BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres. Radio 2 broadcasts throughout the UK on FM between 88.1 and 90.2MHz from studios in Western House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. Programmes are relayed on digital radio via DAB, Sky, Cable TV, IPTV, Freeview, Freesat and the Internet. The station's programming is broadcast on a network of FM transmitters of up to 250 kW, the strongest FM signals in the EU.

The station was launched at 05:30 on 30 September 1967, and evolved from the Light Programme, with some of the Light Programme's music shows transferring to the newly launched Radio 1. The first show had started at 05:30am (on the Light programme) but continued with Breakfast Special from Paul Hollingdale as Radio 1 split.

In early years, much programming and music was common to both stations, particularly on the shared FM frequency. Radio 1 was targeted at the audience of pirate radio stations whereas Radio 2 settled down as a middle-of-the-road station playing laid-back pop/rock, folk and country, jazz and big-band music, easy listening, light classics, and oldies, with significant amounts of comedy and sport. Notable broadcasters on Radio 2 in the 70s and 80s were Ray Moore on early breakfast, Terry Wogan on breakfast, replaced by Ken Bruce and later Derek Jameson; Jimmy Young and his lunchtime news and current affairs show; 'Diddy' David Hamilton on mid-afteroons, John Dunn at what became known as drivetime. Radio 2 became the first national 24-hour radio station in the UK in 1979.

Radio 2 may refer to:

Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30am until 12 noon.

Bruce was born in in Glasgow, Scotland. He attended Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow, before training to be a chartered accountant. He began his broadcasting career with the Hospital Broadcasting Service in Glasgow.

He then went on to become a staff announcer for BBC Radio 4 Scotland and then BBC Radio Scotland when it fully went on air in 1978. He also presented a Saturday morning show for the station.

In 1980 he took on the mid-morning slot then in 1983 the own daily afternoon show and was involved in a range of current affairs programmes. He presented the Ken Bruce Show on the BBC World Service in the late 1980s.

Bruce has presented different shows on BBC Radio 2. He first joined in 1982 as a stand in presenter, mainly covering Ray Moore on the Early show and presenting shows on BBC Radio Scotland on a line from studios in London.

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, occasional lead singer and principal songwriter of the rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Raised in Burnage, Manchester with Liam, Noel began learning guitar at the age of thirteen. After a series of odd jobs in construction, he worked for local Manchester band Inspiral Carpets as a roadie and technician in 1988. Whilst touring with them, he learned that Liam had formed a band of his own, known as The Rain, which eventually took on the name Oasis. After Gallagher returned to England, he was invited by his brother to join Oasis as songwriter and guitarist.

Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), marked the beginning of the band's rise to fame as head of the Britpop movement. Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, reached the top of the album charts in many countries and their third studio album, Be Here Now, became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Britpop eventually declined in popularity and Oasis' next two albums failed to revive it. However, the band's final two albums, Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008), were hailed as its best efforts in over a decade and found renewed success. On 28 August 2009, following an altercation with Liam prior to a gig in Paris, Gallagher announced his departure from Oasis and on 23 October 2009, he confirmed he would embark on a solo career.

Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw (b. 26 April 1981 in Amsterdam), best known by her stage name, Caro Emerald, is a Dutch jazz singer. She debuted on 6 July 2009 with her single "Back It Up". Her debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor set a new all-time chart record on 20 August 2010, spending its 30th week at number one on the Dutch album chart, beating the previous record set by Michael Jackson's Thriller by one week. The album has become the biggest selling album of 2010 in the Netherlands, selling over 300,000 copies so far. In total more than a million copies have been sold so far. On 3 October 2010, Van der Leeuw was awarded the Dutch Music Prize "Edison Award" for Best Female Artist.

Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw was born on 26 April 1981 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She was trained as a jazz vocalist at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating in 2005.

In early 2007 Dutch producer Jan van Wieringen invited van der Leeuw to sing the vocal on a demo track he was co-producing with songwriter/producer David Schreurs. The song, "Back It Up", had been written by Schreurs together with Canadian songwriter Vince Degiorgio, and was based on a hip-hop beat created by Jan and Robin Veldman. Caro's jazzy vocal style was considered a "perfect match" for the new song.