This week it was announced Radio1 is doing another of its famous Maida Vale gigs, this time with Kings of Leon playing the small intimate venue to a handful of fans. Naturally the gig is being promoted across all the station’s shows, but with a trailer that unfortunately epitomises everything that is wrong with Radio 1 at the moment.
In case you haven’t heard it, it features Zane Lowe pandering to the daytime audience in the most cringeworthy of ways. Roughly speaking it goes as follows:
Zane Lowe {in usual big furore style}:
“Radio 1 is pleased to announce Kings of Leon… yada yada yada… Maida Vale… yada yada yada…”
Zane {completely changing tact}:
“Y’know, Kings of Leon…. they’ve had hits like… (proceeds to play clips of virtually all their singles, naming them one by one in the hope you might know one)…”
And ends with Zane {now completely cringeworthy}:
“Well if you didn’t know them before you will after this performance…”
Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Okay, we understand Radio 1 want as many people to listen to the gig, but do they really have to stoop that low? This is a band that headlined Reading Festival last year to much critical praise, and this June stood at the top of the bill at Glastonbury – indeed, both events that Radio 1 covers extensively. Their first three albums have gone Top 3 in the album charts, for God’s sake, with their last reaching the top spot.
Despite featuring a fantastic evening line-up of shows covering many genres, and promoting new music to the rafters, it seems Radio 1 executives just can’t let go of its cheesy daytime image. Out of the four main DJ’s, only Edith Bowman has any musical credit, but she has missed a great deal of the year already due to her pregnancy. Both Scott Mills and Chris Moyles, by their own admission, care little about the music they play, and Jo Whiley, although occasionally shaking off her advancing years, simply usually plays to the Keane and Coldplay fans.
For a station that is doing so many good things after 7pm, it is such a shame to see its daytime schedule going down the drain. But whatever happens, please don’t drag the usually excellent Zane Lowe into it, or we are all doomed to listening to Snow Patrol forever.