I see Carlos is not wasting any time moving on to pastures new, He is down to Sit in for keith Middleton on Saturday night 10pm-1am on the BBC across the wast midlands!! Good on him!! it should be a good listen,

Not getting people confused either. He's using his BBC name / real name Carl Emms. BBC locals pick up a lot of good talent Global lost over the years.

That takes me back he was Carl Emms on The Hot FM over 20 years ago. I wonder if this is where he will end up now, BBC local. The BBC could worse than take Carl on.

Surprised. Normally the 'policeman' from 'Brum' Mark Powlett sits in.

(Funnily enough, both him & Keithy requested me on Facebook. Normally it would be other way round. Wonder what it was that made them request me? I'm just a normal bod, no one special! )

I can't understand the thinking here either. Castle and Garraway both brought in from talk/interview tv. Anthony Davies brought in from a three hour talk show over on LBC and for what ? To play a few records and hardly any speech or interaction . Bizarre.

I listened to Garraway and Davies a few times and in all honesty I could have done the links between songs. Totally pointless.

If they really want a more Radio 2 feel they need to let their presenters show some personality . Something that is seriously missing from Smooth.

This is true. What is the point of drafting in 'TV personalities' if we never get to hear any of their personality? The presenters on Smooth are so restricted, they may as well not be there. Anyone could do it.

Indeed. He leaves Smooth a day earlier.

I will miss Carlos or as i called him MR smooth. Having said that i wont be tuning in any more. This so called re launch on the 23rd will be the same droll. Such a shame and sad days for smooth listeners.

Some comments on their FB page saying Andrew Castle has had second thoughts.....Anyone in the know???

I can't see anything which pops out. It would be a turn for the books if that was too be true. Be lovely to have Simon Bates continuing.

Someone has noticed that Andrew Castle has been removed from the cover photo at the top of the page.

He has, but not off the Smooth page? Maybe people were moaning as he's not started yet?

Probably because Andrew's the London breakfast presenter. Smooth may create regional versions of their Facebook page or maybe like Capital, regional breakfast show pages.

I thought I'd have a change from Smooth, this morning, so I switched over to Magic 105.4. All was going well when the jock played Robbie Williams' new offering. However, to my utter dismay, the next song was A Different Corner by George Michael!

Ken Bruce played A Different Corner as well this morning, except he played the live version from George's new album and it sounding so refreshing compared to the 4 times a days you hear the original version on Smooth.

Oh yeah, didn't think of that.

Do the new regional Breakfast & Drive shows start on Monday then?

They're leaving it quite late to announce who the presenters will be.

Sorry I did not realise - is that who Carlos is?

I remember Carl Emms on GWR overnight in 1986. He used to do the first overnight show on GWR after the merger of Wiltshire Radio and Radio West. Before the merger, I think the two stations closed at 0100 hrs. For part of the time, this show was also on Severn Sound after Beacon's overnight show was taken off. Wiltshire Radio used to take Beacon, but stopped it before GWR started.

He also did a stand in on a Sunday morning on GWR at breakfast, also in 1986, and had not heard what happened to him for years - not knowing that Carlos was him!

One other point, in his early days, he used to use an old Radio 2 jingle with just the strapline on the end "Brightens up your day", with his name voiced over an instrumental part of the jingle that was edited!

So has he finally left what became Global (the company that is) after 28 years?

No one seems to know. The relaunch is all a bit higgledy piggledy if you ask me. The new weekend line up started on March 1st, Kate Garraway started March 3rd, Carlos leaves this Friday and Chris Skinner starts the 8pm slot from next Monday yet Simon Bates doesn't leave until Friday 21st so new Breakfast shows I'm guessing will start March 24th which is the date when Gold loses it's AM frequencies to Smooth.

It be the end of an era. Sad too see Carlos, Bates and Parsons all gone

There is no escaping that damned song is there. It even popped up on an Australian station I was listening to early this morning as well. Anything by George Michael (and Robbie Williams) sends me straight over to a different station. It's irrational on my part, but I can't help it.

It's the record companies who ask for their music to be airplayed for promotion. You can't all go around blaming Smooth for this. They can't refuse to not play it as its money for them too.

I'm not entirely sure you understand how playlisting works Occy - think you need to give this subject a wide berth mate! Smooth will play, and not play, the songs they want to. As do Heart, Capital and indeed any other station you choose to name. Sure radio stations get 'plugged' by the record companies who want their artists to get airplay, but that's about it.

I'll be intrigued to know where you think money comes into it?? But the idea that you can't blame Smooth for the music Smooth plays is hilarious!

Not sure about that. Are you telling me that a record company are paying Smooth to play a 28 year old George Michael song?

I wonder when announcements regarding the new regional shows will be made. If they start in less than 2 weeks I would have thought something would have been announced by now

You wont get an answer mate - whenever he gets challenged over something he has posted he 'disappears'. He's done it about 21,290 times before.

Unless you want to prove us wrong Occy? What do you know?