A Christmas Truce
Christmas Eve 5.15pm
At Christmas 1914, four months into World War One, British and German soldiers on the Western front laid down their weapons. They exchanged small gifts, sang carols, buried their dead, and some even kicked a football around. Thus they created what became known as the Christmas truce. In his diary, one soldier called it “a day unique in the world’s history.”
That “little peace” was brief, yet what is captured of it in soldiers’ letters and diaries makes amazing reading. In this programme, Nelufar Hedayat hears accounts of men who were there, and what their experiences mean to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren today. She finds out how children respond as they hear the story for the first time, visits the place in Flanders where the Christmas truce took place, and separates fact from the myths that have grown around those events in 1914. And she is in the stands at an international youth football tournament in the Belgian town of Ypres where 11-year-olds from both sides are recreating the kick-about on the battered land above the trenches.
This podcast was a finalist in the Jerusalem Awards 2015.
Call Me Christmas Number One
Christmas Eve 6pm
Richard plays some of the songs that have made the coveted Christmas number one through the years.
The A to Z of Your Traditional Christmas
Christmas Eve 11pm
An hour of more traditional Christmas music to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Music on Demand Live for Christmas Day
Christmas Day 8.30am
Dave Sanger is your host for Christmas morning requests.
Andy Lloyd’s Christmas Morning Show
Christmas Day 10am
Andy Lloyd joins HRB for a special Christmas morning show live on radio stations around the UK.
A Chapel Royal Christmas Celebration 2023
Christmas Day 12pm
In the spirit of Christmas, the Chapel Royal Choir, St. James’s Palace, presents a service of words and music exclusively for NHS hospital staff and patient. Featuring well-loved carols, hymns and readings to lift the spirits and heal the soul, the service is a musical offering of gratitude, hope and joy.
Christmas Day Postcard From New Zealand
Christmas Day 12.45pm
Andy McCormick is here on Christmas Day to give listeners a taste of Christmas down under where the temperature is about 25 degrees and shorts on Christmas Day are normal!
The King
Christmas Day 3pm
King Charles III delivers his Christmas message to the Country and the Commonwealth
Music on Demand for Boxing Day
12 – 2pm
John McKay is your host for 2 hours of lunchtime requests.
The Music of…
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Boxing Day 5pm
The Music of Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson 27 December 4pm
The Music of Stevie Wonder 28 December 5pm
The Music of Elton John & Bernie Taupin 30 December 8pm
The Music of Bacharach and David 31 December 5pm
Vernon Pearce presents a special series profiling some of our best known songwriters and playing some of the songs they are best known for.
100 Years of Disney
eMovie Box Disney Special Boxing Day 8pm
Disney and the Music Boxing Day 9pm
An evening of shows marking 100 years of Disney. eMovie Box looks at the films and later Brian Greene relates how the Walt Disney Organization has used music to enhance and endear its films and programmes to generations of the young and the young-at-heart.
Chesney at Christmas
Boxing Day 4pm
90s singer Chesney Hawkes returns to HRB for Christmas.
Chesney Hawkes is one of the icons of the early 1990s. Singer, songwriter, actor and now hospital radio presenter!
With grateful thanks to everyone at Hawkes Productions, he’s taken time out of his busy schedule to record a very special Christmas-themed programme from his studio in Los Angeles dedicated to the listeners to hospital radio in the UK and Ireland.
The show features some classic Christmas hits introduced by The One and Only himself.
The Story of Disco
26 – 29 December 10pm
Keith Graham tells the story of disco music in 4 parts.
The No Christmas Songs Christmas Show
Wednesday 27 December 6pm
DJ Scotty plays some of the songs that have been around over Christmas but have nothing to do with Christmas.
Out and About 2023
As a community radio station broadcasting to Basingstoke on DAB, HRB has been out and about at many big events over the last 12 months. You can hear again highlights of some of them.
Tadley Treacle Fair 28 December 1pm
Alton’s Classic Car Show 28 December 3pm
Basingstoke Transport Festival 1.30pm
Newbury Show New Year’s Day 11am
Top 40 Most Requested of 2023
New Year’s Eve 3pm
Neil Ogden counts down the chart that is compiled from requests played on HRB over the last 12 months.
Abseil into Christmas Highlights
Saturday 30 December 1pm
In November, HRB’s team covered this fundraising event at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital with 6 hours of live shows. The day included HRB’s DJ Scotty broadcasting live while being one of those dressed as Santa while abseiling down the side of the hospital building. This programme features some of the highlights of that day.
Andy McCormick’s Big Slice of Kiwi
Saturday 30 December 3pm
Every month, Andy broadcasts his show from his home in Auckland in New Zealand and includes his Slice of Kiwi feature, a group or artist who comes from New Zealand. This is his annual compilation of some of that music featured on his Postcard from New Zealand show.
Queen: We Will Rock You
Saturday 30 December 9pm
It’s 50 years since Queen released their first album, but their music has remained as fresh as it did decades ago.
In this two hour special, original members Roger Taylor and Brian May talk about the making of some of their biggest hits including Radio Gaga, We Are The Champions, I Want To Break Free, Somebody To Love, Don’t Stop Me Now and of course the blockbuster Bohemian Rhapsody.
Brian May also talks about the formation of the band, his first meeting with Freddie and the how the band’s sound evolved over the years.
Packed with lots of great music and some great stories, this is the perfect 2 hour tribute to one of Britain’s finest rock bands and a great way to spend your evening.
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Voices for NHS75
New Year’s Eve 2pm
The staff at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital celebrate NHS75.
Neil Ogden’s Sound of Sunday: The Best of the Big Broadcast
New Year’s Eve 2.30pm
For 10 years Richard and his team entertained listeners on over 50 hospital radio stations around the UK and Ireland in what became one of the most popular parts of HRB’s holiday schedules, with live music, lots of requests and plenty of celebrities taking part, plus plenty of HRB participation. We’ve picked out some of the best bits of the 12 shows.
HRB New Year’s Eve Music Party
New Year’s Eve 6pm – 1am
HRB’s team host an evening of non-stop dance and party music providing the soundtrack to your New Year’s Eve celebrations including Big Ben at midnight.
Postcard from Spain for New Year’s Day with Vernon Pearce
New Year’s Day 1pm
Vernon reflects on new year in Spain where Christmas doesn’t actually happen until January 5th!
