BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire
BBC Introducing in Oxford is a local music show in Oxfordshire, and part of the main BBC Introducing brand. The show is broadcast between 20:00 and 21:00 on Saturday nights on BBC Oxford and is presented by Dave Gilyeat and Liz Green.[1]
History
BBC Oxford Introducing began as an internet only radio show, available weekly on the BBC Oxford website and presented by Tim Bearder and Dave Gilyeat.
The programme then launched on BBC Radio Oxford in March 2005 as 'The Download'. It was transmitted on Friday nights for ten weeks, before moving to Saturdays. In May 2011 it moved to Sundays.[2]
With the launch of the new BBC Introducing brand in 2007 The Download was renamed BBC Oxford Introducing. In February 2009, a new tool was launched on the BBC Introducing website to allow users to upload their music directly to the presenters.[3] In September 2009 BBC Oxford Introducing launched its own BBC podcast.[4][5]
Format
The show plays one hour of local music every week. This includes a live session from a local act, a tip by Huw Stephens at BBC Radio 1, and a recommendation from Ronan Munro, editor of music magazine Nightshift. It used to feature a weekly cameo from Bill Heine.
In September 2010 original co-host Tim Bearder departed the show to concentrate on his work for BBC News Online.[6] [7]
Notable successes
BBC Oxford Introducing regularly gives local acts their first radio play. It showcased Foals at an early live gig [8] and secured a slot at Radio 1's Big Weekend for Stornoway.[9] This led to the band's appearance on Later... with Jools Holland. Lewis Watson received his first radio interview in February 2012.
The team provided Glastonbury festival sets for Glass Animals[10] and A Silent Film,[11] and Reading and Leeds Festivals appearances for Mr Fogg.[12]
Little Fish were awarded a headline slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds[13] and a Maida Vale session, and acts including Dive Dive, Glass Animals, and Charly Coombes and the New Breed have also been given festival opportunities.[1]
January 2011 saw Fixers featured on the BBC Radio 1 playlist.[14] The band, whose first radio play was on the show in August 2009,[15] were also awarded slots on the T in the Park and Reading and Leeds Festivals stages.[16][17]
From 2010 the show has curated its own stage at Truck Festival.
Controversy
Presenter Tim Bearder was so taken with Stornoway that he played an hour of their songs on his Breakfast show. BBC bosses suspended him for two days for doing so.[18][19]
Official releases
BBC Oxford Introducing has released four charity CD compilations in aid of Children In Need.
The first, The Download Sessions,[20] featured acoustic performances by local bands.
This was followed by A Quantum of Covers, which featured local artists covering James Bond songs.[21][22]
The programme celebrated its five-year anniversary in March 2010 with Round the Bends, a recreation of Radiohead's The Bends as performed by Oxfordshire artists.[23][24]
To mark the BBC's Beatles Day (the 50th anniversary of the release of Love Me Do) the programme released a 5-song EP called Cover Me Do. [25]
The latest three releases are available on iTunes.
External links
- Nightshift Music Magazine interview with Tim Bearder and Dave Gilyeat
- The official BBC Oxford Introducing website
- Nightshift Music Magazine
- BBC Introducing Uploader
- The official BBC Introducing website
- BBC Introducing on MySpace
- BBC Introducing on Radio1
- BBC Introducing on BBC 6 Music
- List of BBC Introducing local shows
References
- ^ a b What is BBC Oxford Introducing?
- ^ Musicinoxford.co.uk interview
- ^ BBC Introducing Uploader
- ^ BBC Podcasts - BBC Oxford Introducing
- ^ BBC Oxford Introducing launches weekly podcast
- ^ Au Revoir Tim Bearder
- ^ MusicInOxford.co.uk podcast
- ^ The next Download Live
- ^ Introducing...Stornoway
- ^ [1]
- ^ Babe, So Now Why No by Jonquil
- ^ Mr Fogg live at Reading and Leeds Festivals
- ^ Little Fish at Reading
- ^ How to get your unsigned band on the Radio 1 daytime playlist
- ^ BBC Music - Fixers
- ^ Reading and Leeds line up 2011
- ^ BBC Introducing announces T in the Park line-up
- ^ Stornoway interview in Nightshift http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/2008/sep.pdf
- ^ BBC Oxford Introducing interview in Nightshift http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/2010/mar.pdf
- ^ The Download Sessions
- ^ A Quantum of Covers
- ^ A Quantum of Covers at MusicBrainz
- ^ BBC Oxford Introducing recreates The Bends by Radiohead
- ^ BBC Press Office - Round the Bends
- ^ [2]