AN Okehampton councillor has been demonstrating another string to his bow with a weekly radio show dedicated to 1970s music.

Kevin Ball’s That’s 70s Show can be heard on Radio Walkham every Monday morning betweeen 11am and 1pm, livestreamed via the internet.

While the radio station is actually broadcast from Horrabridge, Kevin, known as Kev on the show, actually broadcasts from a studio in Okehampton at the invitation of fellow radio DJ Dan Rose.

Kevin said: ’Dan used to live a few doors down from me and I got to know him because he did a video for OkeRail seven or eight years ago which coincided with the Sunday Rover service coming back to the town.

’He is a professional cameraman, that is his background, and he is having a break at the moment, but he is also a radio DJ. He suggested I give it a go myself. I have been doing it for a year now from Dan’s studio.’

Kevin is building up quite a following for his show and feels that the music he plays offers something for everyone, not just fans who lived the 1970s musically at the time.

’What I love about 1970s music is that it is the one decade that has a massive variety of genres,’ he explained.

’It started out with three-minute pop stuff then went into glam rock then disco and motown. Then you have got prog rock which has 27-minute tracks.

’It obviously finished with punk and though went back to three-minute singles again. All that has something to offer for everyone even if they are not from that era.

’What I try and do is mix it up across the decade. I will have at least two tracks from across the decade and sometimes I will focus on two or three years more heavily.’

’I personally like guitar-based band music, that is my love, but I’ll put on disco and motown and ballady stuff too. The 1970s were also really well known for novelty records. I use the term records because that was what they were in those days.

’I have a few features I do on each show. I do a prog rock track because prog rock was really big in the 70s. I also do the Top 3 of the corresponding date of my show in one year in the 70s. So for my show on November 15, Monday, I looked at the chart archive and I did 1970, the Top 3 for 1970 that day. I try and tell people a bit about the tracks. .

’I do lots of well-known tracks but I also dig out tracks that people don’t necessarily know. What isn’t there to like? People love music.’

You can tune into Kev Ball’s That’s 70s Show on Radio Walkham from 11am to 1pm every Monday at https://streamer.radio.co/s1196a903b/listen or ask alexa to play Radio Walkham.