The Radio Manchester takeover took place
Post categories: ManchesterTakeover,ÌýRadio Manchester,Ìýpresenter,Ìýtakeover
| 16:32 PM, Thursday, 6 January 2011
Editor's note: John Ryan wrote two blog posts about the build-up to to the Radio Manchester takeover. Read them here - SB.
A married couple of comedians, a beauty queen and the receptionist at Manchester Piccadilly Station made their radio debut this week as part of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Manchester's New Year Takeover.
They were all among the 293 rookies who auditioned for the opportunity to present their own hour-long show.
Deciding who to put on air was a daunting task. My team and I locked ourselves in a quiet room with a notepad and a laptop and started listening to the minute long auditions.
We wanted authenticity, the ability to tell a story in an engaging way - and across the project, a range of voices from different parts of Greater Manchester, ages and backgrounds.
The most impressive were those who casually wove fascinating life stories into their minute. Like the asylum seeker from Afghanistan who told us in perfect English how he arrived in Cheetham Hill unable to speak a word just eight years ago. Like the woman driver from South Manchester who booked onto driving lessons just to meet her long lost brother - the driving instructor. He still doesn't know. And like our married couple, the Wagmans. The improv-comedians met at a comedy conference in Meg's native Dallas, fell in love, and she came back with Ross to Whitefield.
Those that failed to impress were those who affected, perhaps subconciously 'the DJ voice'; that practised the over-rehearsed anecdote devoid of all spontaneity; and those that replied to a minute long audition with two words and a long silence!
Our first sift gave us a shortlist of fifty. We ranked those and worked our way down as we invited successful auditionees to come and record their shows. Nerves got to many. We made several offers to people for whom the idea of a whole hour of radio was terrifying. We thanked them for auditioning, and called the next one.
Finally we found our lucky 17. Each has time to tell us a little about themselves, to introduce one of our best interviews of 2010, and to talk between the songs. Apart from a break for live football from 1400-1700, they took over the station from 0600 to 0200. Our youngest was Yasmin, an eighteen year old from Stretford. Our oldest was Vincent from Royton, who's 67. There was a banker, a hairdresser, an art gallery worker and a charity volunteer. And the aformentioned current Miss Manchester, .
John Ryan is Managing Editor of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Manchester
- Listen to the whole takeover on the iPlayer.
- The picture shows four of the successful candidates, clockwise from top-left: Janette Allen, Vincent Gillibrand, Ben Peck and David O'Hara.
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