Sony names Churchill speech best radio moment of all time
Winston Churchill’s famous rallying cry to Briton’s at the outbreak of World War II in which the leader vowed ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’ has been named as the best radio speech of all time.
The stirring words were spoken to the House of Commons on the 4 June 1940 just prior to the fall of France, setting the scene for a feared invasion attempt by Nazi Germany.
Compiled by Sony the call to arms saw off competition from the likes of Chris Moyles and the somewhat less historic event of his record breaking 52 hour radio marathon in 2011 came in eighth and a half hour rant against the BBC came in tenth.
Other historic figures to make the grade were American civil rights leader Martin Luther King and his civil rights speech, which came in second, and the 1985 Live Aid concert which was ranked third.
Rounding out the top five was the 1938 US radio retelling of HG Wells’s War of the Worlds, which caused credulous listeners to fear a genuine Martian invasion was underway and live commentary from the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster.
The top 10 most memorable radio moments were released to announce Sony's new listeners' choice category – The Sony Golden Headphones Award – which is open to the public vote today.