It is with the greatest of sadness that we at Radio 3 must announce the peaceful passing, on Friday January 13th, of our dear friend Uncle Ray Cordeiro. He was 98 years old. A Hong Kong institution who started out at Rediffusion in 1949 and joined (then) Radio Hong Kong in 1960, Uncle Ray had been in hospital since late November.

Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro, better known to his listeners as Uncle Ray, was born on December 12, 1924 in Wanchai, and was an icon in our city known for his flat cap, glasses, beard, comforting voice – and a vast, vast music collection.

He joined Radio Hong Kong in 1960 and proceeded to nurture many of Hong Kong’s singing stars with his early forays into studio live productions including Lucky Dip,and other shows that provided a chance for bands of teenagers to get their performing start. He was great friends with many Hong Kong singers – Maria Cordero, Albert Au, Philip Chan, and Teresa Carpio to name but a few.  And, internationally the likes of Cliff Richard, Elton John, and Ella Fitzgerald. You name them... he met them. The only one that eluded him, he joked once, was Elvis. There was also Matt Munro, who he first met as a young British soldier impersonating Frank Sinatra at a talent contest. He famously met the Beatles three times in one week in 1964.

Ray was known as the World’s Most Durable DJ, an accolade awarded to him by Guinness World Records. He was also awarded an MBE in 1987, the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2008, and the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2022.

Uncle Ray grew up in a family descended from Portuguese immigrants who had come from Shanghai and Macau. A refugee in Macau after the Japanese military invasion of Hong Kong, it’s there that he learned the drums and began his love of music, thus embarking on a wonderful journey… all the way.

Vale Ray Cordeiro 1924 - 2023

We have already had many requests from you to make Uncle Ray's final 'All the Way With Ray' shows available for you to listen to again. So, here you are, from the week of Monday May 10th 2021, upto and including that final Friday show, after which Uncle Ray retired at the age of 96.

Click here to enjoy... the end of an era

Recordings produced by Simon Willson

The Pop Fugitives return in a week quiet for new album releases but jam packed with new singles. That means Paul and Carolyn will be playing new music from Steve Mason, The Lathums, Grandmas House, Blondshell, Gretel Hänlyn, English Teacher and loads more. King Tuff and The Tubs compete for the album of the week spot and of course there’ll be plenty of older music too. That includes tracks from Led Zeppelin and The Three Johns as part of the usual features, plus there’s a brand new Super Clever Music Mystery Quiz along with some... biscuits.
Tune in on Sunday from 9am to 1pm.

Join us this Sunday morning at 8.15 for #Hashtag Hong Kong, our weekly focus on matters affecting civil society, where we hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, non-profit groups and statutory bodies. They talk about their work, and the bigger issues they deal with. They also share their choice of music with you to end each programme.

This week's Hashtag Hong Kong comes from Jacky Ng, Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong. (Sunday mornings 8.15-8.25)

Our collection of VCT 78s and early vinyl, this week, includes a river stroll with Lou Preager, a fantastic rag time swinger from Noble Sissle, and Jack Hodges introduces us to the Razz melody. Plus, we've got Rip-Van-Winkle and Frankie Laine. Volume up loud, please!
Every Sunday morning from 8.30 to 9

Ben Cullen will be moving into the Common Room until February 3rd. While Alyson is away you can expect a lot of high energy from Ben along with great music and a bit more sport than usual. You will also hear some new segments that Ben has put together with a health and fitness focus.
Tune in from every weekday 5.05-6pm - only on RTHK Radio 3

Discover Radio 3's ever growing collection of podcasts here.
Updated daily, it includes all of our popular weekly programme segments, our news output, and several of our completely home made audio books, specially adapted for us by their authors.