Happy 20th Birthday, Elaine

Twenty years is a long time.

I always thought that Sunday early afternoon was an odd time for the nation's most-listened-to pop station to opt out of its usual output in favour of show tunes and the occasional movie theme. While it might appeal to me, I expect it alienates many listeners. Anyone know what the listening figures are compared to the shows adjacent?

EP is not an ideal choice as presenter. She's admitted that she's not a big fan of attending musical theatre herself, and her presentational style is quite slow and seemingly entirely script-driven. I would rather a radio professional with genuine and infectious enthusiasm and able to broadcast live. They'd be cheaper too.

Great idea for a show with some interesting tracks played, but absolutely shocking as a ‘broadcaster’, sometimes hilariously so. (Wouldn’t be without her though).

Radio 2 does or at least did have lots of different specialist once a week music shows. Jazz, organ music etc.

I suspect the choice of Sunday for both EP and Michael Ball was because they wanted to be free to rehearse and perform in shows on the other days of the week.

I’m not a regular listener but I don’t think she’s a bad presenter. At least she has had a whole career on stage and is not just someone who’s been handed a radio show after being on the telly for 5 minutes or because they’ve got famous parents.

And I love that completely ridiculous laugh of hers.

They do two shows at once and never on a Sunday, as I have cycled past Elaine in Marylebone High Street/Great Portland Street, hence why you get a bit of a lag sometimes when someone dies.

I know Elaine is very marmite and I love marmite, although I never agree with her views on Brexit, I still think she is a wonderful presenter. The guest presenters have never matched her, from the top of my head;

Andrew Lloyd Webber
Cameron Mackintosh
Bill Kenwright
Craig Revel Horwood
Michelle Visage
Samantha Barks
Beverley Knight

It would have been awesome if Stephen Sondheim sat in for a couple of weeks, but sadly not now.

The Elaine Paige Show is a bit like Pointless where obscure is the best.

I do listen to Magic, when Magic first launched you could set your watch by it, they seemed to have on constant loop of Can you Feel the Love Tonight/All that Jazz/Defying Gravity/The Music of the Night/Bring Him Home etc, it has got much better - but it doesn’t really play vague recordings like Elaine Paige, I want to hear songs I haven’t heard before. A couple of examples are;

J’avais Rêvé (I Dreamed a Dream) - Louise Pitre
Cachée au Fond De Moi (She Used to be Mine) - Marie-Éve Janvier

Those 2 songs I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise, I also posted those 2 examples not because I want to come across as flash that I listen to songs in French, but dropping the biggest hint to my fellow board members to give them a spin, both are indescribable beautiful, as are the English version are too.