Radio in the Raw By Cilla

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It's a local radio station. Ok, it's the BBC so with that comes plenty of kudos. But it's BBC Radio Humberside - a place I have to admit that I'd steered clear of, probably since its inception, as a not-cool place to be. In those days there was nothing but Radio 1. And Raw Talent is a local live radio show. It's so local, you could see Alan Raw, it's presenter and namesake, at any event in the city. There he'll be, parka and flat cap, far away look in his eyes, like any other punter (well, ok, not really) watching the action. The point is, he's as local as it gets.

I've met him a couple of times, late at night, in the dark. The Welly; worse for wear (me, that is). But the point is, he's there. Maybe not as often as some would like, but I think he makes the effort. Who else is prepared to go on the BBC and stand up for local musicians from Hull? Come to think of it, who's prepared to stand up for this city, anyway? I've been listening regularly to the show for a while, now. It has its critics. I'd rather look on the positive side.

This is what the BBC says: Raw Talent aims to provide a platform for local musicians and bands who perform original music. The BBC is keen to showcase a thriving aspect of local culture - the local band scene - by devoting the Raw Talent programme to the huge wealth of brilliant music being produced in this region. When I was invited to go down to the beautiful new BBC building by Raw Talent's producer, Katy Noone to watch the action while the show was broadcast live, I was delighted. A chance to see what went on. And it was a brilliant experience!

I really wanted to know more about who Katy Noone was. What she was like and what her job was like. A woman in a position such as hers is music to my ears. So Mo and I arrived at the BBC Building last Thursday, running late as usual. I was thinking; We're too late .. we won't get in .. Oh, no ... But we did, of course and it was like stepping into another world. It's gorgeous in there.

And there was Katy Noone, big smile, handshake. She welcomed us and explained that she was helping set up the foyer area for the band that was going to be playing there tonight, Bhuna, an unsigned band from Sheffield. She showed us into the studio then dashed off back to work.

It was a bit like a calm chaos. Step inside the control room and there was The Incredible David Reeves .. making coffee and looking totally at home and relaxed in his hot seat. He pointed through a window in front of his desk to Alan Raw, already on air in Studio 1, talking to his listeners, with William Nowik, New York singer/song writer sitting strumming his guitar, warming up for his acoustic session later in the show.

I was amazed at the array of monitors and gizmo's surrounding Alan - Dave took me into Studio 2 to show me close-up what the studio looked like from the presenters side. It's all pretty clever stuff. I was surprised at how much the poor presenter had to do! I was an eye-opener. Not everybody could do this job.

Lou and Rich Duffy-Howard, organisers of Hull's Grassroots Festival were also there to talk about their Independence Day event to be held on Sunday at the Lamp, with William Nowik and Kurdish group, Gul Naz performing at the final event in this year's Humber Mouth Festival. I listened, enthralled to William Nowik sing, accompanied by his digital acoustic guitar - an amazing instrument, sounding like something I'd never heard before.

Time was rushing by. Katy re-appeared and we sat down for a chat while she had a bit of a break. At last I had a chance to meet her properly. I asked her how she got to be a producer with the BBC. She's been in broadcasting since leaving university. She completed her In-House Journalism training while working for the BBC in London and then continued to progress from Researcher to Presenter (of everything from the news to country music) to Producer.

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