The Voice of a Friend

The internet radio station The UK 1940’s Radio is a great listening experience if you are looking for calm in a chaotic world. Even my cats love it. There are no ads, except for vintage ones from that time period and nothing to anger or annoy you is ever heard there - except for a few mean-spirited critiques from a few listeners, which I will talk about shortly. All of the music that they play is from a time long before I was born. It is the music of my grandparents but if you are a fan of vintage Warner Brothers cartoons you have heard many of the songs that they play before. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd sang many of them, and Carl Stalling who did the music for thousands of these cartoons played a multitude of them as many were current during the golden age of Warner Brothers animation which was at its best in the 1930s and 40s. It is also a great station to listen to if you are a history buff with an interest in World War Two. The music and news of the time in Britain as well as the US gives you a fascinating glimpse into a world that is made more real for those of us who have never experienced anything even close to what it was like for the people who lived through it.

Until recently, there was a show on the station called Songs From Grandad Bill’s Gramophone, which I loved. It was hosted by Dave Adams, who played songs from his Grandfather’s time and told bits of interesting trivia about the songs, the artists, and the year in which they were recorded. One evening, not too long ago, Dave’s show did not air. I thought this was peculiar but I assumed that it would be on the next day. It wasn’t. And I kept thinking for days that maybe Dave was on vacation. But the show never came back and neither did Dave. We sent an email to the station to inquire about Dave’s absence since he was our favorite personality of theirs but their response was very nonspecific and only said that he no longer worked for them. I couldn’t help but wonder if his being gone had anything to do with a comment that he read on air from a listener just prior to his leaving. It was a very hateful comment/critique about him that was painful to listen to and I can only assume that he felt obligated to speak to and address the listener’s grievance since he often read very complimentary comments that he received and felt that he should give equal time to the bad as well as the good. I wish he hadn’t. It was painfully obvious, even though he spoke very professionally to the hate speech, that it was deeply hurtful to have been talked to in such an egregious manner. It was a thing that was so uncalled for but it certainly is not an uncommon thing nowadays. Dave’s absence from the station took something away from my listening experience. Not that the others personalities on the station aren’t good. They truly are. But Dave’s voice was the first one that I heard when I discovered the station and he was so likeable that I kept on listening and even felt moved enough to make a donation as they are strictly supported by listeners and have no advertising. I could be completely wrong in thinking that the listener’s hateful comment had anything to do with his leaving the station but I cannot help but wonder if it was the catalyst. This is something that happens all too often, and it is so unnecessary.

Dave Adams was a volunteer at the station as are all of their hosts. His working there was a kindness on his part and a valued community service, I am sure. The programs that he did were fun and informative to listen to. No one should be trashed and insulted for doing their job when they are only there to entertain and try to give people a few moments in time to forget all the bad that we have in the world and experience what life must have been like for the people in our history who were going through devastating times themselves but wanted to have hope that there would be a future for them during a time when it was possible that they wouldn’t. There could be nothing in what Dave said or played on his show that could ever be misconstrued so much that it would require such a damning response from a reasonable person.  Please remember that.  If you ever think that it would be cool or clever to trash someone for the work that they do, consider that it is most likely a person who is doing their best to make life a little better for others. When this is not the case, I would ask that you refrain from making a comment unless their behavior or speech causes harm to you in some way. Simply stop listening to or watching their program if you are not happy with the content.

We were fortunate to have Dave to listen to. I hope that he has gone on to another venue where those of us who liked him might find his voice again. It was a voice that was like a friend, and he is missed very much. I would love to be able to tell him that he brought many hours of untroubled happiness to us, and even to our cats. Music lovers, the lot of them.