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Tim’s Comedy Links

Early in 2002, Tony Staveacre proposed a radio show to his friend, the beloved British comedian Tim Brooke Taylor. They would celebrate at least two of Tim’s great loves, after his family – golf and comedy – by playing a round together at the club where Tim grew up and learned to play, the Cavendish in Buxton Derbyshire. Actually Tim would play and Tony would caddy for him. Tim’s Comedy Links is a celebration of some great radio comedians who were to Tim what he was to a new generation.

The Band Played On

On the Titanic eight members of Bristol’s charmingly named Savage Club sat down at their instruments in the city’s Red Lodge and started to play. The resulting entertainment, scripted by Tony Staveacre and thick with the atmosphere of an Edwardian parlour, was The Band Played On. Here Tony and I recreate this paeon to White Star Orchestra, the band on SS Titanic.

Astor Piazzolla – The Last Interview

In July 1989 the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla flew from Berlin to Bristol, UK, at the invitation of a BBC producer. Tony Staveacre was convinced that Piazzolla would make an excellent subject, and so it turned out. One July night, Piazzolla and his sextet played a memorable set before an invited studio audience. He also sat for an interview and talked frankly with Tony about the troubled birth of the musical form he invented – New Tango. It was to be his last public conversation, and never broadcast. Here is that interview for the first time, stirringly illustrated from the sextet session – more than thirty years since Piazzolla’s death.

Allan Schiller – Music Made Me, part two

ALLAN SCHILLER launched his professional career as a concert pianist at the age of nine, playing Haydn’s D major Concerto with the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra at Leeds Town Hall. He went on to make his name as a soloist, playing for audiences near and far with great international orchestras. In this second part of “Music Made Me” we can hear a shy and gifted young student grow into his illustrious career while coming to terms with life in 1960s U.S.S.R.

THE SONG OF THE RIGHT WHALE

The largest and most-threatened sea creature along the New England coast is the subject of intense scientific scrutiny and government regulation. It only takes a couple of deaths a year to bring the North Atlantic Right Whale to the brink of extinction. What is killing them and can anything be done to ensure their survival? I connected with scientists, environmentalists, politicians and lobstering families in Maine and Massachusetts caught up in a tangled tale in this series for BBC Sounds.

Click here to listen

From the Scrapbook:

The greatest of all TV reporters Martin Bell gave me an excellent piece of advice not so very long ago. It’s a pity now I didn’t follow it. Martin said I should sit down and write 500 words every morning and pretty soon I’d have a book. Which is why I need this picture of a clearly hyper-talented child playing a plastic saxophone to pad things out. Do drop in from time to time and see how my recall is going. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.

What they said:

Listener June Currie

“Your abrupt departure from Radio 5 annoyed me way more than I expected and I was delighted to find your new podcasts appearing last year. I've never written to anyone in this way before ... but I just wanted to add my small thank-you to all the others you will no doubt have received, and ask that you keep providing us with your unique and absorbing podcasts for a long time to come.”

Listener June Currie

Bill Nicholson

"Working with Rhod Sharp was a highlight of my years at USA Today. He’s super-smart, funny, a natural broadcaster and a true gentleman."

Bill Nicholson, former night editor, USA Today

Lord Hall

“There’s so much I admire about what you do and the way you do it. You inspire the loyalty and trust of your listeners. You’ve become their companion over the years – and that’s a very special achievement.”

Lord Hall, Former BBC Director General

Fred Barbash

“For example, the BBC’s Up All Night program - the best English language all nighter in the world, which I came to love while living in London."

Fred Barbash, previously London bureau chief, The Washington Post

Listener Heather Martindale

“Thank you so much for all your wonderful radio life, I cannot tell you how much Heather here in Epsom will miss you.You are a true radio legend."

Listener Heather Martindale

Len Sellars

“He arrived on day one with the professionalism and care that made his program one of most award-winning channels on the BBC. What unfolding time has done is create a global respect, and trust, that is without equal. For more than a quarter century I taught journalism to university students, and I often used Rhod as an example of how it should be."

Len Sellars, Professor Emeritus, San Francisco State University

Heidi Dawson

“Rhod is a 5 Live legend. In 25 years of broadcasting, he has defined overnight radio in this country."

Heidi Dawson, controller of BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Cramer

“He immediately established a huge audience for night time news-talk in totally untried territory for the BBC. That Rhod has continued to hold onto this prized position is a testimony to his longevity, his recognized expertise and his audience who love him."

Chris Cramer, formerly BBC Head of Newsgathering and Managing Director, CNN International