one of the very first C4 announcers a west indian called Syd Burk

[tali122]

Does anyone remember one of the very first C4 announcers a west indian called Syd Burke he had a white goatee beard and was distinctive for saying very stretchingly ................ "annnnd nowwwww onnnn chhhhhhannnnnelllllllllllll fourrrrrrr"
i can't find any info on him

[dylan]

Googling throws up a few mentions.

D.

[Modular]

Syd Burke had a weekly radio show in London (on LBC) in the 1980s called Rice & Peas. I remember it well.

I believe he's retired now.

[Lord Brett]

It's hard to credit, but hiring an announcer with a West Indian accent would still be a radical move today. Remember the huge fuss when Radio 4 tried it the other year? A lot of the so-called liberal intelligencia R4 audience turned out to be basically a bunch of racists.

[tali122]

Originally Posted by dylan Googling throws up a few mentions. D.

its very very limited and needs keyword fine -tuning

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Lord Brett It's hard to credit, but hiring an announcer with a West Indian accent would still be a radical move today. Remember the huge fuss when Radio 4 tried it the other year? A lot of the so-called liberal intelligencia R4 audience turned out to be basically a bunch of racists.

"A bunch of"? There were a few complaints.
But Neil Nunes is still an announcer on Radio 4 and World Service
So the liberal intelligentsia rules

Steve

[Lord Brett]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook "A bunch of"? There were a few complaints. But Neil Nunes is still an announcer on Radio 4 and World Service So the liberal intelligentsia rules Steve

Oh I didn't mean to say that all R4 listeners are racists (although that's pretty well what my posting said - oops!), especially as I'm a listener myself, but there is very conservative undercurrent in 4's core 'middle England' (horrible term) listernership who want everything to stay preciseley like it was in the 1950s. And not in a good way.

[Moor Larkin]

Originally Posted by Lord Brett but there is very conservative undercurrent in 4's core 'middle England' (horrible term) listernership who want everything to stay preciseley like it was in the 1950s. And not in a good way.

Maybe he just had too strong an accent for their listening comfort. I should imagine if it had been that posh chappie who does the Kenco adverts at the moment, Radio 4 listeners would have been happy as sand-boys..........

This is the World Service from the BBC

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Lord Brett Oh I didn't mean to say that all R4 listeners are racists (although that's pretty well what my posting said - oops!), especially as I'm a listener myself, but there is very conservative undercurrent in 4's core 'middle England' (horrible term) listernership who want everything to stay preciseley like it was in the 1950s. And not in a good way.

You are bound to get a few people like that in any large group
But although they are there I would say they're very much a minority or they'd complain more about the accents of a lot of the other presenters like James Naughtie

The Radio 4 listenership is summed up by the people that went to Broadcasting House in London to protest about the way they were messing about with the service on Long Wave. The police said it was the politest protest march they'd ever seen. They obeyed the pedestrian lights and even made sure that they didn't all cross at once and risk blocking the traffic

Steve

[penfold]

Originally Posted by Moor Larkin Maybe he just had too strong an accent for their listening comfort. I should imagine if it had been that posh chappie who does the Kenco adverts at the moment, Radio 4 listeners would have been happy as sand-boys.......... This is the World Service from the BBC

The great Don Warrington......still best remembered for Rising Damp, though he's a great and versatile actor. I saw him as Archangel Gabriel versus Brian Glover as God in The Mysteries at The National...unforgettable.