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Please allow me to introduce you to my new favorite thing – Classic Drama Radio.
About a month ago, a brand new radio station was launched. The station in question is no ordinary radio station, but an amazing treasure trove of discovery. It contains a whole world just waiting to be explored. This station, dubbed Classic Drama Radio, will feature thousands of high-quality recordings of radio entertainment from yesteryear — and you’ll soon find that it’s your entertainment of now!
When I was first invited to listen to Classic Drama Radio, I knew this was going to be something good. I’d been looking for something like this for a while, but most of what I had tried was terrible quality. They hadn’t thought of the types of shows they were playing or the flow, and they definitely didn’t care about sound quality. I was extremely pleased to see that this was not at all the case for the curators of Classic Drama Radio.
Classic Drama Radio is the brainchild of Andrew Wood, Tony Klinger, and Archie Leach. It is a labor of love and dedication, and is well thought out. Everything you will hear here – which includes much more than just traditional drama – is from Andy Wood’s extensive collection of high quality old time radio — a collection that has taken many years and tireless effort to acquire. Andy Wood is a historian and avid collector of quality entertainment from the early days. Lucky for us!
All series that are played on Classic Drama Radio are played in succession, on the same day of the week that they aired originally, whenever possible. Sometimes even the exact date will coincide! To add to this, there are real, original ad inserts between shows, telling us to tune in every *-insert day of week-* to hear *-insert radio series-*, and you will see that the show will be scheduled to play on the day quoted! If at the end of the current show you are listening to announces that Roy Rogers, for example, will be on next, well, there you are! Roy Rogers and Dale Evans will be presented to you in all their western glory! This makes for an authentic listening experience that you can lose yourself in, making you feel even closer to the performers.
You can hear classic comedies like Fibber McGee and Molly (The Johnson’s Wax Program with Fibber McGee and Molly on Tuesdays, and every weekday in their regular series), The Great Gildersleeve (Wednesdays), and The Milton Berle Show (Mondays), and great detective shows such as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (weekdays) and The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (Fridays). Adventure series are presented, as well, such as Jungle Jim (weekdays) and Afloat With Henry Morgan (Mon-Thurs). The quiz shows are here, too, such as Information Please (Saturdays), and we will also visit Groucho in the incomparable You Bet Your Life (Wednesdays). Need a little horror? The Weird Circle (Saturdays) and Inner Sanctum Mysteries (Thursdays) are two of the shows that are featured on Classic Drama Radio! Every weekday, Turn Back the Clock plays, where you can hear lots of lovely music, presented by husband and wife team Andy and Virginia Mansfield. You’ll probably hear a lot of music you weren’t aware of before! We also get lots of Dinah Shore on her various shows, and she is quickly becoming a favorite with the listeners of Classic Drama Radio. Everything you can ask for is on this channel. It’s an amazing history lesson, as well as timeless entertainment, adding a heavy dose of authentic. Listening to these episodes in real-time on this station makes it just that much sweeter. Classic Drama Radio may very well be the closest thing to a time machine we have.
In addition to the expected genres, there are shows that depict real-life situations. The biggest example is Night Watch. This series contains real recordings of real police apprehensions. This show is often frightening and heartbreaking, but is still fascinating, as there are no actors, just real fly-on-the-wall police action.
You’ll also hear documentary shows from time to time on the weekends and in-depth interviews with big named personalities of the day. The weekends also have other interesting programming that isn’t played during the week.
During the holidays, you will get seasonal series such as The Cinnamon Bear (regular visitors will know how much I love that dear old teddy bear!), Jump Jump and the Ice Queen, and Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas On the Moon, in addition to regular programming, which is always a great way to get into the holiday spirit!
On top of all the exciting comedy, western, detective, quiz, horror, and adventure series that you can hear at Classic Drama Radio, you get the soaps.
Claudia will be broadcast starting in September, and the channel will play its full 18 month run in succession. Claudia, sponsored and restored by Coca-Cola, is a sweet program about a newlywed couple and the happenings in their lives. Gentle and just plain and overall wonderful, Claudia has none of that over-the-top acting that soap serials have unfortunately been associated with over the years. This is one that you do not want to miss.
One Man’s Family is another of those gentle soaps. Every Monday you will hear the goings-on with the Barbour family, and you will become so involved with each of the five Barbour children – and their children! – that you will feel like they are your very own family. This extensive run is really worth the time to get to know the characters, and Father Barbour is a real character, that’s for sure! You love him, become so angry with him, but then you love him even more, as his real heart shows when it’s really important.
You’ll also have the pleasure to visit The Family Doctor and Dr. Christian every Sunday, two series that will be sure to heal your wounds and get you ready for the week ahead.
You’ll have three chances (four, starting September 6, 2021) to listen to each episode every day, which is a kind and thoughtful thing that our curators have put in place, especially since people from all over the world are listening. Please note that Classic Drama Radio broadcasts on London time, so if you are wanting to catch a particular program, you will have to figure out what time you must tune in for your time zone. If you compare the schedule to the four time zones that they have conveniently listed on the website, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out what times your shows will be playing. Of course, if you have the awesome privilege to listen all day, you won’t have anything to worry about! The schedule for the week is published on Sundays, and will reveal what will be playing between Monday and Sunday.
Now let’s get to the ways you can listen. Classic Drama Radio has released apps for iOS and Android devices, and you can always listen on the Classic Drama Radio website. In addition, you can register with Alexa Skill. After registering, just say “Alexa, play Classic Drama Radio“, and you’re all set!
I personally invite you to listen. You can thank me later!
Website: http://classicdramaradio.co.uk
Alexa Skill: Here
iOS App: Here
Thanks for all the details on this—sounds extremely well done!