Although when it comes to continuing the Showcase, which puts unsigned and independent music on the radio, people seem to be cowering behind the studio door, fingers in ears, exclaiming the idea to be “dangerous”.

Well, dangerous might be a small exaggeration, but what I’m finding is that playing “new music” on commercial radio is seen as a bad idea because, the theory goes, listeners want familiar songs. Songs that they know and love and have heard many times before.

If they don’t hear a familiar song they’ll change channel.

And that’s even with the new music put into a “new music show” with a presenter telling you that there is “new music” about to come on.

It’s surprising the ‘familiar’ theory is so prevalent because pop radio has been with us for over 40 years and by now we should be used to hearing the occasionally different song.

The only person widely associated with broadcasting new music the late BBC broadcaster John Peel and bizarrely enough he became popular before joining the BBC playing new and different music on a pirate radio station.

So even in the late 60’s pirate radio fell into the trap of playing safe.

The message is loud and clear: commercial radio plays music you already know and new music is the BBC’s remit.

Commercial television doesn’t have a problem with untried talent. If you went to ITV chief Michael Grade and suggested he should drop “The X Factor” and “Britain’s Got Talent” I am sure he’d suggest you did something unprintable.

These two shows are their biggest ratings winners and although the format maybe familiar the acts aren’t. It is a sure bet that radio wouldn’t have discovered Leona Lewis or Will Young.

I’ve recently been reminded that “radio is a village”. A great analogy to be sure but, to my eye, commercial radio’s current attitude appears more like local gentry, living on a big hill near the village, with a loud speaker on the turret, expecting everyone to love them because of the familiar songs they broadcast.

The only time these gentry visit the village is to collect money from traders, or hand out prizes when ratings are being counted.

If, on these rare visits, they were to collect a few new songs from the village and then expand on that interaction, they might engender some respect, loyalty and more importantly for the traders – show they have a connection with the community.

Advertiser’s current worry is their message falling upon deaf ears because, if people are listening to familiar songs on the radio, are they really “listening”? Are they just treating it as background music?

Of course the other question radio should be asking is “How many times do people switch when they hear a song they are familiar with?”

Commercial radio is an excellent medium for musicians, listeners and advertisers to co-exist but for me the current trend of safety will widen the distance between the station and the community.

During the show we play the best music from our region of the UK – Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight and West Sussex.

The rain was pouring down and we were receiving messages from people stuck in caravans, especially numbers 144 and 145 – for them the station made a grim day much better.

We also had a great response to the competition and congratulations go out to Jerry from Wimbourne who won away a copy of Storm Thorgerson’s excellent new illustrated book “Taken by Storm” (pictured above) – you can buy it from Amazon here…

Taken by Storm

If you want to find out more about Storm and the great album covers he has made visit this link: www.stormthorgerson.com

Here are the bands and features for the show on Sunday 27th May 2007…

FIRST HALF 18:00 to 20:00

In the show we also had an interview with Jackson Analogue moments after they came off stage from supporting The Who at the KC Stadium in Hull. Jackson Analogue are from the Isle of Wight and more can be found here: www.jacksonanalogue.com

ALSO WE HAD TRACKS FROM

ANDREW FOSTER
www.myspace.com/andrewfostermusic

MOONTOWN
www.myspace.com/moontownmusic

MOZYDARE
www.myspace.com/mozydare

SUBGIANT
www.subgiant.co.uk

TRUE SWAMP NEGLECT
www.myspace.com/trueswampneglect

IN FAN POWER – from 21:00
(as requested by fans and listeners)

THE STRANGE DEATH OF LIBERAL ENGLAND
www.tsdole.co.uk

WILFY WILLIAMS
www.myspace.com/wilfywilliams

STATE OF UNDRESS
www.stateofundress.com

I disagree. After seeing two bands, in two days, this is my second night of sitting in the office stinking of cigarettes. As a nonsmoker it isn’t the greatest of smells.*

So I can’t wait for the smoking ban to begin on July 1st. In my opinion it won’t make gigs any worse and we’ll only be taking home memories of songs and not morsels of smog.

Rant over. Two bands from this region in two nights. It’s not a record (and that’s not a pun) but having heard their music on the Original Showcase I thought it was time to hear them in the flesh.

On Wednesday night I was at The Brook in Southampton to see Recreation support The Bluetones. On Thursday it was the same city to see Birdpen (above) at The Joiners.

Both bands have the potential to make it and I can see Recreation being at success in this country while Birdpen have a sound which will make them a hit in Europe.

If you were to ask which of the two groups would succeed first then I would have to say Birdpen.

Recreation have a great summer sound and are likely to appeal to the thinking public but they are in transition and have to find a new guitarist which always takes a few months to sort out.

While Birdpen have the advantage of their frontman, Dave ‘Pen’. He is also in a group called Archive who recently sold out the 6000 capacity Zenith in Paris. It must be strange to go from that to 100 people at The Joiners.

But he didn’t see too phased and the conversation we had after the show was punctuated with punters telling him how good the gig was. A sure sign of success.

They both gave me some new recordings and we’ll be playing them over the next couple of weeks on Sunday’s Original Showcase.

*As a former smoker I do appreciate the irony.

It is not just because they decided to employ me that I hail them as champions of the airwaves but the fact that Original considered music and 24 news a priority.

Original 106fm is owned by Canadian media giant CanWest and this is the first time in UK radio history that a company from outside the country has done so. They have just won a second licence in Bristol and are aiming for more. I believe their positive apporoach to the medium and it’s core reason for exisitng will change radio in this country for the better.

Under the guidance of Programme Controller John Evington we have been adding a vast selection of music into the system. I have been very impressed with the variety of tracks we have heard and can guarantee that there is no other local radio station with such a wide selection.

The photo above comes from our first photo shoot and shows the presenters in all their glory. I’m on the left and then next is Tim Butcher, Martyn Lee, Iain Meadows, Simon James, Hill and finally Nick Jackson.

They are delightful people to work with and all of us feel the same: we have joined something brilliant.