BBC Radio 2 Love Brass: St George's Hall Bradford concert with Marti Pellow, Carly Paoli and Black Dyke Band to air on Easter Sunday

It’s a passion for brass that inspired the station’s celebration of this most Yorkshire of musical styles in April, when it brought some of its star presenters to the region as part of the Big Brass Blowout weekend.

“We love brass music at Radio 2,” says Helen. “We play such a wide variety of music of all eras and genres, from the 1960s to the present day, and this just felt like such a fantastic moment to shine a spotlight on the UK City of Culture, to come and have fun with you guys, really!”

During his broadcast on April 11 for the BBC Radio 2 Loves Brass season, Vine also delved into the area’s history, commemorated the Bradford City fire almost 40 years on and enjoyed a performance from the Bantam Of The Opera choir – a group of football fans learning to sing alongside club legend Chris Kamara.

Later that day, the BBC Radio 2 Loves Brass concert at St George’s Hall brought together Marti Pellow and Carly Paoli to perform alongside Queensbury’s world-renowned Black Dyke Band – an event that will be showcased in a special programme on Easter Sunday. Zoe Ball presented the evening, her first public event since stepping down from the station’s breakfast show.

Helen, who grew up in Hull, was particularly moved by Black Dyke Band’s performance of That’ll Do, the Randy Newman-penned song recorded for the film Babe: Pig in the City.

"That song always makes me think of Terry Wogan, because Terry Wogan used to play that track a lot when he was doing breakfast at Radio 2, when I first joined the station. First of all, hearing that song live was amazing and then seeing this 19-year-old play the flugelhorn so beautifully – it's so moving.”

She is clearly passionate about the types of events her station – which has 13.6 million listeners a week, she points out – puts on around the country.

“Trust me, there is no other radio station in the country putting on a concert with the kind of eclectic bill that we did on (that) Friday night or having a brass season” says Helen, referencing the show that also featured Punjabi Roots Academy and Bradford Cathedral Choir.

She said that listeners enjoyed hearing about Bradford and added that it is “really important for us to get out and about around the country and see our listeners and talk to our listeners, interact with them, and hear their stories”.

Helen adds: “The key thing about Radio 2 is that it brings everyone together to feel great. That is the reason we exist. We want there to be something for everyone on Radio 2, whether you are eight or whether you are 88.”

Meanwhile, veteran DJ Tony Blackburn also voiced the Bradford, Brass and The Beatles documentary earlier in the month after working with BBC Radio Leeds.

“We are proud to have presenters on air ranging in age from 36 – that's my youngest, that’s Rylan – to the brilliant Tony Blackburn, still going strong at 82 years old,” says Helen.

In recent years, former Radio 2 hosts have gone on to front programmes on commercial stations, such as Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio.

Is that a concern? Helen says: “Presenters come and presenters go and that's always been the case in the world of radio, since radio began a hundred years ago. In actual fact, I'm really focused on this incredible team that we've got here, right now, doing this amazing variety of content that you just wouldn't hear on any other radio station.”

Radio 2 Loves Brass: The Concert will air from 8pm on Sunday. All broadcasts can be listened to on BBC Sounds after they have aired.​​​​