Chris Evans took over as host of Radio 2's breakfast show this week, replacing the inexplicably popular Terry Wogan. He's now in direct "competition" with Chris Moyles over on Radio 1. Both stations have their separate demographics to cater to, but Radio 2's been edging towards the younger end of their market in recent years. Putting Evans on their breakfast show is definitely a move towards securing a "mid-ground", of which I guess I'm a part of.
As a 30-year-old, I'm still relatively young and don't feel like Radio 2's target audience just yet. Hey, I'm actually younger than Chris Moyles on Radio 1! But, Chris Evans was a memorable pop-culture figure for me as a teen (on Big Breakfast, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday), so there's a part of me that feels lured Evans' way.
But then I listen to Radio 2's breakfast show, and I'm not a fan of the playlist -- it's mostly good tracks, but it bounces around from classics of the '60s to run of the mill contemporary picks. I've never really seen the point in playing old tunes on the radio, see. If I want to listen to The Beatles or Queen, I'll buy their albums. New music is the main reason I stick with Radio 1. Sure, there's a lot more crap getting played (repeated ad nauseum throughout the day), but you feel more attuned to "modern music" with Radio 1, in all its forms. And as a 30-year-old, I kind of want to keep one foot in my twenties. If only to know who Ke$ha is. There's plenty of time to turn my back on current music and find solace in the "oldies" from the '80s and '90s. I'll give it another 10 years.
What about you? Are you of equivalent age to me, but swayed to ditch Moyles for Evans now? Were you a regular Wogan listener, who's now appalled "young" Evans has taken his crown? Should Radio 2 have appointed someone older, perhaps? Is the gap between Radio 1 and 2 getting slimmer, or is that just the perception of people in their thirties who are creeping into middle-age but have strong memories of their youth?
