Obituary

This might come over as a bit snobbish and out of proportion. Bear with me though; I've had a terrible shock.

A few months ago, I praised an Oldham radio station, The Revolution, for brightening up dull trips to Hull. They had a 'we only play the music we want to play' approach and it was a blessed relief from the usual dross. A few weeks ago, however, during another drive over to the east coast, I noticed that it seemed a bit mainstream but thought no more of it at the time. Tuning in again on-line last Saturday and it still wasn't up to much.

I noticed that the website looked different too; photos of the presenters had been replaced by an advert for Steve Penk, of all people. Then I remembered being dismayed at hearing a jingle for his breakfast show when I last tuned in. I now discover that he has bought the station outright and relaunched it in his own image. Lest we forget, Penk is responsible for all manner of rubbish, lowest common denominator broadcasting, from 'hilarious' wind-up calls to TV's Naughtiest Blunders.

A bit of research has revealed that The Revolution had lost much of its core audience to XFM Manchester but do we really need a celebrity DJ's vanity station, indistinguishable from countless other purveyors of such drivel, dedicated to the X Factorisation of music? Where is the justification for giving airtime to Leona Lewis covering that Snow Patrol song or Amy Winehouse murdering Valerie? (OK, I know that one's a different thing entirely; don't get me started on ironic versions of good songs, although I often wonder if Oasis would have been as big as they were had The Mike Flowers Pops not covered Wonderwall!)

This disgraceful act of vandalism took place in September, so it hasn't really impacted on my life that much. It may even turn out for the best, before it all descended into self parody, with presenters vying to outdo each other with obscure, tuneless stuff that nobody is bothered about any more; rather that than what replaced it though.

A sad loss