“Had I, for example, pocketed one of the Children in Need collecting tins? Had my numerous expense claims for chocolate muffins come to the attention of the auditors? Had someone finally unearthed copies of those old student magazines and discovered that article I’d written about the Pope?”
The Red Light Zone
About a month away from the official launch of The Red Light Zone and review copies have been landing on the desks of journalists and radio newsrooms around the country. It’s oddly disquieting to get random messages from people who are actually reading my wee book. So far, those messages have been positive, even allowing for the text I received from Radio Clyde journo Rob Waller who told me he was speed-reading chapters between news bulletins and was slightly traumatised by my description of the Clyde newsroom in the 1990s. Similarly my old radio chum, Tom Morton, described the book as funny and moving, but also felt strangely disturbed by memories of our time together in Inverness. David Walker at MFR, meanwhile, has taken his copy home for holiday reading. Lets hope my memories of Moray Firth Radio don’t cause him such anxiety.
Stations like Nation Radio Scotland didn’t exist when I was working in the business, but I’m now a firm fan thanks to a glowing on-air review from Suzie McGuire. She has promised to send me the clip. Equally blush-worthy was the praise heaped on me by Tessa Williams who interviewed me today on her show for Chat and Spin Radio.
Meanwhile, if you are looking to pre-order a copy of the book at a discount price, I see it’s now on the booktopia.com.au site for just $22.25. But you have to be in Australia. Best stick to Waterstones and amazon.co.uk if you live here.
Years before Jamie Oliver tried the same trick, BBC Radio Scotland had a format in which famous folk were invited to teach a lesson in a Scottish school. The series was called Class Act and included names such as theatre impresario Cameron Mackintosh, Chef Brian Turner and newsreader Dermot Murnaghan. My favourite edition featured the comedy actor, Karen Dunbar who talked to pupils about her childhood dream of being on television or in movies. She also described her own anxiety and confidence issues and illustrated it with this tale of going for an audition, almost bottling out and then asking herself some key questions.
This week’s pre-launch happenings included a call from a producer with Talk Radio Europe. She wanted to pencil me in for an interview in January and naturally I agreed and started figuring out how I could get to their studios in Spain. No need, as it turns out they are happy to do the interview on the phone or on Skype. That’s a pity.
I first came across TRE when Kaye Adams linked up with them as part of BBC Radio Scotland’s coverage of the European referendum. Last night I tuned in again and, of course, the whole Brexit debate was still occupying the minds of their listeners. I’m sure it will all be done and dusted by the time I make my appearance on their airwaves in January – or maybe not.
In other news, a major Scottish company has got behind the book launch thanks to a daft joke I make about product placement in my acknowledgements section. No prizes for guessing which company if I tell you I’m now sorted for teacakes and caramel wafers for the next few weeks!
And, I’m now included on the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature programme. That means you can book me for your festival or arts event and the nice people at the SBT will help with a bit of the funding. I might even bring some teacakes too!
There’s an appendix to The Red Light Zone which I’ve called The Green Light Zone. It’s a list of fifty radio programmes which I’m proud to have commissioned or else had some involvement in the production. Among that fifty is the Radio Scotland Listeners’ Christmas Lunch. I pitched this to the then Head of Radio, Maggie Cunningham, as a way we could kill two festive birds with one stone. First, we could offer a bit of a thankyou to our audience by inviting them to join their favourite presenters for a big of a nosh-up in the big orchestra studio at Queen Margaret Drive. Secondly, it would allow our presenters to come face to face with the audience so that they could picture them when broadcasting.
We did this for three years in a row – some presenters enjoyed it more than others – and we laid on some cabaret entertainment while our guests were digesting their turkey and pudding. In this clip from 2003, Gary Robertson invites Robbie Shepherd, Janice Forsyth, Bryan Burnett and Jim Traynor (who was then presenting Your Call) to swap jobs.
While researching the book, I opened a flight case of old video tapes and have spent some time resurrecting them into a new digital life-form. Among them was about an hour of footage from a fun run that BBC Radio Scotland organised with the villagers of Dalmellington in March 2004.
This was one of the final events of our SoundTown collaboration with Doon Academy and, despite the rain (which hampered my best efforts to capture any useful shots on my little camera) a host of BBC staff and presenters joined local people for the 5K race around this former mining town. See how many you can spot.
For me, watching the video is a bittersweet experience. I see lots of old friends and colleagues, but also some people we have lost in the past 14 years.
Good memories, though.
Just seven weeks now until the official launch event for The Red Light Zone and a lot has been happening in the past few days. My announcement of the book on social media was timed to coincide with the 40th birthday of BBC Radio Scotland. That prompted a call from Sunday Post reporter Janet Boyle who then wrote a very positive piece about the enduring appeal of radio and she included a couple of extracts from the book which she described as “entertaining and rambunctious” – so you can expect to see that quote on a poster soon. I might skip the headline where I’m described as a “veteran broadcaster”!
Yesterday I made the journey from Inverness to Berwick upon Tweed because the charming crew at Martins the Printer had kindly invited me to watch the book rolling off their huge German presses. I’ve attached some video of that below. Martins was a family firm for about a hundred years and they undertake all manner of work for all sorts of people. I did glimpse a copy of a new work by a very famous author, but I’m not allowed to breathe a word about that. It was good to see how the process works and also good to hear that there’s been a bit of a reversal in Scottish and British publishers sending their work to China.
Also this week, I’m able to tell you about my first festival booking. Next March I’ll be on the ‘spoken word’ programme at the Lochwinnoch Arts Festival. Totally thrilled to be at the same event as one of my favourite authors – and former Radio Scotland presenter – Bernard MacLaverty.
More soon.
Writing a book, as I’ve discovered, is not even half the story. When you are hammering away at your keyboard, it feels like a solitary occupation but the actual process leading to publication is a collaboration which requires the skills, talents and experience of so many people. My publisher, Lunicorn – a small independent firm based in Lochwinnoch, is headed by two of the most hard-working and dedicated women I’ve ever worked with. Lyn and Laura are on duty almost 24 hours a day and since they encouraged me to start writing my little book of memoirs way back in the late spring, have coaxed and cajoled me through nine drafts and to the point where we are now able to talk publicly about the book and start responding to queries from journalists and festival organisers.
Along the way, we called upon the talents of an editor, a proof-reader, a lawyer, a photographer, an artist and a book designer. Next stage is to see the book actually roll off a huge printing press and then have the file of my manuscript converted into the various formats demanded by Kindle and other e-readers. That requires more people with particular skills.
Up until now it has all felt a little unreal – but reality bit me today when my dentist told me she had seen the book advertised on amazon.co.uk and had pre-ordered it.
As if going to the dentist wasn’t scary enough.
On this website we’ll be adding pictures and video content releated to the book, The Red Light Zone: An Insider’s laugh ‘n’ tell of BBC Radio. In this post, author Jeff Zycinski, explains – and apologises – for the misleading title of his memoirs of a career in the BBC and commercial radio.
The Red Light Zone? Yes, I know. it’s a bit misleading, isn’t it? I’m sorry if you came across this site thinking it might be an edgy expose of Amsterdam brothels, Edinburgh massage parlours of Lochwinnoch tearoooms (we’ve all heard the stories). But no – it’s all about my book on radio, which is sexy in its own way, of course.
It’s The Red Light Zone because much of my career has been spent in sound proof studios where the red light signifies a live microphone and a reminder not to cough, sneeze, swear or blurt out any honest thoughts about the Government, Opposition parties, Ofcom, the BBC Director General, awards committees, football teams, and accordionists, But now that I’ve left the BBC, that red light is off and I can say what I like about all of those things.
So let me tell you about how I sold my mind and body to broadcasting and about the people I met, the places I visited and the programmes we made, Friends have asked if this is going to be one of those ‘kiss ‘n’ tell’ memoirs, but I don’t think my air-kissing encounters with luvvies would justify that description. However, there were lots of laughs so maybe ‘laugh ‘n’ tell’ is more appropriate.
There are movie stars, one car chase and some nudity. Not much sex though.
Again, sorry about that.
The book is published in January 2019, but you can pre-order by clicking the link below to amazon.co.uk.
Jeff's Zones 