±«Óãtv

Leslie Ronald Young – a.k.a. Jimmy Young – was a natural performer. Choosing show business after service in the RAF, in the 1950s Young’s balladeering style won him plaudits and hit records. Two of these, Unchained Melody and The Man from Laramie reached number one in the charts in 1955.

Although he continued to record and release music until the end of the 1960s, by start of that decade Young’s easy listening style was increasingly at odds with a growing public appetite for rock and pop music. With some previous experience of presenting at the ±«Óãtv, Young eventually moved into broadcasting full time with stints at Radio Luxembourg and the ±«Óãtv’s Light Programme, as well as appearances on TV’s Juke Box Jury. It was as a broadcaster that he came to the attention of Controller-in-waiting of Radios 1 and 2, Robin Scott.

Scott faced a major dilemma in the spring and summer of 1967 as he drafted and redrafted schedules for the new radio networks he was responsible for. The restrictions of Needle-time, the amount of time the ±«Óãtv was allowed to play records, as opposed to live music, meant that it was not possible for Radio 1 and Radio 2 to have entirely independent schedules. It would be necessary, at particular times of the day, to combine the two stations in one programme.

But who, Scott wondered, could be relied upon to bridge the musical and generational gap between Radio 1 and 2 when they were brought back together at 10 o’clock in the morning?

Jimmy Young’s ability as a performer underpinned his skill as a broadcaster and reassuring communicator. Along with his producer, Doreen Davies, the weak spot in the schedule was transformed into one its great strengths. It was the beginning of a remarkable career at the ±«Óãtv that would continue over the next four decades, including a permanent move to Radio 2 in 1973 and a knighthood for services to broadcasting in 2002. For many, the man from Laramie became the voice of the ±«Óãtv.