Radio Review: 12 September

Last week I had the pleasure of chairing a discussion at the National Film Theatre on the subject of Kenny Everett, with his friend and colleague Barry Cryer, and two of his biographers, James Hogg and David Stafford.

Although his TV comedy shows dominated the conversation, it was unanimously agreed that radio was Cuddly Ken’s first love, and his strength. Cryer admitted that the great man became bored very quickly, and in television, a 15-second quickie sketch can take hours to set up.

The popular assumption is that Everett’s first BBC sacking in 1970 sprang from his on-air allegation that the wife of transport minister John Peyton had passed her advanced driving test because she’d ‘crammed a fiver’ into the hand of the examiner.

In reality, as both Hogg and Stafford show in their respective books, Hello Darlings! and Cupid Stunts: The Life And Radio Times Of Kenny Everett, the Peyton slander was merely the last straw, and that the real threat came from the Musicians’ Union. Kenny had spent most of his time at the BBC denigrating its orchestras, who made up the bulk of the musical output on radio back then.

As little real pop as there was on the radio then, there was even less jazz, and even fewer women playing it, so Janine H Jones and Hannah Loy’s The Lost Women of British Jazz next week will be well worth a listen. I’ve only heard a preview clip so far, but it sounds very promising. Among those getting some long-overdue respect will be trumpeter Gracie Cole and saxophonist Kathy Stobart, for many years one of Humph Lyttelton’s trusted bandmates, but women were involved in jazz from the start and their early contributions are largely forgotten. Time to redress the balance.

The Lost Women Of British Jazz, BBC Radio 4, Tues, 11.30am. 
Louis on Twitter: @LFBarfe or email: wireless@cheeseford.net