Gordon Hutter Gets the Palm From Relief Camp Listeners

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 37, 22 March 1935, Page 5

Gordon Hutter Gets the Palm From Relief Camp Listeners

H.:i broadcasting means to us? Well, it’s a big question when it comes to ascertaining the opinions of 45 men'in a relief camp such as this one. But the general opinion in the camp is that radio means a lessening of the isolation which is natural in the circumstances; more so in view of the lack of amusements in the surrounding districts. The nearest town is 27 miles away. When we have to fall back on our own efforts to amuse ourselves radio naturally helps relieve the tedium considerably. \ Sporting broadcasts draw a full house. By eneral acclaim Gordon Hutter gets the palm for Mis snappy commentaries on racing and wrestling. The football commentation and his racing

notes from 2YA run a close second. Richard Tauber, Richard Crooks, Gladys Moncrieff and Gracie Fields have the biggest appeal when it comes to vocal numbers. Their repertoires cater for everyone’s taste. Except for John McCormack and the more hackneyed classical airs, no one cares for high-brow music. Men who have to be ready at 7.15 for work (which includes travelling 74 miles each way) prefer to come home and hear music with an obvious melody to it. They are too tired to appreciate chromatic subtleties. The younger element prefer the latest hits. That is why we always tune-in when the stations are testing, you hear numbers that you might not hear in the regular programmes until much later.