Complainant says band is ‘Scotland’s answer to the Beatles’ and Johnnie Walker not playing one of their songs in more than 310 Radio 2 shows is anti-Scottish

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The BBC has stood by its decision to reject a complaint of bias for not playing a Bay City Rollers song in more than 310 shows by a BBC Radio 2 DJ showcasing classics from the 1970s.

The complainant, who said the band is “Scotland’s answer to the Beatles”, said licence fee payers were entitled to hear what they wanted and that the show’s DJ was “unreasonably biased” against the band.

The complainant said the band, who had hits including Bye Bye Baby, had not featured once in six years of DJ Johnnie Walker’s BBC Radio 2 show “Sounds of the 70s”.

The complainant accused the BBC of showing bias against Scottish licence fee payers.

BBC audience services admitted that Walker had made “no secret” of his “poor opinion and dislike” of the band, but his job is to play classic tracks he feels his audience will “most enjoy”.

The BBC added that if felt the complainant hadn’t raised an issue that justified further investigation.

The issue eventually ended up being assessed by the BBC Trust’s complaints and appeals board.

The trust’s panel said the choice of music played on the radio show was a matter for the BBC executive, not the corporation’s governing body.

It said the show was named after the presenter and “reflected his taste”.

The panel added there was no evidence that his decision not to play Bay City Roller’s songs was because they were a Scottish band.

“Trustees agreed that it was not appropriate, proportionate or cost-effective to proceed with the appeal as it did not have a reasonable prospect of success,” the trust ruled.