There is a place for the occasional outing of Good Vibrations or Smells Like Teen Spirit and such like. Just as there is a place for non-singles getting played.

Seeing as 6 Music is meant to be a tribute to the ethos of John Peel then balance is the key. Peel would have no problem playing an old hit single but he would put an obscure track next, then an album track, then a complete racket that 99% of his listeners would hate.

So still play classic singles but mix up the balance a bit.

I'm 23, my partner is 28 and our taste in music is pretty much the same, whereas my 19 year old sister has completely different taste to me, but according to Radio 1 me being under 25, I should be listening to the same music as her. The whole age demographic thing is ridiculous and just doesn't work. Radio 1 play Drum and Bass, House, Rap etc. then expect anyone over the age of 25 not to tune into these shows? My partners teenage years and early 20s were mostly spent going to Dnb raves etc. why do they think once he hits 25, that he'd suddenly no longer have a love for dance music? Then you've got the fact that he's more likely to be listening to the radio on the drive to work and while at work, than say a 16 year old will be on the bus/walk/train to school or college, so I don't get why they are so adamant on shutting ages out. The whole station and who they are trying to appeal to is a mess. Them being ageist does them no favours with the younger generation either, even though for some reason they think it does. The younger generation today on the whole, are so easily offended and are very quick to want to boycott/ban or distance themselves from anything that promotes any kind of 'ism' or discrimination. (Gives them something to rant and feel important about on social media)

In this day and age, if the radio really wants to survive, then they are much better off just ditching the whole age target and just having stations based around different types of music.

This.

Thanks from an old codger.

I'm way over the demographic & refuse to budge. The day Ben Copper leaves I'll be getting out the champagne!

The BBC is in the difficult position of having to defend using what is essentially taxpayers' money to play pop music on the radio. The commercial radio lobby is very vocal in its criticism of the BBC and constantly whinges that the BBC is taking "its" audience, even though Radio 1 was on the air before Capital, Heart, Kiss etc. So the BBC tries to justify Radio 1 by making its remit to serve the younger audience that is of less interest to advertisers because younger people have less money and - ironically - younger people don't listen to the radio.

As long as the BBC can claim that it's doing a public service by playing British music, featuring up-and-coming British artists and engaging younger audiences with lots of chat and features, the commercial stations have to put up with Radio 1 having nationwide coverage on FM. But they would really love to grab those FM frequencies so they can play the music that attracts the demographics their advertisers really want.

This is going to sound really random but I think it sums up everything that's wrong with Radio 1.

Yesterday I was at Frankie & Benny's at lunch time and we saw other families there with their children. The music being played was all 60s rock n' roll music and it was pretty cool (in a funny way) seeing some young boys and girls bopping along to Elvis Presley songs.

So if Radio 1 were to play some 60s music in the afternoon, I reckon a lot of listeners would love it. Yes, those very 14-24 year olds they're desperate to appeal to. Just because it's not in the top 10 doesn't mean these youngsters don't like those songs.

Radio 1 seriously need to focus on what it is they actually want to achieve as BBC's main radio station and make it work. Because right now, Radio 1 is not even close to being the BBC's main radio station.

Sorry your argument is nonsense. If I walked into a bar where there was some grime music playing and some 40 year and 50 year olds were enjoying the music I wouldn't come to the conclusion that Radio 2 should be playing grime. It was considered to be out of touch of Radio 1 to be still playing 60's music in 1993. To be doing it in 2016 would mean they are totally losing the plot.

If Radio 1 is to survive then I think it has two stark choices:

(1) Make 1Xtra the 'young' station and make Radio 1 a cross-generational network like BBC One, or

(2) Change the remit of Radio 1 by actually pushing unknown and up-and-coming artists - irregardless of age or genre - to promote them to a wider audience. This would make Radio 1 distinctive and prevent it stealing the thunder of commercial stations by essentially doing what they do.

Anything else is decline.

Just heard during the Marc Riley Show on 6Music:

What sounded like a black American voice promoting a forthcoming radio programme:

'... and later we'll be delving into Del Arsehole's record collection'.

And then I suddenly realised what he actually meant.

If you want Radio 2 then go and listen to Radio 2.

25y/o. Converted from R1 to R2 three years ago. Used to like R1 when Chris Moyles did breakfast although some will disagree. Grimshaw ruined it for me. Went straight to R2 and listen to Chris Evans instead which must be saying something as he is difficult to enjoy also.

Chris Evans might be quite an eccentric personality, but he's always had a passion for music which was evident even back in the days of The Big Breakfast, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and especially TFI Friday.

In fact, many of his Radio 2 listeners might be those who watched those 90s shows and they've just grown up and followed his career.

Nick Grimshaw just comes across as pompous and lacking any real interest in music. If he is passionate about music, he's got a funny way of showing it. :/

The only passion he has is for himself.

Btw I heard Cyndi Lauper - Girls just want to have fun and Spice girls, Pink and a couple of other 90s hits on Radio 1 today so they do play old music. I think most moaners don't actually listen properly

They've also playlisted the new remix of Bob Marley's 'Is This Love' this week, so shows they do play some older artists from time to time.

Chris Evans is a good broadcaster but he has never had a passion for music. He has just used false enthusiasm to try and pretend he does. He thought it was cool to like Brit Pop when he was at Radio 1 so he did that then and now he gets over enthusiastic about playing ELO now he is on Radio 2. He knows diddly squat about music.

Is this because they're playing some special summer mixes? I heard Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding on R1 this week. Kind of put everything else they played into the shade: a truly great song amidst some truly average songs.

Well yes but still if their is interest in these mixes from their listeners I think they will do it more and the are long 30 mins

Trolling?

If serious, then you really think people complaining about the lack of quality on R1 are going to be bowled over by The ****ing Spice Girls or Pink.....

I

I think it's pretty clear they're answering the criticism that R1 doesn't play older music, not that it doesn't play credible music.

He championed Divine Comedy so he can't be all bad. They're not exactly an easy to pigeon-hole group.

Exactly

I think times have changed. There would have been a time when the younger generation wouldn't have been caught dead listening to their parents music. But music has stopped evolving... For the first time in popular music history, music from past decades actually seems cooler than the music currently being made. Look at the headline acts at Glastonbury... They're all older acts. And young kids aren't that interested in "current music" and the charts these days, certainly not to the same extent that older generations were. My 14 year old nephew is crazy about music, and watches tonnes of videos on YouTube, including artists like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, RHCP and Oasis. Two of these people are dead and the other two are considered "Radio 2" artists now, but my nephew doesn't care about that.

Radio 1 need to recognise that kids today are exposed to a hell of a lot more than their parents generation were. Kids today go on YouTube and Spotify if they hear a song they like, theyre not going to spend all day listening to Radio 1 in the hope they'll catch that song.

If they want to stand a chance of surviving, they need to play a mix of old and new songs and stop with their ageist attitude that turns off so many listeners (young and old).

All the while they refuse to change they will continue becoming more and more irrelevant.

Music from the 80s and 90s sounds a lot more relatable to the younger generation in 2016 than music from past decades sounded twenty years ago. This is just a fact.

I love the way posters on this thread seem to think Radio 1 have any control over their remit...

Yes, but they should have control over their remit.