A. J. ALAN STORIES
[RADIO-SERIES]
Before the BBC started in the late 1940s re-broadcasting what few A. J. Alan recordings they had
preserved, the next airwaves manifestation of the Alan personality occurred in Australia,
constituting, in effect, an A. J. programme without A. J. Four years after Lambert’s death
Melbourne station 3AW revived his art of storytelling, with a boost from the original stories
themselves. The narrative voice of “A. J.” was supplied by announcer John Dease, who was also
“The Professor” on the Australian version of The Quiz Kids.
[The Listener In, June 1945] “A new 15-minute feature, ‘A. J. Alan Stories,’ will be heard from
3AW each Thursday at 9 p.m. beginning June 21. Stories will be read by John Dease.
“The author, A. J. Alan, first told these stories over the B.B.C. It is said that he never broadcast
from scripts, his stories being told spontaneously as he stood before the microphone. They are
preserved only because his wife, listening to the broadcasts, noted them in shorthand. For some
time the B.B.C. refused to divulge Alan’s name, and much publicity was built up about his so-
called ‘ghost voice’.”
[The Listener In, June ??, 1945, “The A. J. Alan Stories on 3AW”] “The ‘A. J. Alan’ stories which
first made their appearance on the B.B.C. in the middle ‘30’s have belatedly arrived on the
Victorian air. 3AW has shown the good sense to introduce this enjoyable feature which
represents, I believe, the first attempt to write a series of short stories deliberately for radio. In
other words, the stories are written to be listened to, not merely to be read in printed form.
“ ‘A. J. Alan’ is a pseudonym, and I understand that in the B.B.C. presentation they were read by
the author, whose easy, intimate style contributed greatly to their success. The stories range over
the whimsical, ghostly, fantastic and thrilling and should make it worth any listener’s while to
tune in at 9 on Thursday nights. John Dease reads the stories, and on the whole reads them very
well—though perhaps a shade too quickly and with just a little too much heartiness.
“Reading radio stories is an art not fully developed in Australia, and John Dease has both the
opportunity and the ability to create a tradition.”
ORIGINATION: 3AW-3CV, Melbourne, Victoria.
DURATION: June 21-December 20, 1945.
PERSONNEL: John Dease (voice of “A. J. Alan”), Victor Lloyd (announcer).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
[CHRONOLOGY]
A. J. ALAN STORIES (3AW-3CV, MELBOURNE)
[Thursday—9:00-9:15 PM]
June 21, 1945 “Castle in Wales”
June 28, 1945 “First of April”
July 5, 1945 “The 19 Club”
July 12, 1945 “My Adventure in Norfolk”
July 19, 1945 “Charles”
[Thursday—9:15-9:30 PM]
July 26, 1945 “The B.B.I.”
[Thursday—9:00-9:15 PM]
August 2, 1945
August 9, 1945 “The Hair”
August 16, 1945 “The Dream”
August 23, 1945 “The Suitcase”
August 30, 1945 “H2”
September 6, 1945 “Wandering Minstrels”
September 13, 1945 “A Coincidence”
September 20, 1945 “Cabman’s Shelter”
September 27, 1945 “An Impromptu Dance”
October 4, 1945 “Mr. Warbeck”
October 11, 1945 “Wottie”
October 18, 1945 “A Joyride”
October 25, 1945 “17:45”
November 1, 1945 “My Adventure on Dartmoor”
November 8, 1945 “Percy the Prawn”
November 15, 1945 “The Picture”
November 22, 1945 “The Zoo Tickets”
November 29, 1945 “The Diptych”
December 6, 1945 “The Diver”
December 13, 1945 “The Sweep”
December 20, 1945 “Cinderella Up to Date”
[SOURCES]
PERIODICALS: The Argus [Melbourne];
(Special thanks to Ian Grieve for information supplied.)
[GALLERY]