Greatest Hits Radio 60s launches with Joanna Lumley Beatles story
Joanna Lumley had a Beatles story to tell as Greatest Hits Radio 60s launched at midday today with an hour long simulcast with sister station Greatest Hits Radio.
The new station kicked off its own schedule with Alex Lester’s Afternoon Show from 1pm.
As the voice of the station, Joanna Lumley joined other presenters, Ken Bruce, Richard Allinson, Alex and Paul Gambaccini for the opening hour and shared the story of the day she (very nearly) met The Beatles!
Joanna revealed: “I was sharing a flat with three other girls, we shared bedrooms, we shared everything, tights dresses, stockings we were living like little mangy rats; but we saved up enough money to go and see The Beatles.
“We were faint with excitement because we all had our favourite Beatle, I’m not going to tell you mine – Paul – because it would spoil everything as I just did adore them all. But Paul…
“And when The Beatles came on it was as if something had broken, there was suddenly no sound at all in that the sound was so extreme you literally couldn’t believe that the building was still standing.”
Joanna remembered that she and her friends couldn’t hear a single song the Fab Four were singing but they were gazing with absolute abject adoration.
Someone told them, just before the last song, to get out and run round the back of the building as they might see them getting into their car.
“We had a little tiny Mini so the four of us ran round, got into our Mini and went down to the stage door before the last song,” she recalled. “And there we saw four mopheads getting into a huge car.
“We followed their car and followed it and followed it and it seemed to be going out to Windsor, and it stopped somewhere and out got one of them and it was a child! It was boy – a prep schoolboy. It was posh people who had hired a huge limousine to take their children – we’d been following children!”
Chasing the ORIGINAL boyband! 😍
Greatest Hits Radio 60s is here and voiced by Joanna Lumley – she takes us back in time and recalls an unforgettable moment with The Beatles! pic.twitter.com/5j1KsZHaPe
— Greatest Hits Radio (@greatesthitsuk) September 16, 2024
Joining Joanna on the new station will be broadcasters including Richard Allinson on Breakfast from Monday to Friday and Alex Lester on afternoons. Ken Bruce, Paul Gambaccini, Simon Mayo, Rossie and Andy Crane will also host shows on the station.
Greatest Hits Radio 60s available on DAB and in the Rayo app.