Annie Nightingale RIP

[seeformiles]

Annie Nightingale: Trailblazing BBC Radio 1 DJ dies at 83

Nightingale was the station's first female presenter and stayed on air for more than 50 years.

www.bbc.co.uk

Played several requests for me in the 80s (incl. Pink Floyd's "Several Species..etc." - which takes some nerve! )

 

[littlebabyjesus]

That's sad. A part of my childhood. All my favourite R1 DJs from then are dead now - John Peel, Janice Long and now Annie Nightingale.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Oh, that's very sad. I used to love her show on Radio One when I was younger.

 

[Chilli.s]

RIP Annie

 

[blossie33]

Very sad to hear
As I've just posted on the celebrity death thread, I used to listen to her shows back from the 70s. She did a shout out for me - I must have written in as there wouldn't have been any other way of contact back then!
RIP Annie

 

[danny la rouge]

Sad news. As others have said, a great part of our youth.

 

[skyscraper101]

Big part of my youth. An incredible life.

I literally wrote her name down this morning when I was doing the long list for the 'national treasures' list. I still occasionally tuned in to her show to see what she was playing. She was less vocal in more recent years and generally preferred to just play the music. For me she was the soundtrack to a my teenage years being up early in the small hours of a Saturday night/Sunday morning dawn on the Chill Out Zone.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Doing a quick calculation, she was already in her 40s by the time I became aware of her. Another example that gives a lie to the idea that kids need young presenters. If you're cool, you're cool. Doesn't matter how old you are.

 

[skyscraper101]

She was a huge champion of breaks too back in the early 2000s, at a time when that genre got very little airtime elsewhere.

 

[Bus Honeygun]

That's sad. A part of my childhood. All my favourite R1 DJs from then are dead now - John Peel, Janice Long and now Annie Nightingale.

Yeah, although Kid Jensen is still around. I know he had the 'Peel Lite' slot prior to Janice Long, so they weren't contemporaneous, but the four of them were the only things worth switching the radio on for back then.

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

With Peter Powell in early evening there was a gradation of moving from new tracks from new (ish) bands like Japan, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls etc. just outside the Top 40 (Peter Powell) all the way up to John Peel's dare i say it wilful obscurity - i went from the former to the latter in a couple of months once i'd cottoned on. I've just listened to an old John Peel show where he played Planet Earth by Duran Duran and grumbled that Peter Powell played it first!

I used to listen to Nightingale's request show on sundays while making my own tea and practicing my drawing. I recently heard a trailer on 6Music for something Nightingale was involved with and was mildly surprised she was still around.

 

[Silas Loom]

Doing a quick calculation, she was already in her 40s by the time I became aware of her. Another example that gives a lie to the idea that kids need young presenters. If you're cool, you're cool. Doesn't matter how old you are.

I was going to ask if TV was different from radio in that regard, but we all happily watched Tony Hart at the time.

 

[felixthecat]

Oh this is sad
RIP Annie, you trailblazer.

 

[Pickman's model]

that's a shock, i thought she was one of the people off call the midwife

 

[felixthecat]

Bloody hell, didn't realise she was 83!

 

[ska invita]

not sure how ive managed to never even once hear her (heard of her of course)... what kind of music did she play?

 

[hash tag]

Very sad news. I knew her mostly from the OGWT.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Respect to her for championing new music and not getting pigeon-holed playing the same old stuff like many of her contemporaries. At 83 the news shouldn't be a shock but it seemed like she'd go on forever. RIP

 

[skyscraper101]

not sure how ive managed to never even once hear her (heard of her of course)... what kind of music did she play?

She crossed loads of genres, from the beatles to post punk, indie, dance, breaks. Pretty much all the non-mainstream genres, and predominantly electronic/dance in the last 30 years.

Loads of breaks producers like Krafty Kuts and Stanton Warriors are bigging her up on social media right now for being so instrumental to the scene back in the day. Last time I tuned in she was still playing dance music.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

 

[pesh]

RIP Annie

 

[Cloo]

A great DJ and exponent of having a diverse music taste. RIP, queen!

 

[davesgcr]

"Lazy Sunday Afternoon" was one of her theme songs.

Met her in the 1st class (legally) on the Brighton train back in the day - she was enroute to that there London - we still had a nice conversation with her and as she was en route to the studios - she played a request and we got a mention on air. Nice little experience.

 

[ruffneck23]

RIP

 

[cesare]

RIP Annie.

 

[marty21]

RIP , listened to a fair bit in my younger days.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

A massive inspiration

 

[seeformiles]

A friend of mine knew her well in the 70s - not a bad word to say about the woman and said she was lovely

 

[cupid_stunt]

RIP Annie.

Little known fact, if it wasn't for Radio Caroline she may never have decided to become a DJ.

Where were you when... Radio Caroline ruled the waves, 28 March 1964​

By ANNIE NIGHTINGALE
The pirate radio station changed DJ Annie Nightingale’s life

I proudly wore the official T-shirt with the words ‘RADIO CAROLINE’ on it in red. I was glued to Caroline’s live output through my silver and blue transistor radio (then the epitome of cool tech). And now Mi Amigo, one of their pirate ships, was sailing across the horizon in front of me.

‘This is exciting. We’re just passing Brighton now, listeners,’ announced Simon Dee, then the suave James Bond of this first generation of superstar DJs. From my seafront balcony I felt like shouting back, ‘Yes! Hello! I can see you too!’ And at that moment I knew I wanted to be a DJ.

I was passionate about music – writing record columns and hosting ITV’s That’s for Me, which launched The Yardbirds and The Who. But the idea of being part of an illicit operation blasting out pop music from international waters was irresistibly appealing. The TV show Ready Steady Go! and BBC Radio’s Saturday Club were the only other outlets for this musical revolution. Without these and Caroline, which started in March 1964, there would have been no 60s music explosion. John Peel even began as a pirate. Alas, this rebel radio was too good to last – the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967 shut down the pirates. The promise was that the BBC would open a pop station instead. Yeah right, how could it be as good as the law-breaking pirates?

But, hey, every cloud... Once Radio 1 began, I could have a go at becoming a DJ. Actually, no I couldn’t, it turned out, because I was a woman. ‘Radio 1 DJs are husband substitutes,’ said the BBC. They weren’t kidding. It took three years to persuade them to let me loose on their turntables.

I have been at Radio 1 ever since. Not only as the first female DJ but also their longest-serving broadcaster – I will celebrate my 50th anniversary in 2020. I still love every thrilling minute. But without the vision and enterprise of the swashbuckling radio pirates, it would never have happened.

From the Mail, so I'll not post the link.

And, I am posting this whilst listening to Radio Caroline

 

[Apathy]

she was just ace! RIP Annie