A Tale Of Many Playlists

There are no rules in British broadcasting about what you are supposed to do in the event of a royal or other high-profile death.

There used to be, many years ago, and memories of that are probably what colour people’s perceptions of how broadcasters, and radio stations in particular, are supposed to behave. When I first started working in radio the obituary procedure was spoken of in reverential terms, the centrally-agreed loop of suitable music which was to be pumped out down the IRN line, interspersed with sonorous announcements of the tragic news and to be broadcast until such time as it was deemed appropriate to stop.

Over the years the rigid formula, and the list of individuals to whom it applied, was steadily whittled away until it became nothing more than general and implicitly optional guidance. The last appearance of any regulatory instructions regarding obituary procedures came in the dying days of the old Radio Authority just prior to it being folded into new “super-regulator” Ofcom in 2003. The final edition of the RA Code, as found on the National Archives website contains the following section:

“Where appropriate” (my emphasis), “…stations may suspend normal output and make arrangements which they feel will suit the mood…”

So not a directive at all, more advance permission to tear up the rule books if you feel the occasion merits. And the guidance is more concerned with making sure nobody broadcasts any adverts which might sound inappropriate in a new context.

You will search the current Ofcom Programme Code in vain for any paragraph resembling the above. What broadcasters were to do even in the event that the very top job of all becomes temporarily vacant was regarded as entirely a matter for them, the broadcast regulator only likely to get involved after the fact if anyone complains someone crossed the line.

Of course, as we all know, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 was treated with due deference even in the absence of instruction. During the day leading up to the announcement when the public had been prepared for the worst, hurried conferences had taken place at network centres and music carefully and gently adjusted accordingly. By the time the announcement came and several days of mourning kicked in, radio was prepared to play stuff that was overwhelmingly nice and gentle. And most definitely not cheerful.

But just how dramatic was the change? Fortunately we have a way to tell. Buried deep inside the weekly Chart Pack published by Music Week are the radio industry’s airplay charts, generally only of interest to those within the music business who want to track just how much exposure their highest priority product is receiving, but on occasions like this a fascinating barometer of the extent to which radio adjusted its programming in the wake of the week of Royal mourning.

Above is the UK airplay Top 5 as published on September 9th 2022, and covering the last week of relative normality, between Friday 2nd and Thursday 8th of that month.

For context, the airplay chart is presented not in order of “most plays” but instead in order of “impacts” or the number of pairs of ears a track may have reached during the course of the week. Based on the latest audience numbers, a play just prior to Popmaster on Radio 2 will naturally result in a greater impact than a spin on the graveyard shift on Smalltown FM.

From this week can see that the biggest track of that week was the Elton/Britney collision Hold Me Closer which was played almost 5,000 times during the week (an increase of 10% on the previous one) resulting in an impressive 54.77m impacts. And indeed the biggest hits at the top of the table were mostly all pulling in numbers in excess of 4,000 plays.

Now let’s take a look at the chart a week later, taking in the entirety of the first week of national mourning:

№1 on the sales chart, Lewis Capaldi’s brand new release Forget Me sidestepped the unfortunate connotations of its title to become the most-heard song on British radio. But look at the “plays” column. In contrast to the previous week, the most-spun tracks on the radio commanded close to half the number of spins you would expect them to have in a normal week. Lewis Capaldi still managed 45.84m impacts, but that’s way down on what such a high-profile release would normally command. Look at the way the plays for last week’s chart-topper collapsed. Elton and Britney were down a massive 42% week on week. LF System fared even worse, their airings shrunk by more than half.

But just look at the record at №5 on this chart. All Of Me by John Legend. Almost 2,500 plays, representing a 206% increase on the previous week. That’s a song dating from 2014 suddenly out of nowhere the fifth most-heard song on British radio.

And indeed throughout the rest of the airplay chart we see a startling number of “golden oldies” experiencing dramatic jumps in audiences and barging contemporary hits out of the way in the contest for listening ears.

Did you get the feeling you were hearing Make You Feel My Love by Adele a heck of a lot last week? That’s because you were. It picked up 2,493 plays — an increase of a colossal 514%.

The 2017 Christmas №1 isn’t just for the holiday period. Ed Sheeran’s Perfect was the 15th most-heard track on the radio, its airings leaping almost 400%, its accumulated audience by 641%.

A song about halos for a recently-anointed angel? OK, if you are going to insist. A 503% leap in plays for Beyonce’s 2009 track, with a corresponding 1,184% jump in audience exposure.

But that was by no means the greatest gainer of the week.

Christina Aguilera’s 2003 chart-topping hit Beautiful hit the spot perfectly for radio programmers, soaring 590% in plays.

Indeed the whole of the lower end of the chart is littered with similarly inspired tracks, all of which came rushing back into favour during the course of the week. And age appeared to be no barrier. Even stations which were not normally part of the whole “golden hits” format tore up the rulebook for things that fitted the mood best:

Ben E King from 1961, The Bangles from 1989, Better Middler ditto, Foreigner from 1985. Vintage hits enjoying huge surges in airplay and consequent audience exposure.

The period of quiet reflection didn’t quite last the entire week, by Wednesday and Thursday the overall tempo of hits on the radio had started to creep up a little, and Friday night (outside the scope of this particular chart) saw the regular party shows reinstated to the schedules after a week away. The day of the funeral itself on Monday 19th did however cause an inevitable lurch back to reflective ballads, and you suspect that the airplay charts will take another week or so to return to anything resembling normality.