Whither Mike Harding?

Subject: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 10:14 AM

Read page 15 of the BBC Radio 2 Commissioning Document at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/radio/network/docs/radio2_brief1011round2.pdf

Does this mean that Mike Harding is on his way out?

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 10:18 AM

Reading on to page 16 it says

THE TIMETABLE
Tender Round opens: April 1st 2010
Tender Round closes: April 29th 2010
Shortlist decision announced: May 6th 2010
Shortlisted Pitches heard: May 17th / 18th / 19th / 20th 2010
Decision announced: May 24th 2010
1st On-Air date: July 2010

Did anyone see an announcement around May 24th? I thought it would have been posted here if that was the case.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Vic Smith
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 10:26 AM

Both the above posts were by me.
I've just been informed by Jim Moray that he thinks that Smooth Operations and Mike Harding have won the franchise for another three years.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: theleveller
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 10:39 AM

Against who, I wonder.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 12:01 PM

Mike Harding is such an establishment lackey, no one else was ever in it.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 12:56 PM

I've been listening to the podcast since Xmas, and find MH and the whole programme much less irritating and much more informative in that format.

Still far too much Americana and crossover pop/rock acts for the one hour a week of UK national broadcasting supposedly dedicated to folk and acoustic music, but there ya go, that ain't going to change whilst Smooth Operations are at the helm.

Enjoyed the interview with Jim Boyes last week about the new CBS album, and also greatly enjoyed the recent Kathryn Tickell and Mike McGoldrick interviews, so the podcast does seem to pick the gems out of the waffle.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 12:57 PM

That last one was me BTW, laptop ate my cookie.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Joe G
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 04:06 PM

I used to be very critical of the programme but I believe it has picked up a lot the last year with more variety than when it was a RusbyLakeman love in!

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 04:15 PM

But it was back to Lakeman this week!

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Old Vermin
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 04:16 PM

Taking issue with Radio 2 as a whole, they claim to cater for the over-35s and have an average listener age of 51. If age mattes, I'm 62 and feel R2 is for them as is a fair bit - say ten years or more - older than I. Alternatively, why are they so age-fixated?

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Les from Hull
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 06:10 PM

Demographics, old vermin. If you can't count it, it doesn't exist. [removes tongue from cheek]

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: JohnH
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 07:05 PM

I'm 64 and from the "Finger in the Ear" Brigade. Should I start listening again? I gave up years ago!

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,Gadaffi
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:21 AM

The 'folk' scene has come out of the doldrums after far too long in it, thanks to the rising generation of young 'uns. Most of what Mike plays has changed little from what he played ten years ago and Jim Lloyd before him, and is in dire need of diversification.
More exciting times were had in the past when Paul James had his Euro-folk series, there was a half hour of the best of the rising wave of English ceilidh bands, documentaries with and by movers and shakers such as Simion Evans, Doc Rowe and Bill Leader. There was also an interesting time when John Kirkpatriock deputised for Mike - he was never asked again! Conversely, the Beeb has missed an entire boat by excluding the rising interest in Traditional Music (Veteran et al), the West Gallery movement, to name but a few.
The best we seem to do is the Young Tradition Award, but that's all it seems to do.
PS I'm 56, but still behaving like I'm 18!
PPS Ah! Old Vermin isn't who I thought he is, as the real Old Vermin has only just celebrated his 60th!

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:25 AM

Radio 2 is too "old" for me at 54. Radio 1 too young. If I listen to "radio" at all for music these days its BBC 6 Music. I'll be hacked off if they go ahead and axe the station.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:26 AM

Oh, and houldn't the thread title be "Wither Mike Harding"? :-)

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:47 AM

But it was back to Lakeman this week!

But he is better than most surely??

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: theleveller
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 05:23 AM

"I'm 64 and from the "Finger in the Ear" Brigade. Should I start listening again? I gave up years ago! "

You'll have to get your finger out if you want to listen in stereo.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 06:56 AM

Seth Lakeman had a song nominated in the BBC Young Folk Awards, and he's been repeating it ever since.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 07:40 AM

Dave hanson wrote:
Seth Lakeman had a song nominated in the BBC Young Folk Awards, and he's been repeating it ever since.

I don't believe Seth was ever in the Young Folk Awards, which is performer based not specific song based.

I suppose you mean the The White Hare which was nominated for best trad song in the BBC Folk Awards, and which didn't win. There was controversy as it's not actually a trad song .... no, please don't start that debate all over again!!

I don't think Mike Harding regularly plays that song by Seth.

Derek

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 07:41 AM

sorry, that last message was from me.
Derek Schofield

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 10:36 AM

I merely meant that Seth Lakeman's songs all sound the same, over frantic and over emotional.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,folkiedave
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:00 PM

You could try listening to my programme (podcast as well) on www.sheffieldlive.org and if you are in the Sheffield area on 93.2FM.

Tomorrow's show includes interviews and songs and tunes by the Old Dance School and Four Square and next week, June 18th it's Martin Simpson. Jon Boden has been on the show twice and I had Jim Boyle talking about the new CB and Simpson record four weeks ago.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 04:03 PM

Jim Boyle ?

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Joe G
Date: 10 Jun 10 - 05:17 PM

Saw Old Dance School for first time at Ryedale Festival - they were amazing!

I've put in a request for a track off Rebekah Findlay's CD to MH - be interesting to see if it is played. I hope so as I think she is one of the best singer songwriters to have emerged recently and the CD is beautifully engineered and produced.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Mr Red
Date: 11 Jun 10 - 07:11 AM

MH has a lot of integrity but I "Never Listen".

something to do with preferring participation, rather than consumption.

By its nature commercial fare is all you can do and still appeal to consumers on radio & TV. And that MH does well, and on rare occasions he has had ceilidh bands on, but how do you dance to the radio?
Ceilidh band records are not the best to dance to anyway - it is a different emphasis. Feet demand more rhythm and less decoration.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: theleveller
Date: 11 Jun 10 - 08:08 AM

"Saw Old Dance School for first time at Ryedale Festival - they were amazing!"

Couldn't agree more, Joe. Their new CD's brilliant, too - a great amalgam of folk with jazz and classical overtones and superb musicianship.

I've made the point elsewhere that Mike Harding, along with Jasper Carrot and others, tried to turn folk clubs into comedy venues, presumably because they thought they were better comedians than musicians, and the music became secondary to the jokes. Since then I have had little respect for him as a musician or a presenter - he seems a bit of a gold-digger who'll blow with the wind in order to promote himself. I sometimes wonder how many folk clubs he killed off before it became obvious that he wasn't very funny.

Now how about Nic Jones as a presenter - that would be great!

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 11 Jun 10 - 11:34 AM

I have become a regular listener.

Yes too much crossover and Harding is a fan of American Folk.

Another problem is so much emphasis on pushing the latest hits and new releases.

Often its the same tracks from the same new releases on all the BBC folk programmes.

With space and time for roots folk music limited one would hope that crossover would be much more limited or indeed have its own spot somewhere.

My main recommendation to the bbc is have each program generally play a certain minimum of old style folk. Not all the time but overall it is becomimg scarce.

Conrad

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,Jiggers
Date: 11 Jun 10 - 11:46 AM

I've listened to most of the Listen Again shows on BBC. I've settled on a Radio Shropshire programme. It's called Genevieve Tudor's Sunday Folk. It's hard to find as it's not listed under the folk category for some reason. So here's the URL

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7lt


I find when I listen to Mike Harding using Listen again that I regularly skip through it in 5 minutes or less.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 11 Jun 10 - 02:05 PM

Leveller - I remember noticing in the 1970s that singer-guitarists from significantly north of Watford always had a line of patter, and I assumed that was a combination of performing in working men's clubs and trying to entertain the audience while tuning..... but Mike Harding, Jasper Carrot and Billy Connolly did go on to TV....

Kitty

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,Chris Murray
Date: 12 Jun 10 - 12:54 PM

I do listen to Genevieve Tudor's show most weeks but find Genevieve herself a bit irritating.

Best folk show on Listen Again is Radio Derby's Folk Waves. Broadcast every Monday on Radio Derby.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 10 - 07:12 AM

Sorry to hear that you aren't a Genevieve fan. I'll give Folk Waves a go this week sometime.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: Stu
Date: 14 Jun 10 - 07:14 AM

Clare FM has excellent irish trad shows every night of the week, downloadable as MP3s too.

Subject: RE: Whither Mike Harding?
From: GUEST,Jiggers
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 07:29 AM

thanks chris,

Folk Waves is good , I like it. Super - thats 2 programs I can listen to now. Strangely neither gets the treatment in terms of publicity or quality of digitisation that Mike Harding gets.

I wasn't taken by Clare FMs programs as I prefer programmes that cover music from whole of Ireland, UK, Sweden, Brittany etc, and further.

Radio 3 Late Junction can be very good sometimes, featuring world, folk music, contemporary, tradtitional and sometimes just bizarre.