The Chain The Chain is an item on the show billed as a 'never-ending list of records, with every new track somehow connected to the previous one.' A listener-selected song is played in each show after 9:00 am that relates to the one played in The Chain in the previous show; the listener being contacted live on air to explain the association. Other listeners are then encouraged to make contact with another song that links to this one. The connection can be anything, ranging from the very obvious to the very obscure. The item was initially introduced by
Gordon Burns but is now introduced by Jason of the
Sleaford Mods. On 4 January 2011, Burns joined the show to celebrate the 2,000th link, which was "
Fame" by
David Bowie. He joined the show again on 9 October 2013 for the 4,000th link, "
Dear Prudence" by the Beatles, the date coincidentally being John Lennon's birthday. A website is available for listeners to check if a chain suggestion they want to make has been on before as each song can only be used once. The website is run and maintained by regular contributor to the show Kenneth 'Ken' Yau. As of the beginning of 2025, there have been more than 8,600 links in the chain. The theme song for the segment is
the Fleetwood Mac song after which it is named, which was also the very first link.
Tea Time Theme Time Every Sunday at about 9:35am, three records are played that have something in common. When the show was on weekdays it would be every day at about 3:35pm. The first week's connections were chosen by the presenters themselves, after which they were picked by listeners. At first the link was announced before the records were played; however, it soon became popular for listeners to guess what the link was, so now the connection isn't mentioned until all the records have been played and listeners contact the show with their guesses as to what it is. Although there is no prize for getting the connection right, the first person to contact the show with the correct answer has the honour of having their name mentioned as the winner. Radcliffe and Maconie used to say that the first correct answer received the "Tea Time Theme Time Crown of Joy." Although the winner didn't receive an actual crown, a picture of a paper hat representing a crown would be
tweeted along with the winners name. However, they no longer refer to the "Tea Time Theme Time Crown of Joy."
First, Last and Everything This item is where Radcliffe & Maconie together or one of them separately interview a personality who gives their "First, Last and Everything" musical selections. The "First" is a song that was one of the first musical influences on them, e.g. first record they purchased, etc. The "Last" choice is one they have recently discovered. Their "Everything" selection is some piece of music that is overarchingly significant to them. The theme song for this mini-interview item is "
You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by
Barry White.
Crisps on the radio In this feature the hosts attempt to identify the flavour of crisps in a blind tasting. Crisps and similar snacks are sent in to the programme by listeners from around the world. The feature is introduced by the song "
On the Radio" by
Donna Summer, with the shouted word "crisps" inserted before the key phrase sung by the artist.
Breakfast blend Three consecutive tracks that make "a great sonic blend".
The Archive A song from a previous BBC session. The feature is based on the premise of the archive being an actual, physical archive deep in the basements of the BBC building. Stuart Maconie usually suggests to Mark Radcliffe that he is probably wondering why Maconie is covered in dust, cobwebs and other detritus, to which Radcliffe asks if he has been down the archive. The degree of dirt and dishevelment generally corresponds with the date of the recording; the older it is, the dirtier Maconie gets, the idea being that it's buried deeper in the archive. ==Previous features==