Update on Mark Lamarr's BBC Radio shows

I've received some excellent news from Mark Lamarr. Following a meeting with BBC Radio 2 management last week, he is happy to report that his Shake, Rattle and Roll show has been saved from the axe and will be back on the air.

Unfortunately however, there's no sign of his Reggae or Alternative 60s shows returning. Personally, I think this is a great loss and I would still urge readers to write in to The BBC Trust complaining about their disappearance and asking that these genres of music continue to get airplay:

www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/appeals/index.html

But fans of good ol' rock 'n' roll at least have some great music to look forward to over the next couple of years. Here's the full message from Mark himself:

After a particularly frustrating silence it's with great pleasure that I can now give a huge thank you to those people who cared enough to somehow be involved in any of the various campaigns and forums designed to save Shake Rattle And Roll.

I finally got my first chance of a proper sit down with my boss and the news is very good. The show will return for a shortish run of 8 shows later in the year but he has assured me that from next year it will be back to 26 shows a year, which is actually a few more than it has been for 3 years or so and is a very good sign for all non mainstream music broadcasting. Incidentally, I was told that the average listenership for the various specialist shows approaches a million listeners, so there is definitely a massive audience out there for all things non-chart.

I'm truly thankful for the pressure a few people have exerted and I hope I manage to repay you all with some worthy shows over the coming years.

Sincerely, Mark Lamarr