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From
Manilow to UFOs & Jimmy Gutterman's Worst
Rock & Roll Tracks of
all time.
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Nicky
Campbell at Radio One
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In
1987, when Nicholas Andrew Argyle Campbell joined Radio One,
little did he know what he had let himself in for, because at
the time the Station was deeply entrenched in a power-axis of
a few "big Time Charlies" and had a public perception more in
common with "Smashie and Nicie" than cutting edge broadcasting.
This
was pre-Charter Radio One and D.G. John Birt, was keen to compliment
the mix of presenters on the Station and introduce both a younger
face and another regional accent to the team.
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Doreen
Davies, who was Head of Music at the time, had heard Campbell
before and liked his Celtic lilt and evident ease
at the microphone. With a degree to further swing things
in his favour, he eventually joined the Network in October 1987,
starting with the Saturday 10pm - Midnight show.
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In
the early days, fellow jocks D.L.T. and Mike Read used to enjoy
taking the piss out of Campbell's accent at every opportunity
and it was common to hear " Och aye the noo " echoing the corridors
of Broadcasting House. When he sat in on The Breakfast Show, he
received an equally unenthusiastic reception from the Management,
who told him that no one in the North would even be able to understand
him. But impressive ratings meant that the Saturday show was eventually
expanded to the Monday - Thursday "Into the Night" slot, and features
like guessing the callers star signs became commonplace alongside
one of the most varied play-lists on BBC radio, from The Beatles
and Tony Jo White, to Dean Freedman and Diane Schuur.
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Interviewing
was his real forte however and with the unusual extravagance of
thirty commercial-free minutes to dig deeper than was usual on
what was intrinsically music radio, his guest roster spanned Neil
Diamond to Ian Paisley and from Vampire Hunters to live Musicians.
This is primarily what we're concentrating on here, dipping our
fingers into what he does best and enjoying some of the most entertaining
radio in recent years.
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Now
he divides his time between his eponymously named Radio Five Morning
Programme and Watchdog. As he maintains
himself: " Interviewing is what I do best. I'm much better at
that than introducing the next Pop record".
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Still
to come: Neil Diamond & more from Timothy Good on
UFOs.
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If
you have any recorded material from "Into the Night"
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and
would like to contribute to the Site, please email the
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Webmaster:
andrewsam@hotmail.com
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For
More on the workings of Radio One, read Simon Garfield's
excellent book: " The Nation's Favourite - The True Adventures
of Radio One"
published by Faber & Faber.
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Thanks
to Dennis
Cox for the Nicky Campbell caricature.
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