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Bauer Media to mark VE Day with Absolute Radio 40s

By | Published on Wednesday 29 April 2020

Bauer Media

Some people reckon that the COVID-19 pandemic is a great opportunity for the radio sector to connect with those younger consumers who have generally shunned the medium, given people seem more eager for news updates and a human voice during lockdown. And how better to do that than by launching a brand new decade-themed incarnation of Absolute Radio playing only music from, erm, actually, the 1940s?

Yes, Absolute Radio 40s is incoming everybody! Get ready for back-to-back Billie Holliday, Judy Garland, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Gracie Fields, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, The Andrews Sisters and of course Vera Lynn.

Though don’t get too excited. This is actually one of those temporary pop-up radio stations designed to accompany a specific event, in this case the 75th anniversary of VE Day, ie the end of the Second World War in Europe.

That, by the way, is Friday 8 May. Which is worth everyone noting, not least because the UK has shifted the bank holiday you might be expecting on the first Monday of May to that Friday, so that people can stay at home and formally mark the occasion. That decision was made before staying at home was the norm, of course.

Anyway, Absolute Radio 40s! It will air for 24 hours on 8 May – on 1215AM nationwide, on DAB in London and online – mixing 1940s music with special news bulletins charting the events of 8 May 1945.

Says Absolute Radio Content Director Paul Sylvester: “The 75th anniversary of VE Day is a momentous event in our history and it’s tragic that celebrations have had to be rightly curtailed because of the coronavirus”.

“The incredible music and compelling stories you’ll hear on Absolute Radio 40s will bring comfort and entertainment to those older listeners in self-isolation and remind the rest of us of the importance of this day”, he goes on. “Taking the Absolute Radio decade strategy and creating this unique pop-up station for 24 hours is the simplest way that we can pay our own very small tribute”.



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