What is the name of the music played before the late Shipping Forecast on Radio 4?
The music before the late-night shipping forecast is called Sailing By. It was composed by Ronald Binge (died in 1979), who wrote other light music, notably Elizabethan Serenade. He also arranged Charmaine for Mantovani’s orchestra. The music has the function of filling the airtime between the end of the late reading, at approximately 00.45am, and the shipping forecast at 00.48am, which mariners rightly expect Radio 4 to transmit precisely on schedule. Occasionally, Sailing By might not be played at all because of time constraints. The version of Sailing By that Radio 4 uses is not available commercially. However, a similar recording, featuring the late Ronnie Aldrich on the piano, has been issued by Seaward Records Ltd, Strathallan Castle, Port St Mary, Isle of Man. The tune is also on a CD, The Music of Ronald Binge, from Marco Polo Records, number 8.223515. If I have an idea for a Radio 4 programme, how do I find out more about the Radio 4 Commissioning Process? Generally, if it is
