'The Nation's Favourite', Simon Garfield's real-life account of the behind the scenes going on at Radio One, was recently passed on to me with recommendations from a good friend. (If interested, you should be able to pick it up for next to nothing on Amazon or Ebay)
He, like me, is one of those sad acts that can name every Breakfast Show host at Radio One (R1) since it's launch (but would have no hope of doing the same with, say, US Presidents, which would probably be much more useful in real life...).
The story behind this book is that in 1997, Garfield obtained permission from then R1 controller, Matthew Bannister, to spend a year behind the scenes at the station, and have full access to all DJs and staff.
Luckily for Garfield, this full access came at a time in Radio One history where there was plenty of subject matter for him to get his teeth into. Believe it or not kids, there was a time when, on a Sunday morning, a guy called Dave Lee Travis (aka: the Hairy Cornflake) devoted roughly 30 minutes of his show to a live general knowledge game of snooker called 'Give Us a Break' - with sound effects (and very little music in between)! Not for R1 the star-pulling power of a Vernon Kaye or Fern Cotton back then, and this book highlights the sometimes uneasy shift in the balance of power between the old and new.
The book is written almost as a running commentary by the people Garfield interviews, with very little interjection from the author (there is a cast list, in the style of a play, before it starts), but this highlights some of the interesting interplay between the characters, particularly in the segment dealing with Chris Evans' rise and fall as the breakfast show host (sample line: 'Evans's ego was out of control...I think he just went absolutely crazy'), and the resulting struggles to find a - successful - replacement host.
One area the book showcases is the huge contribution of John Peel to the station, and there are some nice segments both involving Peel (when he discusses what it used to be like attending the R1 Christmas Party) and when others discuss him, almost always with affection and always raising a smile without being overly sentimental.
Garfield has managed to put together a book that is full of laughs, human interest and enough of a 'gossipy' style to make it seem like it's revealing secrets without being too trashy. The book is still relevant in 2008 - it's interesting to read a section that deals with the arrival of a newcomer to Radio One called Chris Moyles - and compares well to other Garfield books (you can check out his website at www.simongarfield.com).
The Nation's Favourite also contains an excellent index so that you can dip in and out of favourite stories. If you detest Radio One and all it stands for, this book will pass you by, but if, like me, you like a bit of modern pop culture, this makes for a very interesting read. For a non-fiction book, this is a real page-turner and I guarantee you won't want it to end. Time for a sequel perhaps?
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topic for a full-length book. But Simon Garfield was fortunate that the 12 months he spent as a fly on the wall of Radio 1 were among the most eventful in the statio...
topic for a full-length book. But Simon Garfield was fortunate that the 12 months he spent as a fly on the wall of Radio 1 were among the most eventful in the statio...
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