The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

#100 The Century! British Broadcasting's Story So Far, 1895-1923

It's The British Broadcasting Century's century!
Thanks if you've joined us for the story so far, from Morse and Marconi to Reith and the Pips (before Gladys Knight took over lead vocals).
This special 100th episode is for both the newcomer and the seasoned veteran - being the previous 99 episodes in summary form, BUT with lots of new bits.
So this is no best-of... (alright it's a bit of a best-of) ...this is packed with new things we didn't know, old things we hadn't found yet, new perspectives on the areas we've covered previously, things we left out completely, and much more, or less, depending on how you look at it.
New things include:
The first song Marconi played via wireless (thanks John Hannon)
New (corrected!) info on Marconi's first sports report by wireless - not 1899 in America, but 1898 in Ireland...
Long clips of Britain's first DJ Gertrude Donisthorpe, Marconi engineer William Ditcham, first broadcast singer Winifred Sayer, Marconi man R.D. Bangay, and more, that we haven't played you before.
News on the Melba recording (er, not good news)
A 6min-long never-before-heard reminiscence by Arthur Burrows, reflecting on the first BBC broadcast, with new info - including the 2LO orchestra being accused of electoral bias because of their song choice. The first accusation of BBC on-air bias... in musical form!
The opening words of the first BBC children's broadcast
New info on Harry Tate's 'Broadcasting' sketch (thanks Alan Stafford)
The first singer of Cardiff 5WA
The Sykes Committee look into the BBC (just to keep the story moving forward, a bit)
And we've been asking you for your favourite moments so far. So we re-bring you:
Peter Eckersley on 2MT Writtle
Tales from 2ZY Manchester and 5IT Birmingham
More Peter Eckersley on 2MT Writtle
Even more Peter Eckersley on...
...You get the idea.
Thanks for joining us for our first 100 episodes - here's to our next 100.
Do share this with people to help make that happen!
.
SHOWNOTES:
Original music is by Will Farmer. 
Our re-enactment of the first BBC broadcast is on Youtube.
Dr Andrea Smith's new book is Shakespeare on the Radio, published by Edinburgh University Press.
Alan Stafford's book is Bigamy Called the Radio Star, published by Fantom.
Paul's latest Substack article is about Arthur Burrows (first voice of the BBC) and his link with the Eurovision. I claim there's no Eurovision with him! Find it on paulkerensa.substack.com
See Paul Kerensa on tour, with An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: www.paulkerensa.com/tour.
The Early Recordings Association Conference takes place at The University of Surrey, Guildford this July. I'll be presenting on 1 July. Details here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20250701-early-recordings-association-era-conference-2025
Also catch Paul at the Religion Media Festival on Monday 9 June: https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/events/religion-media-festival-2025/
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Any BBC copyright content is reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. We try to use clips so old they're beyond copyright, but you never know. Copyright's complicated...
Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com.
Do like/share/rate/review this podcast - it all helps.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Next time: Episode 101: The Sykes Inquiry, and the Early Recordings Association.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#099 Godfrey Isaacs - The Man Behind The BBC Idea

On the day of episode 99's release, it's exactly 100 years since the death on 17 April 1925 of Godfrey Isaacs - Managing Director of the Marconi Company.
More than that - new evidence shows that he came up with and championed the idea of the one BBC. For years, the British government (via the Post Office) has been credited with the plan for a singular British broadcaster. But lost meeting minutes have been rediscovered....
The academic who found these minutes - misplaced for decades - is David Prosser of the University of Bristol. He joins us to tell us about the 18 May 1922 meeting where Godfrey Isaacs proposed that the Marconi Company share patents and collaborate with its rivals to form one (British) Broadcasting Company.
And Robert Godfrey - Isaacs' great-great-grandson - joins us to give new insights into the life of this under-heralded pioneer in the ways of wireless. Hear tales of the Marconi Scandal, Titanic, business wrangling, broadcasting innovation, battles with the press, and a life cut short.
There's a lot to tell, so this is a longer episode than usual - sorry! Actually I'm not sorry... these chaps know their stuff, and it's an incredible tale.
.
SHOWNOTES:
Read David Prosser's article: 'Marconi Proposes: Why it's time to rethink the birth of the BBC' - on the University of Bristol website: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193478467/Prosser_Marconi_Proposes_Why_it_s_time_to_rethink_the_birth_of_the_BBC_26_Sep_2018.pdf
Original music is by Will Farmer. 
Paul is now on Substack - for more in-depth-but-lighthearted broadcasting history, subscribe at paulkerensa.substack.com
See Paul Kerensa on tour, with The BBC and Me: Then and Now, aka An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
The Early Recordings Association Conference takes place at The University of Surrey, Guildford this July. I'll be presenting on 1 July. Details here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20250701-early-recordings-association-era-conference-2025
Also catch Paul at the Religion Media Festival on Monday 9 June: https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/events/religion-media-festival-2025/
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Any BBC copyright content is reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. We try to use clips so old they're beyond copyright, but you never know. Copyright's complicated...
Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com.
Do like/share/rate/review this podcast - it all helps.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
 
Next time: Episode 100! Your highlights of the British broadcasting origin story - Marconi, Melba, Eckersley, Reith and more. And maybe the Sykes Inquiry, if we get time (unlikely!)
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#098 Ireland's First Radio Station... and the BBC News theme album

14 August 1923: Ireland's first licensed radio station takes to the air... 
Yes for one episode, The British Broadcasting Century leaves Britain to become The Irish Broadcasting Century. Well how could we not bring you the tale of Marconi setting up a (legal) radio station at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, to broadcast to the Horse Show... only to be closed down a few days later because the government panicked - and especially in the company of the Irish broadcasting historian Eddie Bohan.
After Ireland in 1923, we return to Britain in the present-day for an interview with composer David Lowe - the man behind the BBC News theme (as well as The One Show, Grand Designs, Countryfile and more). David's new album of official BBC News themes (and remixes) is available now from Spotify, Apple Music and other places.
 
SHOWNOTES:
David Lowe's album of Official BBC News Themes is on Spotify, Apple Music etc: https://davidlowemusic.com/product/bbc-news-official-themes/
David's website is https://davidlowemusic.com/
Eddie Bohan's book The History of 2BP: Ireland's First Licensed Radio Station is available from https://amzn.to/4jcoVwe
Eddie's brilliant blog is at The Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame: https://ibhof.blogspot.com/
We also mention these episodes: See episode 48 for more on 2BP's earlier role for Daimler's in-car radios at the Glasgow Motor Show in January 1923. See episode 77 for the tale of Frank Milligan, thanks to Eddie.
The Early Recordings Association Conference takes place at The University of Surrey, Guildford this July. I'll be presenting on 1 July. Details here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20250701-early-recordings-association-era-conference-2025
If early recordings are your thing, do consider joining the Early Recordings Association, for free, at https://www.surrey.ac.uk/early-recordings-association. And its lead Dr Inja Stanovic joins us on a future podcast.
Original music is by Will Farmer. The BBC News themes you hear are used with kind permission from David Lowe. Get his album! 
See Paul Kerensa on tour, with The BBC and Me: Then and Now, aka An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
Also catch Paul at the Religion Media Festival on Monday 9 June: https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/events/religion-media-festival-2025/
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Any BBC copyright content is reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. We try to use clips so old they're beyond copyright, but you never know. Copyright's complicated...
Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com.
Do like/share/rate/review this podcast - it all helps.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
 
Next time: Episode 99 - Godfrey Isaacs - head of The Marconi Company, and the chap who come up with the idea for... the BBC.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#097 Manchester, Birmingham, Gardening, Radio Circle + a Wireless Elephant: The BBC in August 1923

Episode 97 finds the BBC in August 1923...
There are two studio moves - 2ZY Manchester and 5IT Birmingham leave their old premises in style ('The Etude in K Sharp by Spotsoffski'... "The studio ghost looks round - burial forever of the carrier wave...") and find new city centre studios, including a heavy goods lift with a pulley that visitors need to pull themselves, so put down your briefcase or cello and get hoisting...
At the Birmingham station, we check in with Uncles Edgar and Thompson and their innovative Children's Hour, who now has a Radio Circle - the origins of Children in Need, perhaps?
We visit London 2LO to find Marion Cran, one of the first gardening presenters, as well as a wireless elephant. We visit Glasgow 5SC, with guest expert Graham Stewart.
We're grateful to other experts: comedy historian Alan Stafford, Children's Hour historian Dr Zara Healy, and Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker - among others. This podcast is a group effort! If you listen, you're part of that too, so do get in touch...
...In fact DO get in touch ahead of our 100th episode. We'd love to hear from you with your favourite parts of the story so far. Write an email or record a voice memo, send to paul at paulkerensa dot com - anything about a moment from early broadcasting that you particularly found marvellous. Peter Eckersley on 2MT Writtle? Gertrude Donisthorpe the WW1 DJ? The drunken launch of Savoy Hill? The first BBC Christmas? What's your favourite? Do tell. Email us!
 
SHOWNOTES:
I'm now posting on Substack: https://substack.com/@paulkerensa - My first post is on the bizarre history of the BBC Concert Hall/Radio Theatre/WW2 dormitory. Do subscribe if you'd like a fortnightly long-form blog post type of reading thing.
Last episode's guest Beaty Rubens brought this to Radio 3 recently: Between the Ears: Listen In
Alan Stafford's biography of John Henry is Bigamy Killed the Radio Star: https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/bigamy-killed-the-radio-star/
Paul Kerensa's books include Hark! The Biography of Christmas: https://amzn.to/4iuULoB - with the audiobook read by Paul: https://amzn.to/4gdlYud
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Any BBC copyright content is reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. We try to use clips so old they're beyond copyright, but you never know. Copyright's complicated...
Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com.
Do like/share/rate/review this podcast - it all helps!
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
 
 
Next time: The first Irish broadcast - on 2BP in Dublin, with guest Eddie Bohan. Seek out his books to grace your bookshelf!
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#096 Books on Broadcasting - and the Bodleian Library's 'Listen In' Exhibition

We're back! Season 7 begins with a Books Special - plus a visit to a special exhibition at Oxford's magnificent Bodleian Library - 'Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home'.
It's curated by Beaty Rubens, who has also written a book of the same name. I joined her at the exhibition for a tour and an interview, recorded live at the Bodleian. Thanks to them for their hospitality - and for caring for countless artefacts, including the Marconi Archive.
And we have authors galore, all with different takes on broadcasting history - I think I count three professors, a doctor, and several yet-to-be-titled too. 
We bring you:
Beaty Rubens - Listen In: How Radio Change the Home: https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/listen-in
...and the Bodleian exhibition of the same name: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/listenin
David Hendy - The BBC: A People's History: https://amzn.to/3X3SDuU
Simon J Potter - This is the BBC: Entertaining the Nation, Speaking for Britain 1922-2022: https://amzn.to/3CWfqSu
Tim Wander - 2MT Writtle: https://marconibooks.co.uk
 Edward Stourton - Auntie’s War: https://amzn.to/4b463g8
Amy Holdsworth - On Living With Television: https://amzn.to/41keqRi
Alan Stafford - Bigamy Killed the Radio Star: https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/bigamy-killed-the-radio-star/
Martin Cooper - Radio's Legacy in Popular Culture: https://amzn.to/41iLTM6
...and his blog: https://prefadelisten.com/
Paul Kerensa - Hark! The Biography of Christmas: https://amzn.to/4iuULoB / audiobook read by the author: https://amzn.to/4gdlYud
 
- Original music is by Will Farmer.
- Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
- Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
- This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC.
- Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com. (Rerite that as an email address)
 
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland, the Radio Circle, a wireless elephant, and the first(ish) radio gardener Marion Cran.
 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#095 Five Gold Airings: Vintage BBC Christmases 1922-42

Episode 95 is our Christmas special for 2024 - looking back to five vintage BBC Christmases of 1922-42.
Well, I say 'five'. I mean nine. Christmas is a time for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy.
You'll hear:
- 1922 – Rev John Mayo - the BBC's first religious broadcast for Christmas Eve 
- 1926 – Christmas Overture by Coleridge-Taylor, The BBC Wireless Symphony Orchestra conducted by Percy Pitt
- 1926-34 - Bethlehem, the BBC's first on-location radio drama, live from St Hilary's church in west Cornwall
- 1932 – The first royal Christmas message from George V
- 1934 – The bells of Armagh Cathedral, and Christmas on the Aran Islands
- 1936 – A Cornish Christmas Carol by the BBC Chorus
- 1936 – The Wassail Song by the BBC Chorus
- 1941 – Refugee children and their parents reunited across the Atlantic via BBC and NBC
- 1942 – Carols in the Desert, Godfrey Talbot, BBC Correspondent with the 8th Army in Tripolitania
 
 
SHOWNOTES:
- Paul's book Hark! The Biography of Christmas is available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4iuULoB) and audiobook read by the author (https://amzn.to/4gdlYud)
- Hear the full recording of 1934's Bethlehem play: https://youtu.be/WwC8BemyBtI?si=_m-p_5y3rHPKkrIX
- Hear the voices behind the Bethlehem play, on this wonderful 1986 BBC Radio Cornwall documentary: https://youtu.be/HqCO_0uSBFk?si=3AoPR2Gt3We_wgSn
- For more on Godfrey Talbot and his BBC career shadowing the 8th army in WW2, see this marvellous detailed biographical blog post:
https://war-experience.org/events/godfrey-talbot-voice-of-the-desert-and-8th-army/
- Episode 60 of this podcast has more on Rev John Mayo's first BBC religious broadcast, and other landmarks of the genre: https://pod.fo/e/160bd7
- Episode 72 of this podcast is on the first radio drama, on Christmas Eve 1922 - Phyllis Twigg's The Truth about Father Christmas: https://pod.fo/e/1d6747 - and I'll be writing more about her and this landmark radioplay very soon. Keep an eye out for it!
- Original music is by Will Farmer.
- Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
- A Christmas present, for us? Well if you'd rate and review the podcast where you found it... Thanks! You shouldn't have.
- Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
- This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC.
- Old clips are likely beyond copyright as they're so old. Newer clips may be BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. 
 
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland and Dublin, and the first radio gardener, Marion Cran.
 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#094 Wireless Manhunts on the BBC - in 1923 and 2023

Episode 94 finds us hunting presenters on the run... in 1923 and in 2023. 
But first, the tale of July 1923 in British broadcasting, which includes a pop-up non-BBC station in Plymouth (5DJ), the first BBC film critic G.A. Atkinson, a comedian asks an orchestra to laugh for him, the BBC's first Sunday afternoon radio concert, new nicknames for 'listeners-in' ('ethonians', anyone?), and my favourite of all... The Wireless Manhunt.
Here to tell us more, our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker, and Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam Dr Carolyn Birdall (whose book is 'Radiophilia').
They contrast 1923's Wireless Manhunt with 2023's uncannily similar Radio 1's Giant DJ Hunt, with Greg James searching for all of his co-presenters around Britain, and beyond.
Back in 1923, Uncles Arthur, Caractacus, Jeff, and Aunt Sophie all go on the run around London, and MANY listeners spot them, track them, nearly arrest them, and much more.
Oh and some lovely audio from Peter Eckersley - a song and the tale of his trip to Sheffield, where listening to the BBC was like "an insurrection in hell". Everyone's a critic. 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Dr Carolyn Birdsall's book Radiophilia from https://amzn.to/4etpBe6 or wherever you get books (buy from that link, I get a few pennies, full disclosure!).
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Solo-run. So your listenership and support really matters - thanks!
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland and Dublin, and the first radio gardener, Marion Cran.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#093 On-Air Symphonies and 'Seeing By Wireless' in June 1923 - and Stuart Prebble

June 1923 at the BBC saw the first symphony concerts on-air (with an 'augmented orchestra'), musical criticism from Percy Scholes, 2,500 voices broadcast at once, and new staff led by Admiral Charles Carpendale as Reith's deputy. Plus Scot John Logie Baird advertises for help with his 'Seeing By Wireless' invention. You may know it as television...
...Our guest is celebrating 50 years since he began in television - Stuart Prebble has made World In Action, led ITV, created Grumpy Old Men and now brings Portrait Artists to Sky Arts. He talks about his new memoir, Still Grumpy After All These Years. Buy it now!
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Stuart's book from stuartprebble.com or wherever you get books.
We also mention Andy Walmsley's brilliant Random Radio Jottings blog.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Solo-run. So your listenership and support really matters - thanks!
Next time: July 1923 on the BBC - a wireless manhunt and a cheeky pop-up station in Plymouth. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21

Episode 92
The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21
 
Our moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting reaches 6th June 1923 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Wallace giving his 'reflections on the Derby'...
...The trouble is, it wasn't the BBC's first sports broadcast.
But then... what is a sports broadcast? A live commentary? Or will a later summary do? Or how about a police radio transmission, where the Epsom Derby winner happens to be mentioned for anyone listening to hear?
This episode we bring you the tales of every early landmark sports broadcast we know about, including:
Special guest Nick Gilbey, trustee of the Broadcasting Television Technology Trust and one of the doer-uppers of the mighty MCR21 mobile control room van, first built in 1963, and now looking snappier than ever.
The BBC's actual first sports broadcaster - forgotten for a century - Willie Clissett, on Cardiff 5WA with a weekly 'Chat on Sport of the day' from 2 April 1923. Was it rugby? Let's say yes. It was Wales.
How jockey Steve Donoghue somehow became Britain's first broadcast sports champion... ion 3 occasions across 3 different years. He was on Britain's first sports broadcast, winning 1921's Epsom Derby. Edgar Wallace reported on his win at 1923's Epsom Derby. And his win was shouted on-air by a passerby, upsetting the press, at 1925's Epsom Derby. Three different horses, three landmark broadcasts, one incredible jockey.
The boxing and billiards on London 2LO in 1922.
Early clips of Wimbledon, the Boat Race and the Derby.
And was the first sports broadcast Marconi's 1899 Morse message 'Yachts Slowly Drifting'? In which case, was the first sports broadcaster actually Guglielmo Marconi himself?!
Correct us on any of the above! Seriously. Please do. We want this to be an accurate record of events! Email paul@paulkerensa.com with any feedback, suggestions, alterations or offers of big-screen adaptations.
SHOWNOTES:
Visit MCR21.org.uk for pics and words about the wonderful MCR21 mobile control room van. Click on their newsletter and subscribe to get info in your inbox.
Watch Nick Gilbey's half-hour BBC tribute documentary on Peter Dimmock: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fw3c9c
See the Marconi van used at the 1921 Epsom Derby broadcast - and the airship pics from above: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbcentury/posts/966054144965706/
See the 1923 Derby - plus a little of the police use of wireless traffic tech - on this Pathe video: https://youtu.be/s-qnFvgJMFY?si=bedG3HWmyui1VNmj
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
Paul's walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites returns soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via the home of the Electrophone! Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. We're talking about them, well, the only BBC, the Company. Not with or at the behest of today's Corporation...
...Although we gladly will. Corporation - call me!
Next time: Summer 1923 on the BBC - music, the first whisper of television, and a cheeky pop-up station in Plymouth. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#091 The Electrophone: The 1890s' Streaming Device

Episode 91 goes back over 130 years to the 'broadcasting' device that far predates radio broadcasting. But the same ideas were there: entertainment, religion, news even, brought to your home, sent one-to-many, live from West End churches and London's churches.
Meet the Electrophone! 
Dr Natasha Kitcher is the Electrophone expert - she's a Research Fellow at the Science Museum, formerly PhD student to Loughborough University - and has spent years researching this unusual, largely unknown pre-radio cable streaming service, used by Queen Victoria and hundreds of homes in London and Bournemouth. Or you could visit the Electrophone HQ in Soho to listen in their saloon. (More on our walking tour that visits that exact building: birthplace of the headphones!)
We also talk about what broadcasting is nowadays: does streaming count as broadcasting? What about catch-up? Does it lose something when it's not live?
Join the debate from this, er, pre-recorded podcast (sorry we're not live) - email your thoughts to paul@paulkerensa.com - the same email address for any podcast correspondence, your Airwave Memories (earliest radio you recall?) or Firsthand Memories (ever see broadcasting in action?)  
We also move on our chronological tale of British broadcasting history into June 1923, with feedback from the first BBC Shakespeare and the sad demise of the first broadcast singer, Edward Cooper.
Next time? The First Sports Broadcast on the BBC... or was it? Nick Gilbey joins us - expert on outside broadcasts, Peter Dimmock, and the BBC van... 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Dr Natasha Kitcher's articles on the Electrophone include this Science Museum blog and Museum Crush.
There are some marvellous old pics of the Electrophone, its HQ and its flyers on the British Telephones site.
Watch Paul Kerensa on BBC1's Songs of Praise (while it's on iPlayer!) on 1922's first religious broadcast... er, via radio. Not including the Electrophone, obvs.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
Paul's walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites returns soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via the home of the Electrophone! Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#090 The BBC's First Shakespeare (part 2) & John Henry: First Radio Comedy Personality

Is this the first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC I see before me? Yes it is. And the first radio comedy personality, in John Henry. 
We're in late May 1923 - 28th to 31st to be precise - and the BBC has suffering from a boycott of theatre producers. Performers are hard to come by, so the Beeb brings drama and comedy in-house.
The result? Cathleen Nesbitt (later from Upstairs Downstairs, An Affair to Remember and The Parent Trap) produces and stars in the first of many full-length Shakespeare plays, Twelfth Night on 28th May 1923. Prior to this, there had been scenes and Shakespeare nights. But this was a chance to broadcast the longest and most ambitious play of this new medium.
Illuminating us on this, the return of Dr Andrea Smith of the University of Suffolk - the expert on the BBC and Shakespeare. She'll tell us all about the legacy of Auntie and Shakey, including the only one of his plays that to date has still not been adapted for BBC radio.
And three days after that first Shakespeare, another BBC debut: comedian John Henry, set to become broadcasting's first comedy personality. His comic monologues, often surreal and downbeat, evolved into tales of his family life, then a dialogue with his beloved Blossom... while off-air, their domestic life became more tragedy than comedy.
Comedy historian Alan Stafford tells all. It's quite a tale. John Henry surely deserves mention in the history books...
...on which, both Andrea and Alan have books out soon. See below shownotes for details - and we'll mention more of them on the podcast and on our social mediums when they're published.
 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Look out for Dr Andrea Smith's book 'Shakespeare on the Radio: A Century of BBC Plays', published by Edinburgh University Press in 2025.
Look out for Alan Stafford's book 'Bigamy Killed the Radio Star - John Henry: BBC Comedy Pioneer', published by Fantom Publications in late 2024.
Clips are generally so old they're beyond copyright, or rights may be owned by, er, someone. If that's you, let us know. We can talk. We're friendly. We're just to inform, educate and entertain. 
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
Paul's book Auntie and Uncles is coming soon too.
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites is coming soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: The Electrophone: Queen Victoria's Streaming Device of the 1890s. 
There may be some delay between episodes at the moment, due to summer holidays, and life throwing things at us. More soon, ASAP. Thanks for bearing with us.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#089 A History of Election Night Specials: 28 in 102 Years

Vote The British Broadcasting Century! 
Episode 89 is our Election Night Special special, covering Britain's 28 general election results broadcasts over 102 years. 
Broadcasting in both USA and UK have both launched were pretty much launched with election results.
On 2 November 1920, KDKA Pittsburgh launched regular commercial broadcasting with the presidential election results, giving listeners-in the latest at the same time as journalists. Revolutionary! On 15 November 1922, the BBC went national with London, Birmingham and Manchester announcing the election results and Bonar Law as PM. 
Joining us to tell the tale from here, dropping in at every election night special in Britain since, we have Gary Rodger (author of Swing: A Brief History of British General Election Night Broadcasting) and Harry White (host of The Modern British History Podcast).
...Hear first female liberal MP Margaret Wintringham on her gramophone election message...
...Discover the only person to have announced election results AND served as an MP...
...Find out how black-and-white TV converted the blues, reds and yellows of parties to the small screen...
...Meet pioneering producer Grace Wyndham Goldie, who created the TV election night special...
...Discover the origins of the swingometer...
...Oh and Dimblebys. There are many Dimblebys.
Vote with your ears by listening to this podcast - and vote with your vote by voting.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Gary Rodger's book Swing: A Brief History of British General Election Night Broadcasting. 
Listen to Harry White's Modern British History Podcast.
The clips used are, we believe, beyond copyright due to age - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites is coming this summer - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: The first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC - and comedian John Henry. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#088 Boycotts, Bands and The Sunday Committee: May 1923 at the BBC

On episode 88, it's May 1923, and the six-month-old BBC is settling into its new home at Savoy Hill. But it's not all plain sailing.
This time, 2-24 May 1923 is retold via press cuttings (thanks to our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker), showing us that:
Some corners of the press were mounting an anti-BBC campaign, complaining it was offering "poor fare". A few days later, other articles refuted that claim. 
Some corners of the government were eager to renegotiate the BBC agreement, with the Sykes Inquiry under way to look at licences and obligations.
Some corners of the live arts scene were worried their box office takings would be hit by radio entertainment, so decided to boycott Auntie Beeb.
...A few too many opponents!
There are also bands (first Birmingham station director Percy Edgar tells of the Grenadier Guards, a small studio and not much ventilation), simultaneous broadcast tests and plans for new stations (first chief engineer Peter Eckersley tells of his ambitions for the signal-to-noise ratio), and Reith's plans for the Sunday Committee to determine the future of, well, Sundays.
Plus our guest is ITV's first head of technology Norman Green. He tells us about his innovations in colour film and Teletext (he's the double-height guy!). Norman will return on a future episode too...
 
SHOWNOTES:
The clips used should be far beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Hear more of Percy Edgar, inc his memoir read by his grandson David Edgar, in this episode: https://pod.fo/e/c6b86
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites coming this summer - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: We break from May 1923 for A Brief History of Election Night Specials.
THE TIME AFTER THAT: The first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC! May 1923 continues... 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#087 The Cello and the Nightingale: A Centenary Celebration

100 years ago the weekend of this podcast, the Cello and the Nightingale became one of the most cherished broadcasts in radio history.
It first took place on 19 May 1924, live from the Surrey garden of cellist Beatrice Harrison. In this centenary special, we celebrate the musician, the muse and the microphone that made this incredible feat possible: the first major outside broadcast of nature.
The renowned cellist petitioned the BBC for some time to broadcast this unusual duet, and while John Reith at first thought it wouldn't work, new microphones developed by Captain H.J. Round ensured that the birdsong would carry... so long as they sang.
Did they sing? (Yes.) Was it faked? (No.) Was it the first broadcast birdsong? (Not quite.) All of this and more will be answered and delved into this episode, with an interview with Patricia Cleveland-Peck, author of The Cello and the Nightingales: The Life of Beatrice Harrison - new edition just released.
We look at the scandalous rumours of fakery, the technical developments that meant the BBC's first fading, the Cardiff broadcast that just beat them to it, the bleak wartime duet between The Nightingale and the Bomber, and even John Reith's odd nightingale impersonation, the very same day he first heard radio in 1917.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Iain Baird's excellent article on the technology and legacy of The Cello and the Nightingale is at https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/song-of-the-nightingale/
Buy The Cello and the Nightingales: The Life of Beatrice Harrison by Patricia Cleveland-Peck (NB: I get several pence commission if you click that affiliate link! I ambitously expect to retire on this money)
More on Patricia's books and career on her website: https://patriciaclevelandpeck.com/
A video version of Paul's interview with Patricia can be seen here on Youtube: https://youtu.be/CjaNILDlmZ0?si=Dp6fbbLbS-gZKVJu
We try to only use clips long beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi
Walking tours of BBC's London sites coming this summer. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: We're back in May 1923 for bands and boycotts on the early BBC.
More info on this radio history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#086 1932 Off-Air Radio Recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank

On the previous episode we explored the only 1920s BBC recording (that we know of), recorded off-air by Mr Jones of Croydon. 
This time on episode 86, we encounter the only other off-air radio recordings of the interwar years (that I know of): the 1932 recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank.
His grandson Alex cleared out the family attic as recently as 2016, discovering these bizarre metal discs with no idea what they contained, or how to listen to them. Alex consulted the British Sound Library, the internet, and wherever else he could find knowhow on playing these records to preserve the sounds.
What he found was several dozen 1930s recordings, from BBC jazz bands to radio royalty, from George Bernard Shaw to his own grandfather giving a spoof tour of Edinburgh. 
This episode we chat to Alex about his painstaking work preserving these recordings, and we hear a few. Enjoy Henry Hall opening Broadcasting House, extracts from the 1932 Royal Command Performance, and Reginald Foort and his big organ (stop it).
Then head to http://greenbank-records.com/1930s-recordings#/samples/ to hear the rest! You'll also find Alex's illuminating blog at http://greenbank-records.com/blog
1932 was the year the BBC started recording themselves, but only very sparingly. Most of these recordings are the only surviving copy of each broadcast - and there aren't many more pre-WW2 recorded broadcasts at all.
Thanks to Alex for sharing his story and the recordings, and thanks to F.O. Brown for using his EKCO Radiocorder to do what so many of us have done over the years: in my case, push the record and play buttons on a cassette recorder while Steve Wright was on Radio 1... or in my children's case, recording themselves playing Radio 2 jingles on the Wise Buddah website... but in this case, assembling a recording device from scratch to preserve monarchs and music on disc, so we can still hear them today.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Head to Greenbank Records for the full works.
We try to only use clips long beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - any near you?
NEXT TIME: The Centenary of the Cello and the Nightingale
More info on this radio history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio