6 MAY 1995, Page 48

ARTS

Pop Music

The truth: Radio 1 is brill

Marcus Berkmann looks at this music station's remarkable achievements

The current national obsession with Radio 1 is, if you think about it, faintly bizarre. Everyone seems to have an opin- ion; everyone thinks that something should be done. In all, rather more people talk about Radio 1 than ever listen to it which itself is no small part of the problem.

At least there is someone to blame. Since Matthew Bannister took over three years ago as the station's controller, five million listeners have ceased to listen. Ten per cent of the population, who once thrilled to the arcane delights of Dave Lee Travis, have decided that Radio 1 is surplus to their particular requirements. The Hairy Corn- flake, of course, is one of several venerable disc jockeys who have departed during the Bannister hegemony. None has gone quiet- ly. Most have signalled their displeasure across a wide range of media (the Daily Mail). All have blamed Bannister, who is not only impossibly young for a radio exec- utive (38), but also known to be a favourite of John Birt, whose status as the BBC's in- house panto villain seems assured for many years to come. Bannister used to run GLR, the BBC's local London outlet which, despite a reputation for strong program- ming, has recorded pitifully low audience figures for most of its existence. Many of Radio l's current DJs first made their names at GLR. Graduates include Chris Morris, Danny Baker and, most notorious- ly, Chris Evans, who last week began his viciously over-hyped new breakfast show.

Nothing could possibly have been louder than Radio l's publicity machine for Evans's new show, unless it was the sound of knives being sharpened as radio critics homed in for the kill. Radio critics have always hated Radio 1, on the quite reason- able grounds that it is not Radio 4. But here was an especially good opportunity to put the boot in. Evans has replaced Steve Wright, Radio l's last remaining star, win- ner of countless awards and an acknowl- edged master of pop radio. It was Bannister, of course, who had transferred Wright to the breakfast show in the first place from the comfortable afternoon slot he had inhabited for over a decade. Wright was not a great success early in the morn- ing. The 'zoo' format, in which a studio is apparently invaded by a group of side-kicks who make a lot of noise and maintain an atmosphere of relentless jollity most nor- mal people would find impossible to stom- ach before midday, never really suited him. In truth, Wright had clearly tired of the daily grind some time ago. But his relative failure in the breakfast slot has convenient- ly been blamed on Bannister. Never let a good scapegoat go to waste.

Evans's show, by most accepted standards of discourse, is mindless. Fea- tures include 'Honk Your Horn', in which motorists are invited to ring in on their car 'phones and honk to the tune of the 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy'; 'The Kids Are All Right But Only If They're Wrong', in which small children must answer three questions incorrectly if they are to win the inevitable T-shirt; and 'Are You In Bed With Your Boyfriend?', in which a female listener is invited to call in, confirm that she is in bed with her boyfriend, and suck a lollipop while reading a stanza of poetry. It's hard to imagine either John Humphries or James Naughtie engaging in such artless banter, although the political process might be rendered more interesting (and more true to life) if they did.

Whether or not you find this entertaining depends, hardly surprisingly, on whether you choose to be in on the joke. Most radio critics, licking their lips with righteous dis- approval, have chosen not to be. But that's too easy. Evans gets away with it because he knows his audience, most of whom are under 25, and because he is as self-confi- dent as anyone can be without sponta- neously combusting. On his first morning he directly addressed the millions of lapsed listeners who had returned to the station since he had started broadcasting at 6:30 all to the tune of Peters and Lee's 'Wel- come Home'. You couldn't help but smile. It was just the sort of wild, manic arrogance that Radio 1 has lacked for so long.

The main bone of contention, of course, is the wheelbarrow-full of cash Evans is being paid for his trouble. £325,000 was the first figure to be quoted, followed swiftly by £1 million and, when that didn't turn out to be outrageous enough, £2 million — all for just eight months' work. The actual figure, when it finally emerges, will no doubt be more modest. And, shocking though it may seem to journalists, who are of course sav- agely underpaid themselves, people like Chris Evans do make that kind of money. For 20 episodes a year of Have I Got News For You, Angus Deayton allegedly picks up £260,000. Evans's £325,000, for 250-odd three-hour shows, sounds a bargain by comparison.

Not that any of this matters when none of the people who talk about Radio 1 listen to it. For the uncomfortable truth is that the station is fresher and more exciting than it has been for many years. Many of the five million who deserted when Dave Lee Travis and the dreaded Simon Bates were edged out had been listening to the station for decades. But Radio 1 is not real- ly meant for them. It's a station for the young, for people who still listen to too much pop music, for anyone who finds Chris Evans funny. Matthew Bannister has actually achieved great things during his tenure. The playlist is still too limiting, but overall the music output has improved immeasurably. If there is anything new worth hearing, you feel certain that Radio 1 will pick it up. The station's best DJs Simon Mayo, Nicky Campbell, John Peel, Andy Kershaw, Mark Ratcliffe, Jo Whiley — are clear, funny, sharp and on the ball. There are still problems — the lunchtime show remains a weak link — but on a patchwork station of endless compromises like Radio 1, there always will be. No one has given them any credit for this. No one will, either. In the end no one much cares if Radio 1 is any good. All that matters is that Radio 1 has lost five million listeners. The fact that they were probably the right five million to lose counts for nothing at all.