The Story Behind Forth’s ‘Folks’
by Jimmy Clinkscale
Somewhere beneath the Reception area and offices of Radio Forth, in Edinburgh’s New Town, you will find, after being shown through a labyrinth of corridors not unlike a scene from television’s ‘Man from UNCLE,’ the unimposing surroundings of Studio ‘A’, a compact little room dotted with microphones, music stands, tables and recording equipment.
It is here, surrounded by switches, dials, faders and high technology that Robin Brock hosts his highly-popular, hour-long, weekly programme called ‘Folks Around Robin.’
‘Folks’ has been on the air for over three-and-a-half years now. An irresistible mixture of Scottish dance band music, chat and information. In that time Robin has featured a wide variety of bands and artistes, giving an estimated 20,000 listeners a week an insight into the lives and interests of the famous and the not-so-famous.
Robin, of course, is no mere interviewer. His extensive knowledge of Scottish dance band music is derived from a lifelong love of the genre, and experience o0f playing with some of the top names in the business, such as Jimmy Shand, Jim MacLeod and Jim Johnstone.
It is this background which is partly responsible for the programme’s appeal.
As Producer, Sandy Wilkie, points out “I don’t know of any other Scottish music programme that has a presenter who has been involved in the scene as much as Robin has.
“He has sympathy with the musicians. He doesn’t talk down to them and he doesn’t talk up to them. He is on the same level and they relax.”
I spent almost two hours chatting to Robin and Sandy about the programme on the recent visit to Radio Forth. One think that came through was their total dedication to ‘Folks’ and their near obsession with maintaining and improving on its already high standards.
Stirling-born Sandy is, to say the least, a perfectionist.
He has been with Radio Forth since it first took to the air on 22nd January, 1975, and was responsible for pushing up the faders which brought DJ Steve Hamilton’s voice into the homes of the listening public.
Before ‘Folks’ went on the air in February, 1979, the only programme catering for Scottish dance bands on Forth was ‘Pure Scotch,’ the brainchild of Bill Torrance and later hosted by Steve Jack.
However, a chance meeting with Sandy Wilkie in 1978 led to Robin joining ‘Pure Scotch’ for a few minutes a week to do a ‘What’s On’ piece. But I’ll let Sandy take up the story.
“Robin used to sit through the show because he liked it. He would do a few minutes before his spot and a few after and it just grew from there until he was eventually co-presenting the show.
“He was able to inject so much knowledge into it whereas before, Steve, who didn’t know that (clicks fingers) about Scottish music was given the show. And yet he put his whole heart into it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“Robin’s enthusiasm got Steve and I going. Honestly, I couldn’t have given tuppence for Scottish music four years ago. It was just another job, but now I can get goosepimples up and down my back when I hear a Scottish band.” And he laughs “I can now get as much of a kick out of Jim Johnstone as I can from listening to The Who.”
The keynote of each programme is undoubtedly the relaxed, informal atmosphere which comes across. But it does not just happen as easily as that. A lot of hard work goes into preparing each programme.
“Very few bands or artistes who come in here have ever been on radio before,” says Sandy. “Now, they don’t know what is going to happen to them when they come in. They are tense, but I can guarantee that anyone who comes in here is relaxed after 30 minutes.”
“No, it’s nothing to do with the valium we put in the coffee,” he jokes. “We have an attitude of mind downstairs that no matter what goes on behind the glass, no matter what technical hassles we have, they are never expressed to the band on the other side of it.
“Everything is A OK and we are having lots of fun.”
Robin, he points out, is largely responsible for that. Helping and advising with little problems that crop up. But he has one unusual method of gently bringing a ‘take’ that is not quite right to a close.
“He just puts on a cartridge of a dog howling,” says Sandy. “The band suddenly hears this dog yelping. They start looking round wondering what on earth is happening and realise that something is not quite right. It brings everything to a halt, but at least they can laugh about it.”
Robin is not beyond joking at the expense of his colleagues either. Sandy recalls one occasion when Robin was on the air with Steve Jack. Steve had just opened his mike when Robin turned his head away to turn back seconds later with his glasses on upside down and his teeth out.
“He just sat staring at Steve,” says Sandy “and the place fell apart.”
It is that kind of banter which brings the best out in Robin’s guests. John Ellis – who, incidentally, holds the record for recording a session in only 48 minutes – talked about racing pigeons, while Jim Johnstone revealed a love of sailing.
“It is like Desert Island Discs without the desert island,” quips Robin.
But the most important ingredient, of course, is the music itself. Robin feels it is vital that what is broadcast is given the nod by the bandleader himself.
“They complained for many years that the sound was not right on their broadcasts, but we always make a point of balancing it to their satisfaction. We treat it as a compliment now that many bands just say “We’ll leave it to you, Sandy.”
Sandy takes up the point “if they come up to me and say ‘no, too much fiddle, more piano’ that is exactly what they will get – whether we agree with it or not. It is their particular sound that we are trying to recreate. Jim Johnstone, for example, likes second box to be something that is felt and not heard.”
But no matter how impressive the recording equipment looks, just like a computer, if you put garbage in, garbage will come out.
“We cannot work miracles,” insists Robin. “We cannot make a Scottish dance band sound like Mantovani. But that’s one of the things that has really impressed me about this series. I can honestly say that 99.9% of the bands who come in here do a good job.”
After over three-and-a-half years ‘Folks Around Robin’ looks like going on forever. Its format has proved popular beyond either Sandy or Robin’s wildest dreams. Radio Tay now takes the programme and many more, even in England, have shown an interest.
Both men look forward to the future but they are refreshingly responsive to the needs of the listening public.
“They are our bosses at the end of the day,” says Robin. “If we are making a product they like, then they will keep listening. And in commercial radio that is the name of the game.
“We work to a formula of integrity and credibility. I once said to Sandy that if we had to compromise our standards I would leave right away. I put Scottish music above everything. I am technically irrelevant in a sense. It could have been Jim Johnstone, it could have been John Carmichael. I was just in the right place at the right time, and was able to take my place on the team.”
It is here, surrounded by switches, dials, faders and high technology that Robin Brock hosts his highly-popular, hour-long, weekly programme called ‘Folks Around Robin.’
‘Folks’ has been on the air for over three-and-a-half years now. An irresistible mixture of Scottish dance band music, chat and information. In that time Robin has featured a wide variety of bands and artistes, giving an estimated 20,000 listeners a week an insight into the lives and interests of the famous and the not-so-famous.
Robin, of course, is no mere interviewer. His extensive knowledge of Scottish dance band music is derived from a lifelong love of the genre, and experience o0f playing with some of the top names in the business, such as Jimmy Shand, Jim MacLeod and Jim Johnstone.
It is this background which is partly responsible for the programme’s appeal.
As Producer, Sandy Wilkie, points out “I don’t know of any other Scottish music programme that has a presenter who has been involved in the scene as much as Robin has.
“He has sympathy with the musicians. He doesn’t talk down to them and he doesn’t talk up to them. He is on the same level and they relax.”
I spent almost two hours chatting to Robin and Sandy about the programme on the recent visit to Radio Forth. One think that came through was their total dedication to ‘Folks’ and their near obsession with maintaining and improving on its already high standards.
Stirling-born Sandy is, to say the least, a perfectionist.
He has been with Radio Forth since it first took to the air on 22nd January, 1975, and was responsible for pushing up the faders which brought DJ Steve Hamilton’s voice into the homes of the listening public.
Before ‘Folks’ went on the air in February, 1979, the only programme catering for Scottish dance bands on Forth was ‘Pure Scotch,’ the brainchild of Bill Torrance and later hosted by Steve Jack.
However, a chance meeting with Sandy Wilkie in 1978 led to Robin joining ‘Pure Scotch’ for a few minutes a week to do a ‘What’s On’ piece. But I’ll let Sandy take up the story.
“Robin used to sit through the show because he liked it. He would do a few minutes before his spot and a few after and it just grew from there until he was eventually co-presenting the show.
“He was able to inject so much knowledge into it whereas before, Steve, who didn’t know that (clicks fingers) about Scottish music was given the show. And yet he put his whole heart into it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“Robin’s enthusiasm got Steve and I going. Honestly, I couldn’t have given tuppence for Scottish music four years ago. It was just another job, but now I can get goosepimples up and down my back when I hear a Scottish band.” And he laughs “I can now get as much of a kick out of Jim Johnstone as I can from listening to The Who.”
The keynote of each programme is undoubtedly the relaxed, informal atmosphere which comes across. But it does not just happen as easily as that. A lot of hard work goes into preparing each programme.
“Very few bands or artistes who come in here have ever been on radio before,” says Sandy. “Now, they don’t know what is going to happen to them when they come in. They are tense, but I can guarantee that anyone who comes in here is relaxed after 30 minutes.”
“No, it’s nothing to do with the valium we put in the coffee,” he jokes. “We have an attitude of mind downstairs that no matter what goes on behind the glass, no matter what technical hassles we have, they are never expressed to the band on the other side of it.
“Everything is A OK and we are having lots of fun.”
Robin, he points out, is largely responsible for that. Helping and advising with little problems that crop up. But he has one unusual method of gently bringing a ‘take’ that is not quite right to a close.
“He just puts on a cartridge of a dog howling,” says Sandy. “The band suddenly hears this dog yelping. They start looking round wondering what on earth is happening and realise that something is not quite right. It brings everything to a halt, but at least they can laugh about it.”
Robin is not beyond joking at the expense of his colleagues either. Sandy recalls one occasion when Robin was on the air with Steve Jack. Steve had just opened his mike when Robin turned his head away to turn back seconds later with his glasses on upside down and his teeth out.
“He just sat staring at Steve,” says Sandy “and the place fell apart.”
It is that kind of banter which brings the best out in Robin’s guests. John Ellis – who, incidentally, holds the record for recording a session in only 48 minutes – talked about racing pigeons, while Jim Johnstone revealed a love of sailing.
“It is like Desert Island Discs without the desert island,” quips Robin.
But the most important ingredient, of course, is the music itself. Robin feels it is vital that what is broadcast is given the nod by the bandleader himself.
“They complained for many years that the sound was not right on their broadcasts, but we always make a point of balancing it to their satisfaction. We treat it as a compliment now that many bands just say “We’ll leave it to you, Sandy.”
Sandy takes up the point “if they come up to me and say ‘no, too much fiddle, more piano’ that is exactly what they will get – whether we agree with it or not. It is their particular sound that we are trying to recreate. Jim Johnstone, for example, likes second box to be something that is felt and not heard.”
But no matter how impressive the recording equipment looks, just like a computer, if you put garbage in, garbage will come out.
“We cannot work miracles,” insists Robin. “We cannot make a Scottish dance band sound like Mantovani. But that’s one of the things that has really impressed me about this series. I can honestly say that 99.9% of the bands who come in here do a good job.”
After over three-and-a-half years ‘Folks Around Robin’ looks like going on forever. Its format has proved popular beyond either Sandy or Robin’s wildest dreams. Radio Tay now takes the programme and many more, even in England, have shown an interest.
Both men look forward to the future but they are refreshingly responsive to the needs of the listening public.
“They are our bosses at the end of the day,” says Robin. “If we are making a product they like, then they will keep listening. And in commercial radio that is the name of the game.
“We work to a formula of integrity and credibility. I once said to Sandy that if we had to compromise our standards I would leave right away. I put Scottish music above everything. I am technically irrelevant in a sense. It could have been Jim Johnstone, it could have been John Carmichael. I was just in the right place at the right time, and was able to take my place on the team.”