Radio 1 Radio 2 Radio 5 Radio 5 Live 6 Music 1Xtra BBC7 BBC Local Radio

A selection of jingles from BBC national radio. Virtually all clips on this page are off-air recordings, not 'clean' copies. Hover the pointer over the Real Player symbol for clip length and file size. Clips are mono unless otherwise stated.

Radio 247 was the working title for Radio 1. This trailer, broadcast in the summer of '67 when the Beatles were riding high with Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was voiced by Kenny Everett and told listeners about the forthcoming new service for fans of pop music

Radio 1 launch (1967)
A compilation clip of how the network began, at 7.00am on 30th September 1967. Radio 1's theme tune, Sir George Martin's 'Theme One', plays as Robin Scott, controller of Radios 1 and 2, introduces the new networks, before an explosion of jingles and the first Tony Blackburn show begins. In reality, Robin Scott made his speech before 'Theme One' was played.

Radio 1 news jingle (1967)
The news jingle from the first day of Radio 1, at 12.30pm. It was broadcast in the middle of Midday Spin, presented by the fast-talking American/Canadian DJ Emperor Rosko, which is why newsreader John Dunn quips: 'And now the news...in English!"

Radio 1 jingles (early 70s?)
A medley of two jingles which I assume come from the early 1970s

Radio 1 jingle (mid/late 70s)
247...Radio 1!

Radio 1 jingle (early 80s)
Stereo...stereo! Radio 1!

Radio 1 Roadshow jingle (late 80s)

Radio 1 jingle (1989)
The first of five examples of possibly the greatest jingle package ever - A-a-a-across the UK...commercial free...Britain's favourite Radio 1!

Radio 1 jingle (1989)
A shorter version of Britain's favourite Radio 1!

Radio 1 jingle; Phillip Schofield jingle (1989)
More music! All weekend long...here on Radio 1! Plus the Schof is out of breath, or so he says...

Radio 1 news jingle (1989)

Radio 1 travel news; jingle (1989)
Steve Wright talking over that fantastic late 80s travel bed

Radio 1 jingle (1990)
A new jingle package for a new decade

Radio 1 jingle (1990)
The station...for the nation...

Radio 1 Roadshow trailer (1990)
Phillip Schofield is responsible for this outtake

Radio 1 jingle (1991)
97 to 99 FM...

Radio 1 jingle (1991)
A new jingle introduced when Radio 1 started 24 hour broadcasting on 1st May 1991

Radio 1 jingle (1992)
An example of the next new jingle package, from March 1992

Radio 1 jingle (1992)
And another - is anybody out there?

Mark Goodier's Mega Hits jingle (1992)

Radio 1 jingle (1993)

Radio 1 MW closedown (1994):
Clip 1 Clip 2 Clip 3
Radio 1's medium wave service closed at 9.00am on Friday 1st July 1994. Clip 1: On the closing minutes of his breakfast show Steve Wright urges us to retune to FM (clip has been edited). Clip 2: a real treat - a collection of Radio 1 jingles taking us from 1994 right back to 1967. Clip 3: once the service had closed, 1053 and 1089 continously broadcast this message from Mark Goodier informing us that BBC Radio 1 is now an FM-only station

Radio 1 jingle (1998)
Radio 1 ditched sung jingles in 1995, but they returned in 1998 albeit sounding radically different from the old JAM jingles

Radio 1 jingle (1999)
Another example of the new package

Radio 1 news bed; jingle (2000)
Mark Radcliffe plays the news jingle for longer than he intended

Radio 1 news bed; jingle (2001)
Mark and Lard treat us to an even longer clip of the next news bed (note: clip is slightly crackly at first)

BONUS CLIPS

Audio: Radio 1 moves house (1985)
John Craven's Newsround reports on Radio 1's move to Egton House

Video: Cheggers visits the Radio 1 studios (1980)
Keith Chegwin pops in to see Peter Powell for Swap Shop

Radio 2 news jingle (1976)

Radio 2 jingle (1990)
Taking us well and truly back to the old days of Radio 2 - 'the home of entertainment, your 24 hour friend' - this jingle was recorded from the network's MW frequency in August 1990, shortly before it was taken over by Radio 5. Leading up to the change we were able to hear patronising announcements from Gloria Hunniford and Desmond Carrington telling us 'if your radio hasn't got FM - or VHF or even U - marked on the dial, then I'm afraid you're going to need a new radio...'

Radio 2 jingle (1990)
Another jingle from the same session

Radio 2 news jingle (1991)

Radio 2 jingles (1993)
It's All For You! and late night listening, Radio 2...Martin Kelner!

Radio 2 jingle (1996)
And for our French listeners...

Radio 2 news jingle (1998)
The present day news jingle, introduced in February 1998 ('clean' copy)

Radio 5 news jingle (1993)
Not that new-fangled 5 Live, but the original Radio 5

Radio 5 jingle (1994)
Recorded on Radio 5's final day, 27th March 1994

A tribute to Radio 5 (1994)
On Radio 5's final evening, Marc Riley's Cult Radio broadcast this short tribute to the network, containing apparently deliberate factual inaccuracies. See if you can make sense of it all.

Radio 5 final closedown (1994)
Radio 5 ended in the same way as it began - on tape. The final show, Across the Line, included short pre-recorded segments in which the characters Nigel and Earl try to save the network from oblivion. Only when their attempts fail do they prepare to pull the switch and take Radio 5 off the air for good...

Radio 5 Live news jingle (1994)
That new-fangled 5 Live - the original news theme from the year the network launched

Radio 5 Live news jingle (1999)
The revamped news jingle from around five years later

BBC 6 Music launch (2002) First link
Monday 11th March 2002 at 7.00am saw the launch of the BBC's first new music network for 35 years (not 32). Hear the opening moments here, along with the first link of Phill Jupitus's breakfast show

1Xtra launch (2002)
And another new BBC radio station launches - 1Xtra started at 6.00pm on 16th August 2002

BBC 7 launch (2002)
At 8.00pm on Sunday 15th December 2002 Paul Merton introduced the final BBC digital station, BBC 7. Unfortunately on DAB, from where this clip was recorded, the station is only available in mono.

BBC Local Radio
Visit The Local Network page for a selection of jingles from BBC Local Radio recorded during the 1990s.

Radio 1 Radio 2 Radio 5 Radio 5 Live 6 Music 1Xtra BBC7 BBC Local Radio