BBC Radio reaches 90 years with Damon Albarn marking the celebration

Damon Albarn’s 2LO Calling piece was played on all BBC domestic radio stations to mark BBC’s 90th anniversary

09:47 15 November 2012

The BBC is 90 years old, and to mark the huge event Damon Albarn’s composition entitled 2LO Calling, was played simultaneously on all the BBC’s domestic radio stations and parts of the World Service.

The title of the composition was named after the original 2LO transmitter that was used by BBC in 1922 when they first went on air. The composition features sounds related to the BBC’s rich history, like the famous “pips” time signal, a Bertrand Russell quote in Morse Code, and the chimes of Big Ben.

Albarn talked about the piece, saying: "There is a special musicality to some of the vocal messages, which I tried to preserve."

"I don't know what the various audiences will make of it, but I tried to get at least a flavour of all the stuff I was trying to give them. You can't make it too Radio 4, or particularly Radio 1, [although] in Nigeria neither of those apply, or in Afghanistan."

BBC first hit the airwaves on November 14th, 1922. The company has grown and based on their own figures, the BBC has 239million listeners around the world.