As you may know in early 2018 the BBC decided to pull the plug on the long running BBC Radio 2 show “Listening To The Band”. The programme had been broadcast for more than 50 years and Frank Renton had been its presenter since 1994 but it fell foul of the BBC’s bid to freshen up the schedule on Radio 2.

Luckily for Frank – and me too – the Brasspass.tv on-line platform has taken up the baton and allowed Frank to continue to present a regular podcast showcasing the music he loves. The production team still includes long standing producer Terry Carter – so in essence the fortnightly podcast is a very much a continuation of the radio show – but with the potential to reach a much wider audience on-line.

We have just recorded Episode 12 of “Still Listening to the Band” and so I’m just taking a moment to reflect on how much I’ve enjoyed recording these shows so far.  Before this year I was not familiar with much brass band music and probably had some negative preconceived notions about what it’s like – but these shows have opened my eyes (and ears) to the amazing range of music that is available as played by brass bands. In addition I’ve discovered, there are excellent brass bands all over the world including in many countries that do not have an historical tradition of brass banding.

Also, for me personally, it’s great to work with people with a radio background – right from the first recording session I have felt I’m working with people on the same “wavelength” in terms of how the show should be put together and what it should finally sound like.

You can hear all the episodes to date on the brasspass.tv website – you can also download them as podcasts.

(Edit – Nov 2019 – we have now recorded 41 episodes of Frank’s podcast.)

Chris Radley – dVoiceBox