BBC Radio 2 - Live

BBC Radio 2, launched on 30 September 1967, is the most popular radio station in the United Kingdom, with over 14 million weekly listeners. It offers a diverse mix of music and speech programming, catering to a wide audience.

The station’s music repertoire spans more than 60 years, covering genres such as classic and mainstream pop, country, folk, jazz, musical theatre, soul, hip hop, rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, and blues. This extensive variety makes Radio 2 the UK’s most listened-to radio station.

In its early years, much of Radio 2’s programming and music were common to both Radio 1 and Radio 2, particularly on the shared FM frequency. Radio 1 was targeted at the audience of pirate radio stations, whereas Radio 2 established itself as a middle-of-the-road station with a mix of laid-back pop, rock, folk, country, jazz, big-band music, easy listening, light classical music, and oldies, with comedy and sport.

Notable broadcasters on Radio 2 in the 1970s and 1980s included Tom Edwards, Ray Moore, Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce, Derek Jameson, Jimmy Young, David Hamilton, and John Dunn. On 27 January 1979, Radio 2 became the first national 24-hour radio station in the UK.