The ageless, smile-in-the-voice tones of its presenter, Sheila Tracy, helped to make Big Band Special on BBC Radio 2 a priority destination for lovers of swing music. Tracy had been a professional musician herself, on the road with the Ivy Benson band for several years in the 1950s. Indeed, she was known to whip out her trombone and join her fellow instrumentalists in the BBC Big Band for non-broadcast concerts. Musicians knew that she understood their world, and respected her enthusiasm for their craft. This became readily apparent when Tracy, who has died aged 80, turned interviewer and assembled the reminiscences of big-band players in two highly regarded books.
When the BBC decided in 2000 that she should be replaced as presenter of Big Band Special, there was an outcry among fans, but to no avail. However, commercial radio soon came calling and Swingtime with Sheila ran on Primetime Radio until the station folded in 2006.
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