> Quote: "I remember him being mysteriously taken off air during the
> 1987 general election."
>
> You're right. I remember that. I still must have been tuning in
> in '87. He ended his last show before his break with a monologue.
> Something with stirring music in the background (Jerusalem porobably)
> and Jim kind of saying "I can't tell you how to vote, but ask
> yourself who is more likely to preserve the NHS, safeguard jobs
> etc...) Oh, how simpler life seemed back then.

Surprisingly enough I was very politcally unaware at that age, and so I
don't think I understood why he wasn't on air. This meant that most of Jim
used to talk about went waaay over my head, which is why I just used to
write in about which bus I had caught that day.


> Simon,
> I think you've misunderestimated me there. m8, what I meant was on
> Monday - Fri Reeve was on around 10 till 12 (approx.) and Wood
> folowed him 12 till 2. I'd sy that was the best Radio schedule of all
> time. Amazingly, I heard Billy Butler on Merseyside the other week
> and he is still playing the Bradshaws 20 years on.


Ah now I understand! Technically I live now in Merseyside (well I have to
be near Liverpool where I now work in my proper job) so I had heard the
Bradshaws on that Billy Butler programme.

Was it the BFSS or someone else that wrote in to day they had heard me on
Radio City fail miserably on a quiz?? I remember phoning in for this quiz
and the question was "what are the real names of the Beastie Boys" but it
wasn't the beastie boys it was some other "boys" band that were popular at
the time... and I totally didn't have any idea what the question was getting
it - I blame the scouse accent - and I just said "errrm Bob and Dave" which
surprisingly was not the answer they were looking for... and I also said
happy birthday to everyone who forgot to send me a card! Whoever wrote in
quoted all of that almost word for word - you see everyone kept encouraging
me to write in by writing Jim letters all about me!

Back to the Bradshaws... I was totally amazed one day back then when I was
looking at a map to find that Barnaldswick actually existed as a real place!


> Frazier Chrous were proof the British record buying public didn't
> fall for everything - Maybe Robert Palmer was a closet George Van
> Dusen fan

I have several Frazier Chorus albums... well all that they released... I was
amazed years later to find another FC fan as I thought only Jim's listeners
had ever heard it, and most of them would have quickly forgotten it. I kept
asking Jim to play their records and he's just say no, listen to your own
CD. So I went out and bought Dream Kitchen from a bargain bucket 99p and
sent it him to play on the show.


> Do you remember what he used to do to anyone who began teir call
> with "How Do!"?

Well I'm guessing this has something to do with Allan Beswick's "rival" red
rose radio show - I used to listen to that on Friday nights when James
wasn't on... and everyone used to phone up and do funny noises and just say
"HOWDOO YOU FAT BA......." and then get cut off, and the 5 second delay
meant that he had to go straight into an advert break so the delay could
slowly build up in the break, but it made for very stupid sounding radio
where conversations would sometimes just stop in un-natural places and go
straight to an advert for Ribble Buses.

That's just reminded me of something, and I can't believe I can still
remember this word for word.... Allan Beswick once played a record - I don't
know where it came from, but it was all about Ribble Buses - and for some
reason all these years later it is still stuck in my head:

From the beautiful lakes of Kendal
To the rolling hills of Pendle
From Blackpool to the Pennies
You'll find us in the lead

We've been here for a long time
We'll be here for a long time to come
We're efficient safe and fast
With a service unsurpassed
And you know we're going to last
Because we're Ribble

Smiles better on a Ribble
Ribble country where courtesy come first
Smiles better on a Ribble
We're glad you're here in Ribble country

I can't believe that has been stored in my head for the last 17 years. Does
anyone else remember that, or was it just me??!!

Anyway that's enough drivel from me,

Please read this out at 11.15pm on Monday night,


Simon



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