![]() 1975 album of music from the show selected by Alan Keith (pictured) | |
Genre | Music |
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Running time | 60 minutes (9:00 pm – 10:00 pm) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Language(s) | English |
Home station |
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Hosted by |
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Created by | Alan Keith |
Original release | 15 November 1959 – 21 January 2007 |
No. of episodes | approximately 2500 |
Your Hundred Best Tunes was a BBC radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera and ballads. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and presenter, Alan Keith. Subsequently, tunes were suggested by requests and polls of listeners. [1]
The Hundred Best Tunes in the World was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme from 15 November 1959 until 7 February 1960, when Alan Keith's personal list of one hundred had all been played. The title was changed from 14 February 1960. At this point it ran for half an hour from 10 to 10.30 pm, but from 25 December 1960 it was extended and moved to earlier in the evening, running from 7.35 to 8.30 pm. From 12 March 1961 it adopted the 9 to 10 pm time slot which it would occupy for the rest of its life, on four different networks: it moved from the Light Programme to the Home Service from 5 January 1964, and remained there after it became Radio 4 from 1 October 1967, but returned to what had been the Light Programme, now renamed Radio 2, from 5 April 1970.
The last show was transmitted on 21 January 2007 – a run of over 47 years. For most of this time, it was presented by the original creator, Alan Keith, who continued up to the age of 94. After his death in 2003, [2] Richard Baker presented the show. [3] Holiday guest presenters included Evelyn Barbirolli, Rosalind Runcie, Earl Spencer and Ursula Vaughan Williams. [4] [5]
The show was cancelled by Lesley Douglas, Controller of Radio 2, who replaced it with a longer Melodies for You , presented by Alan Titchmarsh, which continued to play music from the same repertoire until it too was cancelled in 2011. [6] A special edition of the format was aired on 30 December 2011, presented by Alfie Boe, who played a selection from the 2003 poll plus some of his own favourites. [7] [8]
Polls were taken to confirm the choice of the hundred best tunes. The results of the last poll in 2003 are below. The previous poll was in 1997 and the position of each work in that earlier poll is shown in the right hand column. [9]
Alan Keith published a book about the music played in the show in 1975. [11] The Decca Record Company published a successful ten-volume series of records with the title The World of Your 100 Best Tunes. [12] The BBC published a six-CD collection of the music selected by the final poll listed above.
Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on television gardening programmes. He has developed a diverse writing and broadcasting career.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Richard Douglas James Baker OBE RD was an English broadcaster, best known as a newsreader for BBC News from 1954 to 1982, and as a radio presenter of classical music. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first reader of the BBC Television News in 1954.
Emma Katy Forbes is an English radio and television presenter.
Debbie Wiseman, OBE is a British composer for film and television, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter.
The Commercial Radio Chart Show is a radio programme that was broadcast across commercial adult contemporary and contemporary hit radio stations across the United Kingdom, from 30 September 1984 to 30 December 2018. It had many different names over the years, beginning with simply The Network Chart Show in 1984, before securing sponsorship with Pepsi between 1993 and 2003, which led to the birth of The Pepsi Chart. Since then, it has been known as Hit40UK, The Big Top 40 Show, The Vodafone Freebees Big Top 40, The Vodafone Big Top 40 and, finally, The Official Vodafone Big Top 40 between October 2017 and December 2018.
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre.
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" theme with many of the shows' segments focusing on fashion, health, nature, cookery and animals.
Alan Keith, OBE was a British actor, disc jockey and radio presenter, noted for being the longest-serving and eldest presenter on British radio by the time of his death aged 94.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2007.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2003.
This is a list of events in British radio during 1996.
This is a list of events in British radio during 1995.
This is a list of events in British radio during 1981.
This is a list of events in British radio during 1972.
This is a list of events in British radio during 1970.
Melodies for You was a long-running BBC radio music programme, broadcast on Sunday mornings until 1992 and Sunday evenings subsequently, which presented works of light popular and classical music.
Bells Across the Meadows is a piece of light classical music by Albert Ketèlbey. It was published in 1921 for both orchestra and piano, and first recorded by the composer a year later. Ketèlbey called the piece a "characteristic intermezzo". In 2003 it was selected in the final poll by the BBC radio programme Your Hundred Best Tunes and voted the 36th most popular classical tune of all time.
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. The Radio 2 about page says: "With a repertoire covering more than 40 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio—from classic and mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues."
A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio 2, a British national radio station which began broadcasting in September 1967.