03/09/07 - SMOOTH OPS NEW 'RED BUTTON'
COMMISSIONS
Smooth Operations is pleased to announce its latest foray into the
digital world. In the summer of 2007 we successfully produced film coverage
of 2 live concerts which were made available on the BBC's red button
facility. As part of the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie Show on BBC
Radio 2 we presented Arcade Fire live at Maida Vale and KT Tunstall's new
album launch gig from the historic Fruitmarket in Glasgow.
Managing Director John Leonard said, "This is a very important step
forward for Smooth Operations. We're committed to embracing every area of
digital technology and were delighted to be able to bring our high
production standards to capture the performances of such exciting new
artists."
The videos of both performances are still available on the BBC Radio 2
website Arcade Fire
and KT
Tunstall.
16/07/07 - SMOOTH OPS AT LIVE EARTH FOR MICROSOFT
  Smooth
Operations played a key part in MSN's hugely successful online coverage of
Al Gore's Live Earth event this
month.
Our team produced an extensive series of artist
interviews for MSN, recorded backstage at the London concert in Wembley
Stadium. Presenter June Sarpong spoke to more than 25 acts including
Genesis, Beastie Boys, Duran Duran and Metallica.
The interviews were sent via satellite to MSN's Seattle offices, before
appearing on the network's website. Producers John Leonard and Andy
Batten-Foster also provided Microsoft with general venue footage and a film
about environmental issues affecting London, featuring the city's mayor Ken
Livingstone.
By the Monday following the event (9 July), MSN had served more than 30
million live and on-demand streams. The UK Live Earth show was the most
viewed event during the live coverage, and MSN expected to serve millions
more users with on-demand streams of the concert and the celebrity
interviews provided by Smooth Operations.
Customer feedback collected by MSN praised the website's deep content
experience and quality programming, which drove a 'tremendous' amount of
users to make the Live Earth pledge.
More than 15 million streams were served during the course of MSN's live
coverage, making Live Earth one of the most watched events in internet
history.
13/07/07 - FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW!
 Smooth
Operations is proud to announce the induction of its Managing Director John
Leonard as a Fellow of The Radio
Academy. John received the honour at the Radio Festival in Cambridge on
Monday 9 July.
Fellowship is 'the highest honour the Radio Academy can confer on a
member of the industry, awarded to recognise individuals who have made
outstanding contributions'.
The presentation was made by BBC R2 Controller and Radio Academy Deputy
Chair Lesley Douglas. In her presentation speech, Ms Douglas praised John's
tenacity, attention to detail and creativity as a programme maker. She also
noted John's "staggering range" of recent output, including the
Radio 2 Folk Awards, the award-winning 2006 Radio Ballads, the Radcliffe
& Maconie Show, and Russell Brand's first forays on to Radio 2.
John said: "I was staggered and touched to be made a Fellow of the
Academy. It was a complete and wonderful surprise."
28/06/07 - SMOOTH OPERATIONS DOWNLOADED
 Several
of the Smooth Ops crew returned bruised, battered but victorious after
running the on-site radio station for Download - Britain's biggest
alternative rock festival. The team created 87.7 FM Download Radio and took
over the airwaves on behalf of BBC 6 Music, broadcasting to 180,000
festival-goers, 24 hours a day for 7 days.
Station Manager Viv Atkinson hand-picked a team of great new radio
talent (producers, reporters and presenters) who, with their encyclopedic
knowledge, boundless enthusiasm and wealth of creativity, delivered a
slick, fresh and extremely interactive station that became an integral part
of the festival experience.
Guests in the Download Radio studio included: Papa Roach, Dragonforce,
Motörhead's Fast Eddie Clarke, Aiden, Turisas, Reuben, Porcupine Tree, Reel
Big Fish and Orange Goblin.
On Saturday night Smooth Ops also broadcasted Bruce Dickinson's
6 Music Rock Show live from the site. While fans clamored outside to
catch a glimpse of the rock god through the window, famous friends
scrambled to get through the door to meet the man himself, including Stone
Sour's Corey Taylor, Machine Head's Rob Flynn and Slayer's Kerry King.
6 Music head Ric Blaxhill said: "With Bruce we knew that we would
have a good, busy and full-on network show, but it was entering into new
pastures with the [on-site station]. And what lovely pastures they were!
Great sounding radio station, great new presenters and producers, lots of
interaction and great music for the event. It couldn't have sounded that
good without a lot of work behind it."
01/04/07 - SMOOTH OPERATIONS WINS TWO GOLDS AT
SONY AWARDS
 At the
Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony held on Monday 30th April, presenter
Mark Radcliffe was awarded the Gold Award for Best Music Programme and the
Bronze Award in the Music Radio Personality Of The Year category for his
weekday music and chat show broadcast on Radio 2 from the BBC’s
Manchester base. Mark is pictured here with singer Dolores O'Riordan who
presented the award.
 The
Radio Ballad The Song of Steel, about the decline of the steel
industry in Sheffield, was awarded Gold in The Feature Award while Thirty
Years of Conflict, a Radio Ballad examining three decades of conflict
in Northern Ireland, was awarded Bronze in the Community Award category.
The Radio Ballads series was produced by John Leonard with John Tams as
Musical Director, seen here with award presenter Joan Bakewell CBE.
Photographs: David Fisher/Rex Features
28/03/07 - FOUR SONY NOMINATIONS FOR SMOOTH
OPERATIONS
 Smooth
Operations has achieved four nominations at this year's Sony Radio Academy
Awards, for programmes made by the company for BBC Radio 2.
Presenter Mark Radcliffe picked up two nominations - Best Music
Programme and Music Radio Personality Of The Year - for his 10.30pm to
midnight weekday music and chat show, broadcast from the BBC’s
Manchester base. Two programmes made for the six-part Radio Ballads
social history documentary series broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2006
collected a nomination each. The Song of Steel, about the decline of
the steel industry in Sheffield, was shortlisted in The Feature Award,
while Thirty Years of Conflict, examining three decades of conflict
in Northern Ireland, was nominated in the Community Award category. Both
programmes featured specially-commissioned songs written from the life
stories of the interviewees.
The winners in each category will be announced on Monday 30th April in
London.
28/03/07 - NEW SHOW FOR NICK BARRACLOUGH
 Nick
Barraclough begins a new chapter in his broadcasting career when he swaps
his seat as BBC Radio 2's country music presenter for a Sunday afternoon
slot on newly-launched Smooth Radio.
Nick's been showcasing country music on the airwaves since 1992,
including BBC Radio 2's annual coverage of the glittering Country Music
Awards from Nashville. In that time he was honoured with an International
Broadcaster award for his dedication to the support and promotion of the
genre.
Among the highlights of his last fifteen years at Radio 2 have been
exclusive interviews with Dolly Parton, Van Morrison, Garth Brooks, Linda Ronstadt
and, a particular hero, Dwight Yoakam.
"I've had a wonderful time with Radio 2 over the years and I've
been lucky enough to meet and mingle with real legends of country
music," says Nick. "Now it's time for a new challenge and I'm
delighted to be part of the new team at smooth radio and to be able to
spread myself across three hours. I mean, what a joy!"
Nick brings his wit and warmth to Smooth Radio beginning on Sunday April
1st, showcasing the very best new releases, plenty of classics and interviews
with the biggest stars. It's a show you just won't hear anywhere else!
28/03/07 - RADCLIFFE AND MACONIE TEAM UP ON RADIO
2
 Smooth
Operations are very pleased to announce the pairing of Mark Radcliffe and
Stuart Maconie for a new programme on BBC Radio 2.
Starting on April 16 2007, the new duo's evening music show will broadcast
in the 8pm-10pm slot, Monday to Thursday.
Featuring the best music, along with live sessions both in and out of
the studio, the show will reflect events such as the Cambridge Folk
Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, the UK Music Hall Of Fame, the Mercury
Music Award and the BBC Jazz Awards. Mark and Stuart will also have special
guests, and review music, film and TV.
Mark says: "I'm really looking forward to working with Stuart as I'm
planning to leave most of the work to him. To be honest, it's a dream come
true for the lad. He's admired me for so long that this must be a bit like Jim'll
Fix It for him.
"The show will combine current talking points, a really broad range of
top tunes reflecting our personal passions, plus live bands, Noddy Holder,
fine wines and a range of gourmet cheeses."
Stuart says: "I've been a fan of Mark's work since I was a child. He's
been an inspiration to me and I can't wait to work with him. In all
seriousness, I think it's going to be a fabulous show. Having two
presenters gives us lots of creative scope and means we'll have a combination
of intelligence and raw sexual magnetism. I have both. Mark's got quite a
lot of CDs."
Like Mark Radcliffe's previous Radio 2 show, the programme will be
produced by Julia Allen and John Leonard.
John says: "Mark and Stuart make a great partnership. They bring
bucketfuls of knowledge, wit and enthusiasm to everything they do. We're
very excited about this new programme and the opportunities it will create
for making fantastic radio."
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