A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
WITH gloom all around, politically and weatherwise, and spring seeming a long way off, here’s a ray of aural sunshine to brighten up your day. The Innocence Mission represent love, … Continue readingThe age of Innocence (Mission)
WE tend to think that Left-wing bias is a relatively new phenomenon at the BBC, but it has been going on for a long time. The difference is that decades … Continue readingThe Brains Trust
IN recent decades the wonderful hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers has come under attack from the PC brigade, who (wrongly) perceive it as militaristic. Most attempts to drop it from hymn … Continue readingOnward, Christian Soldiers
THIS is a sentence you will not often read: The BBC admitted it was wrong. It happened in 1975, after the decision was made to end Down Your Way, one … Continue readingDown Your Way
BEFORE I started writing this series, I didn’t realise that there is a sort of hymn snobbery. Growing up in an evangelical C of E church (Christ Church, Beckenham, Kent) … Continue readingWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus
DURING the 1960s, there were few cosier corners in the world of television than BBC Light Entertainment. Middle-of-the-road singers such as Val Doonican, Petula Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Bobbie Gentry and … Continue readingJimi wrecks the Lulu show
A FEW weeks ago I looked back fondly to the late sixties and early seventies, when every decent-sized town had at least one record shop. Most places also had a … Continue readingWhere Beatlemania began – and I slept through it
THIS is the first in a series recalling BBC radio programmes from the 30s, 40s and 50s, when the corporation was a much-loved institution broadcasting material the listeners wanted to … Continue readingMusic While You Work
A SEARING initiative to deal with the problem of poor language skills among children has been announced. Staff at Clarks shoe shops are to be tasked with improving youngsters’ vocabulary … Continue readingAn insole to the intelligence
AFTER I wrote about O Love That Will Not Let Me Go last week, reader Roy Davey-Jenkins commented that ‘Great declarations and heart-stirring hymns often come out of deep trauma’, … Continue readingIt Is Well With My Soul