Whilst a Graham Norton Saturday on Virgin is pretty much the same as it always was, there is one difference that is grating a little: Virgin Radio really is the musical home of boys and their guitars.
Looking at the Virgin Radio 100 Last Songs playlist on Spotify at this exact point of writing, we have Travis, Oasis, Kings of Leon, Blur, BANNERS, The Killers, Ed Sheeran and Texas. Check any day and you’ll get such a mix. That’s the sound of Virgin Radio.
But it’s not the sound of Graham’s radio shows until now. The relentless twang of guitar pop feels like a limitation to the show we are used to.
Graham has been trying to sneak some more Radio 2 friendly music past the six-stringed regime. “I wonder how Diana Ross would sound on Virgin Radio” he joked before treating us to some 1979 Motown disco in the welcome tones of The Boss. Even recent guest, Melanie C commented: “thank you for having me on – I know it’s not exactly the demographic of music that you tend to play on Virgin”.
Regular Norton listeners will be pining for a more varied music mix. Where are records by Alison Moyet? Harriet? Even S Club 7! It was lovely to hear Melanie C’s Ibiza-tinged single Into You but even that only got a spin because she was being interviewed.
The show’s playlist seems even more grating on the new Sunday morning show. I mean I’m sure there is a time and a place for the strident tones of Florence and the Machine but 9.40am on a Sunday morning is definitely not it. Stentorian banshee caterwauling is not a welcome addition to the week’s laziest day.