Most of you will have noticed Andy Kershaw hasn't been on Radio 1 since 15th June 1998, with his show initially missing altogether and now filled by Gilles Peterson. It also seems to have been moved from its regular Monday slot to the "graveyard shift" on Thursday nights between midnight and 2am.
Regular listeners will remember when this last happened to Andy's show, and the fuss which ensued. Many listeners (myself included) wrote to the controller of Radio 1, to Radio 4's "Feedback" programme and to Andy himself to express our concern over the shabby treatment of the show, and it seemed our efforts were rewarded when, a few months later, the programme was restored to a more sensible slot on Monday evenings. Andy himself was very angry with the treatment of the programme, and admitted at the time that he had come close to abandoning the job, and that it was in no small part the support of his listeners which persuaded him to stay on.
This morning (Monday 3rd August) I got a letter from Andy Parfitt, the Controller of Radio 1 (click here for the full text) explaining his position on the matter. It now appears that Kershaw will not be back on the air until November at the earliest, and I find the fact of his sudden disappearance (he was scheduled to broadcast on 22nd June but never made it), coupled with the ominous line from Andy Parfitt's letter about Kershaw asking for "a few months away from the station to pursue other areas of work" very worrying. Even the editorial of this month's "Folk Roots" magazine covers Andy's disappearance and the gaping hole left in the coverage of this type of music. (click here for the full editorial)
I intend to write to Andy Parfitt to voice my concern and I hope that all of you will do the same. Kershaw's programme is something unique in British broadcasting, a treasure to be enjoyed and shared, not an embarrassment to be hidden away in the darkness and forgotten about. The BBC is displaying a contempt not only for Kershaw and his work in bringing this wonderful music to us, but a contempt for the audience which Kershaw has built up over the years. If you feel strongly about this please write to Andy Parfitt at this address:
Andy Parfitt
Controller Radio 1
BBC Yalding House
152/156 Great Portland Street
London W1N 6AJ |