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BBC Radio 2 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Light Programme.

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I Was a Teenage Heartthrob

I Was a Teenage Heartthrob: Episode 2: Donny Osmond

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Music: Classic Pop & Rock

Donny Osmond

Episode 2

Episode 2: Donny Osmond

BBC Radio 2 - I Was a Teenage Heartthrob, Donny OsmondSearch BBC

Nina Myskow marks 40 years since Britain first fell for Donny Osmond.

Nina Myskow marks 40 years since Britain first fell for Donny Osmond. Featuring an interview with the erstwhile teen heartthrob, as well as archive clips and hits from the era.

It's 1972. If you're a teenage girl, there is just one question: Donny or David? Because, as Jackie, the now iconic teenage magazine understood, you were true to one idol or the other. Now, journalist and broadcaster Nina Myskow, the former editor of Jackie, marks 40 years since Britain first fell for Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, both of whom had their first UK solo hits that year. 

On consecutive evenings, these two programmes recreate the magic of the teenybop era and trace the path the stars' lives have since taken. The shows are underpinned by new, in-depth conversations with Myskow, who interviewed both artists in their heyday. The love affairs they started with the UK, 40 years ago, continue to this day: David visited the UK for shows in November, while Donny brings his full Las Vegas show with sister Marie here in January 2013.

In two lively slices of pop and social history, Nina examines the lives of the friendly rivals who became the poster boys of 70s pop, with vivid illustration from archive radio footage and the hits of that extraordinary era. The second idol in the spotlight is Donny Osmond. Nina recalls how Donny, already a US star with his brothers, soon followed David into the UK chart and the hearts of his young admirers with the summer hit of 72, Puppy Love. 

Donny self-effacingly describes his affectionately competitive relationship with Marie, his memories about those early British visits, and remembers how he donned a false moustache and wig to go on a date with his now wife (choosing the less than private location of an airport to meet her). We also find out how seeing a keepsake of those times moves him literally to tears.

Amazing music. Played by an amazing line up.

Radio 2: Amazing music. Played by an amazing line-up. The home of great music, entertainment and documentaries

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Nina Myskov confronts the ultimate question for '70s teenage girls - David or Donny?

Nina Myskov confronts the ultimate question for teenage girls in the 1970s - David Cassidy or Donny Osmond? With vivid illustration from archive radio footage and the hits of that extraordinary era

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