Radio 1 Roadshow celebrates 50 years with special programme
Half a century on from its debut in 1973, today marks the 50th Birthday of the iconic Radio 1 Roadshow.
The Roadshow’s debut was in Newquay on Monday 23 July 1973, and was hosted by Alan Freeman.
To celebrate, BBC Radio’s Sussex and Surrey will be airing a special programme on Monday 28 August in the Roadshow’s original 5pm slot which will be available on BBC Sounds immediately after its broadcast.
My Radio 1 Roadshow at 50 will be presented by Shaun Tilley, host of the BBC’s My Radio 1 series. He’ll be joined by the man who was there from day one in Newquay with Alan Freeman, Smiley Miley as they tell the story of the world’s biggest free broadcasting event going coast to coast every Summer!
Its creator Johnny Beerling also shares his memories of how he first got the idea to create the Roadshow whilst David Hamilton and Annie Nightingale tell the tale of when The Bay City Rollers infamously started a riot at Mallory Park Race Circuit.
Shaun plays a cassette recording of the first one he attended in Morecambe to the DJ who presented it, Rosko and Paul Burnett remembers being stung in the throat by a wasp minutes before going live to the nation from the Summerleaze Beach in Bude.
Peter Powell reminds us of the jingle he couldn’t wait to play every Summer and Steve Wright reveals how nervous he was hosting his first Roadshow, a feeling which never really left him.
Mike Read and Smiley Miley talk fondly of all the pranks they played on each other and one stunt in particular which even a senior member of The Royal Family was a fan of.
Adrian Juste talks about the difficulties he experienced during the recording of those legendary Roadshow openers he voiced. Plus, there’s personal highlights and tales from Tony Blackburn, Gary Davies, Simon Mayo, Jackie Brambles, Kid Jensen, Bruno Brookes, Andy Peebles and Simon Bates. There are also recollections from producers Dave Atkey and the late Tim Blackmore.
My Radio 1 Roadshow at 50 can be heard on BBC Radio’s Sussex and Surrey at 5pm on Monday 28 August and nationally on BBC Sounds.
#OnThisDay 1973: the very first Radio 1 Roadshow took place in Newquay (with Torquay, Poole and Southsea in the same week). Alan Freeman was the very first host, and in 1997, he spoke about how it was brought to life.
R1 Vintage highlights – https://t.co/R7dC9sHgck pic.twitter.com/AKtTWjO52J
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) July 23, 2023
Happy 50th to the Radio 1 Roadshow. I put this together a few years ago and it was great fun digging out some forgotten footage for @BBCSouthNews @BBCR1 @smileymileyuk @shaun_tilley https://t.co/S6eg8nMriK
— Richard Latto (@RichardLatto) July 23, 2023
New audio – To celebrate #50YearsOfTheRadio1Roadshow here's a selection of jingles used over the years!#AircheckDownloads pic.twitter.com/uOZh8q86Qi
— Aircheck Downloads (@airchecks) July 23, 2023