Just read jollyrogers comment on the Radio 2 thread, nice post btw,jolly, but it got me thinking should we be happy Steve's classics have received 5 plays in recent days, & to be honest it actually got me quite angry the classics are comparatively overlooked in favour of current or older acts, who quite frankly aren't fit to lace the great mans boots, so, I decided, rather than just get annoyed I'd let the beeb know exactly how, I, as a liscence payer felt at such a disgraceful situation, in the form of this complaint:-

Earlier today I read a post on Steve Harley.com, the main gist of which was the happiness of the poster at 5 Steve Harley tracks being played within a few days of each other, initially I too was happy at such airplay, but then i thought, hold on, 5 bloody tracks in a few days for one of the finest songwriters/performers this country has EVER produced, whilst certain artists, past & present (few of whom are fit to lace Steve's boots) are played 5 times daily, or more,no way bbc this just isn't good enough, this isn't a request, its a DEMAND, play more STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBEL, NOW!!!!! His back catalogue stands comparison with all major artists, from the obvious hits, Make Me Smile, Judy Teen, Mr.Soft, to absolute classics Sebastian, Tumbling Down, Death Trip, to more recent(but sadly overlooked) beauties, The Last Time I Saw You, Journey's End, Coast of Amalfi, Friend For Life, a song which no other than a certain Mr. Rod Stewart saw fit to cover(very well) on his most recent album, if Steve's songs are good enough for Rod, they're more than good enough for Radio 2 listeners, sort it, NOW! BTW, as a taxi driver I listen to a lot of CD's during my work, which obviously customers also hear, and without fail, whenever I'm listening to SH&CR cd, comments about whatever song may be on that time are always extremely favourable, so much so, as 1 particular passenger liked his music so much, several days after he'd been in my car, he tapped on my window to inform me he'd just been out and bought several of Steve's back catalogue

Surely, if we all bombard the beebs complaints dept. about this situation, we may see a truly well deserved rise in the airplay time afforded to some of the greatest tunes ever!

Rant over, feel so much better for that, especially with Sebastian playing in the background

I know what you're saying but I'm sure the other artists from the same decade get a similar deal where certain hits of theirs get played all the time as opposed to some of their album tracks which are totally ignored. A group like Slade have a fine back catalogue but at this time of year guess which song of theirs will get played to death? Mainstream radio will only play 'the hits' and if a DJ announces 'Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel coming up next' 99 times out of a hundred you know it's going to be Make Me Smile. A radio station concentrating mainly on album tracks can explore an artists full repertoire giving us a wider range of their material. Sounds of the 70's went some of the way to prove Cockney Rebel were no 'one trick ponies' by playing songs other than MMS. Frustrating I know but we as fans should be happy that we are 'in on the secret' that Steve and Cockney Rebel were one of the best band's around during(and beyond) the 1970's.

Psychomenagerie. I know where you are coming from but it's probably better not to rant. There's an awful lot of over-played dross on Radio 2 but I think it's more productive to request tracks you like on say, for instance, Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the Seventies or else just send thanks when Steve's songs are played. Pledging £100 for Comic Relief for a play of a song might just work at the right time of the year. (I've never done that BTW)

The main point I was trying to make is, as Steve, certainly to me, is Rock royalty, his music should be played far more regularly than it is, especially on licence funded radio stations, as too, should artists like Slade, and many others who have contributed so much to the incredibly rich tapestry of British music & culture, & not just the hits, but also classic album tracks. I wonder just how many acts of the last 20/30 years have been influenced & inspired by artists like Steve, who may not have enjoyed the commercial success of Elton, Rod, or Bowie, but certainly will have been as big a source of inspiration to future generations of musicians, sorry if it seems like I'm preaching to the converted, as I'm sure everyone on this forum already knows all that, but I just find it so frustrating that so much truly great music doesn't reach as many people as the shite that masquerades as music nowadays gets to.
So surely, its got to be worth a few minutes of everybody's time to let the beeb know, we want more of the classic artists, and songs, than whatever is current now, but will be totally forgotten in years to come, if not months.

Agree with everything said. Should send a full list of Steve's songs to the Steve Wright show for the listeners favourite tracks spot.

We have suggested to Steve Wright Sunday Love Songs that they listen to and play "A FRIEND FOR LIFE" - Steve's original. Never heard it so far, but will push them on it again!!