Boom Radio, the station targeting disaffected Radio 2 listeners, is adding punk rock to its line-up in a bid to lure more of the BBC‘s audience.
Boom plans to sweep up an army of “punk pensioners”, who once sported mohicans and pogoed to The Sex Pistols, but whose musical tastes are no longer being served by a youth-focused BBC, the station claims.
However the BBC denied it is neglecting punk lovers, pointing to a series of new specials about the genre and its continued presence on its playlists.
Launched in 2021, Boom has built an audience of 700,000 loyal listeners over 60, playing the swinging pop classics from the 50s to the 70s, introduced by veteran ex-BBC DJs including David “Diddy” Hamilton. Since Boom’s launch, Radio 2 has lost two million listeners, as well as popular presenters including Ken Bruce, though it is still the UK’s most-listened to station with an audience of 12.4 million.
Next week, Boom will broadcast a new documentary telling the story of Stiff Records, the independent label which released the first UK punk single, New Rose by The Damned, in October 1976. The BBC told the Stiff Records story in a 2019 radio documentary.
