There are quite a few people who think that Chris Evans is
completely bonkers to attempt to buy Virgin Radio as Capital Radio’s
merger bid gets more and more bogged down with the Monopolies and
Mergers Commission. But we’ve discovered that anything is possible if
you put your mind to it.
In 1973, a dental surgeon from London was extremely enthusiastic about
commercial radio and keen to convince everyone he knew that setting up a
station purely for the capital would be a viable endeavour.
The dentist, Barclay Barclay White, enthused so much about his plan that
he won the backing of several of his wealthier patients - Lord
Attenborough, Sir George Martin, Brian Forbes and David Jacobs. The
shareholding of the company was shared between the five of them and two
other local businessmen.
The name of this local station? Capital Radio.
As we all know, Capital has gone from strength to strength. We
understand that now, at the tender age of 70, Barclay White has hung up
his headphones and retired for a well-earned rest in the Home
Counties.
See, Evans? That could be you one day.
