On Michael Parkinsons last Sunday a.m. BBC Radio 2 show he wishes luck to his successor but also said that he hoped the musical playist he was allowed to pick and play would be honoured. So did I, his music just fitted snugly into Sunday mornings, Ella, Frank, Swing and Big Band. Plus he bought a plethora of young jazz musicians; Jamie Cullum and Michael Buble et al.
And so we are given Michael Ball, a safe and middle-of-the-road choice who instantly trashes the music policy. He brings soft pop to Sunday mornings and brings it down to the level of mediocrity which would have Parky crying into his Australian beer.
Congratultions BBC for wiping jazz music off the face of the earth in a time spot which was perfect and reached a wide audience. Congratulations for delivering even more musical dross, easily forgettable and depressing in it's relentlessness. Ball's an OK bloke but he's not a natural and I suppose like all your current male presenters, he'll have this Sunday a.m. slot for the next 100 years!
Humphrey Lyttleton - we miss you already. xx
