Talk:Radio Luxembourg/Archive 1

About this article

This article concerns the English language station called Radio Luxembourg that began broadcasting from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1933. The English language station has operated on several wavelengths/frequencies and now on various digital platforms. Although it became most famous on "208 metres" as the "station of the stars during the 1950s, it did not originally recommence its commercial service in English in the Medium Wave Band and for a time there were English language programmes on Radio Luxembourg I (Long Wave) and Radio Luxembourg II (Medium Wave). Because the original article became such a confused mess it is hoped that other editors having knowledge of the station can document its history with citations according to Wikipedia standards of encyclopedic reference. I will attempt to assist. Fragilethreads 01:34, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Update

I am currently editing this article using the published 208 programming information for cited sources, references and documentation. If the format is uneven as of this day and time it is because I am in the middle of adding, deleting or revising information which I hope to complete as time permits very shortly. Fragilethreads 18:37, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Discussions moved from previous talk page

Personal testimony

Radio Luxembourg was and remains one of the most important radio stations in British musical history. Of course there is really no place for it in the digital age, but right up until the late 1980s it remained a great station with a unique sound all of its own. Exciting is the only word to describe 208. Even in the '70s when I was growing up a nightly 'date with 208' was essential. A wonderful line up of 'personality' DJ's always remembered......Tony Prince, Steuart & Ollie Henry, Rob Jones, Bob Stewart, Benny Brown, Barry Aldis, Mark Wesley, Benny Brown, Paul Anthony...the list could go on and on.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.37.195.208 (talk • contribs) 21:32, September 27, 2006

Original discussion page

Not a Pirate radio station

Luxy was never a pirate radio station. It was all legitimate, and the book Independent Radio (1972) will testify to that.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.128.15 (talk • contribs) 15:52, October 22, 2006 (UTC)

Radio Luxembourg never broke the law, because operation from outside UK jurisdiction was entirely legal. However, under the Wireless Telegraphy Act, listening to Radio Luxembourg was illegal (as it wasn't covered by the radio licence), so it counts as a pirate radio station by the second sufficient criterion. Bastin 11:33, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

• Unfortunately this little debate (above) is totally incorrect like so much of the information in this article. The "pirate" tag went back to the early days of Radio Luxembourg following WWII and had nothing to do with British laws but international treaties. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:22, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

Removed and requiring rewrite

The following section was removed here because it does not belong in the article as was. The article totally distorts the RTL history and requires perhaps more than one article dealing with the various services of RTL, because Radio Luxembourg was not just a English language night time service and following WWII Radio Luxembourg in English began on Longwave and for a time there was a Radio Luxembourg I and Radio Luxembourg II. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:05, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

Trivia

For many years, due to British advertising restrictions, Radio Luxembourg was the only station available in the UK that could advertise tampons.

• Huh? Radio Luxembourge was the only station that could advertise ANYTHING to the UK until the offshore stations came along. Why single out tampons? How about tobacco, religion, football pools, records, you name it! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:18, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

By the 1980s Luxembourg claimed to be broadcasting with 1.3 megawatts, making it the world's single most powerful commercial broadcaster in the medium wave range, at least in terms of individual transmitter power. It was certainly the most powerful commercial medium wave station in Europe, at least. The transmitter of Radio Luxembourg is situated in Marnach. Only some governmental stations, e.g. Transmitter Solt in Hungary and the Voice of Russia, used higher powered transmitters in the medium wave range.

Because of sponsor insistence, the famous Top 20 Countdown show was presented in descending order, based on the British New Musical Express (NME) Top 30 charts; i.e., starting with the week's #1 hit and working downward. Also, because of the constraints of a one-hour programme (not to mention allowing for commercials and announcer comments), only the first two minutes of the week's chart hits were likely to be played.

• The Too Twenty changed many times over the years and this comment in no way reflects accurate informatioin. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:18, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

A tune called "Go Get It" usually closed the Top 20 Countdown in the 1960s.

Radio Luxembourg is a main theme in the Godley & Creme song "Get Well Soon" (lyrics) from their "Freeze Frame" album.

Van Morrison describes listening to Radio Luxembourg in his nostalgic song "On Hyndford Street". It's featured on the album Hymns to the Silence. Morrison's song "In The Days Before Rock'n'Roll" also mentions the station and was the last track played on the 208m wavelength in 1991.

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band frequently alluded to Radio Luxembourg and some of its eccentricities in the likes of their "Keynsham" LP (inspired by the advertisements for the Horace Batchelor Infra-Draw Method as were a staple of Radio Luxembourg from the 1950s well into the mid-1970s) and in such numbers as "The Intro and The Outro" (poking fun @ Radio Luxembourg's penchant for airing paid religious broadcasts such as Herbert W. Armstrong's The World Tomorrow and Billy Graham's Hour of Decision prior to the start of transmissions in the early 1960s).

• The Bonzo Dog comment is completely incorrect. There was only one mention of a religious figure on the record which came out during the offshore radio period - long after Radio Luxembourg had dropped religion, and that reference was to neither individual mentioned. As for the "penchant" reference, clearly the author has no knowledge of the role that religion played in the financial life of the station since it first signed on before WWII ! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:14, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

Radio Luxembourg's sign-off music through the years

• "At The End Of The Day" by Steve Conway & The Hastings Girls' Choir (1951)
• "Maybe The Morning" by Marian Montgomery (the very last tune on the English service) (1972)
• "Maybe The Morning" by Sunny Leslie (1974)
• "All Of You Out There" by Duncan McKenzie (1983)

These tunes, more audio-files & history on The Official RTL 208 Tribute Site (Please do not hotlink without permission)

Fab 208 Magazine

In the 1970s, Radio Luxembourg published a weekly magazine and series of annuals in Great Britain called Fab 208 as featured celebrity gossip and profiles, competitions, beauty and fashion tips, short fiction and the weekly Radio Luxembourg programme listings.

• The magazine comment above requires a total rewrite. There were many Radio Luxembourg magazines and listing publications both before and after WWII of which "Fab 208" was merely one. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:10, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

Transmitters for the French programme

In the longwave range, a French speaking programme is transmitted on 234 kHz with a directional aerial with 2000 kilowatts over the longwave transmitter Beidweiler, which replaced the older longwave transmitter Junglinster.

• This section requires a rewrite because Radio Luxembourg used more than one LW and following WWII it served as the original Radio Luxembourg and then became Radio Luxembourg I when Radio Luxembourg II was introduced. Both carried English language programmes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.129.159.137 (talk) 21:10, February 16, 2007 (UTC)