Our latest blog from Jenny Milne
It has been almost a year since I joined Over the Bridge, when Roy very kindly, or misguidedly, gave me the opportunity to start my own radio show. I had wanted to do radio since living in Edinburgh. I nearly got the chance to join Radio Leith just by walking into their studio and asking if they had any positions. I thought I would just be observing DJs, having had no experience before, but little did I know they had had a mass walkout that morning and needed as many presenters to fill the posts as possible. Alas, nothing came of it as the radio station went into liquidation. Anyway, 5 years later I started working in the office space next to Roy, who is known now as Roy Radio in my phone, and I asked if there were any slots available. Last year I got a little more time on my hands as well as I had been furloughed for a short while, and the rest, as they say, is geography!
I was able to get reacquainted with music, something I had not been able to do for 10 years. Having lived abroad, I have not really engaged with music since 2005. My wardrobe is to be desired too, mainly Eastern European circa 1982. I can tell you all there is to know about German Disco Fox, Italian San Remo, or J-Pop, but British music for the last 15 years…no idea. I travelled with my mp3 player playing the same music for all that time, but I never tired of it. Listening with fresh ears and catching up with the ‘Yoof of today’ has been a huge benefit. Never did I think I would love EDM, classical and death metal. Ok, I am still unsure about the last genre, but I am loving every minute of it!
I started out with a headset to record my show. I looked like Challenge Anneka and sounded like Frank Sidebottom. A few weeks later I got a Blue Snowball mic and it helped with the recording effect and stopped me sounding like I was in a chopper. Since I have large cheeks, I still sound like I am chewing everlasting gobstoppers, but that will never change. In my crew I have Steve the Producer, who comes on every now and then to discuss politics and current affairs. I have R’Kid, which is my sister who provides gossip and chat. We even have our own money expert, Martine Lewis, played by my good friend, Sarah.
What gave me the impetus to start this radio show in the first place was seeing many aspiring musician friends being unable to tour and perform due to COVID restrictions. I wanted to provide a platform where people could hear their music and a way for them to get their talent noticed. Selecting the music became more difficult because each week I could have had a huge plethora of music – much too vast to choose from. That is why I decided to do a themed show each week, to focus principally on that week’s topic and deepen my own knowledge of different styles/genres of music. So, that is the story so far. What I have discovered is indeed I do have a face for local radio and a voice for silent movies, but that has never stopped me. What is stopping you?
Listen live every Thursday from 7pm and repeated Sunday at 8pm or catch up on Listen Again