Radio Voice

Radio Voice ©

By Michael Casey

I read in the DT that two of the long standing announcers and news readers on Radio4 are leaving, taking early retirement, it leaves a melancholy feeling. Radio4 and me go back 40years now, me and my brother used to listen to The World Tonight, Douglas Stewart reporting. A voice is so soothing, calming, a favourite, just like an uncle’s voice or even your own mother’s. I can remember my own mother’s voice, on the phone her accent was still very County Kerry, but normally I couldn’t hear it, I was used to it. My wife’s voice is Shanghai, but I am used to it, on the phone though its very sing song Chinese, and very sexy to my ears.

So why has radio got so much power? Is it because it is in the room with us, radio is really there, right next to us, behind our back. I used to listen to the radio while in the bath, I had battery radios then so it was safe to have a radio in the bathroom. A radio does wash over you, just as the bubbles do, it goes right around your head and cleans your ears out. A voice, a sound, can have so much power, the sound is not overpowered by vision, the words, the sounds, the music reaches the parts tv cannot touch. Watch tv and close your eyes, the sound, your ears are different compared to having your eyes open.

A favourite actor, a song sung by an artist has so much more power when you are lying in the bath covered in warm water and bubbles, they do connect so much. Martin Jarvis is one great example, when he reads something he hits the words on the nail, words are nailed to your spirit. He also narrates books, he is The Man in my book, I can even remember him as a detective on tv years and years ago. Others do narrate things but they don’t have as much skill, or class, his actor’s training and experience make the difference. The worse thing about new “celebrities” is that they are allowed to do voice overs, and they are not up to the job. Parrots have a cloth thrown over the cages to shut them up, I think we should throw a cloth over new “celebrities” too.