Today was a very special day for the main 4 BBC radio networks in the UK as they celebrated their 40th birthday (they're just a little bit younger than me!). Radio 1's top 40 chart show revealed that the most played record of all time on Radio 1 was Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" although you wouldn't have much chance of hearing it on the station these days as they're trying too hard to be "cutting edge of new music", and many of us of a certain age seem to be migrating over to Radio 2 for a little bit more diversity.
On the whole I'm still unhappy with British radio at the moment, and the narrow playlists with the same 6 songs being repeated over and over again. Thank goodness for the internet and the opportunity to listen to European radio stations. Although many of these also have very tight playlists, there is still a refreshing and diverse selection to be found if you look for it. I'm particularly impressed with Sveriges Radio P3 which mixes the current chart hits, cheesy pop, album tracks and more obscure/alternative sounds. Check out their daily playlists over at http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/p3/tabla/latlista.asp. The kind of radio station I would like to listen to if such a thing existed over here.
