Sociology Talk

Guest

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-= Capital Radio. - Chris Tarrant -=
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Capital Radio DJs have. been "in on it" from the start. One of the first
things I heard in the summer of. 1990 was from a Capital DJ who said, "If
he listens to Capital then he can't be all bad" (supportive, you. see. We're
not bastards). Much of what came over the radio in 1990 is now so. far away
the precise details have been obliterated by time. No diary. was kept of the
details, and although archives if they exist may give. pointers, the
ambiguity of what broadcasters said. would leave that open to
re-interpretation.

In spring 1994, Chris Tarrant on his Capital morning show made an. aside to
someone else in the studio, about. a person he didn't identify. He said,
"You know this bloke? He says we're trying to kill him. We should. be done
for attempted. manslaughter".

That mirrored something I had said a day. or two before. What Tarrant said
was understood by the staff member in the studio he was saying it to;. they
said,. "Oh no, don't say that" to Tarrant. If any archives exist of the
morning show (probably unlikely). then it could be found there; what he said
was so out of. context that he would be very hard put to find an explanation.
A couple of days later, someone at the. site where I was working repeated the
remark although in a different way; they said there had. been people in a
computer room when automatic fire extinguishers went off. and those people
were. "thinking of suing for attempted manslaughter".

Finally, this isn't confined to the. established radio stations. In 1990
after I had listened to a pirate radio station. in South London for about
half an hour, there was an audible phone call in the background,. followed
by total silence for a few moments, then shrieks of laughter. "So what. are
we supposed. to say now? Deadly torture? He's going to talk to us now, isn't
he?",. which meant that they could hear what I would say in my room.

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