Radio WM Self-Opt News Studio – Pete Simpkin

Rear of Pebble Mill, showing the 2nd floor bar balcony
Photo by Tim Savage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The recent entries about the old second floor Club at Pebble Mill reminded me that when Radio WM took over the bar area for it’s new Newsroom a self operate news studio was incorporated, a first for us.  Advantage was taken of the, then, new technology which enabled news inserts to be played in by the newsreaders themselves from audio cartridges.  These were prepared by the bulletins editor and handed with the scripts to whoever was presenting.  The increased speed of production and the consequent later deadlines for inserts meant that inevitably there would be a disaster and it was my luck to be the duty reader to delight the listening thousands with it!

Having read the headlines I introduced the first recorded item and fired off the cart only to discover it had been mislabeled and so bore no relationship to the intro. script. After apologizing I went into the next introduction only to find the second cart too had been mislabeled. Having to do something I tried the third one which turned out to be the first story but set halfway through. At this stage I shut the microphone off and intercommed the editor to come in and collect this wrecked pile of scripts and carts and very kindy sort them out……or words to that effect.

He never returned.  To keep the bulletin running I embarked on a reading of the other stories which were in the form of an endless teleprint of national stories subbed in London and sent out by teleprinter, ready to be read at sight. With an ever widening eye of disbelief I saw ahead a row of letters ZCZCZCZC approaching which in teleprint means ‘end of message’, unfortunately this was halfway through a story. Luckily I had read this one in an earlier bulletin so was able to conclude it from memory.

Having only done 5 minutes of a 12 minute bulletin I was left with no alternative but to hand over to the next programme of which the presenter was already in the studio and able to rescue yours truly. Still nothing like that could happen today in this wonder-tech age. Could it.

Pete Simpkin

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Andy Walters: ‘We were still on carts in 2001. Cart recorders don’t have erase heads. Some readers had a habit of erasing them in a Weircliffe eraser used for tapes and then stacked the erased carts on top of the machine. This would give a lovely swooshing effect to subsequent recordings. Then there was the cardinal sin of erasing carts with the hand that your watch was on.’

8 Years since Radio WM left Pebble Mill

Pebble Mill just before WM signed off from the building. From Andy Walters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a Facebook conversation commemorating the departure of Radio WM from the Pebble Mill building, eight years ago.

Andy Walters: Happy 8th Anniversary of BBC WMs first broadcast from The Mailbox. Has it really been that long since we left Pebble Mill?

Brian Christopher Winter: I remember back in 2000 and 2001 about all the talk of the proposed move out of Pebble Mill. Time has flown by.

Andy Walters: I was told on my first day of work there in 2001 that they were looking at an imminent move which it turns out was over three years away. We were talking about Pebble Mill over the weekend. You couldn’t believe these days that WM had a smoking room opposite the studios at the mill! Other defunct things like a Gram Library with shelves piled high. Lines of tape machines and cart triple stacks and the lovely old BBC Designs Dept. Mk 3 desks.’

Nik Andrews: ‘I wonder if in years to come some young BBC engineer will be lamenting over the current systems used.’

Pete Simpkin: ‘Andy re the smoking at PM, just after the no smokng ban was introduced at the Mill I was the Afternoon Presenter on duty when I had to interview live a certain Peer of the Realm, as he sat down in the studio he took out a ciggy and was preparing to light it when I pointed out the new No smoking sign, he looked at me wih a ‘yes but that doesn’t mean ME does it’ and I was just about to send for managerial reinforcements when the on air disk ran out and I had to do the interview without the pre-chat. He was most unco-operative with his answers and at the end as I started to say ‘Thank you for coming in…’ he was already out of the door and runing down the corridor!’

Andy Walters: ‘I think something similar happened (and this was in the early 2000’s) with Julie Goodyear who couldn’t bear to be without a ciggy for more than a few minutes. Did nothing for Ed’s respiratory problems either.’

BBC Radio Birmingham leaflet




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright resides with the original holders, no reproduction without permission.

Thanks to Radio Birmingham Producer and Presenter, Pete Simpkin for making this leaflet available.

The leaflet probably dates from the early 1970s, and details the community involvement of the radio station, and the programmes which came out of it. Note that Nick Owen is listed as sports presenter!

As Pete Simpkin says, ‘Can’t believe we did so much with so little funds! A terrific pioneering team with whom to work.’

Gordon Astley and Children in Need

Photo from Marie Phillips, no reproduction without permission.

The photo dates from May 1993, and shows Radio WM presenter, Gordon Astley, presenting a ‘Children in Need’ cheque for the ‘Allen’s Croft Project’, right outside the front of the Pebble Mill building.

Hazel Farrington, Radio Birmingham – Pete Simpkin

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

A picture of Hazel Farrington a dear colleague known to so many listeners as the lady answering the telephones on so many of our programmes, who has died after a long illness. She is seen here working with me on my mid morning show in the famous Studio 3 in the 70s. We will all miss a hard working, dedicated and lovely lady.

Pete Simpkin