Photograph by Annie Gumbley, no reproduction without permission.
The photo shows a Radio Birmingham trip on the river Severn at Worcester, featuring Geoff Meade and Andrew Thorman. Geoff Meade now works for Sky News, and Andrew Thorman is executive producer of ‘Countryfile’ and the farming output on Radio 4.
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.
The photo shows the Radio Birmingham, Radio Car. It probably dates from the mid 1970’s. The line up is made up of the station’s news team. According to producer/presenter Pete Simpkin, it includes (L to R): Chris Phipps,Stuart Woodcock, Nick Owen, Angela Jameson, Annie Gumbley, Jim Rosenthal, then the late Andy Roberts news producer, a newsroom Secretary who’s name escapes me,Roger Moody and Martin Henfield. Angela Jameson was the Newsroom Secretary and married to the Warks cricketer John Jameson. Martin Henfield went on to become News Editor Radio Birmingham, Roger Moody went to satellite TV.
Thanks to Annie Gumbley for making the photograph available.
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.
The photo is of the Radio Birmingham Newsroom. It probably dates from 1974, judging by the calendar, phones and the haircuts! It includes: Peter Perks, Jim Rosenthal, Stuart Woodcock, Michael Woodhead and Bob Sinkinson.
Thanks to Annie Gumbley-Williams for making the photos available.
Birmingham producer/presenter Pete Simpkin adds the following comment:
“Fascinating picture because it shows just how similar Radio Newsrooms in those days were to newspaper office layouts………just phones and typewriters……….no sign of any technology……….any tape recorders and editing machines were hidden away behind pillars and in corners.
When the Newsroom moved upstairs under ten years later the whole design was more like what we now know as technology led with tape and recording facilities much more in evidence and visible…….there were cart machines in the duty editors workstation and there was even a dedicated broadcast studio in the newsroom.”
Copyright resides with the original holders, no reproduction without permission.
This is the famous studio 3 at Radio Birmingham in 1979 and and shows the logistical placing of two reel to reel tape machines, two turntables, a cartridge jingle machine and the mixing desk all within reach of the presenter. It also reveals the futuristic ‘low level’ control panel so the eyeline for interviewees was not obscured, and the presence of the ash tray shows that smoking was actually allowed in studios…..but not whilst I was present!
The second photo shows Cliff Richard, who was in for a Religious Phone-in and the young lady in the picture had contacted my ‘Dream Come True’ feature to meet Cliff. We are still trying to track her down as she does not have this picture!
Pete Simpkin
Photo from Annie Gumbley, no reproduction without permission.
This photo shows producer and presenter, Pete Simpkin ready for action in the Radio Birmingham radio studio!
Pete adds the following information about the photo:
“This was in the late 70s and the studio was built to meet the demands for more production space as Radio birmingham continued to grow. I presented the Mid morning Show from here.
The studio was constructed in what was the Education producer’s Office…… It was equipped with some ex-Midland Region equipment due to the cunning of the then Engineer in Charge the late Stuart Miller and had the latest……for the time…..TV studio style C29 microphones. Famous people who squeezed into the studio with me included Roy Hudd, Cliff Richard, Johnny Nash and Minister of Droughts and Floods Birmingham MP Dennis Howell. Pat Mellor did the first Yoga by radio in here and I actually fell asleep during a live Yoga relaxation broadcast being awoken by a kick from Pat. Many journalists put together their ‘packages’ here in the days before the news operation moved totally to the Local Newsroom.”