RESURRECTING NEON NIGHTS.

I wrote back in March about a unique CBC program called Neon Nights With JB Shayne, thinking that few readers had heard of it. To my delight, I received a message from a friend that he was interested in downloading what I had recorded during the sixteen months that I had faithfully listened to the show.

From what I've discovered, Neon seems to have had a cult following. If you Google "JB Shayne," quite a few links pop up regarding this enigmatic announcer. One excellent write-up on him is on Michael Klassen's page. As for other sites, I'll let you have the fun of discovering more fascinating comments on this unique Vancouver legend.

From what I can gather, JB Shayne was not one to be shoved into a bland mold. Perhaps that was why, on June 26th, 1982, Neon aired for the last time. His fans, including me, tuned in as he did his fair well show, feeling something special was ending. Many of us had tape recorders running in an attempt to capture as much of our favourite program as possible.

I tried listening to Nightlines and Brave New Waves, which replaced Neon, but it just wasn't the same. JB was Neon and nothing else would do. He had that something special that made the show what it was.

I wrote to the CBC and complained about the termination of JB and his show. Somebody wrote back but the blandly-phrased letter didn't answer the question regarding why the program went off the air. I suspect JB was just too wild for the genteel CBC management.

As I wrote in March, I saved my old open reels of that show to the PC. Though I only taped tunes I liked, it still is an excellent listening experience. If anybody is interested in these recordings, please e-mail me at batchison (at) mcsnet.ca. Though I'm busy promoting my new book, I'll make my recordings available to people if there's enough interest.

Speaking of my new book, How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity is now available in Kindle and Nook form for only $3.99. Check it out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm. For folks who like old-fashioned paperbacks, visit Virtual Bookworm's print books.