Rigging for the broadcast
‘Sikh Worship’ Not actually at PM but typical of the pioneering ideas coming from it. This was a live relay of Sikh worship from the Graham Street Gudwarah. Here can be seen Pete and engineer Stuart Miller preparing for the broadcast. Radio Birmingham was the first to transmit live non Christian worship in the UK and this has incidentally never been repeated.
Maureen & Pete
‘Maureen and the coffee’ One Christmas eve the BBC canteen had closed early for the holidays and we cheekily regretted the fact on air. This lady Maureen lived in one of the tower blocks nearby in Edgbaston and walked down to the studio with refreshments for we forgotten broadcasters!
Pete Simpkin
Dunchurch Silver Band
This shows Barry Lankester and I producing the annual Local Radio Knockout Contest organised by the West Midlands Brass Band Association. This was typical of the programming of the early days of BBC local radio….and the way in which the building itself was used to communicate with the public. A community organisation would get the programmes organised and we would get them on air.
Barry Lankester was the driving force behind all sorts of artistic productions involving over the years literally thousands of local music makers from bands of all types, classical and pop , choirs and many others trooping into Pebble Mill, usually at weekends to record a multitude of broadcasts encouraging and entertaining the listeners. The band shown in the picture is the Dunchurch Silver.
Pete Simpkin
Malcolm Jay
Photo copyright of Willoughby Gullachsen, no reproduction without permission.
This photograph features Radio Birmingham presenter Malcolm Jay, and dates from the mid 1970s. It was taken in Radio Studio 2 Control Room, which could operate ‘self drive’ or control the actual Studio 2 which is on the left of the picture. Malcolm used to present a Tuesday night rock music show called ‘Heavy Pressure’
NB: This song is not to be used in any commercial capacity. The Pebblemill.org site has kindly been given permission to include it, by Denis Sheppard’s family.
THE PEBBLE MILLY POLKA
As producer presenter of the mid afternoon show on Radio WM I had to seek out all sorts of people in the community who were achieving things or involved in events and occasions which were important or interesting in the community of the West Midlands.
These could range from visiting personalities or experts or, as was mostly the case, people who had done even one thing that was helpful to others or just plain interesting or entertaining.
Enter Denis Sheppard an octogenarian ex- Birmingham policeman and indeed Police Bandsman. Over the years he had composed music and songs on various subjects mostly annual expressions of love for his wife who was celebrated in many such songs. However living as he did in the Pershore Road he watched in the late sixties the development of the new building at Pebble Mill. He was moved to write a song in celebration of the opening and so it was when this came to my notice in 1982 some years later I just had to feature him and his music on the show. He gave a fascinating interview which has unfortunately not survived the move to the Mailbox but I still have a recording of the song which I enclose with this item together with copies of his original sheet music which you may be able to graphically include in the website. There is a mention of the BBC in the lyrics towards the end of the song. These items are included with the active help and permission of his family.
