Tony Blackburn A Rebel

[vidcc]

I can't get his show here but i wish we had more DJs that pay more attention to their listeners than the radio station owners...perhaps then we won't have to listen to the same ten songs over and over all day.

DJ Blackburn suspended for playing Cliff songs

Tony Blackburn, the veteran disc jockey, has been suspended from his radio show for repeatedly playing records by Sir Cliff Richard.

 
Tony Blackburn: ignored orders
The move came after a row between Blackburn and bosses at Classic Gold Digital over playing the singer's records reached breaking point this morning.

Blackburn was warned on Monday that Sir Cliff's records should not be played on the station.

But the DJ defied the order by playing Summer Holiday on Tuesday - a move that sparked a furious e-mail row with Paul Baker, the station's head of programmes.

Mr Baker wrote that the songs should not be played because they did not fit in with Classic Gold Digital's "brand values".

He also told Blackburn that his claims that listeners had requested the songs were "not an excuse". "He's not on the playlist, and you must stop playing him," the e-mail said.

But Blackburn hit back this morning by reading out the e-mail on air at 8.20am. He then tore up a printout of the message before playing two of Sir Cliff's tracks back to back - We Don't Talk Any More and Living Doll.

Within minutes Blackburn, a former Radio 1 DJ, was told that he was being suspended by John Baish, Classic Gold's managing director.

Mr Baish told Blackburn in an e-mail: "You're consistently breaking the station's music policy. We've made our position as clear as we could. I've got no option except to suspend you until the situation can be resolved."

A friend of Blackburn said: "Tony is gutted he has been suspended over this. He has been told not to turn up for work tomorrow. He doesn't set the playlist for his show, the station do.

"But he defied the management because so many listeners have requested Cliff tracks. Cliff has fans young and old who love to hear his records. Tony hopes the situation can be resolved so he can get back to his show."

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[lynx]

He's not the first to be sacked for ignoring the playlist, and he probably won't be the last.

He says many listeners have requested Cliff's tracks. But Cliff's tracks are largely out of step with the majority of the type of music played on Classic Gold Digital. I suspect that playing these tracks could be seen as the thin end of the wedge by many regular listeners, which is why he is not on the playlist.

CDG is a very successful station because it pays attention to what MOST of it's listeners want, not some minority who want pseudo gospel music. Cliff may well have fans young and old who "love to hear his records". I think I'm pretty safe in saying that they will be in a very small minority on CDG, and that the majority actively hate his music.

Tony Blackburn has finally shown publicly that he has lost the plot.

[vidcc]

It appears Cliff was wanted.

I am not a fan of Cliff Richard but i do believe as this case shows that the listener should be "listened" to.

DJ Blackburn back on air as Cliff row ends

Tony Blackburn, the veteran DJ, will go back on the air tomorrow after being suspended by a radio station for playing Cliff Richard records.

Classic Gold Digital said it had decided to put Sir Cliff back on its playlist after it received a "staggering amount" of requests by its listeners.

 
Tony Blackburn in the studio. 'I'm not a Cliff Richard stalker but I like his records,' he said
Paul Baker, the station's head of programmes, said: "We have to listen to our listeners, or they won't listen to us.

"It's quite obvious now that they want to hear Cliff Richard on the station, so that's what we'll do."

The row erupted when Blackburn defied an order not to play Sir Cliff's songs and then tore up a printout of an e-mail warning him to adhere to station policy live on air yesterday morning.

Within 30 minutes of his three-hour show ending at 9am, Blackburn was sent another e-mail by John Baish, Classic Digital's managing director, telling him that he was being suspended.

Mr Baish said: "This row was never actually about Cliff, it was just a situation with Tony which got out of control. I'm glad we've resolved it."

Blackburn, 61, said he was "delighted" that the dispute had been settled. "I enjoy working with Classic Gold and doing my breakfast show immensely.

"I'm also pleased that we're going to be playing Cliff Richard records. It's the listeners who have come out on top," he said.

Earlier, he told the Radio 4 Today programme he was surprised to get suspended but that he would rather not lose his job because of Sir Cliff.

"I'm not a Cliff Richard stalker but I like his records," he said. "They're as good as any other we play. I just don't understand it."

24 June 2004: Station suspends Blackburn for playing Cliff


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[lynx]

Problem is you will always get vociferous minorities. Should we heed those who shout loudest? I feel time will show that the original decision to leave Cliff off the playlist was the correct one.

In any case, the management were quite right to suspend TB, having been told not to play the records, he publicly tore up the email (I assume he described what he was doing) and disregarded the order by playing 2 consecutive tracks. This is the sort of tantrum we might expect from small children. At 61, people might say he's "enjoying" his second childhood. Personally, I think he's still enjoying his first.