Pop Pickers and Music Vendors: David Jacobs, Alan Freeman, John Peel, Tommy Vance and Roger Scott

If you remember these pioneering Radio DJ's then this is a great read

Decent read about 5 DJs from yesteryear. Many under 40s probably won't remember Scott or Jacobs but certainly will remember the other three..

Well worth getting if you are a fan of any of these DJs. Some really good black and white photos of the DJs.

Excellent book and well worth the read

It’s not very fashionable these days to look back at the Golden Age of radio – its image has been badly tarnished. But this is so unfair to those that worked so hard and were pioneers of their genre. Here we have 5 of the greats starting back in the 1950s with David Jacobs. Jacobs straddled the move from easy listening Sinatra type music to the rock ‘n’ roll of Bill Haley and the Comets. Not an easy task but he did it with flare and even brought music to the TV screen in the form of Juke Box Jury. He was suave, friendly, non-threatening. He softened the edges of this new form of music and made it much more acceptable to the public. Alan Freeman made listening to the top 20 records a cult whilst also managing to introduce album tracks and new music to his listeners – he was lampooned by comedians in his later years but took it all in good part showing his sense of humour and becoming even more of a legend for doing so. John Peel was simply a god. A man who brought new music to many generations of listeners but with an acerbic, dry wit that was so entertaining. A legend. Possibly the most loved DJ of all time. Tommy Vance and Roger Scott are often overlooked. Tommy championed rock especially when it had been sent out into the cold by punk. He made it trendy again and made people listen and appreciate it. His Friday Rock Show had a cult following. All these DJs were BBC regulars, Roger Scott spent most of his career at Capital Radio helping to make the station the leading independent that it is today. I regularly read the Face Behind the Voice column in the radio section of the Radio Times. Rarely are any of these DJs mentioned as inspirations to those that are currently on the air. But they should be. We have many music radio stations in this country, and a continuously innovative music scene. This would just not be happening had it not been for these DJs who believed in and supported the musicians of the future. Many congratulations to Van der Kiste for producing a book detailing the roles these jocks played. It’s a lovely book, full of history and anecdotes and original pictures. Highly recommended to anyone interested in radio in the UK. And there’s a forward by Simon Bates too. Not ‘arf!

Normally takes me ages to read a book, too many distractions, but this was read within three day. Excellent book about the cream of broadcasters. A must for those brought up in the sixties and seventies and like me, had a transistor stuck to their ear.