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

BBC Radio 2

Sarah Kennedy

The show for early risers - Pause for Thought, Swing Time, Showtune,& entertainment news.

The show for Dawn Patrollers with Pause for Thought, Swing Time, the Showtune,& entertainment news.

The show for Dawn Patrollers with news, Pause for Thought, Swing Time, the Showtune, your comments, travel and entertainment news.

Sarah Kennedy: 10/11/2009

10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Sarah Kennedy, 10/11/2009

On the Dawn Patrol. With a review of the newspapers and Pause for Thought.

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

Wake Up to Wogan

Terry Wogan's regular morning broadcast, featuring music, news and chat

Wake Up to Wogan: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Wake Up to Wogan, 10/11/2009

Ken Bruce

The best in music every weekday with Ken Bruce, with live sessions.

Ken Bruce: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Ken Bruce, 10/11/2009

Guy Chambers explains his song choices in Tracks of My Years.

Ken Bruce plays a selection from the Album of the Week by Leona Lewis and Guy Chambers chooses his Tracks of My Years from Led Zeppelin and Nick Drake.

Romance is in the air when we play our daily Love Song at 10:15. Plus there's all the usual wonderment - the Record and Album Of The Week, PopMaster and Guy Chambers explains why he has chosen 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin and Nick Drake's 'Riverman' on Tracks Of My Years.

Jeremy Vine

Jeremy Vine and guests discuss the news headlines and talk to the people making them

Jeremy Vine: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Jeremy Vine, 10/11/2009

Steve Wright in the Afternoon

Steve Wright's afternoon show with special guests, music and a host of other features

Steve Wright in the Afternoon: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Steve Wright in the Afternoon, 10/11/2009

With Robbie Williams, Torvill and Dean, the Non-Stop Oldies and brain-busting Factoids!

Steve Wright chats to Robbie Williams and to Torvill and Dean. Plus brain-busting Factoids and the Non-Stop Oldies.

Steve Wright chats to Robbie Williams, and Torvill & Dean, and brings you brain-busting Factoids, the non stop Oldies, the national and international news from the world of entertainment, and the best music from across the globe.

Steve Wright

Chris Evans

Chris Evans' drivetime slot, with laughter-inducing chat and music

Chris Evans: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Chris Evans, 10/11/2009

Chris puts his 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' phone-friends to the test!

Chris puts his Who Wants to be a Millionaire phone-friends to the test one last time before the big quiz! And just who is 'The Jolly Butcher' outside your local shop?

Chris puts his 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' phone-friends to the test one last time before the big quiz! And, just who is 'The Jolly Butcher' outside your local shop?

Desmond Carrington: The Music Goes Round

Desmond Carrington dips into classics from all musical genres

Desmond Carrington dips into classics from all musical genres from the 1920s to the present day

Desmond Carrington: The Music Goes Round: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Desmond Carrington: The Music Goes Round, 10/11/2009

Desmond takes Berlin as his theme, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall.

Desmond takes Berlin as his theme, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Desmond rummages through his collection of 250,000 titles to share some good tunes, some unexpected ones and a few you may never have heard before. This week Desmond takes Berlin as his theme, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Desmond Carrington

The Radcliffe & Maconie Show

BBC Radio 6 Music

A late-night mix of live sessions, celebrity guests and listener interaction

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie with a late-night mix of live sessions, celebrity guests and listener interaction

The Radcliffe and Maconie Show

The Radcliffe & Maconie Show: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 6 Music - The Radcliffe & Maconie Show, 10/11/2009

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie present their award-winning show live from Manchester.

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie present their award-winning show live from Manchester, with great music, sessions, guests, witty badinage and features.

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie present their award-winning show live from Manchester, with great music, sessions, guests, witty badinage and features. Includes the latest additions to The Chain.

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie

Featuring a discussion about Alex Chilton 's band Big Star.

The Organist Entertains

Nigel Ogden presents a programme of popular organ recordings

Nigel Ogden presents a programme of popular organ recordings, including pipe and electronic organs

The Organist Entertains: 10/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - The Organist Entertains, 10/11/2009

Nigel Ogden presents a programme of popular organ recordings.

Nigel Ogden presents a programme of popular organ recordings with entertaining pieces from the organ world.

Nigel Ogden presents a programme of popular organ recordings with some entertaining pieces from the organ world.

Nigel Ogden

How David Hasselhoff Brought Down The Wall

BBC Radio 2 - How David Hasselhoff Brought Down The Wall

Richard Herring irreverently intertwines the fall of communism with the rise of The Hoff.

Richard Herring irreverently intertwines the fall of communism with the rise of David Hasselhoff, whose spell in the charts coincided with and symbolised a momentous event.

As Radio 2 continues to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Richard Herring irreverently intertwines the fall of communism with the rise of David Hasselhoff. 

In 1989, David Hasselhoff was between jobs. Knight Rider had been cancelled a few years earlier; Baywatch had yet to rescue his career, so he decided to become a pop star. And had some success. His single, Looking For Freedom, reached number one in Austria, Switzerland, and West Germany, helped by his bright idea of taking the talking car from Knight Rider on stage with him.

Meanwhile, the wheels of history turned. Communist Hungary removed its travel restrictions with Austria, allowing thousands of East German tourists to escape to Austria and enter West Germany. While weekly protests grew, Hasselhoff's song pumped away relentlessly in the discos of West Berlin. On 9 November 1989 the Wall fell. To ring in the New Year, there was no question as to who would best symbolize a new beginning and freedom - The Hoff. After spending almost two months at number one, David Hasselhoff performed Looking For Freedom live on top of the Berlin Wall in front of hundreds of thousands of Germans - and walked into the history books.

Richard Herring casts an eye back over this extraordinary episode in modern history. He gets into the GDR swing of things by taking a ride in a Trabant and learning the Lipsi Dance, the German Democratic Republic's official answer to rock n' roll. We speak to key figures in the Berlin music scene including the Klaus Renft Combo, who were banned by GDR authorities, and Berliners whose lives were affected by the Wall. And we track down the producer of Looking for Freedom, fans who witnessed Hasselhoff atop the Wall, and of course, The Hoff himself.

How David Hasselhoff Brought Down the Wall

As Radio 2 continues to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, comic Richard Herring (of Lee and Herring) irreverently intertwines the fall of Communism with the rise of US actor David Hasselhoff, whose post-Knight Rider/pre-Baywatch career included the big European hit Looking for Freedom, which resonated with central Europeans in late 1989. Contributors include
East German rock act Klaus Renft Combo (banned in 1975), Looking for Freedom songwriter/producer Jack White, David Hasselhoff himself, and Berliners recalling his performance of the song at the Wall.

That Western Swing Thing

That Western Swing Thing: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 2 - That Western Swing Thing, Episode 1

Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson charts the history of Western Swing music.

Ray Benson explores the cultural and musical background of the American Southwest, which gave rise to the development of Western Swing music.

In the 1930s, when the urban dance halls of America were ringing to the swing sounds of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie, a unique form of dance music was taking hold in the rural South West. Exposed to big band influences through the radio, rural string bands took jazz and big band music and adapted it for their traditional instruments. Country fiddles, banjos and steel guitars played alongside horns, drums and pianos. Also feeding into this music were the diverse cultural influences prevalent in 1930s Texas and Oklahoma. This was an area filled with the sounds of different communities. Czech and German polka, Mexican mariachi, Cajun and blues were all part of the soundtrack of the Southwest and bled into this new style of music, which would later become known as 'Western Swing'. It was a sound which was to become the lifeblood of the Texan dancehall for the next twenty years, and provide America with a musician regarded by many as 'the best band leader of all time' - Bob Wills.

In this five part series Ray Benson, the founder and lead singer of Grammy winning Western Swing band 'Asleep at the Wheel' charts the history and development of this music. He celebrates the people who created, developed and refined the Western Swing sound, and joins some of the players, enthusiasts and fans who are keeping this unique part of America's musical history alive for the next generation.

The series features contributions from Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and The Hot Club of Cowtown plus former members of 'Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys' Johnny Gimble, Herb Remington, Bobby Koefer, Louise Rowe and Leon Rausch.

The first part of the series explores the cultural and musical background of the American Southwest which gave rise to the development of this music. We travel to the rural dance halls of Texas, and hear some of the music that surrounded Western swing bandleader Bob Wills during his early career, and hear about his relationship with former cigar salesman Milton Brown which led to the formation of 'The Light Crust Doughboys' - the precursors to the Western swing sound.

"The definition of Western Swing is hard to pin down - it's a style, an approach, a certain line-up of instruments, a particular beat, a fusion of different kinds of music - it's improvisation, it's strings and horns, it's country with jazz instruments, it's jazz with country instruments. It's music with a smile on its face, music to make people happy and most of all it's music to make people dance " ( Part 1 - That Western Swing Thing).

Ray Benson charts the history and development of Western Swing music

Founder and lead singer of Grammy-winning band Asleep at the Wheel Ray Benson charts the history and development of Western Swing music

New series. 1/5. Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson tells the story of the music genre with which his Grammy-winning Texas band is most associated: western swing. This first part recalls how the rural string-band sound of the South West merged with Czech and German polka, 
Mexican mariachi, Cajun, jazz, big band and blues to form western swing, led by influential Texan musician, songwriter and band leader Bob Wills (1905-75). Producer Al Booth

Janice Long

Great music and chat, with a weekly interview and Spoken Word Session every Wednesday

Music you love, plus great guests and a weekly Spoken Word Session that you won't hear anywhere else

Janice Long: 11/11/2009

11/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Janice Long, 11/11/2009

With an array of music, including Tunes of the Unexpected.

With an array of music, including Tunes of the Unexpected and Radio 2's Record and Album of the Week.

With Janice's excellent array of music, including some Tunes Of The Unexpected and Radio 2's Record and Album Of The Week.

Alex Lester

Weekday morning music and entertainment with Alex Lester

Alex Lester: 11/11/2009

BBC Radio 2 - Alex Lester, 11/11/2009

With Lester's and Listeners' Libraries, the Half-Time Hooter and Pause for Thought.

With Lester's and Listeners' Libraries, the first Half-Time Hooter of the week and Pause for Thought.

An early morning mix of music & conversation, including the first Half-Time Hooter of The Week. Also on the Best Time of the Day Show, Alex dips into his own record collection to choose a new release or classic track from Lester's Library - and something selected by you in the Listeners' Library.

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Chris Evans

Chris Evans

10/11/2009

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