This week it was announced by BBC Radio One, that after over 30 years of support, Madonna is no longer relevant enough for the mainstream BBC1, and being moved to BBC2, the UK radio equivalent of being put out to pasture for good. In a talk with an insider at the station, The Daily Mail reported, “At the end of the day it’s all about relevance. It’s natural that as an artist gets older their audience goes elsewhere and Radio 1 has to reflect that. The station has a duty to meet the needs of younger listeners. I don’t think the audience is losing sleep that it is not playing Madonna in the same way that it used to.”
The Daily Mail continues, “The snub represents a remarkable fall from grace for the star that notched up 13 UK No. 1s between 1985 and 2008. She finds herself alongside Sir Cliff Richard, Take That, Kate Bush and Robbie Williams on a long list of artists who struggle to get new material played on the station.”
While our initial reaction as a gay, assumed liberal audience is to find this ageist, we also have to take a step back and look at quality output and the artists mentioned. It’s no secret that Madonna’s vocal abilities and lyrical content have been on a decline, while her stunts to seem young have been on an incline, but so have the other artists mentioned above as well. Take That and Robbie Williams have been beating the same dead pop horses for 20 years, and despite great vocal output and unwavering hotness, the boys sound about as fresh and edgy as their US counterparts, New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys. Maybe there’s room on the cruise ship for one more.
When you compare these artists recent releases to those of the larger acts popular in and out of the UK (Ed Sheeran, Disclosure, Adele, Jessie J) there’s a fire and passion along with great vocals that spew from these younger artists that are no longer there with the warhorses. And while we have affection for the veterans, the younger generation doesn’t yet, and won’t until these folks have time to step back, let the younger kids have their day, and create a craving for a comeback. We have to sometimes step back and see that our nostalgia for acts of our prime don’t carry the same weight as current acts to youth. The youth cannot be underestimated, and they do know good from bad, passion from complacency. It’s possible to stay hip and relevant, but the older you get, the better you must get, and the kids will be alright. One day we’ll all be discussing Sam Smith and Beyonce in the same light. All in time.
Come hear DJ Moose being totally 90s irrelevant at “9021Otter at The SoFo Tap” this Saturday