Does anyone remember dial a disc?

Subject: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 01 Oct 20 - 08:09 PM

In the UK between 1966 and 1991 the GPO (later BT) had a dial a disc services where each day people good dial in to hear a different chart record.

I remember dialling into this a couple of times from phone boxes in the 70s. Does anyone have recollections of this service, or even recall hearing any folk records?

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: GUEST,Erich
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 03:19 AM

Oh yes, there was a similar service in Austria but I can't remember when they stopped it.

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: GUEST,Erich
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 03:21 AM

Me again, it was called "Die Platte des Tages" ´(The record of the day).

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: Johnny J
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 04:07 AM

I remember it well but only ever dialled up from work.
:)

I'd imagine there would have been some folkie records but only if they were in the Top 7(?). So, you would probably have heard The Seekers, Donovan, Dylan, and so on. The Dubliners got to number 7 with "Seven Drunken Nights". So, that may have been featured too.

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 07:10 AM

they also did dial a bedtime story we didnt have a phone but dad worked in the sorting office and they would take turns one man each night to man the building. he would take me down with him. I would get put in one of the tall shallow long wicker baskets on wheels they used to move the mail to individual frames, to help him put the mail at each persons bench. once that was done we went down the ghostie corridor to the kitchen and made a cup of tea then i would be lifted back into the trolley and he would dial a bedtime story till i fell asleep being wakened at 05:30hrs as the others turned up for their shift to walk the two miles back home.

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 07:39 AM

Fascinating article about it here:

Dial-a-Disc


A quote from the article:

"There was another problem caused by the service that particularly affected small towns and villages that only had one public phone box. Clusters of youths began to hold what the press began to term ‘telephone-a-gogos’, where dozens of teens pooled their pocket money and hogged call boxes for hours on end listening and dancing to the same record over and over. This certainly happened in the North West where I lived and also in West Derbyshire, although it is unclear if this craze was a nationwide phenomenon."

LFF

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 02 Oct 20 - 01:08 PM

"dial a bedtime story"

errrrrmmm.. apparently that kind of 'personal service' is nowadays available on premium rate phone numbers...

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: Newport Boy
Date: 03 Oct 20 - 05:55 AM

The switchboard operators at work used to plague me by getting Dial a Disk and then calling my extension. I never found a way of getting back at them.

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: Bainbo
Date: 03 Oct 20 - 06:52 AM

I remember it, and even called it a couple of times it out of curiosity. I never really understood the appeal, though. I mean, we had radios with proper speakers that played more than one record.

It was really still going as late as 1991?

Subject: RE: Does anyone remember dial a disc?
From: Jos
Date: 03 Oct 20 - 07:10 AM

I never rang Dial-a-disc, or the Bedtime story or daily Recipe, but I often used to dial "TIM" for the speaking clock: "At the third stroke, the time will be ...".
Then one day I heard "At the third stroke, the time sponsored by Accurist will be ..."
I put the phone down in disgust and never rang the speaking clock again.