Zane Lowe kicks off Apple's 24-hour radio stream in endearingly niche style

Quirky DJ's show is almost identical to his former BBC Radio 1 slot, suggesting Beats 1 is intended to be an experimental rather than a mainstream station

"All right man, we've gotta kick this whole thing off at some point."

Uttered just after 5pm UK time on the world's first global, 24/7 radio station, Zane Lowe's characteristically conversational opening bon mot might have found itself committed to history books, had listeners who tuned in early not heard 45 minutes of Brian Eno's Music For Airports punctuated by Lowe and his producer wrestling with the studio equipment. Instead, the first words the Guardian hears on Beats 1 are: "Check! Check! Check!"