1979 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1979.

List of years in British radio (table)
… 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 …
In British television 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 In British music 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 In British film 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
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Events

January

• 27 January – BBC Radio 2's last closedown at 02:02. Sarah Kennedy was at the Newsdesk after Brian Matthew finished "Round Midnight". From 02:00 to 05:00 the following night, listeners heard "You and the Night and the Music". Radio 2 has the longest period of continuous broadcasting of any national radio station in the UK.
• 29 January – BBC Radio 1 begins its delayed weeknight mid-evening programme with Andy Peebles joining to host the new programme. It had originally been scheduled to launch on 13 November 1978 but was delayed as a result of trade union disputes.

February

• No events

March

• No events

April

• 1 April – The first edition of Feedback is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[1]

May

• No events

June

• No events

July

• No events

August

• No events

September

• 2 September – Tony Blackburn replaces Simon Bates as host of Radio 1's Top 40 show.

October

• 5 October – The Scottish Gaelic service BBC Radio nan Eilean launches, broadcasting to north west Scotland from Stornoway.

November

• November – BBC Radio Cymru's on-air hours are extended to 65 hours a week by introducing mid-morning output on weekdays. Previously the station had only been on air at breakfast time along with extended news bulletins at lunchtime and early evening plus some off-peak opt outs.

December

• 16 December – After a decade on air, United Biscuits closes down its internal radio station United Biscuits Network due to it being seen as no longer necessary to operate a radio station due to the rollout of independent commercial stations.[2]

Station debuts

• 11 September – BBC Radio Foyle

Closing this year

• 16 December – United Biscuits Network (1970–1979)

Programme debuts

• 1 April – Feedback on BBC Radio 4 (1979–Present)
• 7 July – Science in Action on BBC World Service (1979–Present)
• 29 September – Breakaway on BBC Radio 4 (1979–1998)
• 30 September – The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 (1979–Present)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Down Your Way (1946–1992)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

1970s

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• Week Ending (1970–1998)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• The Burkiss Way (1976–1980)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)

Ending this year

• 11 November – Hello Cheeky (BBC Radio 2) (1973–1979)
• The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (BBC Radio 4) (1977–1979)

Births

• 8 March – Zena McNally, singer and radio presenter
• 9 March – Adele Roberts, disc jockey
• 4 May – Wes Butters, radio presenter
• 8 September – Miles Jupp, comedy performer
• Unknown – Lucy Horobin, radio presenter

Deaths

• 27 September– Gracie Fields, singer and actress, BBC and Radio Luxembourg broadcaster, 81[3]
• 8 November – Sydney Tafler, actor, 63[4]
• 30 November – Joyce Grenfell, actress, comedian and singer, 69[5]
• December – Peter Eton, broadcast producer, 62

See also

• 1979 in British music
• 1979 in British television
• 1979 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1979

References

1. BBC Genome Project – BBC Radio 4 listings 1 April 1979
2. "Cracker factory records: the surprising story of United Biscuits' radio station". Retrieved 2020-11-06.
3. Colin Larkin (1995). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Pub. p. 1443. ISBN 978-1-56159-176-3.
4. John A. Willis (1980). John Willis' Screen World. Crown. p. 236.
5. Joyce Grenfell; Reggie Grenfell; Richard Garnett (25 September 1980). Joyce. Macmillan. p. 13.