Sing Something Simple was a half-hour radio programme, which featured Cliff Adams and The Cliff Adams Singers, with Jack Emblow on accordion. The programme, which featured arrangements of popular easy-listening songs, ran for 42 years from 1959 until 2001, initially on the BBC Light Programme and later on BBC Radio 2, and earning itself the title of the longest-running continuous music programme in the world. [1]
The lyrics to its main theme began as follows:
Sing something simple
As cares go by
Sing something simple
Just you and I
When Sing Something Simple was broadcast by Radio 2, this song would be followed by an announcer (in latter years, Alan Dedicoat) who would say:
"We invite you to Sing Something Simple, a collection of favourite songs, old and new, sung by The Cliff Adams Singers, accompanied by Jack Emblow."
and alternately 'We invite you to Sing Something Simple, not only listening, but joining in we hope, with all these songs you know so well'.
The pianist, Semprini, introduced his own show with "Old ones, new ones, loved ones, neglected ones" but the effect was similar on "Sing Something Simple".
The tune would then continue:
We'll sing the old songs
like you used to do,
We'll sing something simple for you,
something for you.
Ten minutes in, Cliff Adams would perform a piano solo, which he would introduce, after which the singers would continue with a selection of popular songs of varying vintage.
In the 1960s it was broadcast at 7pm, following on from 'Pick of the Pops' introduced by Alan Freeman.
In later years - particularly in the 1980s - in the days when Radio 2's FM frequencies were leased to BBC Radio 1, the programme would be broadcast at 4.30pm, directly before the Top 40.
The last broadcast was on 25 November 2001. The programme ended partly because Cliff Adams died that year and partly because of Radio 2's repositioning to appeal to the former Radio 1 audience.
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, Cambridge Circus., as a scripted sketch show. It had a devoted youth following, with the live tapings enjoying very lively audiences, particularly when familiar themes and characters were repeated; a tradition that continued into the spinoff show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody of radio and TV panel games, and has been broadcast since on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, with repeats aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra and, in the 1980s and 1990s, on BBC Radio 2. The 50th series was broadcast in November and December 2007.
Listen with Mother was a BBC radio programme for children which ran between 16 January 1950 to 10 September 1982. It was originally produced by Freda Lingstrom although for the majority of its run it was produced by George Dixon, and was presented over the years by Daphne Oxenford, Julia Lang, Eileen Browne, Dorothy Smith and others.
Our Tune is a long-standing feature/segment on British radio presented by broadcaster Simon Bates. Having begun by at least 1979 it was originally part of his mid-morning show on BBC Radio 1, where it aired daily throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The feature has more recently been heard on Smooth Radio, where Bates presented the Breakfast Show from 2011 to 2014. An edition of Our Tune typically features a personal story submitted by a listener together with a song that has significance to the person or situation. Many of these stories, which are read out over Nino Rota's Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet have a tragic narrative such as illness or death, although not all end on such an unhappy note.
Seaside Special is a European light entertainment show broadcast from 1975. It was an outside broadcast based at a big top around numerous British seaside resorts. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses, but in later seasons, the BBC bought its own to be the venue. The programme was developed by producer Michael Hurll. The series was developed after a short-lived, 6 part 'trial' aired on BBC2 in 1973, under the title Show of the Week: The Young Generation Big Top, starring the dance troupe The Young Generation and hosted by various personalities. The series was broadcast from various Pontin's Holiday Camps around the UK under the Gerry Cottle Big Top. The first show, airing on 6 August 1973, was hosted by Clodagh Rodgers. While this show was originally made in the United Kingdom, it was also co-produced in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
The Cliff Adams Singers were a British male/female vocal group, known for ballads and novelty songs, and especially their regular performances on BBC Radio from the 1950s onwards. The ensemble was established in 1954 by Clifford William Adams.
"Bring Me Sunshine" is a song written in 1966 by the composer Arthur Kent, with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. It was first recorded by The Mills Brothers in 1968, on their album My Shy Violet. In the UK, the song is associated with the popular comedy duo Morecambe & Wise, after it was adopted as their signature tune in their second series for the BBC in 1969.
Adam and Joe was a radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music presented by Adam and Joe – comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish. The show began in October 2007 and ran for three hours in a Saturday morning slot, originally from 9:00am to 12:00pm before moving to 10:00am to 1:00pm. After a hiatus from 26 December 2009, the series returned for three months on 2 April 2011. The show also briefly returned in late 2012, with Edith Bowman replacing Joe Cornish as Adam's co-presenter.
Paul O'Grady on the Wireless was the incarnation of the Sunday teatime slot on BBC Radio 2 from 5 April 2009 to 14 August 2022, hosted by Paul O'Grady. It was produced by Malcolm Prince, who also made regular contributions to the programme, and it regularly attracted over two million listeners. It was broadcast on Sundays between 17:00 and 19:00.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2001.
The Neighbours theme song is the theme tune to the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Composed by Tony Hatch with the lyrics written by his then wife, Jackie Trent, it was once voted the world's most recognised television theme song. Neighbours was originally recorded by Barry Crocker, who also recorded the updated version. Subsequent versions have been recorded by a variety of artists.
This is a list of events from British radio in 1965.
This is a list of events from British radio in 1962.
Waggoners' Walk was a daily radio soap opera, set in the fictional cul-de-sac of Waggoners' Walk and its environs in Hampstead, north London. It was broadcast daily on BBC Radio 2 from 1969 to 1980, in the form of 15-minute episodes on weekday afternoons with a repeat the following weekday morning. The programme came to a sudden end in May 1980 as part of a number of economies made by the BBC.
Sinatra: London is a 3CD & 1DVD Frank Sinatra box set released on November 25, 2014. It is the third in a series of city-themed box sets following Vegas and New York. The set includes the 1962 album Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain as recorded in London, as well as unreleased outtake material from those sessions and spoken introductions for each song intended for a BBC radio special. The live material consists of a 1953 session from BBC Radio's The Show Band Show, a full concert recorded in 1984 at the Royal Albert Hall, and two concerts on the DVD, both recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1962 and 1970. The liner notes are written by Ken Barnes.
Greg James was a British weekday radio show previously broadcast on BBC Radio 1, starring Greg James as the main presenter. It was broadcast Monday to Thursday from 4:00pm until 7:00pm, which included a 15-minute break for Newsbeat at 5:45pm. The main focus of the show was music and entertainment in the form of features and celebrity interviews. The show achieved a Sony Radio Academy Award in 2014 for 'Best Entertainment Programme' and an ARIA in 2016 for 'Best Entertainment Production'. The final show aired on 19 July 2018 as James went on to present Radio 1 Breakfast.
Cilla is a BBC TV programme hosted by British singer Cilla Black. It ran for eight series from 30 January 1968 to 17 April 1976. From series 3 onwards, the shows were produced and broadcast in colour.
Danny Street was a Scottish session singer and big band singer.
Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson and Alfred Vernon Pearson, who were mainly known for their singing of songs as a duo in close-harmony. Their career together lasted over 50 years, spanning stage, radio, television and gramophone records.
Jack Alexander Emblow is a British jazz accordionist who is best known for his musical work accompanying the Cliff Adams Singers on BBC Radio.