1049: Talk Radio Montage

Having run a talk station, I can quite imagine what the presenter offices of the old Talk Radio UK must have been like. You hire the greatest talk talent ‘cos they are larger than life. They can debate, argue, generate heat as well as light and win any argument. Off-air they are much the same. Mix James Whale with a dose of Anna Raeburn, a smattering of Simon Bates, a right wing David Starkey and a know it all blunt lawyer like Gary Jacobs, what do you do when Jeremy Beadle walks in with Dale Winton? I know I am mixing the eras there, but I suspect any one of Talk Radio’s programmers would confirm that their particular gifted menagerie were quite a handful. Talk went through several eras, as it sought to identify a hole in the UK talk market which was not the BBC’s but also not an American shaped.Having launched in 1994, and produced some brilliant programming along the way, alongside some significant challenges, the station lasted for four years before turning into the clearly-defined and successful Talk Sport.This selection of promos, thanks to Drew White, illustrate the TRUK days.