BBC Radio 2 is gearing up for Radio 2 In The Park, the network’s annual festival which this year travels to Moor Park in Preston.
In the latest edition of Music Week, we interview the station’s head Helen Thomas and head of music Jeff Smith about the opportunity for acts on the bill in terms of pre-festival programming and coverage of the event across TV, radio, BBC Sounds and iPlayer on the weekend and beyond.
The full line-up is:
Saturday, September 7 – Sting, Sugababes, Snow Patrol, Craig David, Kim Wilde, Pixie Lott, Shaznay Lewis, Travis
Sunday, September 8 – Pet Shop Boys, Manic Street Preachers, Sister Sledge feat. Kathy Sledge, Paul Heaton, Gabrielle, Shed Seven, Delta Goodrem, Haircut 100
Sting’s and Pet Shop Boys’ headline performances will be broadcast on BBC TV in September with details to be confirmed.
From Monday, September 2, BBC iPlayer will feature classic sets from previous Radio 2 in the Park performers. There will then be a livestream from Radio 2 In The Park on September 7-8, with performances available on-demand after the festival has finished.
From Monday, September 9 a separate highlights compilation will be available on demand on BBC iPlayer and Red Button.
The station is also celebrating the career of Pet Shop Boys, who returned to their original label home Parlophone for the release of No.2 album Nonetheless this year.
Ahead of the festival, Radio 2 has revealed that listeners have voted West End Girls – which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1985 - their favourite Pet Shop Boys song of all time. It’s A Sin (1987 was in second place, and Always On My Mind (1987) in third place.
The full Top 30 countdown will be featured in Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song hosted by Mark Goodier, which is available on BBC Sounds (from Monday, August 19) and will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Saturday, August 24 (1-3pm).
In July, Radio 2 listeners were asked to vote for their favourite Pet Shop Boys song. They could select up to five of their tracks from a list of their songs that have charted in the Top 100, including songs where they were a featured artist, plus album tracks chosen by a panel of experts, including Radio 2's Gary Davies.
Also available on BBC Sounds (from August 19) is Your Ultimate Pet Shop Boys Song – The Extras featuring Pet Shop Boys songs that didn’t make the Top 30 chart.
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe said: “When this vote was launched we said we’d be very interested to hear what Radio 2 listeners chose as their favourite Pet Shop Boys song and the full Top 30 list of songs is fascinating. We are very pleased and not totally surprised that West End Girls has topped the chart! It’s a song we still love performing in concerts, 40 years since its first release.”
Jeff Smith, head of music, Radio 2, said: “West End Girls is a timeless classic pop song, which sounds as fresh today as it did nearly 40 years ago when it was first recorded. I’m looking forward to hearing it performed live at Radio 2 in the Park in Preston!”
Mark Goodier said: “I remember playing West End Girls on its original release on their original record label. I loved it, but it wasn’t a success in the UK. It took about a year and a half, a new record label and a new producer and then we got the hit that has been part of our lives for almost 40 years. It is a remarkable song and it set the tone for what has turned out to be a magnificent career for one of Britain’s most innovative groups.”
The full Top 30 chart, as voted for by Radio 2 listeners, is:
1 West End Girls (1984)
2 It's A Sin (1987)
3 Always On My Mind (1987)
4 What Have I Done To Deserve This? (with Dusty Springfield) (1987)
5 Left To My Own Devices (1988)
6 Suburbia (1986)
7 Go West (1993)
8 Rent (1987)
9 Being Boring (1990)
10 Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money) (1985)
11 Heart (1988)
12 Domino Dancing (1988)
13 Love Comes Quickly (1986)
14 Se a vida e (That's the Way Life Is) (1996)
15 Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) (1991)
16 Paninaro / Paninaro ‚'95 (1995)
17 Jealousy (1991)
18 King's Cross (1987)
19 It's Alright (1988)
20 Hallo Spaceboy (with David Bowie) (1995)
21 A New Bohemia (2024)
22 Can You Forgive Her? (1993)
23 In The Night [The Clothes Show theme] (1985)
24 So Hard (1990)
25 I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing (1993)
26 You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk (2000)
27 New York City Boy (1999)
28 Shopping (1987)
29 Love Etc (2009)
30 The Way It Used to Be (2009)
Ahead of Sting’s headline performance at Radio 2 in the Park on Saturday, September 7, ERAs: Sting is a five part series – available on BBC Sounds now – in celebration of the superstar, songwriter and activist.
This latest series of Eras is presented by Vernon Kay, who guides listeners through each episode. The series features BBC archive, including interviews with Annie Nightingale, Lulu, Jo Whiley and Sara Cox, alongside new interviews with friends, fans and collaborators, including Jools Holland, Shaggy, Bob Harris, Jeremy Vine, Mark King, Shaun Keaveny and Guy Garvey.
BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to radio station, with a weekly audience of 13.3 million (RAJAR Q2, 2024), down slightly year-on-year.
PHOTO CREDIT: Eva Pentel
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