History of the BBC
Banned or not banned
Theme:
Music through the decades on the BBC
How music has changed throughout the decades, and how the BBC has changed with it.
What is the future of the BBC. How do I think the BBC should change with the times – why the BBC is becoming less and less popular – mentioned Spotify.
1950s –
Ray Charles – I’ve gotta woman
Released in 1954
The birth of soul – this album was innovative and influenced artists such as, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Otis Reading, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, Billy Joel and millions more – a combination of jazz, rock n roll, and gospel, it was the first time the world had heard soul.
200,000 sales in the UK
One of the most regularly played songs on the BBC in the 50s
Kanye West‘s song “Gold Digger” contains samples of “I Got a Woman”; one particular line is repeated throughout the song in the background. An interpolation by Jamie Foxx, who portrayed Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray, of “I Got a Woman” serves as the introduction to “Gold Digger”.
My song of the decade
Other frequently played songs on the BBC in the 50s:
1957 – Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley
1958 – Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
1960s –
The Beatles were the most-played band on the BBC through the 60s
My favourite Beatles songs –
Sexy Sadie
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Both songs on the White Album – which was released in 1968
Happiness is a warm Gun was banned by the BBC due to its sexually suggestive lyrics. The song is a double entendre with guns a metaphore for John Lennon’s sexual desire for Yoko Ono.
The last section of song is arguably the greatest minute in Rock history, with main vocal by John Lennon, and back vocals by Paul Mccartney and George Harrison
More BBC’s favourites from the 60s:
1961 – Stand By Me by Ben E King
1962 – Cry To Me by Solomon Burke
1963 – Be My Baby by Ronettes
1969 – Here Comes The Sun by Beatles
1970s –
Right Down the Line – Gerry Rafferty
“Right Down the Line” is an ode from Gerry Rafferty to Carla, his teenage love whom he also married in 1970, about a decade before this track’s dropping.
Right down the line went number 1 in the US in 1978 before falling into obscurity.
However, the song has made a comeback in 2022 ranking 16 in the rock charts after it featured in popular US teen drama show, Euphoria.
Talk about the effect that other forms of popular culture have on songs… same thing happened with Where is my mind.
More heavily played tracks on the BBC in the 70s:
1975 – Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
1976 – Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac
1977 – Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
1980s –
Where is my Mind- Pixies
went platinum in the UK with 600,000 sales
Released in 1987, was rarely played on the BBC around the release, but gained popularity in recent years due to its use in the last scene of Fight Club.
Its peak chart position came in 2022, as it ranked 17th in the indie charts.
Not played regularly on main shows such as Radio 1 or 2 but is featured heavily on BBC shows that play rock and indie music.
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham (1984) was the most frequently played track on the BBC in the 80s
1990s –
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
In 1991 Nirvana released their second album, Nevermind. The album was a monumental success, going number 1 in the US and UK charts. Nevermind features a more polished, radio-friendly sound than the band’s prior work.
Written primarily by frontman Kurt Cobain, the album is noted for channelling a range of emotions, being noted as dark, humorous, and disturbing. Thematically, it includes anti-establishment views, anti-sexism, frustration, alienation and troubled love inspired by Cobain’s broken relationship with Tobi Vail.
Arguably, Nirvana are the single most influential band of the 21st century after The Beatles. Nevermind re-invigorated mainstream rock, and had a massive impact on style and music in the 90s. They are considered a cornerstone of the grunge era.
Their song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, was the most-played song of 1991 on the BBC.
Nirvana are still relevant even today, as their album, Nevermind, was the 4th most frequently purchased vinyl of 2021.
Other top-played songs on the BBC in the 90s:
1992 – Creep by Radiohead
1995 – Wonderwall by Oasis
1998 – Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
2000s –
2000s = Indie takeover in mainstream music
In 2001, The Strokes released their debut ‘Is This It’. The album was a huge success, going number 1 in the UK charts, and signified a new era of Indie Rock.
The next step on that evolutionary chain was the Arctic Monkeys, who (and this is no exaggeration) took over the world in 2006, with their debut album ‘Whatever People Say I am that’s what I’m not’.
The album was voted the 5th best UK album of all time by NME, and the band who were just 17, at the time of release became national stars.
Here’s my two favourite tracks from the album…
I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
Mardy Bum – Arctic Monkeys
I bet that you look good on the dancefloor was the most frequently played song on the BBC in 2005.
Oher frequently played tracks by the BBC include:
2003 – Mr Brightside by The Killers
2006 – Naïve by The Kooks
2007 – Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys
2010 – 2022 –
Staying with the Arctic Monkeys, their rise to international success came in 2013, with AM.
Compared to their first album, AM is a very different, as they transitioned from a very raw, indie sound to a more clean, smoothly produced rock sound. AM’s bass guitar is noticeably a lot lower, and so is Alex Turner’s voice, as he croons songs. The album is also a slower pace, which appealed more to American listeners.
This song, Number one party anthem, is a great example of why this album is so successful.
Number 1 party anthem – Arctic Monkeys
touch back on BBC –
how music has changed over the years – the different audiences they are trying to appeal to.
Most played artist of the 2010s was Drake – shows how the BBC are attempting to appeal to young audiences.
finish with
Brazil – Declan McKenna
| Theme | Newsbeat | WOTW |
| Ownership | bbc- public broadcasting and multi media company owned by the government and trust fees board. More of an oligopoly, concentration of ownership. BBC has a slightly left- leaning ideology. | cbs-private company, it is an example of concentration- some companies own everything Integration horizontal or vertical? |
| Habermas | Transformation of the public sphere, media is constantly changing with the BBC keeping up. BBC is a non profitable company, they put money back into programs, so Quality is important. | majority of private businesses aim to solely make money caring more about money then the public, they prioritize it over entertaining their audience. |
| Chomsky | ||
| Regulation | ||
| AUDIENCE (ACTIVE/PASSIVE) | ||
| AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | ||
| AUDIENCE (HALL) | ||
| NEW TECHNOLOGY | ||
| CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE |
Newsbeat delivers its reports and stories with a very distinct style that involves an informal tone, quick overviews, upbeat links, and audience participation yet, by utilising Stuart Hall’s reception theory, we can see that the listeners may not interpret the message in the way the producers originally intended. Hall’s encoding / decoding model of communication offers three hypothetical positions – the preferred, negotiated, and oppositional readings. The preferred reading is how the media producer wants the audience to respond, for example how the Newsbeat producers want their short news stories to engage with their audience and inform them about the latest events around the world. The negotiated reading, when the audience responds by accepting and rejecting certain elements, can also be applied to Newsbeat, wherein some listeners may appreciate the fast content but then turn to other sources for the full stories behind the headlines.
Orson Welles’ preferred reading of War of the Worlds was that it was a fictional radio play to be enjoyed by the audience, its negotiated reading was that some listeners who heard the introduction knew how inappropriate and misleading the play would be considering that it was broadcast in a time shortly after the First World War and on the brink of the Second World War. The oppositional reading was supposedly from those who missed the introduction and created a “wave of mass hysteria” as they thought the play was reality.
| THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
| OWNERSHIP [Institutions] | – BBC -Owned by the UK public -Funded through TV Licenses [paid yearly by public] -Paternalistic approach -1st Director= Lord Reith -Public Company [PLC] | -CBS [Colombia Broadcasting Service] -Owned by a multi national conglomerate [Paramount Global] -Funded though adverts on air -Private company [LTD] -vertical / horizontal integration ??? |
| HABERMAS | -Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing BBC keeping up. -BBC ethos= to inform, entertain and educate. -Cecil Lewis- “Opening up new worlds to people” -Quality is important. They don’t make money to profit, it is put back into the BBC to make programmes -Fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public -Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want | -Most private business are aimed at making a profit -They care about profit more than their audience. -Just for profit is the commercial ethos -Commercial broadcasting is not supported by Habermas |
| CHOMSKY | ||
| CURRAN | -Ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB -Linking to Habermas’ theory of transformation of the Public sphere -BBC is being taken over by light daytime programmes= “peak-time tv are dominated by light entertainment | 1. concerns about the commercial interest of big companies (prioritising profits over social concerns) 2. concentration of ownership – although not monopolies, the small number of big companies is not good for 3. competition 4. Diverse range of voices (plurality) 5. audience choices -CBS used the ‘moral panic’ as an advertising technique? – |
| SEATON | Seaton makes us aware of the power of the media in terms of big companies who own too much. commercial Seaton also makes clear that broadcasters selling audiences to products NOT audiences to programmes (ie no adverts on BBC) therefore BBC not chasing big exaggerated stories Newsbeat seeking informed citizens who want knowledge accountability – ie who looks after the BBC and makes sure it does what it is supposed to do: Annan Report 1980 “on balance the chain of accountability is adequate” independence – ie keeping free from state control “without a commitment to public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to political interference” | Seaton talks about rise and inevitable need for competition with new technologies – which provides choice Provides more entertainment for wider audiences ??? WoW targets mainstream entertainment seeking audiences the allusion of Choice – “Choice, without positive direction is a myth, all too often the market will deliver more -but only more of the same” |
| REGULATION | license fee regulates BBC as well. New technologies mean BBC faced with more competition NO advertising! -OFCOM -BBC Charter -BBC ethos- ‘educate, inform and entertain’ -The license fee regulates the BBC | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | Newsbeat encouraging active ‘uses and gratification’ model personal needs escapism, entertainment, self esteem and social needs. information, knowledge about the world, connecting with family, friends and community | War of the worlds raises the debate around audience as passive or active (ie Lasswell, linear model of communication like a hypodermic syringe) ie without thinking or reflecting on what we are told |
| AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | -2 STEP FLOW~ Use opinion leaders such as Princess Kate and Prince William to speak up about Mental Health. Audience listen passively and will more likely believe it if it is from an opinion leader | -Orsen Welles unregulated opinion leader. -If audience seeking facts / truth about space and war they would seek opinion leaders from govt or science. |
| AUDIENCE (HALL) | ||
| NEW TECHNOLOGY | ||
| SPECIFIC TEXTUAL EXAMPLES | -Prince William and Kate presenting a special newsbeat edition on mental health -Kanye article | -Timestamp 39.30- radio goes silent. Maybe to create an eerie setting to scare audience? |
| THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
| OWNERSHIP | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees ?? DG (Lord Reith), BBC multi-media / cross-media, transnational / transglobal, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership (ie small number of firms who own TV and radio even though there are lots of different stations) I think the BBC has a left wing libertarian ideology ??? | CBS, Private company, Multi or cross media Conglomerate, transnational / transglobal (??), monopoly (???), it is an example of concentration of ownership ie just a few companies own everything (oligopoly ?? / cartel ??), vertical / horizontal integration ??? |
| HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing BBC keeping up. BBC intention enshrined in their ethos to inform, entertain and educate. Not to make money or profit – they put money back into programmes so Quality is important. I think this fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want (this is tricky) | Most private business are aimed at making a profit – I think private business don’t care about the public, I think they care about profit. so they are more concerned with entertainment than education. Just for profit is a commercial ethos – not in the spirit of Habermas |
| CHOMSKY | ||
| CURRAN | James Curran writes about the ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB | some general ideas: 1. concerns about the commercial interest of big companies (prioritising profits over social concerns) 2. concentration of ownership – although not monopolies, the small number of big companies is not good for 3. competition 4. Diverse range of voices (plurality) 5. audience choices |
| SEATON | Seaton makes us aware of the power of the media in terms of big companies who own too much. commercial Seaton also makes clear that broadcasters selling audiences to products NOT audiences to programmes (ie no adverts on BBC) therefore BBC not chasing big exaggerated stories Newsbeat seeking informed citizens who want knowledge accountability – ie who looks after the BBC and makes sure it does what it is supposed to do: Annan Report 1980 “on balance the chain of accountability is adequate” independence – ie keeping free from state control “without a commitment to public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to political interference” | Seaton talks about rise and inevitable need for competition with new technologies – which provides choice Provides more entertainment for wider audiences ??? WoW targets mainstream entertainment seeking audiences the allusion of Choice – “Choice, without positive direction is a myth, all too often the market will deliver more -but only more of the same” |
| REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC Charter governed by Parliament, license fee regulates BBC as well. BBC / PSB ethos ‘to entertain, to inform and to educate’ (Reith) New technologies mean BBC faced with more competition NO advertising! | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| AUDIENCE (ACTIVE/PASSIVE) | Newsbeat encouraging active ‘uses and gratification’ model personal needs escapism, entertainment, self esteem and social needs. information, knowledge about the world, connecting with family, friends and community | The hypodermic needle theory suggests a media text can have a powerful and immediate effect on the passive audience. It would seem “The War of the Worlds” production supports this argument because so many terrified listeners, for example, “rushed out of their houses” to escape the “gas raid”.4 |
| LAZARFELD | 2 step flow / opinion leaders how we gravitate to people who share the same ideas as ourselves. So the BBC is an unbiased, informed opinion leader (ie BBC Charter focus on impartiality, accurate, true) | |
| HALL | ||
| NEW TECHNOLOGY | ||
| CROSS MEDIA | ||
| SPECIFIC TEXTUAL EXAMPES | Prince William and Kate presenting a special newsbeat edition on mental health Kanye article | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| GERBNER | The cultivation theory can also explain some of the hysteria. Gerbner’s research suggested heavy users of television become more susceptible to its messages, especially if the texts resonate with the viewer. One army veteran said the radio play “was too realistic for comfort” while another New York resident was “convinced it was the McCoy” when the “names and titles” of different officials, such as the Secretary of the Interior, were mentioned in the script.6 Perhaps it was this group of listeners who believed the broadcast was an accurate report of events that night because they were already familiar with the special bulletin format, which were known then as break-ins, and assumed the war in Europe had intensified. | |
| Theme | Newsbeat | War of the Worlds |
| Ownership | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees ?? DG (Lord Reith), BBC multi-media / cross-media, transnational / transglobal, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership (ie small number of firms who own TV and radio even though there are lots of different stations) I think the BBC has a left wing libertarian ideology ??? | CBS, Private company, Multi or cross media Conglomerate, transnational / transglobal (??), monopoly (???), it is an example of concentration of ownership ie just a few companies own everything (oligopoly ?? / cartel ??), vertical / horizontal integration ??? |
| Habermas | Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing BBC keeping up. BBC intention enshrined in their ethos to inform, entertain and educate. Not to make money or profit – they put money back into programmes so Quality is important. I think this fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want (this is tricky) | Most private business are aimed at making a profit – I think private business don’t care about the public, I think they care about profit. so they are more concerned with entertainment than education. Just for profit is a commercial ethos – not in the spirit of Habermas |
| Curran | James Curran writes about the ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB | some general ideas: 1. concerns about the commercial interest of big companies (prioritising profits over social concerns) 2. concentration of ownership – although not monopolies, the small number of big companies is not good for 3. competition 4. Diverse range of voices (plurality) 5. audience choices |
| Seaton | Seaton makes us aware of the power of the media in terms of big companies who own too much. commercial Seaton also makes clear that broadcasters selling audiences to products NOT audiences to programmes (ie no adverts on BBC) therefore BBC not chasing big exaggerated stories Newsbeat seeking informed citizens who want knowledge accountability – ie who looks after the BBC and makes sure it does what it is supposed to do: Annan Report 1980 “on balance the chain of accountability is adequate” independence – ie keeping free from state control “without a commitment to public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to political interference” | Seaton talks about rise and inevitable need for competition with new technologies – which provides choice Provides more entertainment for wider audiences ??? WoW targets mainstream entertainment seeking audiences the allusion of Choice – “Choice, without positive direction is a myth, all too often the market will deliver more -but only more of the same” |
| Regulation | Ofcom, BBC Charter governed by Parliament, license fee regulates BBC as well. BBC / PSB ethos ‘to entertain, to inform and to educate’ (Reith) New technologies mean BBC faced with more competition NO advertising! | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| Chomsky | ||
| Audience (Lazerfield) | 2 step flow / opinion leaders how we gravitate to people who share the same ideas as ourselves. So the BBC is an unbiased, informed opinion leader (ie BBC Charter focus on impartiality, accurate, true) | Orsen Welles unregulated opinion leader. If audience seeking facts / truth about space and war they would seek opinion leaders from govt or science. |
| Audience (Hall) | Preferred reading, young people will favour Newsbeat over alternatives as it is targeted more towards them. | Stuart Hall theorised how audiences decode messages, by accepting, negotiating or rejecting the sent message. This can be seen with ‘War of the Worlds’ as the people that listened to it decoded it and accepted it as being real, then ran outside of their houses in panic. |
| Audience (Active/Passive) | Newsbeat encouraging active ‘uses and gratification’ model personal needs escapism, entertainment, self esteem and social needs. information, knowledge about the world, connecting with family, friends and community | War of the worlds raises the debate around audience as passive or active (ie Lasswell, linear model of communication like a hypodermic syringe) ie without thinking or reflecting on what we are told |
| New Technology | ||
| Specific Textual Examples | Prince William and Kate presenting a special newsbeat edition on mental health Kanye article | Blurred codes of drama and news. Programme starts with title music, announcer introduction ‘Mercury Theatre Company presents . . . ‘ followed by Orson Welles prologue to War of the Worlds .. . |
| THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
| OWNERSHIP | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees ?? DG (Lord Reith), BBC multi-media / cross-media, transnational / transglobal, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership (ie small number of firms who own TV and radio even though there are lots of different stations) I think the BBC has a left wing libertarian ideology ??? | CBS, Private company, Multi or cross media Conglomerate, transnational / transglobal (??), monopoly (???), it is an example of concentration of ownership ie just a few companies own everything (oligopoly ?? / cartel ??), vertical / horizontal integration ??? |
| HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing BBC keeping up. BBC intention enshrined in their ethos to inform, entertain and educate. Not to make money or profit – they put money back into programmes so Quality is important. I think this fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want (this is tricky) | Most private business are aimed at making a profit – I think private business don’t care about the public, I think they care about profit. so they are more concerned with entertainment than education. Just for profit is a commercial ethos – not in the spirit of Habermas |
| CHOMSKY | ||
| CURRAN | James Curran writes about the ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB | some general ideas: 1. concerns about the commercial interest of big companies (prioritising profits over social concerns) 2. concentration of ownership – although not monopolies, the small number of big companies is not good for 3. competition 4. Diverse range of voices (plurality) 5. audience choices |
| SEATON | Seaton makes us aware of the power of the media in terms of big companies who own too much. commercial Seaton also makes clear that broadcasters selling audiences to products NOT audiences to programmes (ie no adverts on BBC) therefore BBC not chasing big exaggerated stories Newsbeat seeking informed citizens who want knowledge accountability – ie who looks after the BBC and makes sure it does what it is supposed to do: Annan Report 1980 “on balance the chain of accountability is adequate” independence – ie keeping free from state control “without a commitment to public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to political interference” | Seaton talks about rise and inevitable need for competition with new technologies – which provides choice Provides more entertainment for wider audiences ??? WoW targets mainstream entertainment seeking audiences the allusion of Choice – “Choice, without positive direction is a myth, all too often the market will deliver more -but only more of the same” |
| REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC Charter governed by Parliament, license fee regulates BBC as well. BBC / PSB ethos ‘to entertain, to inform and to educate’ (Reith) New technologies mean BBC faced with more competition NO advertising! | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | The audience for the BBC are more active and are encouraged to engage with the speakers on the radio shows. The audience often respond to media and are able to question the message sent by the hosts. | The audience for the War of the Worlds radio show is passive and are accepting of what the radio hosts say without engaging within topics and stories told to them. However, the audience were somewhat active as many had strong opinions about CBS ‘tricking’ their audience. |
| AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | ||
| AUDIENCE (HALL) | ||
| NEW TECHNOLOGY | ||
| SPECIFIC TEXTUAL EXAMLES | Prince William and Kate presenting a special newsbeat edition on mental health Kanye article | blurred codes of drama and news. Programme starts with title music, announcer introduction ‘Mercury Theatre Company presents . . . ‘ followed by Orson Welles prologue to War of the Worlds .. . |
| ? | ||
| ? |
| Theme | Newsbeat | War of the Worlds |
| Ownership | ||
| HABERMAS | BBC helped transformed the public sphere by changing the notions of time and place. hypothecated tax used to put money back into productions, implies BBC, a PSB is following the ethos rather than seeking a profit. | CBS, a private business is seen to look for a profit. they are more concerned about entertainment rather than education. Exhibits populism? |
| SEATON | Seaton said “Mrs Thatcher and her supporters are in favour of de-regulation, competition and choice” Thatcher strived for populism rather than paternalism, this conflicted the ethos of the BBC. | Seaton then talks about the rise of competition and choice |
| Audience (Active/Passive) | Active. Postmodernism. Young audience- naive. News- a trusted source | Passive- pre modernism. hypo needle |