It has been another glorious day – bright and sunny. Spring has sprung indeed. We spent the evening outside, talking, drinking, listening to the radio. Lyn’s station of choice is Radio Caroline – the modern commercial incarnation of the legendary radio station. I just thought, until this evening, that it was just another commercial radio station, full of adverts, commercial, and therefore crap. Yet something tonight made me think again.

They played Hendrix – a full Hendrix track, complete and unbroken. It lasted over ten minutes, and I was impressed. I must stress I love thee bbc, and think public funding is the way to go, but what I heard tonight made me wonder if there might be something to be said for commercial radio. Might it free one up from the constraints of having to please everyone, so that deejays are free to play what they whish? On the other hand, commercial radio means deejays have to break their shows up every twenty minutes to appease their commercial backers. I usually favour the BBC format, but now I can see that other ways of broadcasting might ave their advantages. One mustn’t be doogmatic about such things.

I guess there are pros and cons on both sides. Tonight, however, opened my eyes up to radio Caroline and to stations like her – to play a Hendrix track in full is surely something to be respected. I think Caroline might have a new fan.