Kenny Everett On BBC Radio Bristol - 1. 12/06/1971

KENNY EVERETT ON BBC RADIO BRISTOL - 1. 12/06/1971 (320kbs-m4a/128mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcat: 24th December 2024

Kenny Everett was arguably the most creative, most innovative, most technically gifted radio presenter the UK has produced.

He was a pioneer, first with the offshore pirates in 1964, then as part of the launch team for BBC Radio 1 in 1967 – and later a key figure when licensed commercial radio began with Capital Radio in 1973.

Kenny spent hours in the studio stitching together truly original shows, filled with his exquisitely produced personal jingles, crazy sounds effects, and zany comedy moments delivered in a frenetic, inventive style that no-one could match. He was close friends with the Beatles, regularly playing their latest tracks before anyone else. Among his peers he was regarded as a "genius". And yet he was a shy Catholic boy from just outside Liverpool who had a habit of being fired.

The BBC banned him from talking to the press after repeatedly complaining about Radio 1's output. Things came to a head in July 1970 after he responded to a news bulletin about the wife of Transport Minister John Peyton passing her advance driving test. Kenny joked that she "probably crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand". As a result, his weekend show was cancelled, a fate he'd previously suffered at Radio Luxembourg, Radio London, and later at Radio 2.

He was just 25, and apart from a few stints on continental stations, there was nowhere else to go. The BBC still had a UK radio monopoly, and his top-flight radio career looked to be over.

A saviour arrived a year later at one of the BBC's fledgling local stations, when Radio Bristol's manager David Waine needed holiday cover. Feeling Kenny had been badly treated, David phoned to offer four programmes at a rate of just £12.50 a week! Desperate, Everett agreed – sparking an internal row with Waine who was rebuked by BBC Radio's MD Ian Trethowan for not consulting him, warning that he'd be in trouble if things went wrong.

To minimise any potential disaster, David wisely asked Kenny to pre-record his shows at home in Sussex. He then posted the tapes for checking by a producer before broadcast. On June 12,1971 the "wireless wizard" was back on-air. It was an occasion largely overlooked as few people heard it.

At the time BBC Local Radio only broadcast on VHF (now FM) when most listeners only had medium-wave sets. Much of the output was "parish pump" material. Broadcast hours were limited, with few staff and tight music restrictions.

So Kenny's first show, heard here in full for the first time since broadcast, was probably the most dangerous show on BBC Local Radio.

He announces his return by saying "It's disgusting. I don't know how they allow him to get away with it". He was clearly relieved to be back with a fast-paced kaleidoscope of his work. It's littered with bespoke Radio Bristol jingles, a chat with Dusty Springfield, and an episode of the comedy serial "Dick Dale – Special Doctor", previously heard on Radio 1.

Listen out for an amusing sequence as he tunes across his radio dial with extracts from Radio Solent, Radio Brighton, Radio 4, Radio 3, and Radio 2, with a cutting swipe at the station who axed him: "We don't play Radio 1!"

The show features tracks from The Move, Nilsson, Peter Noone, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stavely Makepeace, The Beatles, The Fantastics, Cat Stevens, White Plains, Twiggy, Mungo Jerry, Dusty Springfield, the Supremes and The Four Tops.

You may wonder why Kenny regularly mentions the record labels of songs played. At the time, BBC Local Radio could only play one hour of commercial music a day under strict "needle time" restrictions negotiated with the Musicians' Union. One way to get around them was to play "new releases" giving the record label, and (in theory at least) its number.

Kenny's Radio Bristol shows opened the door at other BBC Locals including Radios Merseyside, Solent, Nottingham, Brighton (now Radio Sussex) and Medway (now Radio Kent). He also appeared on "Start The Week" on Radio 4 over Christmas 1971 – becoming a regular on a spin-off series "If It's Wednesday … It Must Be" over the next 18 months. Ev was finally allowed back on Radio 1 in April 1973 but left six months later as Capital began.

He returned to TV in 1978, with "The Kenny Everett Video Show" from Thames, moving across to BBC1 in 1981 with "The Kenny Everett Television Show" which ran for six years. But radio was his first love. He helped launch Capital Gold, the station's AM service in 1988 where he worked until shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50. But he left a legacy of unique work influencing broadcasters like Noel Edmonds, Steve Wright and Chris Evans.

The first of three shows Kenny made for BBC Radio Bristol first broadcast in June 1971.

*** Part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's celebration of Kenny Everett who was born 80 years ago on Christmas Day, 1944.

The Move - Tonight
Harry Nilsson - Daddy's Song
Peter Noone - Oh You Pretty Things
Paul McCartney - Dear Boy
Paul McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Tom Jones - Puppet Man
Stavely Makepeace - Give Me That Pistol
The Beatles - Paperback Writer
The Fantastics - Something Wonderful
Cat Stevens - Tuesday's Dead
White Plains - When You Are A King
Twiggy - Zoo De Zoo Zong
Harry Nilsson - City Life
Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose
Dusty Springfield - Where Am I Going?
The Supremes & The Four Tops - Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)