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Mel Giedroyc, Tom Grennan and Ella Henderson

Mel Giedroyc, the writer and presenter, tells Zoe about her debut novel. Tom Grennan and Ella Henderson perform live from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ's Maida Vale studios.

Mel Giedroyc, the hugely successful writer, comedian, actor and presenter tells Zoe about her debut novel, The Best Things. It tells the story of Sally Parker who is struggling to find the hero inside herself. All Sally wants to to is lie down after her husband Franks has lost his business, their home and their savings in one fell swoop. Mel has been entertaining the nation for nearly thirty years. She's well known for her work with her comedy partner Sue Perkins where they presented Light Lunch and The Great British Bake Off together. Mel has previously written two non-fiction books and has appeared in sitcoms and panel shows, on radio and on the West End stage.

Tom Grennan performs live from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ's Maida Vale studios with very special guest Ella Henderson. Tom has music from his new album 'Evering Road' which is named after the East London address Tom shared with his then-girlfriend, it’s a hub of love, heartbreak and redemption. Tom’s breakthrough album 'Lighting Matches' cemented him as one of the UK’s most vital and exciting new artists, and one of the Top Ten best-selling debuts of 2018. A UK Top Five record, ‘Lighting Matches’ has amassed over a quarter of a billion streams, seen sold out shows at The Royal Albert Hall, Brixton Academy and won over thousands of fans at festivals including Reading And Leeds, Isle Of Wight, TRNSMT, Latitude and a host of other events. Ella Henderson also joins Tom to perform their brand new duet, Let's Go Â鶹ԼÅÄ Together, which was written by Ella alongside James Arthur and 4 x GRAMMY-nominated production team, TMS.

Along with Clare Runacres on news, Richie Anderson on travel and Mike Williams on sport, she and the team have the best start to your morning. With celeb guests, headlines, tunes chosen by listeners, and more music that you can shake a glitterball at!

There's also a daily Pause For Thought and listeners on the line, as Zoe entertains the nation with fun for the family!

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Fri 26 Mar 2021 06:30
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2

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Matt Baker and Jay's Virtual Radio Quiz

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Dermot O'Leary sits in, with Paddy Bonner and Jessie Buckley

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Music Played

  • Scissor Sisters

    I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

    • (CD Single).
    • Polydor.

  • Dua Lipa

    We're Good

    • Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition).
    • Warner Records.

  • Steve Winwood

    Valerie

    • Pure Rock Ballads (Various Artists).
    • Polygram Tv.

  • Jess Glynne

    Hold My Hand

    • (CD Single).
    • Atlantic.

  • Tina Charles

    I Love To Love

    • 70's Number Ones Vol 2.
    • Old Gold.

  • Will Young

    Joy

    • 85% Proof (Deluxe Edition).
    • Island.
    • 7.

  • Nina Simone

    Ain't Got No, I Got Life

    • (CD Single).
    • Sony BMG.

  • Steps & Michelle Visage

    Heartbreak In This City

    • What The Future Holds.
    • BMG Rights Management.

  • The Cardigans

    Lovefool

    • The All Time Greatest Movie Songs.
    • Columbia/Sony Tv.

  • Billy Joel

    Uptown Girl

    • An Innocent Man.
    • CBS.

  • Gloria Gaynor

    I Am What I Am

    • Gloria Gaynor.
    • Gold Box.

  • The Beatles

    Twist and Shout

    • Please Please Me.
    • Parlophone.
    • 14.

  • PSY

    Gangnam Style

    • Now That's What I Call Music! 44 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Carl Douglas

    Kung Fu Fighting

    • Million Sellers Vol.16 - The Seventie.
    • Disky.

  • Justin Bieber

    Hold On

    • JUSTICE.
    • Def Jam Recordings.

  • Annie Lennox

    Little Bird

    • (CD Single).
    • BMG/RCA.
    • 2.

  • Maroon 5

    Beautiful Mistakes

    • CD Single.
    • Polydor.

  • Rachel Stevens

    Sweet Dreams My LA Ex

    • (CD Single).
    • Polydor.

  • Justin Timberlake

    Can't Stop The Feeling!

    • (CD Single).
    • RCA.

  • Jessie Ware

    Remember Where You Are

    • What's Your Pleasure?.
    • Virgin EMI Records.

  • Bon Jovi

    Livin' On A Prayer

    • Music Of The Millennium (Various).
    • Universal Music Tv.
    • 1.

  • Katrina and the Waves

    Love Shine A Light

    • Huge Hits 1997 (Various Artists).
    • Global Television.

  • Paul Simon

    You Can Call Me Al

    • The Paul Simon Anthology (Disc 2).
    • Warner Bros.
    • 4.

  • Tom Grennan

    Little Bit Of Love (Radio 2 Session, 26 Mar 21)

  • Tom Grennan

    Rolling In the Deep (Radio 2 Session, 26 Mar 21)

  • James Smith

    My Oh My

    • (CD Single).
    • Bad Music.

  • Adventures of Stevie V

    Dirty Cash (Money Talks)

    • Now 18 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Calvin Harris & Rag’n’Bone Man

    Giant

    • (CD Single).
    • Columbia.

  • Wheatus

    Teenage Dirtbag

    • Now 49 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Ward Thomas

    Don't Be A Stranger (feat. Cam)

    • Invitation.
    • BMG Right Management (UK) Ltd.

  • Ella Henderson

    Let's Go Â鶹ԼÅÄ Together (Radio 2 Session, 26 Mar 21) (feat. Tom Grennan)

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought

I love radio – and I’m a bit obsessed withÌýearlyÌýradio. I don’t mean Vanessa at 4am, though she is of course fabulous. I mean what kickstarted radio a century ago.

Ìý

This week I found something buried in a few rare history books – but NOWHERE online: Britain’s first DJ. Before Tony Blackburn, before Wogan, before every disc-spinner you can name... First to play records on British radio, five years pre-Â鶹ԼÅÄ, was a woman, called Gertrude Donisthorpe. But search online, you’ll find no mention of her. So let me redress that right now.Ìý

Ìý

104 years ago, Gertrude and husband Horace were eager wireless experimenters. Horace the engineer tinkered with the kit, while Gertrude introduced and played gramophone records. The first to do it! Even if, to start with, it was just to her husband.

Ìý

By day, Horace taught soldiers how to use radios, mostly Morse code back then. By night, the couple would cycle into rural Worcestershire, set up a microphone and transmitter on one side of a field, a radio receiver on the other, then Gertrude would spin those discs and, I dunno, give shout-outs to Horace. Then she’d cycle across the field to see if he’d heard her. Often she found he’d cycled a different route to reach her. They really needed a system where one of them stayed put, or an extra microphone.

Ìý

I suppose every start-up, every new project, every fresh undertaking we attempt, starts small, often with a solo audience member: a spouse, a parent, God.

Ìý

Mother Teresa said, ‘Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.’Ìý

Ìý

I guess when enterprises grow, it’s still about one-to-ones. I see it in my church’s support scheme getting meals to locals. Or phone helplines offering an ear, and a shoulder.Ìý

Ìý

Even radio they say, years after Gertrude, is still about an audience of one. Just millions of audiences of one.

Ìý

Gertrude’s 1917 listenership grew a bit: evening concerts for local troops, tuning in after hours via military radio sets.Ìý

Ìý

But that century of playing music via radio all started with the Annie Nightingale, indeed the Zoe Ball of her day – Gertrude Donisthorpe broadcasting to Horace. First to spin those discs, essentially saying: ‘Coming up, something pretty special, so stay tuned. And don’t worry about starting small – just... start.’

Broadcast

  • Fri 26 Mar 2021 06:30
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2