One of the benefits of an infinite dial has been having the ability in the New York area to button punch between two Broadway channels since early 2019. Sirius XM’s showtunes channel has always been willfully deep, similar to its approach with other gold-based channels. iHeart Broadway doesn’t go as far, but it also turned out to be not just megahits, especially as time has gone by.
Now streaming brings another interesting take. The U.K.’s relatively robust digital radio dial has been responsible for a slew of recent launches. Bauer’s successful AC, Magic Radio, which last year grabbed headlines as the first U.K. broadcast outlet to go all-Christmas, has just unveiled their new DAB/streaming channel, Magic At The Musicals.
On First Listen, Magic At The Musicals differs from its U.S. counterparts most notably in its willingness to mine movie music, not just the West End. There’s still a good swath of music, ranging from the Robert Preston song from “Mack And Mabel” that reminded me why that show still has a following, to “Into the Unknown,” from the just-released “Frozen 2.”
Here’s an hour of Magic At The Musicals, starting at about 9:30 p.m., on Dec. 3:
- Mack And Mabel, “I Won’t Send Flowers” (1974)
- Kinky Boots, “Not My Father’s Son” (2013)
- Cats, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” (1982, although Shazam seemed to think this was the new soundtrack version)
- The Bodyguard, “Run To You” (1993, the Whitney Houston chart single)
- The Sound of Music, “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” (1965)
- Follies, “Losing My Mind” (1971)
- Billy Elliot, “Born To Boogie” (2006)
- Company, “Getting Married Today” (2019, from the current London hit version)
- Mary Poppins, “Feed The Birds (Tuppence A Bag)” (1964, Julie Andrews)
- Gypsy, “Rose’s Turn” (1959)
- We Will Rock You, “Under Pressure” (2002, the Queen musical is a gift that keeps giving in 2019)
- The Lion King, “Hakuna Matata” (1997, from Broadway, not either film version)
- Dear Evan Hanson, “Waving Through A Window” (2019, from the just-opening West End version featuring Sam Tully, staged with a host talking about the show and its phenomenal Broadway run)
- Jesus Christ Superstar, “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” (1971, the Yvonne Elliman hit)
- A Chorus Line, “One” (1975)
- A Little Night Music, “Send In The Clowns” (1973)
- The Book Of Mormon, “You And Me” (2011)
Meanwhile, the parent channel, Magic Radio, is in its second year as “100% Christmas.” When monitored on Sunday, Dec. 8, Magic was heading into a special interview with Robbie Williams, who has just released a chart-topping holiday album. By relative degrees, Magic is a little more contemporary than some of its U.S. counterparts—which is to say more ‘70s/’80s Classic Hits and less ‘40s/’50s MOR. Here’s Magic at 3 p.m.:
- Mel Smith & Kim Wilde, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (the British comedian and “You Keep Me Hanging On” pop star from the late ’80s, calling themselves Mel & Kim, in reference to the dance/pop duo of the time)
- Wizzard, “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”
- Carpenters, “Merry Christmas Darling”
- Michael Bublé, “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”
- Jamie Cullum, “Show Me The Magic”
- Ronettes, “Sleigh Ride”
- Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
- Eagles, “Please Come Home For Christmas”
- Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
- Whitney Houston, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
- Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
- Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale Of New York”
- Chris DeBurgh, “A Spaceman Came Traveling”
- Leona Lewis, “One More Sleep” (2013 single that has become a regular part of holiday radio)
- Elvis Presley, “Blue Christmas”