Chris Hathway freelance illustrator and artist » Talk Radio

May 14 2009

Talk Radio – The Midnight Line

scribbled down by Chris at about 2:00 am. file under Links, Personal

nder the cover culture lover was going to be the title to this post but I was worried about what kind of hits I might get from google.

I’m not sure quite how I came across Ian Perrys Midnight Line, I think a friend of mine was a listener, once I’d heard it I soon became hooked, an under the cover culture lover as Ian would say. Broadcast from Wolverhampton on Beacon radio and also on WABC via medium wave, I could only pick the show up when the winds were blowing in the right direction and when I really should have been getting some sleep for school the next day.

Weeknights from midnight until 2am the show would run with either topical national or local stories or else one of its regular feature formats. One of these was a roughly bi-monthly show featuring John Starkey [who sounded at the time to me to be a man in his sixties]. These we’re some of the most genuinely ’spooky’ shows I’ve ever heard, while you could argue on some calls he was reading the persons responses on the other end of the line, more often than not he’d pluck something completely off the wall, but very specific, and be spot on. I think during just about every show there would be a hair standing up on the back of the neck moment. I see from his website that John is younger now than he sounded at the time, given this was nearly twenty years ago, and is still doing the odd radio show, I must try to catch one, a lots changed in the media since then and it would be interesting to hear how the show is received today.

The show was a true local programme, providing both a service for the local community to air gripes and complaints with local issues as well as opinion on wider national and international news and more importantly provided entertainment and a sense of community for the housebound, people working unsociable hours and for people like me, who should really have been asleep. Most of all, it was always great fun, Regular callers like Eric, the Captain, Wing Nut, Johnny Morris & Jammo the parrot would always give you something to laugh about. Ian was a very good host, managing to make hosting such a show seem effortless and being able to draw peoples opinions out of themselves in an era where people were far less ‘media savy’.

I don’t know when or why the show ended, I went away from the midlands for a few years and when I came back there was no mention of Ian Perry to be found anywhere. Since then I did read he was working for BBC Shropshire Though I’m yet to be up at 5am to listen and the show didn’t seem to be podcasted when last I checked.

Listening to a few shows again now, I used to start the tape recorder at midnight, which given the fact that most of my tapes we’re C90’s meant I always missed the last half hour, the shows are much as I remember them. One thing that stands out is just how much general opinion and society has changed in the past fifteen years, and how un self aware most of the callers we’re, it was very honest and open radio.
The other thing that struck me is how the callers who we’re ‘characters’ on the show, we’re genuine characters, they weren’t frustrated performers phoning up with made up personas, which unfortunately seems to have become the norm on most modern talk radio shows.

It was everything that can be good about radio, it was intimate, gimmick free and offered a genuine insight into other peoples lives. Listening to the Christmas Grotto show with a friend on a road trip a while back we still we’re reduced to tears of laughter.
Its a shame that there is so little ‘local’ radio today, let alone so little good talk based radio. Heres a couple of links to some archived shows;

‘Free For All’
‘Commision for Racial Equality’
‘John Starky’

Tony’s maitreya never did show up mind.

11 insightful and/or inappropriate remarks so far

11 Responses to “Talk Radio – The Midnight Line”

# Chrison 14 May 2009 at about 9:21 pm

Cutting up frogs, explosions… in test tubes… that is where most peoples knowledge of science ends…

Worth mentioning that series three of the fantasic ‘Down the line’ is currently on the iPlayer.
# Webazooton 20 Jun 2009 at about 10:14 pm

Ian Perrys Midnight Line

I remember that on Beacon Radio. With all the guests like Len the conspirasist and old Eric, who sadly died, with his catch phrase of “Haaang onn Iannn I’mmm comin” Cos he was usually away from his phone.
# Chrison 20 Jun 2009 at about 10:45 pm

…and the Captain and his pensioners who mistakenly decorated the wrong flat, Barking mad Dave [no relation to yourself] and Johnny Morris and Jammo the parrot… ah, those we’re the days…
# Webazooton 21 Jun 2009 at about 6:07 pm

Who could forget the Captain!

In all his campery!
# Huxleyon 28 Mar 2010 at about 5:36 pm

I used to tune in in bed when I was working as a YTS trainee in a local garden centre, could really only listen till 1am otherwise I’d be knackered the next day. I remember one memorable episode when he ‘regressed’ back to being one Sergeant George Watkins of the Scots Guards during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940. Wether or not int was a wid-up it was total radio – intriguing and highly entertaining. The other memorable night was when he had a particularly abusive caller who refused to apologise to him, so Ian read out two digits of his phone number every twenty minutes till he rang to to apologise – boy did he get in the shit for that. The Midnight Line was a real one off ( Ian Collins with his ‘creatures’ achieved the same sort of vibe in the90s on Talk Radio, but never quite hit the mark). So many memories ‘me ole culture lovers’.
# Chrison 28 Mar 2010 at about 11:37 pm

Thanks for the comment. I agree it was a complete one off, the sense of freedom Ian had [or took] and the ‘local’ nature of the show, other than the occasional pirate show I’ve caught I’ve never seen a local show that had such a sense of community about it.

Its funny I was driving through Shropshire today and thinking of the show. There is a group on Facebook and someone’s just posted a show online.

I agree I used to enjoy Ian Collins when it was Mike and Miff. Tommy Boyd had a nice run on BBC Southern Counties a few years ago too.

There are a couple of shows that have a good sense of that community broadcasting on Rhubarb Radio out of Birmingham just now, I’ve been enjoying the Chicks did Jerks shows and Brumcast, more for the music but also for the relaxed and honest presentation.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on a bit but thanks for leaving the comment, I do hope Ian Perry is proud of what he did with that show and knows quite how many people have fond memories of it.

Best
Chris.
# Chrison 29 Mar 2010 at about 9:16 am

Hey, its wasn’t Hollybush Garden Centre you we’re working at was it

I’ll never forget that jingle.
# marieon 21 Jun 2010 at about 8:02 pm

I love the Internet! Look, he’s here!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p008c23j/Ian_Perry_Early_Show_21_06_2010/
# Chrison 21 Jun 2010 at about 8:37 pm

Whoa, thank you so much Marie.

I’m listening as I type. Ians show wasn’t podcasted last time I tried to listen. Great to hear him reading that weather again.

Thanks for posting the link, its made my evening.

All the best, Chris.
# Alexon 23 Jul 2010 at about 11:18 am

Hey good to see a blog about the midnight line, I miss this show.. would pick this show up in the dark hills of mid wales always tuned in and your right the winds would have an effect on the reception.. making Starkey’s callins pretty spooky. What was Ian’s fav tune he always played wasn’t it a track by Dexy Midnight Runners??
# Chrison 23 Jul 2010 at about 11:37 am

Hi Alex, Cheers.

I think Ians fave tune was Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel’s Make Me Smile.

I saw Steve play several years later at the Ashton Court Festival in Bristol which I remember reminding me of the show, though the sound was pretty bad if memory serves…