[ratnobMember]

Dear all

I’ve just received this great message from Beacon 303 breakfast guy (1976-78?), Chris Harper. With his permission, I’m reposting it here:

—

Chris Harper here…yes, from Beacon 303.

I just read an old article from 2011 you wrote about the early days of that great experiment! Thank you for such a nice piece.

Beacon was celebrated a few years ago on their 40 anniversary by 101.8 WCRFM in Wolverhampton with many of the old DJ’s taking part in a weekend long event.
The 43rd anniversary is coming up and I plan on doing a smaller salute on my regular show on WCR on Sunday, April 14 at 6pm.
If you’re outside the broadcast area, you can listen online (as I do as I now live in Canada) at WCRFM.com and I hope you’ll tune in.
There’ll be some old jingles, some old music and some excerpts from old DJ’s like George, Mike, Dave, Bob, Mick and myself!

By the way, your article was flagged and republished by former Beacon Radio newsman, Richard Rudin (https://www.facebook.com/richard.rudin)

Oh I almost forgot…I also run a site called Beacon Radio The Early Years on facebook. Please visit and ‘like’, it’s got tons of pictures and memories.
It needs more pictures, but I can’t find them very often.
https://www.facebook.com/BeaconRadioTheEarlyYears/

Thanks again for the keeping the memories of Beacon Radio so close to your heart.

All the best, and keep on listening!

Chris Harper

[PKMember]

Thanks for that Geoff. I’m an original day one 303 listener and big fan who also was lucky to work with the late Mike Baker who is still very much missed!

[ratnobMemberAuthor]

Thanks for that Geoff. I’m an original day one 303 listener and big fan who also was lucky to work with the late Mike Baker who is still very much missed!

Awww. I loved Mike Baker – even when he deliberately talked over those Sunshine Sound jingles and got us phoning in for the daily ‘Beacon Ballot’.

[PKMember]

Aircheck Of Mike from the end of February 1978 with a Chris Harper Beacon Ballot Jingle over a Pick Of The Pops style bed during the start of Bruce Warburton’s heavy audio processing which got them into trouble with the IBA Lol!!! https://www.dropbox.com/s/q88cv9144uo0wbl/Mike%20Baker%20Beacon%20303%20Aircheck%20February%201978%20%282%29.mp3?dl=0

[ratnobMemberAuthor]

Aircheck Of Mike from the end of February 1978 with a Chris Harper Beacon Ballot Jingle over a Pick Of The Pops style bed during the start of Bruce Warburton’s heavy audio processing which got them into trouble with the IBA Lol!!! https://www.dropbox.com/s/q88cv9144uo0wbl/Mike%20Baker%20Beacon%20303%20Aircheck%20February%201978%20%282%29.mp3?dl=0

Love it. And it speaks of a different era – when possibly adding another song to a radio station playlist was an exciting goal.

[PKMember]

What is noticeable in that 303 aircheck is the way Mike Baker talks ‘with’ the music in his links and making it sound bright and exciting!

[enerjee]

Yeah, that “Supergold Sunday” with Chris on WCRFM was a great dip back into how Beacon Radio originally sounded in the late 1970s.

I only discovered Beacon in August 1977 on my school summer holidays and it was such a refreshing sound, slick, sharp and very young with a lot of music that couldn’t be heard on Radio 1. Alas it only lasted until August 1979 when the IBA swept out the fun and killed it. We were extremely lucky in the Midlands (I lived in Leicestershire well outside the transmission area, but it came in loud and clear on both AM and FM stereo) to have had the chance to be exposed to an almost American-style form of music radio.

I’m forever indebted to Jay and Allen, and all the great mid-Atlantic-sounding presenters for giving me a great couple of years as a teenager.

[ratnobMemberAuthor]

Yeah, that “Supergold Sunday” with Chris on WCRFM was a great dip back into how Beacon Radio originally sounded in the late 1970s.

I only discovered Beacon in August 1977 on my school summer holidays and it was such a refreshing sound, slick, sharp and very young with a lot of music that couldn’t be heard on Radio 1. Alas it only lasted until August 1979 when the IBA swept out the fun and killed it. We were extremely lucky in the Midlands (I lived in Leicestershire well outside the transmission area, but it came in loud and clear on both AM and FM stereo) to have had the chance to be exposed to an almost American-style form of music radio.

I’m forever indebted to Jay and Allen, and all the great mid-Atlantic-sounding presenters for giving me a great couple of years as a teenager.

I agree with every word. I was a teenager in Stafford and discovered Beacon late in 1976. My sentiments about the station are precisely yours.

[Author]

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