BBC Radio 1’s flagship new 'guitar music' show, the Evening Session, is to be axed at the end of the year in the latest overhaul at the BBC’s youth music station. Since its launch in 1991 with Mark Goodier at the helm the Evening Session has become something of the NME of the radio, with a long history of helping to break new acts – making "a Steve Lamacq favourite" something of a staple line for the press releases of new bands. Lamacq will stay with the station to host his weekly show Lamacq Live, and is expected to host a number of event driven shows, but the Evening Session itself will go.
Talking to NME Lamacq said: "I think the good thing is that it is going out on a high. Somebody told me the last audience figures showed it had gone up by between 100,000 and 200,000 people. And we won the NME Award again. So it is a popular show and it’s helped to support alternative culture through its peaks and troughs. The reason it first started was to give alternative music a push into the Top 40, which is probably as relevant now as it was then. The Music are now about to hit the Top 20 and that’s what it’s all about. Bands like Doves and Idlewild, who we played first, have come good so we’re quite chuffed. On a personal level, I’ve done the programme for nine years so it’s probably best to let someone else have a crack at it. The best thing for me is that I get to go out to gigs again."
A Radio 1 spokesman told reporters: "In the new year we will be introducing a brand new show that goes out on Tuesday to Thursday between 8pm and 10pm. The reason for that is that we have to keep the schedule fresh and relevant to the audience. The Evening Session has been an incredible show but the time has come for a change. We are really excited about the new show. Steve Lamacq has signed to Radio 1 for another two years. He will continue to present the Evening Session until the end of the year and Lamacq Live on Monday evenings in the New Year."
The Evening Session was the first, and to date only, Radio 1 show to have regional opt outs – each Thursday separate Session shows broadcast in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland helping to promote new talent in those regions. It is still unclear if the new evening show will have regional editions.