A former member of one of the most commercially successful bands in the world has recently been interviewed on a hospital radio near Aylesbury.

Mel Gale, who was a cello player in the Electrical Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1975 and 1979, had a chat on Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio earlier this month to discuss his days with the group during the 1970s.

He was interviewed by Martin Kinch, the longest-serving member of the radio station since his arrival in 1979, where they spoke about the stories from the band’s world tours, playing the Wembley Arena for a record eight appearances, as well as his other work before and after ELO.

The musician also featured in three ELO albums (Face the Music, A New World Record and Out Of The Blue), with each record having huge hits such as ‘Mr Blue Sky’, ‘Telephone Line’, ‘Livin’ Thing’, ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman’, ‘Evil Woman’, ‘Wild West Hero’, ‘Turn To Stone’ and more.

Additionally, Mel was openly impressed with the studios at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the work that the volunteers do.

Listeners to the show had their questions answered by the cello player, with one ELO fan donating a significant amount of money to the station which is a registered charity.

He was interviewed by Martin Kinch, who joined the radio station in January 1979, just one month after it launched in December 1978.

The ex-postman has remained active with the charity ever since, where he presents a two-hour Monday night programme with some of the best tunes from the 1960s through to the 1990s.

In 2023, SMHR [Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio] patron Ken Bruce recorded a special radio one-off show at the radio station's studio to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

The show was broadcast on Greatest Hits Radio and was also made available to Hospital Radio stations all over the country, in which Martin was one of the different guests that were interviewed for the show by Ken.

He spoke about how times had changed since he started, with the two agreeing that hospital radio still remains important to both patients and staff.

To donate, go to www.smhr.co.uk.