2. St James' Park
Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson introduces the sounds of the city on match day at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park.
Our urban parks and gardens create green lanes and oases of open spaces within our towns and cities.
They are also conduits for wildlife as well as for people.
St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne does have lush green turf but it is less of an oasis and more of a battlefield because since 1892 it has been the home of Newcastle United football club, and so regularly pounds with the clamour of human voices. At these times its anything but tranquil!
On the northern boundary is Leazes Park a formal Victorian park opened in 1873. In this programme, Chris was keen to record the changing soundscape across these two connected parks over the course of a single day, Match Day.
The recordings begin at 3am in the city centre as revellers start to leave the night clubs and make their way home; many of them crossing Leazes Park. A trail of food cartons provide rich pickings for mice which in turn are preyed upon by the park's tawny owls and foxes.
At 4am, a robin sings stimulated by the glow of the street light. The first light of the day brings joggers and then parents with children to the park, where their excited chatter mingles with the calls of mallards and coots on the lake.
Over the next few hours the park and city are transformed as fans gather for the match. Many arrive at Newcastle Central Station where their enthusiastic and almost deafening chants, are punctuated by the growls and barks of police dogs.
After the match, the fans disperse, and then the real magpies, return to the park to their night roost; their wild sounds filling the air.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 in March 2015.
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Chris Watson
Born in 1953 in Sheffield where he attended Rowlinson School and Stannington College, Watson was a founding member of the influential Sheffield based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. His sound recording career began in 1981 when he joined Tyne Tees Television. Since then he has developed a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres from around the world. As a freelance composer and recordist for Film, TV & Radio, Watson specialises in natural history and documentary location sound together with sound design in post-production.
His television work includes many programmes in the David Attenborough ‘Life’ series including ‘The Life of Birds’ which won a BAFTA Award for ‘Best Factual Sound’ in 1996. More recently Watson was the location sound recordist with David Attenborough on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s series ‘Frozen Planet’ which also won a BAFTA Award for ‘Best Factual Sound’ (2012).
Watson has recorded and featured in many Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio productions including; ‘’ and ‘The Wire’ which won him the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Broadcaster of The Year Award (2012), NATURE, Tweet of the Day, and ''.
Best of Natural History Radio Podcast
Broadcasts
Tue 24 Mar 2015 13:45Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4- Mon 24 Aug 2015 09:30Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4
- Sat 13 Feb 2021 05:45Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4
- Tue 11 Jun 2024 09:30Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 Extra