Malcolm Wheatman, of Kendal, recalls the American Forces Network in the 1950s

WHEN the Americans joined WWII, they firstly invaded Britain. The phrase 'over paid, over sexed, and over here' was used by some, glad to see them, others not.

American popular music included Glenn Miller and his influence was heard in many British dance bands.

Jiving was discouraged by most dance hall proprietors as some energetic dancers after seeing the film 'Hellzapoppin', copied, or tried to copy, the furious routines ('jitterbugging') of the Lindy Hoppers.

Ted Heath's big band sometimes played American arrangements but in their own full-band chord style. Missing were the contrapuntal riffs typical of some transatlantic bands.

At the time, the BBC's output of popular music was minimal and within a narrow range.

Teenagers, seeking something more exciting, switched to stations such as Radio Luxembourg, '208'.

I remember, in the hot summer of 1952, in the evening, walking through the centre of RAF Padgate where hundreds of billets all had their windows open and 1950s pop music in unison flooded the whole area. Everyone's radio was loudly tuned to '208'!

Some people, such as me, preferred the American Forces network (AFN), who offered jazz and easy-style avuncular sounding DJs, totally different from BBC radio where announcers still dressed in formal dinner jackets just to read the news.

Reception of '208' and AFN in Kendal was mostly poor, so BBC's late-night Saturday 'Record Round Up' with Jack Jackson was popular.

He mixed records with excerpts from comedy shows such as the Goons, interposing his own voice, a style that was a foretaste of Kenny Everett.

He would eventually liven up the airwaves, broadcasting from an offshore 'Pirate Ship', Radio Caroline, spearheading a radical change in broadcasting pop music.