FORMER MIXING IT PRESENTER 10th FEB 2007

 

Last night our final edition of Mixing It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Afterwards i read the many hundreds of emails and messages of support. I had no idea that the programme meant so much to so many. And most listeners wanted to know why Mixing It was going. In the absence of any official explanation from Radio 3 I’ll tell you what I know.

 

Last November Roger Wright (Controller Of Radio 3) took Robert & I into the DG’s office at Broadcasting House in London for a short meeting (5 minutes max). His exact words were, and i remember them vividly because they puzzled me briefly, ‘I’m giving Mixing It a break and I have no plans to bring it back’. He offered no explanation other than to say it didn’t fit into his new schedule. He said he wanted Mixing It to fade away quietly - no publicity or big fanfares - he wanted his new schedule to get all that. You’ll notice that no press or BBC publicity mentioned the final edition of Radio 3’s longest running show with the same presenters. (16 and a quarter years if you’re counting). We weren’t to make a fuss of it on air - other than towards the end mention it in a factual way. Some listeners wondered why Robert & I didn’t make a statement - and the reason is because it wouldn’t have been broadcast.

 

We recorded our final show yesterday a few hours before it was broadcast. A BBC Senior Editor sat through the whole thing. I can’t ever remember that happening before.

 

My main concern is for the fringe music that we’re so passionate about. Music that falls between the cracks. Although Radio 3 say most of it will be covered in Late Junction and Hear & Now of course it won’t. Unsigned bands, Experimental Noise, Improvisng Animals? Oh yeah?

 

Radio 6 expressed an interest in taking Mixing It but decided not to. We looked into Podcasting it under the name ‘Maxing It’ (Roger Wright never replied to the email asking if we could take the original name with us). But the rights issues made playing the music too expensive in a Podcast. So, reluctantly, Robert & I decided to knock Mixing It on the head.

 

Many of you have asked what we’ll do next. Well Robert & I are both busy in other fields (Robert’s a journalist and i’m a musician). We have no particular radio plans together - but we both agree that Mixing It has been the most enjoyable and worthwhile phase of our careers.

 

Contrary to some listener speculation Robert & I are good friends. I have a recording studio in London where we both work from so if you want to correspond just drop us an email to :

 

mixingit@mac.com

 

Thanks for listening and keep kissing those frogs.

 

Mark Russell