Paul Burnett on Boom
Paul’s voice was part of the soundtrack to our lives – beaming out of the radio through the ‘60s and ‘70s.
His career began, as did so many of his generation of radio presenters, on board the pirate radio ships. Then, after Pete Murray put in a good word for him, he travelled to Luxembourg to join the team on the famous crackly 208. “27th of October, 1967. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I had top down on the MGB, one suitcase behind me. And I drove over the Ardennes, arrived in Luxembourg”.
The BBC then beckoned in 1974 – where he replaced Johnnie Walker, who’d just quit the station after a refusal to commit to playing the likes of the Bay City Rollers.
Appointed to the lunchtime show, it was Paul’s duty to announce the new chart on Tuesdays – and a nation of schoolchildren would gather by their illicit little transistor radios to discover whether their favourite artist had soared to Number One.
“I meet people now who were at school back then – and they said everything stopped for that moment.”
As with all the team back then at the mighty Radio 1, Paul was seen on Top of the Pops and on stage at the summer roadshows.
“It was like a natural amphitheatre and you get 10,000 people – just to watch a guy playing records. The audience was also part of a kind of a conspiracy. We’d say: ‘the sun is shining down here’ – and it wasn’t – but they all join in!”.
Paul now lives in Sussex and has recently been tempted from retirement by Boom Radio – the UK radio station just for baby boomers, where presenters broadcast their ‘60s and ‘70s music programmes conveniently from their own homes.
He’ll next be heard on Boxing Day at noon, with a selection of music and chat to suit the occasion – and of course, he’ll revive his Fun at One feature, for which he was well known at Radio 1. Wait and see which much-loved novelty track he’ll alight upon!
Paul’s show is just one of the specials promised by Boom over the festive season, with appearances too by Michael Aspel, Jenni Murray, Gyles Brandreth, Simon Bates, Jenny Hanley, Graham Dene and Roger Day.
Plus, on the 40th anniversary of Eric Morecambe’s death, his daughter Gail Morecambe will share an hour of music that was special to her and her family – and she’ll open up about what life was like on Christmas Day at the family house as the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Day show was broadcast!
Hear Boom Radio across the UK on DAB+ or ask ‘Alexa – play Boom Radio’.
