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Rock and radio in the United Kingdom
Until 1964, almost a decade after Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” had introduced a new musical era to British youth, pop music fans found few stations to set their dial to. Apart from the record-company-sponsored, evenings-only broadcasts of Radio Luxembourg, pop was represented essentially by two weekend shows on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) Light Programme: Saturday Club and Sunday morning’s Easy Beat. Both were presented by the avuncular Brian Matthew and blighted by a bewilderingly broad musical base and an imbalance between studio sessions and recorded music. The restriction on records played was a result of the “needle ...(100 of 428 words)