Radio Seagull off air: Chris Bent      external website - Toward The Unknown Region PLAYLISTS Summer 2007 - Chris B at Harlingen Harbour. The Radio Seagull ship Jenni Baynton ...test driving the new studio Radio London was my first love in 1967 - a hot summer when my parents worried that I was not running around outside with all the other kiddies. But, hey, I was 12 and had just discovered pirate radio, and it was THE summer of Love. John Peel, initially with Radio London, then amazingly with BBC Radio 1 from 1967 until his untimely death in October 2004 was undoubtedly a major influence on my young, impressionable and rebellious mind. My brain is stuck at age 16 - not in a boring 'living in the past' kind of way, but in a 'Wow, isn't this new EP by Broadcast stunning'. It's something John Peel was undoubtedly also afflicted with, but it certainly broadens your musical outlook - and still lets you enjoy the thrill of hearing NEW music for the first time. Teenage kicks indeed... Along with Radio 1, Caroline was the intermittent soundtrack to much of my life but Geronimo was the catalyst that sparked the inspiration…droning voices, fantastic music – progressive rock, jazz & classical all in the same programme, facts about the music, news of concerts, the use of earthy language of the street, the counter culture vibe. Of course such a radio station was doomed to failure, as wonderful things so often are, and Geronimo had but a short life of less than a year. But it was long enough to show how it could be done. The adverts don’t have to interfere with the music, the presenter can be knowledgeable, you can have the listener being treated as an equal to the presenter. In 1973/74 Ronan O'Rahilly gave us another opportunity of the Geronimo experience in the guise of Radio Seagull from the Mi Amigo. Now, Radio Seagull returns, bringing together a team of like minded individuals from across Europe - truly Pan European Radio for a discerning audience.   a 16 year old Chris B London 2004: Chris Bent with 1970s Radio Seagull presenter Barry Everitt Toward The Unknown Region - 'where pomposity and pretentiousness know no boundaries...' I noticed a Mission Statement on an office wall - Lots of grandiose verbiage about putting the customer first, caring for the staff and providing quality products. I’m sure many businesses have what amounts to a statement of intent. The cynical amongst us may consider a Mission Statement to be a prettily typed and elegantly framed pack of lies, so it is with some trepidation that I have decided the best way to describe my interest in broadcasting is to pompously and pretentiously treat it like a corporate entity, viz: The Chris B mission is… to play lesser known tracks that were overlooked when first issued, and liberally sprinkle in songs from long established artists – but not necessarily songs with which you may be familiar. to play songs by new artists that are otherwise ignored; to take a chance, to act upon a hunch, to play songs by unfashionable artists; to occasionally play something we all know; to not be bothered about being personally popular – the music is the message, the music is the priority. I’m just pleased that my unquestioning faith in the music has been rewarded by confirmation that others share a liking for the peripheral areas of the music scene, both now and going back 40+ years; to sound happy, to be kind, to invite comment and ideas from listeners; to offer the occasional informed comment about the music founded on knowledge gleaned over many years (wasted) reading about the trivia of popular culture – also based on many hours of ‘professional radio listening’, would that such a vocation existed! And of course, the blaggers guides, ‘Record Collector’ and ‘Tapestry Of Delights’; to make the music the centre of attraction   Be seeing you... PS That great song you just caught the end of but couldn’t quite make out who it was by – names such as ‘Dana Lyons’ or ‘Five Horse Johnson’ can easily slip by your ears at first mention so a playlist is a great idea. As far as I know Bob Harris (BBC) was the first presenter to archive his playlists. I’m never ashamed to use someone else’s idea so I’ve embraced this PLAYLISTS idea.