FEATURE:
Thank You for the Music…
ALL PHOTOS: BBC
Why Shaun Keaveny’s Final Broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music Will Be Especially Sad
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THAT title refers…
to a famous ABBA song. Taken from their 1977 album, ABBA: The Album, I also think the song will be played at some point on Shaun Keaveny’s final show on BBC Radio 6 Music on 10th September. On his afternoon show at the moment, he is running a feature called Shaun’s Show Stopper. A listener calls up each day and asks a question. The idea is to guess which song will be the final one played on that last show. It will be interesting seeing what Keaveny chooses – he has said it is difficult and not an obvious track. Perhaps it will not be the well-known ABBA hit! Not to be too saccharine, but it is worth thanking Shaun Keaveny for the music! He has been with BBC Radio 6 Music for more than fourteen years. That is incredible service and dedication! BBC Radio 6 Music is one of those studios where broadcasters do not really leave. I don’t think anyone as long-serving and popular as Keaveny has departed the station since its inception in 2002. Craig Charles is taking over Keaveny’s show next month. He is an excellent broadcaster and much-loved figure at the station who will do an excellent job. Even though the afternoon show is in very safe hands, it will be very hard saying goodbye to a man who has been in our radio lives for a very long time. He has cultivated a family and loving clan of fans.
IN THIS PHOTO: Craig Charles will take over Shaun Keaveny’s slot on BBC Radio 6 Music from September
There is so much appreciation and respect for him out there! That final week is quite a stressful and busy one for me. I am moving to a new place in London after quite an unhappy time where I currently live. I will not catch all of the final week of Keaveny’s show. I will be in the office and listening in (in Fitzrovia) on that Friday, though. The Leigh-born broadcaster is going to have an emotional final show! I think that it will be one that also has cheer. I am sure there will be gifts; people popping by and a cake ready for him. No doubt there will be people outside the studio as he leaves on that final day to wish him well – though he may want to get home or grab a drink on his own. Working so close to the BBC Radio 6 Music studios, I will walk by and pay my respects on 10th September. Offering a salute or a wave! I know that, whether Keaveny goes to another station or takes a different route, those who love and listen to his show will follow him. It is interesting to see what he does next. Transition from over a decade on the breakfast show to afternoons, he has been an essential anchor and point of safety for so many listeners. For me and so many other listeners, there are particular reasons for loving Shaun Keaveny and his show.
He is someone who is very funny and has a lot of warmth. He is self-deprecating and gives us a bit of dead air from time to time! Hearing him get wound up or doing an impression of Paul McCartney, you get a definite brand and style with Keaveny. That skillset and routine is one that will be sorely missed. I hope that he gets a great send-off from his colleagues on his final day. The pandemic has made people rely on radio and the friendly and reliable voices for a very long time. It is credit to broadcasters like Shaun Keaveny that they have come in and produced their shows without disruption. As so many have been home-working and had their normality flipped, radio has been a source of sanctuary and strength. It is a loss for Keaveny as much as it is for the listener. I know that he will have been given great comfort from knowing that his listeners were so thankful for him. Not only is it the routine that we will miss. It is hard when we listen to a show for years and then things change. Now more than ever, we want things to stay the same on the radio; to know that those people that have helped us through a particularly tough time are still there. That sadness and sense of loss is going to take a while to get over. Rather than it being too depressing and bleak, it is nice to know that our favourite afternoon host will get some breathing room, time to reflect and moments with his family. Keaveny can choose what he does next and, I am sure, there will be no shortage of offers! I always wondered whether he would go to BBC Radio 2 – although that would see him staying in the same building but working on a different floor!
We have a month to go until there is this very emotional broadcast. It will be a moment where we can all listen in and give our thanks to a BBC Radio 6 Music legend. From his first broadcast all those years ago, to being on air when the news of David Bowie’s death broke in 2016, to the start of the pandemic, it has been quite a ride! There will be many colleagues particular upset to see Keaveny leave. From his long-time friend Lauren Laverne (who presents weekday breakfasts) to Mary Anne Hobbs, there will be some tears. In fact, Mary Anne Hobbs does a handover on her show, as she broadcasts just before Keaveny’s show. That last chat will be very charged and bittersweet. The person on the station that we associate with Shaun Keaveny is Matt Everitt. As he has presented the music news on Keaveny’s shows since the start, the two are almost like brothers. I am not sure whether Everitt is continuing and doing the music news on Craig Charles’ show – I have heard no news that he is moving on going elsewhere. The two have such a bond. Everitt does not usually present the music news on a Friday but, as the last show falls on that day, of course he will be there – maybe live in the studio to wish his friend all the best. The two will stay close and see each other a lot, though the chemistry they have forged through the years has been a source of joy!
Maybe some will say that it is a bit over the top calling a radio station a family; treating the broadcasters like they are family members. Consider how much time some of us listen to the radio and the fact that, actually, we hear the broadcasters’ voices more than anyone else’s during the day! They are the ones who are there to ease us into the day; taking us to the night and helping us to switch off. As so many have been working from home, radio has become so much more than music and some chat. Stations like BBC Radio 6 Music have been taken to heart by so many people. I, alongside all of his listeners, will be tuning in on 10th September at 1 p.m. to hear a beloved broadcaster sign off from a station that has been very lucky to have him! There is no doubting that Shaun Keaveny has brought so, so many people to BBC Radio 6 Music. I’d like to think there will be a row of listeners and BBC colleagues applauding as Keaveny leaves Wogan House for the final time (maybe for now). That said, it might be pissing it down with rain…so it might be a more ‘indoors’ farewell! For now, as the final broadcast is a few weeks off, let’s just enjoy this run of shows (Keaveny is off for a couple of weeks now but will be back for his last two weeks). It is almost like leaving high school and saying goodbye to your best friend or favourite teacher – knowing that you have to leave but being sad that you might not see them again. It is that loss of routine that will be very strange. I will end it on a positive note. We are getting Craig Charles in the afternoon slot. He is incredible! Shaun Keaveny, still in his forties, has years and years more in radio! He might put out a podcast or do a T.V. documentary. He has time to weight his options up. Whether he goes to another station or not, one can still find him on Twitter. He is still around, and we will see him again very soon! If you have not heard Shaun Keaveny’s show or have tuned out for a bit, then make sure that you are…
IN THIS PHOTO: Matt Everitt with Shaun Keaveny
WITH him on 10th September.