I can contain my excitement at tonight’s BBC music awards. It’s not meant for the likes of me, is it? The line-up has plenty of names, albeit few to appeal to a middle aged gentleman who spent the afternoon listening to Bob Dylan. I could moan about it, of course, but that would take me beyond middle aged grouching, into the tut tut world of my grandfather. (“Get your bloody hair cut, call that music?”)
When I was young, music was SO much better. We didn’t have, for example, made up groups like, er, the Monkees who just so happened to be one of my favourite bands ever. Or posy novelty acts, apart from Clive Dunn. Joe Dolce Magic Theatre and, who could possibly forget, Father Abrahams and his Smurfs. (Smurfsh, actually.) No. As Blur once said, modern life is rubbish, to which I can add modern music is rubbish, except that it isn’t.
One Direction are the 21st century Bay City Rollers, arguably with more talent, Rod Stewart is the 21st century Rod Stewart, with plenty of miles in the tank and a whisper where a roar used to be, but it’s good that they are on telly.
As all the best radio stations belong to the BBC, it is fitting that the corporation hosts a music awards show since many, if not most, of the artists would be complete unknowns without the Beeb. It’s also about time we have a lot more music on BBC TV, too.
BBC 1 has next to no live music, BBC 2 has Glastonbury, Jools Holland and not a lot else. Not much for a whole year, is it? I grew up with The Old Grey Whistle Test, the show that gave me the musical soundtrack of my life and Top of the Pops which, for most of my life kept me vaguely in touch with music of the here and now, regardless of whether I liked it or not. Both of these shows are long gone, quite wrongly.
Tonight’s BBC awards show reminds us that music is still alive and kicking and that there must be more regular music on the box. Perhaps not back to Top of the Pops, but how about a weekly review, a TV NME, with new releases, the chart run down (& albums) and maybe the odd interview. I can’t think that even in these times of government induced austerity at the BBC it would cost that much to produce that show since surely most of the artists would bite the Beeb’s arm off in order to plug their new records?
The good thing about music is that not everyone likes what you do. How on earth would you get a ticket for anything if everyone liked your favourite band? Much better for me to whinge about how crap Florence and the Machine are to someone who loves them and replies, “What bloody right have you got to say that, Toto lover?” They might have a point, too.
My suggestion for the new series of Top of the Whistle Test is to show the thing at 9.00 pm on BBC1 for an hour on a Friday night, not long after the charts have actually been published. Get the artists to play live and only live, unless they send in their brand new video – and even then, if they reach number one in the charts they MUST play live! No need for dancing girls of ageing DJs (apart from Chris Evans, perhaps) but better still get some young presenting talent on. Aim it at the kids, aim at me, aim it at people who are older than me (if you can find anyone). Promote it across the Beeb, get loads of stars on, you’ll get the viewers, trust me.
So just do it, Beeb. More music, new music and now. Stereophonics and Hozier so far – fan-bloody-tastic.
