I was sorry to have learned of the death of Bob Holness; especially as it was thanks to him, in a small way, that I ended up working in radio.Back in my hospital radio days in the early-1970s Bob Holness, who lived in Pinner had become a good friend of Radio Northwick Park. At the time he was the regular presenter of the Monday edition of Radio 2’s Late Night Extra and one evening a few of us were kindly invited to come to Broadcasting House and sit in the studio's control room while the programme was broadcast.
It was quite exciting to watch what was going on, with studio guests coming and going, as well as reporters arriving with tapes for the programme. At times it all seemed rather hectic yet, at the same time, everything went quite smoothly as far as the listener was concerned. It also struck me that, while Radio Northwick Park’s facilities were rather modest compared to those in this BBC basement studio many of the general techniques, with which I was becoming familiar, were the same.
A couple of years later I found myself working at LBC as a studio operator and, by then, Bob had also joined the station. He originally reported from the station's traffic helicopter but after a while partnered Douglas Cameron for many years on the station's 'AM' breakfast show.
So thanks, Bob. Those few hours one evening watching 'Late Night Extra' being broadcast was a life-changing moment. It was also a pleasure to have worked with you.
(Photo © Paul Easton 1975)
(Photo © Paul Easton 1975)
I used to listen to LBC an awful lot in the early 80s, and with Douglas Cameron, I'd listen to Bob Holness every morning before going to school.
ReplyDeleteIt was a true competitor to the much dryer Today programme on Radio 4. I'd suggest that their relaxed, but serious tone very much informed the somewhat later Five Live Breakfast programmes. You could certainly draw a straight line between Bob Holness and someone like Peter Allen.
I've been informed by reliable sources that LBC's overall programming style in the mid-80s (before the FM/AM 'split') was used as the "blueprint" for Five Live.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that bob has departed. I wonder why it is that the Media have a memory block on Radio Luxembourg every time someone dies. Bob was a very important part of Luxy. Perhaps it's the lazy, young journalists of today with their cut and paste culture. However, R.I.P Bob, we had good times together.
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