Radio head: Ronan Keating on Magic

Jarvis Cocker isn't the only singer to land himself a new Sunday afternoon radio show this month. But he is the only one to declare an intention of taking Sundays back in time to when they were distinguished by being dull. "I am going to put the boringness back into Sunday," he promised as he launched his 6 Music slot. The results, though, are anything but. Ronan Keating , recently arrived at London's Magic 105.4, comes with no such manifesto. He doesn't need one, for the show (broadcasting 2-4pm) already feels like old Sundays: slow and colourless. There is the occasional spark, provided by listener comments and phone chats with what he refers to as "showbiz pals". But the overall offering is so thin and oddly disembodied, it's as if he's confused his own lyrics ("you say it best when you say nothing at all") with a how-to manual for radio presenting. Listening, you'd think Keating was actually quite shy, which can't be right. Maybe he'd be better paired with someone to bounce off, as he certainly comes to life chatting to friends on the phone. It's not that he's not a good signing for the station. Keating has a wide appeal and, even if I'm immune to the charms of his music, I expected this to work better than it does. Keating needs to talk more, and to share more with his listeners than just a bland one-liner after three mushy old songs back-to-back ("you gotta dance when you hear that tune"). Presumably he's not being paid by the word? Apart from talking more, Keating also needs to disavow a naff little habit that's already crept in to his presenting style: playing his own records after reading out gushing requests. Tony Hadley used to do this on Virgin, as did Suggs before him, and it's never a likable move. We're already listening to you, Ronan; we don't want to eavesdrop on you listening to yourself.