0:00:02 > 0:00:03- OVER RADIO:- 'Good morning and welcome
0:00:03 > 0:00:06'to Radio Ulster's consumer programme, On Your Behalf.'
0:00:06 > 0:00:07I love radio.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09It's my lifeline, my oxygen, as I often tell them.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'd be dead if it wasn't for radio.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19'Live from the BBC, the biggest radio show in the country.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:22- DOG BARKS AND GROWLS - 'Nolan is on air.'
0:00:22 > 0:00:26It's my lifeblood too, because when I get up in the morning,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I like to know what's going on in this province
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and what's affecting people's lives
0:00:31 > 0:00:36and that's why it's very important that we do have Radio Ulster.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38- CHUCKLING: - 'He's some boy, isn't he?'
0:00:39 > 0:00:41'That's our William.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:46There's days when I have been feeling depressed and down
0:00:46 > 0:00:47and when I turn Hugo on...
0:00:50 > 0:00:51..he just makes my day.
0:00:51 > 0:00:52Sparky?
0:00:56 > 0:00:58- 'It's nice to be back again...' - Sparky?
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Oh, I love the radio, it's part of my life.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01Sparky?
0:01:01 > 0:01:04As soon as I come down in the morning, the radio is on.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07It was still on when you came today there.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10'Thank you, Stephen. Good morning!'
0:01:11 > 0:01:14I suppose you could say Radio Ulster's an old friend.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19- JINGLE:- # Radio Ul-ster! #
0:01:19 > 0:01:21BELL RINGS
0:01:23 > 0:01:25'This is BBC Radio Ulster
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'on 224 metres medium wave.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31'A new year, a new radio service.'
0:01:31 > 0:01:35- CAROL-STYLE SINGING:- # These are just a few of the programmes... #
0:01:35 > 0:01:38BBC Radio Ulster has been transmitting into the homes
0:01:38 > 0:01:41of Northern Ireland for 40 years.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Evolving from BBC Radio 4's home service,
0:01:44 > 0:01:50its first broadcast was at midnight on 1st January 1975
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and, of course, it's been part of our lives ever since.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The first presenter's voice ever heard on Radio Ulster
0:01:59 > 0:02:00was John Bennett.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02'Well, the first foot, they say, has to be tall,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05'he's got to be dark and he's got to be handsome
0:02:05 > 0:02:07'and I'm afraid I only hit one of those three counts
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'and there's just no way I'm going to tell you which one.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13'Nevertheless, let me welcome you to Radio Ulster and First Foot.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Yeah, that's it.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Straight away today, the first request is from Mrs Ruth Craven,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20so I hope you're having a very happy birthday, Ruth,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and for you, I've got a record which was number one till very recently,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26The Rubettes with Sugar Baby Love.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Walter Love has also been part of the station's story
0:02:30 > 0:02:32from the very beginning.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34It's very strange in a way, broadcasting,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37because very often, you're sitting in a room on your own,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39in a sense talking to yourself,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41but you're not talking to yourself,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43you're talking to an awful lot of people
0:02:43 > 0:02:47and yet, of course, the basis of radio very often is one to one.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50..letters, but poems and stories and drawings.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53'You'd be talking to somebody driving in a car
0:02:53 > 0:02:56'or making a cup of tea in the kitchen.'
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Older people who live on their own
0:02:58 > 0:03:02and the radio is a very, very important element of their lives
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and they develop a very strong relationship with the people
0:03:06 > 0:03:07whose voices they listen to.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10'It's half past six. Good morning and welcome to...'
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Feeding time for the fish.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15The legion of loyal fans has played a big part
0:03:15 > 0:03:18of the station's success story.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19JINGLE PLAYS
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I'd be up maybe half five in the morning
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and as soon as I get up, I put the radio on.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27'We're taking your calls on...'
0:03:27 > 0:03:33If I'm in the car, I have Radio Ulster on all the time, so I do,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35so when I'm not listening till it in the home,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39if I'm going out shopping, no matter where I'm going,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I get Radio Ulster all day.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43"Dear Wendy, how are you?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46"I'm glad you didn't have to read any bad news today..."
0:03:46 > 0:03:51Wendy Austin joined the Radio Ulster family in 1976.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53I love it, I love radio.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55There's something very personal about radio.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57If I'm at home,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00I have the radio on all the time, it drives my husband nuts,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02but it's like having a friend in the house
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and I think that that's what Radio Ulster is to the people who listen.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08It's like having a friend there.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11"My mum caught Sarah drawing a jumper on a picture of a lady
0:04:11 > 0:04:13"with no clothes on in our TV room."
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'So if all they do is shout at the radio the odd time
0:04:16 > 0:04:20when we annoy them, or laugh when we maybe make them laugh,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23that's something I get a great deal of pleasure out of.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28My T-shirt, I think somebody bought me it.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It was either for a Christmas or birthday present, I'm not sure.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34People are so kind and so good, they give me so many gifts.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Not being able to read books, papers, magazines
0:04:38 > 0:04:40or any suchlike,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Radio Ulster keeps me up to date.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46'This is Talkback...'
0:04:46 > 0:04:49'Radio Ulster has such a close,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52'intimate relationship with its audience.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57'If you think about how some of the callers talk to people like me,'
0:04:57 > 0:05:00that is a sign of how close the relationship is.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04They shout at you and they insult you and they befriend you
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and they laugh with you and they cry with you
0:05:06 > 0:05:08as if they've been living with you.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11You'd never find me defacing a fellow's picture in that way.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12I know for a fact...
0:05:12 > 0:05:16'BBC Radio Ulster to me is not a radio station as such.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20'It's a sort of a whole community spirit.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I always maintain that we're just a big community radio.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26MUSIC: Good Golly, Miss Molly by Little Richard
0:05:30 > 0:05:34'It has become part of my sort of daytime routine.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39'There are still elements in it that I find worthwhile
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'and that I will respond to.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'In the daytime when you're up and about, you're doing things,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49'you can carry on with what you're doing
0:05:49 > 0:05:52'and listen to the radio.'
0:05:52 > 0:05:53It's company...
0:05:55 > 0:05:56..for want of a better word.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Radio Ulster, for me,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59is company during the daytime.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I admire Gerry Kelly for many reasons.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Any man who let Finbar Furey into his house amongst his family
0:06:07 > 0:06:08must be admired.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10'A very great part of its success
0:06:10 > 0:06:15'is that it's lots of different things to lots of different people.'
0:06:15 > 0:06:16It's a like a good magazine.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18You'll find elements of everything
0:06:18 > 0:06:20that you might want to know about
0:06:20 > 0:06:21and you can cherry-pick -
0:06:21 > 0:06:23excuse the pun - if you want.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27People do have their favourite, of course they do.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30'Hugo Duncan on BBC Radio Ulster.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- JINGLE: - # Skiddly-aye-aye-aye-aye... #
0:06:35 > 0:06:37'We're also starting our first ever co-presenters.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39'I've got the fine lady before me here
0:06:39 > 0:06:41'and, Jean Champion, how are you doing?'
0:06:41 > 0:06:42'Doing all right, Hugo.'
0:06:42 > 0:06:45- 'That oul smile of yours is still working?'- 'Still working.'
0:06:45 > 0:06:47I phone in every day.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48Very rarely do I miss it,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50unless I'm away baby-sitting
0:06:50 > 0:06:52or just something has happened, you know?
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I've been on the phone this 20 years.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58'I must say, that was a breath of fresh air!'
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Different ones will say to me, "You were on Uncle Hugo today"
0:07:02 > 0:07:06and I say, "Aye, mentioned me today", so I do that.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10So a lot of places I go, people hear me giving my name -
0:07:10 > 0:07:12say I was at the doctor's and the name comes up -
0:07:12 > 0:07:14they say, "Oh, you're Jean Champion.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17"We know you from Uncle Hugo's programme."
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Everybody knows Hugo, no matter where you go.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30Many of the BBC's household names began in Radio Ulster.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31'15 seconds, studio eight.'
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Gloria Hunniford was the first person
0:07:38 > 0:07:41to do a magazine programme on radio here,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43a programme called A Taste Of Honey.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46In Belfast, this is Gloria Hunniford.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Gloria was supreme in that.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50It was really the start of her major career.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55Well, this is Walter Love...
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Walter Love has enjoyed 40 years
0:07:58 > 0:08:01as one of Radio Ulster's most loved presenters.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03'Anybody can come in and make an impact
0:08:03 > 0:08:06'over two months and disappear again'
0:08:06 > 0:08:11and Walter Love has survived and prospered
0:08:11 > 0:08:13for many, many decades.
0:08:13 > 0:08:1740 years on air?
0:08:17 > 0:08:19That is an incredible achievement.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27Many will fondly remember Barry Cowan, who sadly died in 2004.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29..Enoch Powell, a long-time defender of...
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'He was great fun, he was really mischievous.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34'Like a wee elf, sometimes.'
0:08:34 > 0:08:35Very focused.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Never didn't ask the right question.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40This is Talkback.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44And the late David Dunseith steered Talkback through many dark days.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Between now and one o'clock, battling over peace -
0:08:48 > 0:08:52why Unionists are accused of Mickey Mouse politics.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53'I remember on the first day,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58'he came in and sat in the seat that Seamus normally sat in.'
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I can remember thinking,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03"It'll be interesting if he does that on the day when Seamus is here,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05"because that's the seat that he likes!"
0:09:05 > 0:09:08There are those people who think Hugo is a class act.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- Well...- These days, we can listen to Radio Ulster in a variety of ways
0:09:12 > 0:09:13at whatever time suits.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16'Good morning, housewives - and ladies.'
0:09:16 > 0:09:19COCKEREL CROWS
0:09:19 > 0:09:21But this wasn't always the case.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Well, I was in London from 1973 to '88.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28God's in his heaven, Elizabeth's on the throne
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and the dole will open in two hours, so get up, get at it.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36The way we used to get it was in cassettes sent from home.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40If friends came round for a drink on a Saturday or whatever,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44instead of putting on music for entertainment,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48you'd play a Gerry Anderson show.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The late Mr Gerry Anderson was much more than an entertainer.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Now, he could get stuff sorted for his fans.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00My Harry's dead 25 years.
0:10:00 > 0:10:027th April 1992.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Do you know how I remember? He died at the beginning of the tax year.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07He did everything right.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13He was dead a couple of years
0:10:13 > 0:10:15and I moved over to his side of the bed
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and the springs started coming up through
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and it was starting to get dilapidated-looking.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22My arm's just not long enough.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'Then everything went metric.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'So my bed was a six foot by four foot'
0:10:28 > 0:10:29and I couldn't get a mattress anywhere,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31couldn't get a mattress anywhere.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I says to myself, "I'll try and phone in, cos Gerry's good
0:10:35 > 0:10:37"at getting things,"
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and I told him what happened to the bed,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42that the springs were coming up
0:10:42 > 0:10:44and I'd had it for 50 years. He says, "50 years?!
0:10:44 > 0:10:47"Sure, they only last about 10 or 12 years."
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I says, "Aye, but mine never got any abuse."
0:10:50 > 0:10:53I says, "My husband was on the night shift and I was on the day shift."
0:10:53 > 0:10:56And Gerry, he says, "Ohhhh...
0:10:56 > 0:10:57"No hanky-panky?"
0:10:57 > 0:10:59"No."
0:10:59 > 0:11:01He says, "We'll have to see if we can get you one.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04"Maybe there's someone out there can maybe get a six by four,
0:11:04 > 0:11:05"the old-fashioned."
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Must be springs in it somewhere.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08But Harry never got the use of it.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13He would have liked it too, because it's nice and soft
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and comfortable, you can feel it - no springs will come up in it.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Mm-hm. But there we are now.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25'She twisted her ankle, one night up by Shankill
0:11:25 > 0:11:29'And said, "Holy Jaysus, I'll never get home."'
0:11:29 > 0:11:31That's Crawford Howard.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS - And here's the intro -
0:11:34 > 0:11:38this is the intro that Anderson had at the time with the rooster.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44The thing about it was that came across and my mate was saying to me
0:11:44 > 0:11:48was that it felt that this was more of a people's...
0:11:50 > 0:11:54..show, that there was more interest in getting the people involved,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57contributing their experiences, their stories,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59their idea of entertainment,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02rather than being something that was coming from the top down,
0:12:02 > 0:12:08that this is what the broadcasting people thought was good for you, OK?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It was more led - that's the word I'm looking for -
0:12:11 > 0:12:13it was more people-led.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- ALL SING:- # Cos I'm not made of wood
0:12:15 > 0:12:20# And I don't have a wooden heart. #
0:12:20 > 0:12:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Some of the antics he came out with, you could roar your leg off.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29He was so funny.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30He didn't care what he said.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32I care about the people in Northern Ireland.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Look at these people around you.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Look at these people, these are ordinary people.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38- Well, except her. - LAUGHTER
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- 'Morning, Gerry.' - 'Good morning, Stephen.'
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'I heard that you were talking to Gloria Hunniford.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Gerry and I got into quite a lot of trouble for our handovers.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49But they also became legendary.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51- 'I'm getting sick of you.' - 'I bet you...'
0:12:51 > 0:12:53'I'm getting sick of you picking at me.'
0:12:53 > 0:12:54'I bet you said to her...'
0:12:54 > 0:12:56'I'm getting sick of you trying to bring me down.'
0:12:56 > 0:12:57I was in awe of him.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00'Should I move to England? Would you ask her that?'
0:13:00 > 0:13:03I was the boy and he's the master.
0:13:05 > 0:13:12There is no-one who has ever or who will ever work in Radio Ulster
0:13:12 > 0:13:15who is as talented as Gerry Anderson was.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Thank you. Would you be scared now
0:13:17 > 0:13:19if you discovered there was life in other planets?
0:13:19 > 0:13:21- Yeah, cos...- Why would that be?
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Cos they could come down and invade Earth.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Maybe they'd want to suck the blood out of our bodies.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- Would that be good? - Yeah!- It'd be great!
0:13:29 > 0:13:31'I think he was absolutely unique.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35'He was unique in that what he could do,'
0:13:35 > 0:13:38he...
0:13:38 > 0:13:40could find the best in people.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Gerry is missed, so he is.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45But Sean's doing a great job, so he is, there now.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48You have a letter there complaining about a winner.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51'I like Sean, so I do, but him and Gerry were a great team
0:13:51 > 0:13:53'when they were on air together.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57'You'll never be able to replace Gerry Anderson, so you won't.'
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Have you any plans for the New Year that you haven't announced yet?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07HOURLY PIPS
0:14:09 > 0:14:11'This is Noel Thompson with a special programme
0:14:11 > 0:14:13'on what is surely the blackest day
0:14:13 > 0:14:15'in Northern Ireland's long history of tragedy.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20'26 people have been killed in the terrorist bomb attack in Omagh,
0:14:20 > 0:14:21'one an 18-month-old baby.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23'15 of those killed are women.'
0:14:25 > 0:14:27One of the most difficult times that I ever broadcast
0:14:27 > 0:14:30was on the Saturday night programme on Radio Ulster,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33because it was actually the night of the Omagh bombing
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and we went in initially to play music,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38but the whole mind-set of Northern Ireland at that time,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41it was full of sorrow and grief because of what happened
0:14:41 > 0:14:43and it was just a very difficult time
0:14:43 > 0:14:44and for an hour and a half,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47I think all we did was cry for that hour and a half.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51'We have had 17 patients altogether transferred
0:14:51 > 0:14:54'from the hospital, both by air and ambulance...'
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Radio Ulster was like a kind of hub that week
0:14:59 > 0:15:02for people's feelings and views.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06'But all I can say is my initial reaction was, it reminded me
0:15:06 > 0:15:08'of a scene from a film, The Killing Fields.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- 'People were running...' - Just their sheer need to come on
0:15:12 > 0:15:16and talk about either how they had been affected,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18or how people that they knew had been affected,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22or just what had happened and what they wanted to say about it
0:15:22 > 0:15:24was...
0:15:24 > 0:15:27It was absolutely amazing. Very humbling, actually.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30'I was coming from the airport, I've been on my holidays.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- SIREN BLEEPS IN BACKGROUND - 'Went to the car, put on the radio,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35'couldn't believe it when I heard that Omagh had been blown up
0:15:35 > 0:15:37'and there were injuries,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41'so literally, I just drove straight to Omagh...'
0:15:41 > 0:15:43When you think of all the years
0:15:43 > 0:15:45where there was nothing happening at Stormont
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and Talkback and the phone-in programmes like Talkback
0:15:49 > 0:15:53were like a kind of assembly.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55There weren't that many other outlets
0:15:55 > 0:15:58for people to get their views across,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01so they rang in and told you what they thought.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03JINGLE PLAYS
0:16:05 > 0:16:10'Live from the BBC, the biggest radio show in the country,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12'Nolan.'
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Ho-ho! Stephen.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Sometimes, I could wring his neck.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18'Norman in Bangor - morning, Norman.'
0:16:18 > 0:16:23'Morning, Stephen. Stephen, I fully back the litter wardens.'
0:16:23 > 0:16:26It's not always plain sailing whenever I phone in,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29because there's some of them gang up on me.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31'Jan in Ballygowan - morning, Jan.'
0:16:31 > 0:16:35'Morning, Stephen. I never heard the like in all my life
0:16:35 > 0:16:39'and I think Norman has went spare there this morning as well.'
0:16:39 > 0:16:40Jan, she says she didn't like me.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I said, "Well, I didn't like you either." But sure,
0:16:43 > 0:16:44that's what it's about, isn't it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48'Norman wants to take you on, Jan. Go ahead, Norman.'
0:16:48 > 0:16:49- 'Jan...' - 'I'm not worried about Norman...'
0:16:49 > 0:16:52The Northern Irish public still continue to phone in
0:16:52 > 0:16:57and vent their frustrations live on air to people like me.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59'I'm not particularly worried what comes out of your mouth, Norman.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- 'I hear you every day.'- 'Will you listen to what I'm saying?'
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Maybe I'll grow on her, so I will.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Maybe she'll grow on me.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08THEY ARGUE OVER ONE ANOTHER
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'Don't you talk to me about anything now.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'Don't you dare talk to me about anything! I wouldn't listen to you.'
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Sometimes I could feel like getting them by the throat.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19You know that, sometimes when they say something or other
0:17:19 > 0:17:21that I just didn't like.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22ARGUING CONTINUES
0:17:22 > 0:17:26But it's not all bitching, barking and back-biting.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Remember that it isn't all just about comical shouting and roaring.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34There are many, many tears on this station.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38People trust us on this station when they've lost loved ones,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41when they're lonely, when they're suicidal,
0:17:41 > 0:17:42when they need help
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and it's an incredible privilege,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47it seriously is a privilege,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50for someone to pick up the phone and say,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54"I'm trusting you with this part of my life."
0:17:54 > 0:17:57The thing I like about Stephen - he's not always barging
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and shouting at politicians and this and that.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03There's an awful kind side to him, so there is,
0:18:03 > 0:18:04going out to help people,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07people that have just been robbed, one thing or another -
0:18:07 > 0:18:12he's very good and he always seems to get to the bottom of the thing,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15so he's just like Linda McAuley, so he is.
0:18:15 > 0:18:22The stories, the listeners and this station runs through my blood.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26I would be a much lesser person without it.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Good morning, how are you doing? Welcome along to...
0:18:29 > 0:18:32The mother says he's just a big baby.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34And I would believe that.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36He's just a big baby.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38I mean...
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Well, I shouldn't say this here,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43but what woman would take him, sure?
0:18:43 > 0:18:45He can't... He can't...
0:18:45 > 0:18:48do his own clothes or anything like that there.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I wouldn't like to take him on.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53My wife would say, "You can't get you off that radio.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55"You're more interested in that radio."
0:18:55 > 0:18:58The nagging wife, as usual!
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I just laugh it off, so I do.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Yo!
0:19:03 > 0:19:05HUGO DUNCAN JINGLE PLAYS
0:19:05 > 0:19:09- 'BBC Radio Ulster, with Hugo Duncan.'- Are you ready, folks?
0:19:09 > 0:19:11I'm first on the go
0:19:11 > 0:19:12for Hugo at half one.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Hello and welcome to...
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Hugo? Oh, he's a geg. Aye, I listen to him all right.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Sometimes I feel like going round, slapping him!
0:19:23 > 0:19:25On stage, Little Miss Dynamite!
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Irene Bates - take her away, girl!
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Hugo is a force of nature
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and he's lost none of his passion.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37SWING MUSIC PLAYS
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The last day I was up in Fruithill, in the bowling club,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43we had a man of 100 years of age
0:19:43 > 0:19:45singing for us.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46# Show me the way to go home... #
0:19:46 > 0:19:48100! Listen!
0:19:48 > 0:19:52# I'm tired and I want to go to bed... #
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I talk to him on the radio - "Who loves ya, baby?"
0:19:55 > 0:19:57"Uncle Hugo!"
0:19:57 > 0:20:00# And it went through my head... #
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Slow down!
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Me Uncle Hugo - the wee man from Strabane.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08"Ye will, ye will, ye will!"
0:20:11 > 0:20:12'At that particular time,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'the BBC was getting a bit of stick in the New Year
0:20:15 > 0:20:17'about BBC dumbing down,'
0:20:17 > 0:20:19and probably they were hitting on me,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22because I came in here, I wasn't BBC material,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I had no qualifications whatsoever
0:20:25 > 0:20:29and I had no diction of any sort.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31- MUSIC PLAYS - Everybody singing, here we go!
0:20:31 > 0:20:34# Enjoy yourself
0:20:34 > 0:20:36# It's later than you think... #
0:20:36 > 0:20:39He's brilliant, he's a great entertainer.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- And he's always so...- Happy.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44..happy and...
0:20:46 > 0:20:48..always has time for everybody.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51# So enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself
0:20:51 > 0:20:53# It's later than you think... #
0:20:55 > 0:20:56# Si, si, my signora
0:20:56 > 0:20:58# Well, I thought he... #
0:20:58 > 0:20:59Way!
0:20:59 > 0:21:00# I think I gotta you! #
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Whoo-woo-hoo-hee!
0:21:02 > 0:21:04My husband, he died - we were in Cyprus
0:21:04 > 0:21:07on holidays and he died there
0:21:07 > 0:21:10in the airport in Cyprus, Paphos.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13He died there and I never liked Christmas from then.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15That's 20-odd years ago now, like.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- Do you like my...?- Oooh!
0:21:18 > 0:21:20But then Hugo brightened my life a wee bit
0:21:20 > 0:21:22and I started listening to him, you know?
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Then I started telling him about all my love stories and all,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27then he's like, "I'll get you a boy!"
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I don't want a boy, I want a man!
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- Are you for me?- I am!
0:21:32 > 0:21:33I am!
0:21:33 > 0:21:37'Down through the years, I built so many friendships' from people
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I didn't even know before I started
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and people I'd never met. I remember one man in particular, Rab Duncan,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46who lived over in Pickering, Ontario.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48He e-mailed in every day to the programme
0:21:48 > 0:21:50and he took leukaemia
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and he started to talk to us right through his illness
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and he talked to us the day before he died
0:21:56 > 0:21:57to Joe and myself and he just,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00"My fingers are so sore and I can't go any further."
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Joe and I never met the man in our lives, but we started crying.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05He just was...
0:22:05 > 0:22:07He was part of us, he was part of the family
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and that's the way the programme is.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13We've got so many people here in Northern Ireland that tune in
0:22:13 > 0:22:15and they live on their own
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and they're out there on their own and....
0:22:18 > 0:22:19we like to think they're part of the family.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I'm on every day of the week with Hugo
0:22:21 > 0:22:23and if I'm not on,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26he'll say, "Joe, did Bertie ring in today?"
0:22:26 > 0:22:29"Oh, yes." "Oh, that's all right," and everything.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31He'll say, "I hope you're all right."
0:22:31 > 0:22:33He always enquires about me every day.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39My dog sends a Christmas card to his dog.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43DOG SNORTS
0:22:45 > 0:22:47It's a wee Lhasa and mine is a shih tzu,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49then Hugo got a shih tzu as well,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51but I think his daughter has it now, Suzanne has it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54They have a wee, er...
0:22:54 > 0:22:57King Charles spaniel as well.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58It's called Max.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00So you're 70?
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Yes, I'll be 70 in October...
0:23:01 > 0:23:04'All I am is a mouthpiece in the centre.'
0:23:04 > 0:23:06I'm the mouth at the microphone.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS
0:23:10 > 0:23:12'If I had my way, he'd be Sir Hugo Duncan.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:14He's such a great guy.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16A great man.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22'Online, on digital and on FM and medium wave.'
0:23:22 > 0:23:24'This is BBC Radio Ulster.'
0:23:24 > 0:23:27'Ralph McLean on BBC Radio Ulster...'
0:23:27 > 0:23:29'Saturdays with Gerry Kelly...'
0:23:29 > 0:23:32'Sunday Sequence on BBC Radio Ulster...'
0:23:32 > 0:23:36BBC Radio Ulster has been responsible for many iconic brands.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39'Talkback with William Crawley on BBC Radio Ulster...'
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Good Morning Ulster, Nolan, Evening Extra,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Gardeners' Corner, On Your Behalf,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Across The Line - now, it's been on air for 30 years.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50That's my cue.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Well, as David Frost would say, hello, good evening and welcome.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55You're listening to The Bottom Line.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I'm Mike Edgar, your host for the next hour and 15 minutes.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01When I was first getting into music, when I was about 14 or 15,
0:24:01 > 0:24:06I just idolised Mike Edgar and was THE regular listener.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09And on tonight's show, Alison McClintock looks at the plight
0:24:09 > 0:24:11of young homeless people in Northern Ireland...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Every night, eight to ten, you would tape Mike's show
0:24:14 > 0:24:15if you weren't able to listen
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and you'd listen to it on the bus the next day.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Hi, my name is Rigsy,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21co-presenter of Across The Line on BBC Radio Ulster.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23'It would have been an unforgivable sin'
0:24:23 > 0:24:27for me to miss a moment of that show for about three years.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34It's a great way to start the second hour of any radio show.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35And this is Across The Line.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- 'Good morning, Alan.'- 'Good morning, Stephen, how are you?'
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And Radio Ulster continues to look to the future.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43They're giving new talent a chance.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46My dad used to own a butcher's shop in Randalstown years and years ago
0:24:46 > 0:24:48and I remember some of my earliest memories
0:24:48 > 0:24:51as listening to Radio Ulster, he had it on constantly
0:24:51 > 0:24:53and if you touched the radio, he would have been raging
0:24:53 > 0:24:56and if I'm completely honest, I didn't like it.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I used to try and turn it over every time my dad looked away
0:24:59 > 0:25:03and put on music and he said to me, "One day you'll appreciate
0:25:03 > 0:25:06"how good Radio Ulster is and you'll come to enjoy it too."
0:25:06 > 0:25:09'Good morning and welcome to Radio Ulster's consumer programme,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11'On Your Behalf.'
0:25:11 > 0:25:14JINGLE PLAYS
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Linda McAuley has been fighting the public's corner for 25 years
0:25:21 > 0:25:22with On Your Behalf.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25'So why are so many people unwilling to make the effort
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'to put their plastic milk container into the right bin?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31'People like Norman from Bangor...'
0:25:31 > 0:25:36So she rung me up and asked me, would I like to do a show with her
0:25:36 > 0:25:38on recycling?
0:25:38 > 0:25:40She came down to my home.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43My wife recycles, I know Stephen doesn't recycle.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44We followed his milk carton
0:25:44 > 0:25:49all the way through the recycling process till it got turned
0:25:49 > 0:25:52into something that was useful.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56They're like wee chips, wee plastic chips in the machine.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57But when it's all processed
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and it goes through all the washing and all,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03it comes out the other end in plastic pipes
0:26:03 > 0:26:05that the farmers use for drainage and all.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08We went at one point to a farm
0:26:08 > 0:26:10and we talked to a lady who was a dairy farmer
0:26:10 > 0:26:14and I said, "I'm Linda McAuley, On Your Behalf, and this is Norman,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17"who's a regular listener to Radio Ulster," and she says,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19"Ooh, are you Norman from Bangor?"
0:26:19 > 0:26:22He's known. Everybody knows Norman from Bangor.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Well, it shows the power of Radio Ulster
0:26:25 > 0:26:27that I'm able to get through.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I remember my son, when he was living in Enniskillen,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and he worked down there for Marks & Spencer's,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and a fella used to deliver to it,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39he says to my son,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42"Is that your dad that's on the radio?"
0:26:42 > 0:26:44William says, "Aye."
0:26:44 > 0:26:47He says, "You know, he's the best person on that radio."
0:26:47 > 0:26:49He says, "He should make..."
0:26:49 > 0:26:52"He should make jumpers with 'Norman of Bangor' on them,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55"so he should," he says to my son!
0:26:57 > 0:27:01- JINGLE:- # Radio Ul-ster! #
0:27:01 > 0:27:03For the last 40 years,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07the super-fans of Radio Ulster have been loyal...
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Sparky?
0:27:08 > 0:27:10..through the good times and the bad.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13I tell you the truth - sometimes, when the programme's on there,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I tell Sparky to shut his mouth or I'll drown him!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I'll say to him, "If you don't shut your mouth,
0:27:19 > 0:27:21"I'll put you in a bucket of water."
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Is that right, Sparky?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Sparky?
0:27:25 > 0:27:29I always says to my boys, "When the Lord goes to take me home,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31"I want music in this house."
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Music.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34And I says, "Radio Ulster's got the music on."
0:27:38 > 0:27:39I told Stephen Nolan,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43once I'm not able to listen to BBC Radio Ulster,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46the black limousine will be pulling up at the door.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51I was really down on it, you know, and...
0:27:53 > 0:27:55..I said, "Should I turn the radio on the day
0:27:55 > 0:27:56"or should I not bother my head?"
0:27:56 > 0:27:58I turned it on and then Hugo came on and...
0:28:02 > 0:28:04He just lightens you up.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05He brings you up again.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07You're down, you're halfway down
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and then you're up with Hugo whenever he starts.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16My daughter died when she was 34 with cancer.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19That was the lowest part of my life,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21trying to get through that.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23And the radio did help me, so it did.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26I was able to put the radio on and listen to it
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and take my mind away from...
0:28:29 > 0:28:31what happened to my daughter.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Life throws you a few difficulties.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42I lost my wife nearly five years ago
0:28:42 > 0:28:45and being on my own now,
0:28:45 > 0:28:46it's great to have radio,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50it's great to have a focus, something to go in and do.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I enjoy it, I enjoy being at the microphone
0:28:52 > 0:28:56and I enjoy the contact with the listeners and that keeps me going.