Prolonged exposure to commercial radio might constitute extreme audio torture in my book (the gurning hosts, the jingles, the soul-destroyingly appalling music on high rotation) - but its origins are surprising and fascinating.
As Kieran Morris recounts in an article for the Guardian, it all began in 1970 with the United Biscuits Network (UBN), which took inspiration and indeed staff from Radio Caroline and other pirate radio stations of the 1960s, and was established as a means of boosting the morale and productivity of factory workers engaged in monotonous and repetitive labour.
It was also, Morris notes, "a unique opportunity for fledgling DJs": a 24-hour enterprise with top-spec kit. Many of those who cut their teeth at UBN went on to have instrumental roles in the emergence and development of commercial stations around the country.
UBN is perhaps not a cultural milestone to be celebrated, admittedly - not least because it propelled Dale Winton to national fame - but the fact that commercial radio's roots lie in a not entirely benevolent industrial strategy nevertheless makes for an interesting story.
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