Read this: John Pickford

The radiated a program with broadcast bionics discover the world leading brands at radio hello, I'm Stuart Clarkson coming on later on this edition of the radio Today programme a Star Wars of Radio news in Manchester the northwest and beyond we talk to John Pickford as he celebrates 40 years since he joined Piccadilly radio this month that he still at the same company and now radio is editor-in-chief and more memories in David as well as Johnny Vaughan leaves capital of Goodyear departs the Radio 1 chart.

There's the birth of Radio Merseyside and Absolute Radio 60s arrives without Cliff Richard music for This podcast was composed by MiKasa so that's all still to come and that you will enjoy my chat with John Pickford is it's good one that hello Roy Martin is here from Radio

I'm going to keep listening to this one well done to Radio today on its New Look festival congratulations Mr owner and editor looks nice new logo in has literally been years in the making after many people say to me when you redoing your logo, but there is a time to move on from sounded, so we've done that and if you haven't noticed it's all the social is all the website radio today.co.uk evolution vs.

Revolution thank you to Sophie at all my graphics for coming up with this.

It's it's beautiful.

I think it's beautiful.

Do you like it? It's very nice of them is on Radio 2 Ireland irradiated a European radiotoday American radiotoday north and everywhere radiotoday Antarctica

And it's just a white page is blank nothing that there was lots of big hits radio logos all of the Manchester arena.

We were there on Sunday night to see Robbie Williams and Mark Ronson and Mabel and Anne-Marie and Tom Walker and that's not good and Marie got me up dancing Italia she's great.

Isn't she loved the show thank you very much for inviting us fantastic night out on Sunday and a little tour backstage as well done when it's fascinating to see all the people we've done events and it's like me you and a few others but they've got a million people are working on things and learning stuff out in real time so yeah hats off and respect for three massive events hits live.

I don't think it's quite a million people so just a quiet just a fact check that one another in the year of fact-checking with the election coverage at the moment.

Three nights of it in Liverpool and Birmingham and Manchester as well, so hopefully at the team are working on that I've got the week off but you're well done to everybody there and on similar related Bowen use brand extension.

That's a new radio station from Golden Square launched online.

It was only announced 8 Monday morning and then 10 Monday morning it arrived his clip welcome to Absolute Radio 10.

It's the biggest songs from the last decade.

I'm Jay Lawrence this is the newest station from the Absolute Radio Family song we play on the new radio station which was too big decision to important so we let you decide for your favourite song from the last 10 years and years ago was the Bastille Pompeii

Absolute Radio tens is a thing that means we going to get 20s in what about 9 or 10-years time? Yeah, I should think so yeah looking forward to that this has been the year of this probably more xx radio station launched this year National ones.

Is it an absolute have now got absolute 60s 70s 80s 90s noughties and tens the heart of only got 70s 80s and 90s so we're going to see if we can see heart going for 60s and noughties and tens as well on the phone.

He wants me to hold his beer we will watch and see what happens next and another in another new one on DAB in absolute.

Terms is online only DAB station in London lunch in this week from a Golden Square as well magic at the musicals from Magic radio playing all music from the shows.

There's a couple of other stations doing that.

But it's big business.

It is and somebody wrote on the social comments about how radio station should be starting to target niche audiences an interest like veganism really kind of stuff rather than just pumping out a different genre of music so there's something that maybe once we've covered every single type of music then there'll be a radio station for people who like canoeing something like that could be a thing that the community around musicals is quite a big community as well and obviously the stations can interviews with some of the West End stars and I presume there be some commercial partnerships going on as well to promote shows that are on in the West End and around the UK as well, so it's a good fit for what magic does as well and have a magical musical event every year as well.

So I think a big one like I'm looking forward to Listening of course.

There's another one of the technically Bower own, don't they encore which was the UK R&D

Which I think is still on DAB in Surrey Surrey and South London is it called the cold, Multiplex Surrey and South London broadcasting and technically you own it, so if I have gone ahead and launch their own station doing the same thing.

I'm not sure what that is either in for a long ride and camp wait as long as it's going to take to take it over or they just going to close it down.

When it when you finally get control of it who does will find out if we will another quick of the story you talk about this week at the quid m group which such a firm and summer stations going to go into a brand licensing agreement with Global and they've got the permission to change format of those radio station sweeping to probably capital yeah.

It's going to be capital global haven't said what it's going to be but it's pretty obvious and made no announcements on time scales but

Knowing global that's gonna get on with it as soon as possible so may be predicted January or February lunch in the West Midlands for the bigger capital west midland station if you miss the sunset, this is my favourite clips of the week.

This is from BBC Radio Cymru 2 2 presenters chatting away in Welsh I don't understand most of what they're talking about but somehow I need to buy some Talbot

Missing out or more photos very easily confused of the f-word it appeared in a song on the radio station near you write in Southampton community station called Fiesta are you a regular to that one of my favourite stations for Spanish hip hop beats on 95fm Inn Southampton North Avon up to play played randomly the beautiful South Don't Marry Her the album version of said song which I'm not sure quite fits there anyway.

Yeah that that that that famous the famous song Ian Latin American style, but yeah, so that played on the radio about 405 months ago and then I'll come came to them until we had a complaint about this and that point they then.

An apology in Spanish and a different time of day on a different show that so I can we say it lots when these kind of things happen, but you know if you are so give me a radio station putting songs in sister make sure you've got the clean versions.

Yeah, but we both worked on a radio station that did the exact same thing and got away with it and maybe move on talking of Ofcom complaints again.

We played this should we play a game now, but we play this on the podcast in the summer when somebody says clip of it when he actually happened at this is Radio St Austell bay in Cornwall 11:00 on Radio 2 on my name is revenues supermarket chain Morrisons is going to the new limited edition sandwich.

That has all the flavours of classic British pub favourite Ham egg and chips the new edition Morrisons will be available to buy as part of the retailers £3.50.

Which includes a choice of any sandwich or salad a snack and a drink for the next 12 weeks?

This all the time which is being sold at other supermarkets suggest Tesco's ASDA all these needles the name of you write the scale on with the rest of them, so Ofcom received complaint about that and as a result of upheld the complaint because it featured what they saw as a commercial message in the news bulletin even though the radio station said he wouldn't get a lot of people comparing it to when a new product is launched.

That has a Greggs vegan sausage roll, which was all over the news, what's the difference between that and that Mr Stewart Cox I think they're totally is the copy that was used here and it was obviously promoting the price and that was part of a meal deal and Mike I think but it's also it's just a sandwich.

Yes, it's a different flavours sandwich, but it's nothing particularly newsworthy about it.

I think what happened here at the seems to be some suggestion that the Mirror online.

Can I run a piece on it whether they had a commercial arrangement with Morrisons or not? Who knows?

A piece and so somebody is seen there's a news article on the Mirror online about it and thought that must be news we can put that in our news so an apple bring out a new phone and it cost over £1,000 and that headline that again.

Yeah, I think so cos that's out of the ordinary and journalists would probably defend that to say there is a lot of Media interesting news and public interest in the launch of a new trifle and the fact that it's over £1,000.

It's the most expensive phone there is the most expensive one has ever been a whenever said that that turns it into news if Morrisons has released a sandwich that was £100 rather than two or 3 pounds that probably would have been a new story.

I'll have three the main point is if in doubt leave it out for you and make sure that all your team especially recommend a community Radio station make sure all your team have read at the Ofcom code at least the synopsis of it and if you haven't got anybody that your station he's got eczema.

Understanding of code and delivering that two volunteers and presenters get somebody who can help your sound Advice should we finish with a we've got something to tell you about before that and an Iraqi song that we shared on today social this week that Connor Mosley and Chris Kirk sent to us to top freelance presenters and producers that they've made a a song like the countries of the world song in that kind of style featuring radio stations BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2.

Yorkshire Coast Radio on your phone so you can listen again.

Fantastic love that well done Chris wasn't really really good tune is why they started with Invicta which hasn't been on there for like a decade and has quite a few other radio stations in there as well that don't exist and everybody was replying to the radio today tweet saying yeah my station hasn't been included on taken and Connor on the and social media to see some of the other work and see some of the radio work.

They do as well.

We've got a few events coming up not least the New York radio festival Awards just announced for 2020 and the New York Awards are going to be in Las Vegas in June

What are the dates for the couple of months? They don't get caught out by the closing date? It's going to be a lot sooner than previous years and if you're at the nav in Vegas in April that is when the Awards will be given out.

Love to go back to the days.

Just don't work for me next year so maybe we can get Morrisons to pay for our flights as something as well at the world's just announced the Arias will be having some nominations early in the new year with ink and then an event at some point in the spring confirmation of that coming soon and all these dates are more could well be on your radiotoday wall planner with the new radiotoday logo on which might be coming through the letterbox at your radio station very soon.

Yeah, if you want to make sure you're getting all planner by the way because we're going to strip back the mailing list for the next Milo because one of the radio stations of closed down or moved out of town, so we give it a bit of a prune.

We had a few back last year Return to Sender so with cutter cut off a fuse with your make sure you're on the list this year.

Just drop me an email or get in touch one Way Or Another and we'll make sure it will depends on this year as well coming within the within the envelope so looking forward to spending the love excellent.

Well.

Love you loads.

Still to come on This podcast and next week to hear from at the John Pickford and I will see you again this week right.

That's three times in three weeks.

We better explain we don't live like near each other so it's quite an occasion.

Just telling everybody on social diary.

It's quite an event when we see each other because we live 300 miles away from each other so we doing this down the line which some people don't even know exactly going to London again, so we're in London last week for John Myers memorial Android to Manchester and I met you there for Hits Radio Live and this week.

We're going to London to see magic of Chris

And Absolute Radio Live which is comedy night so lucky, so lucky.

Thank you very much for inviting us we like to get out the house.

It's good excuse to stop doing childcare for 24-hours.

Oh, yeah, it's good.

Well.

I will see you that and hopefully we'll be speaking to some people from absolute and maybe magic as well at the event of the radiated a program with broadcast bionics is a bionic studio listening watching reacting to and learning from every spoken word Kolo sweet and SMS to a mixed unlock and understand your content the bionic Steve transforms everything about radio except the way you make it today programme Legend is used quite often in our and sometimes without very good reason to but it 100-percent applies to our guest this week.

He's UK radios longest-serving news editor and if he isn't then why let the facts get in the way of a good story that's just go.

He's just clocked up 40 years this month working for the same company.

He is the editor-in-chief of Bauer radio news and the Legend of Piccadilly key 103 and the radio is John Pickford hello John hello most people haven't lived for 2 years, so I must be the longest standing news editor if somebody wants to disprove that claim.

They will take it, but I think we just go it's amazing isn't it? When I'm only 40 + in terms of my age.

Yeah, so tell us what happened.

Was it Tuesday last week the anniversary of your 40th year tell us what happened when you Rocked up at work on Tuesday morning.

It was very annoying when I actually arrived in the car park.

I found that I couldn't get in because the disabled my father so how can you do this on the 40th anniversary lock me out so I was buzzing the buzzer and the receptionist was wasn't answering and obviously what they done was disabled.

So that they could get everybody into reception knowing I'd arrived at luckily.

I didn't turn back and go home or go to Liverpool so I arrived in and on the door was happy John Pickford day.

Which was great and in reception scaredly.

Everybody was wearing John Pickford masks now if I look as ugly as that then crikey.

I really do know now.

Why and never got a job in TV John pick a day and they wouldn't do that just for anybody either so I think your colleagues have a lot of respect for you as well.

I really appreciate it and we had a series of sessions during the day where Michelle lives you put together a compilation of them some of my old days recordings one actually read the news and actually have some of my reporting on on the riots and a very an awful blooper.

I was actually at this terrible crime scene and Paul Lockett he is a legend a legendary Newsreader for many years here and on the Steve penk show he was reading and he introduced me at this crime scene and inadvertently Paul played a combination of the dock and then some dog spitting and getting text messages saying are you ok? What's going wrong? And I didn't realise that live on there.

I've been going out as this this combination of a spitting dog duck and Paul and Steve penk managed to get halfway through the bulletin before abandoning the the show so they played that everybody thought that was a huge.

This is the pink and Moorhouse

Thieves broke into their home the woman and her son were left terrified by the ordeal reporting next week's protests over right anyway, let's go right back in these days.

You're the editor-in-chief of our radio news been doing that for about 506 years now, but 40 years ago you started out as a reporter.

I think it was Piccadilly and you've been a reporter at the Stockport Express how did you rock Piccadilly how did you get the job there in the first place as you say I went straight into newspaper journalism after Ada my A Levels at grammar school.

It was a lady to there.

I just didn't want to go to university and had enough of studying and I just thought you know the time is right for to find a job.

I went to a job interview at the Stockport Express and Barry Bettany the editor there saw something in me that the editor of another local newspaper didn't and I did three years on the Stockport Express and after that I passed my newspaper proficiency test which is the only qualification so I take to the news team mate.

You're a more qualified than me so we went on a 12-week strike on the local news and I went to the local pub and there was a guy there call Steve Winstanley who worked on the rival Stockport newspaper the Advertiser and he will happen to be in the pub at the time.

This is worse fate comes into it and he had left the Advertiser to to join Piccadilly radio as the Manchester United commentator and so we bought me a drink.

You know you must be out of pocket been on strike for 12 weeks ago.

He said well.

There's some shifts going at Piccadilly radio on a Saturday you'll have to give up going watching Man City sausage fine.

He said every Saturday afternoon.

You're right the sports headlines.

I'll read them out.

So I did that for a few weeks and then Steve Rankin il and the editor said well.

You're going to have to not only right headlines.

You gonna have to read them out live on air alright.

Well this could see it wasn't because it's not a natural thing to do is it actually read things out aloud you don't read a book out loud on a bus or or a train people would think you are rather so it's not a natural thing to do with first and the red light went on and I can't say it was my finest hour reading the

Headlines out allowed but I got used to it and got into it and actually ended up every week, then reading out the horse racing results and standing at the teleprinter at the bottom of the newsroom reading out the halftime and fulltime scores and then the job came up in The Newsroom David via the news added to said why don't you apply for it with your experience on in local newspaper? You're ok.

We can work with you so I applied for the job came along for the interview really smartly dressed David wasn't available because he was some cry going on in the news room and I was interviewed by Philip Birch the managing director who had actually run pirate radio London pirate radio enthusiastic grown up listening to Radio Caroline also in the job interview all we did was actually talk about pirate radio so I got the job and so.

The start of it and then Mike Briscoe who famously was the guy who sang Chris Evans he was the news editor and add to me look we need to bring sport into the News Arena and after 3 years.

He made me sports editor which was a baptism of fire because I had to gain the right to some very experienced sports guys and then Mike became the program controller and he said look you know with your background in use you've been doing a good job of Sport will you be there had a new sport.

So I said the other two salaries two cars.

He said no same salary bit more experience for you.

So I actually became I think the youngest in the business and as you say now on the oldest.

I didn't say that The Newsroom and so late 70s early 80s.

It was a completely different.

Is there is some footage on YouTube before the people that would have a look but you have this paper everywhere that things come in and have printers this your phone's ringing.

There's loads of people there people smoking.

What was it like in The Newsroom yes smoking as well.

What was it like in The Newsroom in the 80s the pvd Irn feed the chattering away and paper over the over the floor people with tapping banging away manual typewriters people were smoking so the air was thick with smoke and everything was much more noisy and the Irn feed would come down with the beeps at 20 to the hour and you would manually have to load up every on cars and clean them with a magnetic cleaner and of course.

This is the year of no mobile phones.

This is the area where there wasn't even a pager and so.

On a story with a reel-to-reel tape recorder which was great actually because you could edit with a chinagraph and a razor blade out at the scene, but there was no way of sending that take back in fact one of the first jobs.

I did was go over after my midnight shift to pick up the tapes from Henry Matthews even white who was covering the Yorkshire Ripper case and I had to drive over the Pennines actually collect the tapes bring them back physically to edit them for the first time and I remember going on a train crash at college Junction and I went down there did my interviews sat in my car editing this reel-to-reel.

Tape with bits of typing and moving bits around and then you had to find a public phone box unscrew the mouthpiece of the public phone box.

Your take machine with crocodile clips and send it back to Manchester via the public phone box and then of course they made public phone boxes vandal proof so then yeah, and you'll have to knock on people's doors say hello there.

I'm from the whatever radio station.

I'm wondering whether I could possibly borrow your phone and then you was luckily if if you were lucky being allowed in and then they would be alarm at you when you started on screwing the mouthpiece of the Sunday material back and then of course we the iPhone has revolutionized the way that we do everything you know you do everything now on an iPhone and everything is 100 times quicker than doing what used to be a very manual job and when you know you wouldn't be able to be contacted other than via a pager.

First pages only beeped and you'd have to find a public phone box and then ring the office and say your page me what you want and then of course they got the advanced that you get a little message on saying you know go to this place so the and I'm quite excited about the advances in technology.

It just makes our job more exciting and you can do anything now video and audio and everything on one device you mentioned a couple of those big stories that you covered back in the early days in Manchester and the northwest territories got this fantastic rich stories as well as big news events that have happened over the last 40 years you things like the IRA bombing in Manchester the terror attack at the arena riots floods you know everything on in the northwest it seems so you've been lucky in that respect that the patch you've been covering mainly wasn't some kind of quiet backwater.

There was a lot of things going on.

I've been absolutely honoured and privileged really to have been.

Report on the highs and lows of Manchester history over the past 40 years one of the first major events remember reporting on mother Moss Side riots that in 1991 the first time police used riot Shields and quite hairy and scary at times and prepared me for the more recent riots in in Manchester and Salford what was that something just seeing what was it guys? What's going on where you guys down here? How long have we been talking about broken Britain and you know the kids.

Are you doing this evening? It's gone way past my man getting shot by the police in London now.

It's about broken Britain but these guys are smashing.

What city does The Real highs and lows the awful job of reading out the names of victims of the air disaster in 1980 just joined where holiday jet from Manchester crashed in Tenerife and then the Pope came to Eaton parking the 14 was out and I was on to the space in Heaton Park where the Pope was going to come by and I've been there all day and prepared was going to say when you know that moment he passed by a got a crowd of people around and he didn't actually come pass me.

He shortened is his journey in Heaton Park and I spent all day there and didn't even see the Pope and of course.

The Terror attacks on Manchester and actually remember fighting back tears when I saw the devastation caused by the IRA bomb and then more recently of course those emotional scenes in St Ann's Square after the arena attack.

No you can't help but be moved by some of these terrible momentous events most chilling memories was driving up onto the moors late one night when they found the body of Pauline Reade don't 1987 and 24 years after she was murdered by Ian Brady and remember in a driving up on the moors, and it's Pitch Black in a turn the corner and these arc lights were on in a solitary policeman on the on the Moorside and realise that you know this was a massive story on.

The most challenging was covering the Strangeways Prison riot in 1990 and after 25 days of London coverage actually felt like going there and negotiating and talking the guys down from the roof because it just rained our resource completely Peugeot rioting broke out at Strangeways resume.

Shortly will be joining Chris Roberts in our radio Cahill be looking back on events so far Melanie Brown is at North Manchester General Hospital Mitchell will look at what may have sparked off today with the embarrassing moments in the near disasters was I went to interview Margaret Thatcher Downing Street with formulated goalkeeper Gary Bailey and we will the engineer decided that it would be a good opportunity to try and you piece of kit and marantz cassette recorder because he said you can't be watching her and microphone.

Mrs Thatcher's knows it needs to be set up nicely so I went with two microphones this new piece of kit and Gary Bailey asked his first question she answered the first question and everything was coming out in the headphones and looked down and the pause button was still in and a flicked it off discreetly just caught the second it went through the whole half hour interview went at the end.

This is actually said it was everything ok, so I said well.

I was just wondering whether Gary the first question and get the first answer again.

She said I'll do the whole interview again if needs be so I thought that won't know actually just the first question will do and Gary was glaring at me thinking I know what's happened here, but you know that was great that was that could have been an absolute disaster and

You can't go through 40 years without making the odd mistake.

I only did ever did one football match and I gave up after I said that a player is pissed off at test and one of the most horrific situations was at my old school Audenshaw grammar where I went back to cover a press conference of major story there.

I was being taken live by national broadcasters and I managed to put the recording machine into playing record and have the volume switch up and it was horrendous feedback and the press conference which has been taken life had to be stopped and the headmaster outer live on the national radio and television saying that was the responsibility of a former old boy John take the from key 103.

So you can't get through 40 years without the on.

The moment but it's been great times as well.

You know a lot of the stories.

You've talked about things that happen when you were the news editor and I think it's important to say that you're a news editor and obviously now looking at places all over the country that still wants to be out there on the streets with a microphone with an iPhone you know you a lot of your colleagues.

Tell me any opportunity to get away from your desk and get out and report on a story you want to do is have you still got that passion a lot of people after all this time would just be happy sat in the office.

I've never had an office never had a pie.

I always combine the news editor job with being he bought it because that's how you best got your contacts.

How you actually saw other reports as potential Talent to join your team and you know you'll join the conversation at a reporter and that doesn't go away from you.

I was never a very good news reader always employed better newsreaders and me and people like Paul Lockett etc and

A reporter at heart and yes, I said I keep saying to the team might have retired from reporting now, but then I went out on the Bramhall floods the other week and was out on New Year's Day on the alleged terror attack Victoria station and if it's in your blood it's in your blood and it keeps your hand in it means that you will never going to be asking people to do something that you're not prepared to and I actually did a lot of multimedia stuff and now I actually envy some of the skills at some of our and use team having into doing the pieces to camera in a high-quality multimedia journalism, which is TV quality for the radio but you know it never leaves you 15 years actually produce the sports show with James H Reeve and Tommy Docherty and Gary Owen and Paddy crerand those were great years and a real laugh and fantastic.

Market leading program on a on a Saturday afternoon from 12 till 7 and then because obviously I've covered the logos with the disasters in a and murders and stuff like that, but sport has a real high in in Manchester with the triumphs of United and City and Oldham Athletic as well.

Come down the line when when they were in their heyday being out as a reporter but also been impossible to them and you keep an eye on the talent from other radio stations remember having a conversation with you probably 12-13 years ago and I are meeting at Castle Quay actually we were talking about a reporter who works on another commercial radio station and remember you saying she's good hurt you I'm keeping my eye on her and throughout your time.

You kind of been aware of other people I suppose that's traditionally radio been more like a presenter Talent think we're programmed as

Like that presenter will keep an eye on their career in my eye them and it's quite rare for something to do that with news Talent isn't it? I don't think so, I think you've got to do that.

You're going to be like in football manager in that you have to know the potential next players into your team and so you're not starting from scratch when you're you've got a vacancy not starting from a blank piece of paper.

You've got in your mind some potential people who you are interested in.

I remember taking somebody from Radio City and many many years ago and they said to me.

Do you want to see in a demo tape? I said well.

No been listening to you for the past 6-months so it took them by surprise.

I said well.

Yeah, what do you expect and the people that I've recruited you know I've been listening around one person came on work experience went somewhere else was constantly send me their late.

Sort of work and one day a521.

There was pouring down with rain.

Do they my phone went answered it instead of hi son, so here.

Can you get a new car now because I'm going to be reading the news on this radio station that you will get in your car.

Got to go going to read the news, so got me codes on the teams.

Are you doing? I'm just going to sit and listen to radio minute so I went and got wet through listened to this bulletin and it was brilliant and when I got back to me song was ringing again.

Well.

Did you said I can't believe your cheek? But I said yes, I did well.

What do you think you would give me next job? So how can you not that person the next job because they done a Live demo? They could have really messed it up.

So you know is.

James Rea will always remind me you didn't take me on John that sells I also while you probably wasn't the right time to take you on James so you make the odd mistake and but then you know people like Dan Walker you know any others have proved that you know if you open the door to somebody but they are willing to really work hard and there's some people who I think you know you class them as slow burn as I was a slowburner and I wasn't particularly good start off with but somebody saw something in me and I think if you open the door and a patient with people as long as they're willing to put the time and effort and the energy in then.

I'm willing to put the timer for an energy in as well and wish I lived in.

I do the odd night schools where we get grassroots journalists or people.

Very little experience and do some training out-of-hours free of charge to see if we can actually bring them on and fast track them into our next jobs and these days that were in with fast Museum social media rolling news channels everything happening all the ones how important is it still the radio is Finding original news about our and achy and hits you have something successes with you original journalism stories where the law has been changed as a result of your journalist campaigning so that's still a massive thing.

That's important as well.

You know the Here and Now on the top of the our stuff absolutely.

I mean it is also motivate your team if if you doing more than the hourly bulletins and they can get there anything to finding original stories or not every time we do something.

I'm going to change the law you know for a radio station.

Radio station c103 to actually Hits radio as it's called now to change the law is significant and you know Michelle Livesey and I work Clare's Law which the police say has actually led to the lives of men and women being saved and that was probably one of the proudest things that I done in the past 40 years, but you're not always going to change the law but we can highlight local issues and you know the fact that commercial radio and and our new is still winning awards for its original journalism and it's campaigning journalism.

It is Testament to Bower allowing us to do that but also the skills of team not have around me and that's been the the key to my success is actually building people around you in the team who are better than you who have greater skill to a better news.

Who won on better reporters and then you know have the success of the other team that you built around you and I suppose 40 years ago is probably quite common that people would stay working at the same.

You know all their lives in the people tend to move about a bit more.

I probably could have foreseen 40 years ago that albeit with a building move and a couple of name changes you to Piccadilly radio.

I think I think I could because I always wanted to work here and if you achieved your dream job when I've been offered of their images of always thought to myself a what I'm going to leave behind you know if I'm the head of news of key 103 or noun editor-in-chief of Bauer radio news then somebody else will be doing that job if I leave it, so I don't want to leave that job and you know why would I leave a job where the organisation is?

So brilliant the people that I work with with people like Michelle lives in my three heads of news now.

I just brilliant journalist and also the occasional work for Bauer you know people like default import cane and grain rice and Gary steam.

Just let me know the respect of my expertise and they support local news and why would you want to move somewhere else that everyday needs to be John Pickford day.

Doesn't it as long as you don't wear masks of me.

You know it's just too frightening.

It's like looking at herself in a mirror but in a really bad bed.

It's great to catch up with you John thank you for talking to us.

What is to the next 40 years of your fault blame you into into the car park tomorrow.

Hope so yeah nice speaking to you brilliant.

Hope you enjoy listening to John as much as I enjoyed chatting to him still come on the radio today.

David Lloyd is here with more radio moments from the archive first reminder about cleanfeed if you were doing the Christmas lights switch on this weekend.

You're panicking because I'm going to way of getting that OB back to the store this could be the thing to help you out.

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Hello, it's 8 years this week since this sudden capital London fairs and next time we see music for roberto's.

They've let me do that.

It's cool you going to love it.

Johnny vaughan's last words on the capital London Breakfast Show after 7 years spell that was this week in 2011 Mark Goodier hosted the BBC show twice his final stint head of this week 17 years ago as you will hear.

One place Kelly and Nelly and dilemma Pearce next on Radio 1 dance anthems after we hear one more song from Robbie Williams but now the brand new number one and after a week and control with breakable impeccable this week in 2002 1967 was eventful the BBC Radio 1 2 4 began their new lives and local radio began this week the third and final local station to make its debut that year.

It was in Liverpool where press relations were good and the audience reach quickly time to 30%

Squiggly time to to over £60,000.

What is today? We went to ask one of the most famous Merseyside what he thought of the new radio service.

I think the long-term value of the broadcasting is it helps to integrate the community it helps to make a town community more of one community and I think in these days whether the danger of disintegrating that this is an important.

My name is Michael Hancock station manager Radio Merseyside and broadcasting from the heart of Merseyside from Thomas House Liverpool by radio link to our reporting team in the air on the river and underground or not as the case may be that was a bit ambitious wasn't ready.

Born this week in 1967 Monica Sims was the first woman to run ready for she died this week last year she joined the BBC as a talk to you then moving to edit ones out which he headed until 1967.

I think was unique that time in encouraging the ordinary listener to himself or herself and we did a lot about how people managed on their money the housekeeping budgets and so on which meant that we involve people from up and down the country and its top playground from the coming to London South East based.

We were always very keen to try and involve the whole country as far as possible and we were also that time doing a lot of international items as well as having our domestic speakers reviews of the papers as well.

Doing at the time Monica Sims Absolute Radio was without doubt at the forefront of targeted area stations this week eight years ago controversy as their six arrived about Absolute Radio 60s because it's undoubtedly the coolest decade of museum in there isn't really a form of modern music that isn't influenced in some way great artists of the 60s you can you can draw a line and usually straight line from many of today's bands back to those big influential lights in the 60s radio station dedicated to playing 60s music is too Sansa clip from My Playlist absolute the kids don't like Cliff the parents like there's no sex and drugs and rock and roll with this is the problem in a strange way.

They're using me to advertise their station and I are going to be really successful.

Would have done it without Absolute Radio 60s launching this week in 2011 so were the final Kenny Everett Radio 2 show for 6 years ago five minutes to 12 in London time, it's right over Fairlight the country is right here in the studio summer for adopting the UK theme 41 years ago the best of Radio Forth John Timpson 14 years ago he posted today for 16 years good morning from John Timpson in Brighton where at 2:50 this morning and explosion extensively the Grand Hotel in Robinson making his Radio 4 Today debut 4 years ago this morning the UK Security Services recruit almost James Naughtie turning Radio 4.

Defecation station that same week Radio 1 launching on digital satellite TV 20-years ago 1799 excellent the first management buyout in radio 24 years ago the radio partnership.

Set up by Neil Robinson and John Joseph bought the Pulse that is great Yorkshire gold from email for 4.6 million pounds this week.

Thank you.

David and Roy am I may get John Pickford from our next time on the radio Today programme where an absolute radio live in London where will hopefully hear more about Absolute Radio tens and also a big birthday coming up for Absolute 80s as well.

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