WEBVTT

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Many people who work in radio are there because

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of someone else. Kenny Everett, perhaps, or Tony

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Blackburn. I got into radio because of James

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Whale, who died this week. Yes, James Whale.

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When I was stuck at boarding school, James Whale

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did The Late Show on Radio Air in Leeds, which

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I could just about pick up. His first hour between

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10 and 11 was music with do -it -yourself dedications,

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where you would ring up, say hello to people

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and introduce a song, and I longed to do that.

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I don't think I ever did, but I did learn how

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to pronounce Basher's full name in case I ever

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got to do a do -it -yourself dedication for her

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1980s hit Primetime TV. Basia Czechilewska, in

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case you're wondering, a backing singer for Matt

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Bianco. I don't think I ever once managed to

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use that knowledge on the radio. Wales' phone

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-in after 11 was hyped to be edgy, adult -themed

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and not for the faint -hearted. His first 10

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minutes was very sternly informing everyone that

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you could not listen if you were under 16. had

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listener -produced jingles which he'd play out

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of ad breaks, lyrics like Too Much Lip or A Naughty

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Word, then the plugs pulled out. In reality,

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it wasn't anywhere near as edgy. Whale would

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occasionally get mock -angry with some callers,

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but what struck me was how at ease he was behind

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a microphone. Among the phone -ops he ate through

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were Adrian Green, later known as Sandy Beach,

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and a certain young Chris Moyles. He read out

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a letter of mine as Janet rather than James,

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and from then on I would regularly call him,

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as an utterly unforgettable regular caller, as

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Janet. The ads, faster hire, car hire at unbelievable

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prices, are still etched onto my brain. One memorable

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night was November 1987, and the news of the

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King's Cross underground fire. The fire started

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at 7 .30, but it was only by 10 or 11 that it

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had made it onto the news. News was slower in

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those days. What had that got to do with Leeds?

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Well, everything, as Whale explained on air.

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If you'd ever been to London, you'd have been

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in the King's Cross tube station. 31 people died

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that night, but Whale was a reassuring voice

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to explain what had happened. It turned out that

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while he was playing the cantankerous, self -indulgent

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phone -in on Radio Air, he was also doing some

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presenter duties on BBC Radio 4. I think he was

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depping for Ned Sherin for Loose Ends at one

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point. Noting his success on air, Radio Air moved

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him to Breakfast, which was a bizarre decision.

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He was quickly moved back to Late Nights, and

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then, in a cost -cutting move by owners Transworld,

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his phone -in was also taken by Red Rose Radio

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in Preston, replacing Alan Bezic on the station.

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I visited the studio a few times, once just to

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watch. He couldn't have been nicer. And then

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he moved to cheap television for a while, initially

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live simulcasting on Radio Air, then just from

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Radio Air Studios while someone else did a music

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show, which was a bit weird, and then down to

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Talk Radio UK, where his act changed a bit, and

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I just lost touch. Until on the day that I left

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the BBC, I sent him an email. to say thank you.

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And to my surprise, he wrote back. Meet for lunch,

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he said. And we did. Quite a boozy lunch, which

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he insisted on paying for in one of his favourite

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restaurants in the West End. I don't think he

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remembered me much, and why should he? But we

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chatted a lot about the people we both knew,

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and he pressed me on how to get a job at Radio

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2. I'm a good music jock, he'd tell me. I'm not

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sure I was much help. And then, after a bottle

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of wine... He walked down to Leicester Square

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to broadcast to all of London. They say don't

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meet your heroes, but I'm glad I did, and I'm

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glad I got to say thank you to him.