Acknowledging the heyday of BBC Radio, this compilation is a celebration in song and spoken word broadcasts of the time. From the early 1920s right through to the early 70s, there was only one official radio broadcaster in Britain - the BBC, which would grow into probably the single biggest cultural influence of the 20th century. This memory-packed CD recalls the years when radio really was king. For a populace battered by the Depression, BBC radio opened up whole new avenues of pleasure, solace and diversion. Thanks in part to the BBC, World War II was in many ways the most musical war in history, and gathered here are some of the songs and performances that helped to win it - the homesick soldier's lament, "Ma I Miss Your Apple Pie", from Billy Cotton; Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth with Ivor Novello's poignant "We'll Gather Lilacs". This was a time when radio programmes were rich in reassurance, optimism, determination and sheer good-heartedness, whether represented by Ambrose's vocalist Anne Shelton singing the RAF favourite "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer" or by the morale boosting speeches of Winston Churchill himself. A golden age of radio indeed...
