977.

Events

January

  • 3 January – At 6.45am, BBC Radio Cymru launches, and becomes the first broadcasting outlet dedicated wholly to programmes in Welsh. The service is part-time and restricted to breakfast shows, extended news bulletins at breakfast, lunchtime & early evening and a number of off-peak opt-outs from a sustaining Radio 4 Wales English-language feed.

February

  • 14 February – The Annan Committee makes its recommendations and its principle recommendation for radio is for the privatisation of BBC local radio;[1] this is not implemented.

March

  • No events.

April

  • 30 April – The first edition of the Saturday morning magazine programme Sport on Four is broadcast on BBC Radio 4; it will run until 1998.[2]

May

  • 2 May – BBC Radio 4 launches a new breakfast programme Up to the Hour. Consequently, the Today programme is reduced from a continuous two-hour programme to two 25-minute slots. This arrangement lasts for just over a year before Today reverts to a continuous broadcast. This summer, Today starts to carry a daily horse racing tip, which will continue until 2024.[3]

June

  • No events.

July

  • No events.

August

September

  • No events.

October

  • 2 October – The first edition of personal financial advice magazine programme Money Box is broadcast on BBC Radio 4; it will still be running into the 2020s.
  • 11 October – Bing Crosby makes his last ever recordings, three days before his death, at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios.[4]

November

  • 28 November – BBC Radio 1 launches a weekday afternoon programme presented by Tony Blackburn. Previously, the station has simulcasted BBC Radio 2's afternoon show. Tony is replaced on mid-mornings by Simon Bates. Consequently Radio 1 now has its own all-day schedule on weekdays although the station continues to simulcast Radio 2 each night from 7pm, apart from the weekday late night John Peel programme.

December

  • No events.

Station debuts

Programme debuts

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

Ending this year

Births

  • 30 March – Hugo Rifkind, newspaper columnist and radio presenter
  • 31 May – Joel Ross, radio and television presenter
  • 22 August – Sarah Champion, radio and television presenter
  • 28 September – John Finnemore, comedy writer-performer
  • 25 October – Anita Rani, radio and television presenter

Deaths

  • 5 September – Elsie Carlisle, "Radio Sweetheart Number One", singer (born 1896)[5]
  • 8 November – Ted Ray, comedian (born 1905)

See also

References

  1. ^ Annan Committee (1977). Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting. HMSO.
  2. ^ "BBC Radio 4 FM – 30 April 1977". BBC Genome. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ^ Davies, Caroline (24 June 2024). "BBC Radio 4 scraps daily horse-racing tips from Today programme". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  4. ^ Barnes, Ken (1980). The Crosby Years. New York: Saint Martins Press. pp. 57–60. ISBN 978-0-312-17663-1.
  5. ^ "Elsie Carlisle Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 January 2014.