PearlyBooks

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October 18, 2012 marks the 90th anniversary of the formation of the BBC and the beginning of England's love affair with radio. This fascinating book takes as its starting point those early, tentative programs broadcast from Marconi House on the Strand, and follows the story of radio through the years of economic depression, war and austerity, to the swinging 1960s and up the present. Above all, it celebrates the great, the forgotten, and the notorious figures of radio from the last nine decades and the programs they made: Marion Cran in the 1920s, who pioneered the first gardening program; Lord Haw Haw, whose sinister catchphrase 'Germany calling' punctuated broadcasts throughout World War II; the comedy greats of the 1950s'the Goons, Kenneth Horne, and their ilk; Tony Blackburn, Simon Dee, Dave Lee Travis, and other heroes of Radio Caroline; not to mention the John Humphrys, Zoe Balls, and Simon Mayos of today. The result is a wonderful blend of insight, history, and nostalgia that will appeal to radio's many aficionados.