The interviews on this Site are all streaming Real Audio.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

Still to come: Neil Diamond & more from Timothy Good on UFOs.

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