The mutilation of Radio 3

On Saturday 12 December 1964, Harold Wilson addressed his first Labour party conference as prime minister, George Harrison was photographed with his new girlfriend in the Bahamas, Pope Paul VI told Catholics they could drink alcohol ‘in moderation’ before Midnight Mass and, according to the Mirror, ‘two strip-tease girls fought in the nude in their dressing room after finishing their fan dance at a night club’.

The station has become little more than a Spotify playlist interrupted by the disc-jockey burbling

It was also the day that Record Review arrived in its Saturday morning slot on the BBC’s Third Programme, now Radio 3. And there it remained. During the Three-Day Week, the Falklands, the mourning of Diana and the post-9/11 panic, music lovers could find solace in the programme and especially ‘Building a Library’, a magisterial evaluation of rival recordings of a particular work.

Until this month, that is. Record Review and its presenter for 25 years, Andrew McGregor, have been moved to the dead air of Saturday afternoon, which I know isn’t such a big deal when you can listen to Radio 3 programmes any time you like. But the symbolism matters, and look what has replaced it: Saturday Morning, presented by Tom Service. To quote the publicity for the first episode on 6 April: ‘As well as a fantastic classical music playlist, there will be news reports and short features including a new bite-size feature where Tom and guests unpack the answers to questions you’ve always wanted to ask. This week, Tom asks why music gives us goosebumps.’

‘Unpack’ is a favourite word of Sam Jackson, Radio 3 controller since last year and previously head of Classic FM, Smooth and Gold. He has meticulously tweaked Saturday Morning to maximise market share while satisfying the cravings of the BBC’s diversity dinosaur, which has a tail-thrashing seizure if it doesn’t receive its fix of crossover.