Derek Webster

Sonny Rollins, one of the jazz greats passed away in New York yesterday at the age of 95. Starting the day by playing one of my favourite albums: Way Out West from 1957 with Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums.

A couple of hours of slapstick silent movies on the way, presented by Paul Merton with piano accompaniment by Kirsty Newton. Bring on the laughs! @hbpicturehouse

Saturday morning coffee time .. Happy weekend !

Great piece of audio production just after 1pm today on @downtownradio as they move from the studios at Kiltonga, Newtownards, their home since 1976, to Belfast Harbour's City Quays 3

Sad to hear Andy Kershaw has died. He championed overlooked artists and World Music for many years on BBC Radio 1 and later Radio 3. I met Andy a few years ago when he joined an impromptu Sunday afternoon music festival, bringing Malian music to the streets of Todmorden.

Good to see my old mate and former colleague John Gillmore featured on Live Luke’s Radio Greats.

Back at one of my favourite studios yesterday AIR, Hampstead. A great day with the Monarchs Blues Band, winners of ⁦@BoomRadioUK⁩ competition. Cut two tracks. My pal Haydn Bendall was engineering and there were various famous pals popping in and out, actually, Darling. 😘

A good night was had at The Ivy in London celebrating 5 years of @BoomRadioUK It’s not every day you get to meet an Academy Award winner. Here I am with celebrated lyricist Don Black who has his own show on Boom Light Sunday afternoons.

Good to see radio presenters Andy Peebles and Colin Berry remembered in the obituary section of the Brit Awards from Manchester.#BRITsAwards

Before Alan Partridge there was BBC Radio 4’s RADIO ACTIVE to satirise local radio. Just rediscovered my LP of the series which ran from 1980 to 1987. At least we had local radio then.

Boom Rock marks its 2nd birthday by counting down a playlist of amazing album tracks voted by listeners. From 10am Saturday…. And listen again on the @BoomRadioUK App. boomradiouk.com/player/boom-ro…

RADIO DAY 2026 derekblogster.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/rad… via @DerekWebster A brief blog on #RadioDay2026 and my part in it. #RadioDay2026

Looking forward to New Year’s Eve with @clareteal 6pm on Boom Light. Swinging songs from Sinatra, Ella , Basie and more. It’s been a great year for Boom Light which has grown beyond expectations with more to come in 2026! @BoomRadioUK boomradiouk.com/player/boom-li…

On Winter Solstice day there’s not much chance of seeing sunshine but here’s one I prepared earlier, on a crispier December dawn and sunset earlier in the week. Happy Winter Solstice ☀️ youtu.be/Su88LXgQR0o?si…

“Bing had the bravura, but except in his early days it wasn’t obvious. Starting his career in the 1920s, he was the man on the spot when the microphones got good enough to be canoodled with, as if they had hair to be stroked. Released from the necessity to project, he could concentrate on shaping a sung note so that it sounded like speech. Other singers were slower to catch on, and some of them never caught on at all. In any film musical starring Dick Powell you can hear – and what is almost worse, see – what happened to a singer when, even if miming to playback, he continued to project as if he weren’t being amplified. He looked as if his vocal chords hurt like piles. Bing went in the other direction, as if the microphone could hear him think. In this endeavour, he was lucky with the natural attributes of his voice. Often characterized as a pleasant light baritone, it had a tenor top to it, conferring the precious gift of allowing him to relax into the upper register. A singer can have a note-perfect two and a half octave range and no flexibility at all. What counts is the capacity to negotiate the tricky intervals, and Bing could do an instantaneous octave jump that left the second note ringing as clear and open as the first.” - Clive James #bingcrosby

Me on Lancashire’s Red Rose Radio the Superpower 97.4 FM in 1989. A great radio station.

Good to hear Paul Harper singing on Haworth high street yesterday with his tribute to 1930s crooner Al Bowlly. #nostalgia #1930s #vintage

Sad to hear that Diane Keaton has died…. Annie Hall and The Godfather, two of my favourite films.

Correction: Red Rose Radio was launched 43 years ago. Now I don’t feel quite so old.

So it’s 44 years since I started my professional radio career at Lancashire’s Red Rose Radio. An exciting time to be in radio with so many opportunities. derekblogster.wordpress.com/2021/10/09/sun…

Correction: Red Rose Radio was launched 43 years ago. Now I don’t feel quite so old.

On the 45th anniversary of Lancashire’s Red Rose Radio, here’s a guided tour. I was showing some listeners around the station. Post split frequency when it became 97.4 Rock FM and 999am Red Rose Gold. youtu.be/ysuxdcnT6Dg?si…