FEATURE: Bands on the Run: BBC Radio 6 Music’s #TShirtDay: A Family United

FEATURE:

 

 

Bands on the Run

xxxxx.jpg

IN THIS PHOTO: Róisín Murphy  getting properly stuck into BBC Radio 6 Music’s T-Shirt Day/PHOTO CREDIT: @roisinmurphy

BBC Radio 6 Music’s #TShirtDay: A Family United

___________

IT is simple in concept…

 IN THIS PHOTO: BBC Radio 6 Music’s Georgie Rogers sporting her T-shirt choice/PHOTO CREDIT: @GeorgieRogers

but, every year, BBC Radio 6 Music has their T-Shirt Day. It has a very simple business model: people wear T-shirts with bands and artists on them and, using the hashtag #TShirtDay, they post a snap online for a chance to get that artist’s music played. Today has been a frantic day on my social media, as the day was trending on Twitter for hours and hours! Check back on the station’s schedules from today (20th November) at 7 a.m., and you can relive all the magic. It does sound like a simple concept but, what we heard as the day unfolded, was the sheer scope of the community and family! From BBC Radio 2 to venues and organisations around the world, people were sharing their photos of T-shirts! Everyone was banded together in a day of some sensational music! As important as the playlists are on BBC Radio 6 Music, it was great having that set aside for a day as we got this varied and fascinating new playlist. There are several reasons as to why BBC Radio 6 Music’s T-Shirt Day is a success. The music played is so varied because, essentially, anyone can request anything. Most stations have limits to the type of music they play, and it was nice to have the broad and endlessly-curious BBC Radio 6 Music expand their playlist ever further and include artists that do not get played much on the station – including Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, and PJ & Duncan. From ABBA and Pink Floyd through to Moloko and Car Seat Headrest, there was such an assortment of sounds!

I think a lot of people would have discovered so many new artists through the day’s celebrations. Launched by Steve Lamacq and colleagues (Lamacq took the helm at the station from 4 p.m. today and will see things through until 7) years ago, T-Shirt Day has taken off and has become almost like Christmas to music lovers of BBC Radio 6 Music (and wider afield)! I think that is another reason why the day is so special. We have all been so divided and isolated and, let’s be fair, most of what we see on social media has some negative aspect or it can be quite downbeat! Seeing so many smiling people proudly sport their various musical T-shirts was a rainbow and explosion of togetherness in a dark year. We know that the BBC Radio 6 Music family is wide-ranging and committed, but we got a real sense of just how many people listened to the station today and wanted to participate. I feel sorry for the social media team who have been tasked with sharing so many photos and organising the influx of messages and tweets that came through (and continue to do so) – and what has been happening on Facebook! I think the station would have accrued a lot of new listeners who, tempted by the news and hashtag of #TShirtDay, decided to tune in and bask in all the great music and messages! The final reason why the day is so special is because it is amazing how something as simple as a T-shirt can mean so much to so many people. I have a few music T-shirts myself – including ones for Steely Dan, Madonna, and IDLES -, and they mean so much more than them being clothing.

So many people who sent photos to BBC Radio 6 Music today have fond memories of getting the T-shirts. Whether it was at a merchandise stall at a gig or they bought it somewhere else, the fabric that they wear carries so much weight. This year, we have not been able to get to gigs much…so there is something bittersweet regarding gig T-shirts. We all yearn to be at gigs and, by digging out our special and loved T-shirts, we reconnect with past gigs but, also, there is a sadness that we could not acquire new band T-shirts in 2020 at these gigs. I guess there is online merchandise, and, after BBC Radio 6 Music’s day of community and love, I would urge people to support musicians by buying merchandise like T-shirts. I think we will see an influx anyway but, after such a day where so many people have been bonding over their T-shirts this will translate, I think, into people snapping up T-shirts from new artists and classic acts. I lost track of everything that was going on online up to a point – with the sheer number of posts! – but, as T-Shirt Day clocks off at 7 p.m., I just wanted to reflect on the positivity it gave to so many people. It is a shame the day cannot be more regular than once a year but, in a year with so little live music, people responded more passionately than ever! I think next year when gigs will start coming back and, if anything, we might see even more people sharing shots of themselves in various T-shirts. It has been a truly exciting and familial day at the station where music of all varieties and shapes was spun. From the threads of Steve Lamacq and company’s brilliant idea to a bumper 2020, the listeners of BBC Radio 6 Music proved that they are one of the radio world’s…

MOST dedicated and passionate families!

Sam Liddicott