NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Alan Freeman

Alan 'Fluff' Freeman CBE (born July 6, 1927, Melbourne, Australia, died 27 November 2006 London, England) was a well-known disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom. CBE can stand for: Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a grade in the Order of the British Empire Calgary Board of Education, public school board for the city of Calgary, Alberta CBE (AM), callsign of the CBC Radio One AM station in Windsor, Ontario CBE-FM, callsign... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced either or [1]) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2005 est. ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ...

Career

Born and educated in Melbourne, after leaving school he worked as an assistant paymaster/accountant for one of Australia's largest timber companies. Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced either or [1]) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ...

Freeman originally wanted to be a singer, but decided his voice was not strong enough. In 1952 he was invited to audition as a radio announcer and commenced working for 7LA known as the teenager's station. Freeman's varied duties included: continuity announcer; presenter of musical programmes incorporating opera, ballet and classical music; DJ for the top 100; news reader; quiz master and commercials reader. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Moving to radio station 3KZ in Melbourne, in 1957 he took an agreed nine month trip around the world with the verbal promise to return to Melbourne by January 1958. He got to London, and on deciding to stay wrote numerous letters of delay and later apology to his former Melbourne employer^[1] Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced either or [1]) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Freeman started his British career as a summer relief disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg, and continued to present late-evening programmes on the station until the early 1970's. Radio Luxembourg (1933-1992, 2005-)was an important forerunner of pirate radio and modern commercial radio in Europe. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...

In 1961 he moved to the BBC Light Programme as presenter of the "Records Around Five" show, which was introduced by his signature tune "At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal." In September 1961 he introduced "Pick of the Pops" as part of a Saturday evening show "Trad Tavern". "Pick Of The Pops" became a permanent show in its own right in 1962, with Freeman fronting it until 1972. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The Light Programme was a BBC radio station broadcasting mainstream light entertainment and music. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Pick of the Pops was a BBC radio programme based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955, transferring to BBC Radio 1 when the latter launched in 1967. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

In April 1973 Freeman joined the ranks of daily presenters on Radio 1, taking over the afternoon drive time slot from Terry Wogan. During this time Freeman spotlighted youth clubs and young people, and became Vice-President of the London Association of Youth Clubs. As well as presenting his daily show, Freeman also presented the Radio 1 show "Quiz Kid" series on Sunday evenings, which was recorded at Youth and Boys Clubs all over the country; while on Saturday evenings Freeman presented his iconic "Rock Show" from 1973 until 1978 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Sir Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, (known as Terry Wogan) was born on August 3, 1938. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Freeman left the BBC to work for Capital Radio from 1979 to 1988, reviving both Pick of the Pops and The Rock Show. He returned to the BBC and Radio 1 in 1989 to revive both "The Rock Show" and "Pick of the Pops", but was an early part of then Radio 1 controller Matthew Bannister's clear-out in 1993. The Capital Radio building in Leicester Square, London. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Matthew Bannister is a British radio administrator and broadcaster. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Freeman then moved to Virgin Radio with "The Rock Show" in the 1990s. In December 1993 Freeman presented the "Alternative Chart Show" on a trial one-off RSL broadcast by XFM in London. He then started at Capital Gold presenting "Pick of The Pops Take Two". Virgin Radio is a British commercial music radio station based in London. ... See also 1990s, the band Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Xfm is a brand of commercial radio stations focused on current and unsigned alternative music and owned by GCap Media in the United Kingdom. ... Capital Gold, started in London in 1988 on Capital FMs AM frequency. ...

Freeman returned to the BBC on BBC Radio 2, taking "Pick of the Pops" back to its home from 1997 until 2000. A life time love of classical music was developed in the the show "Their Greatest Bits", but as arthritis got the better of his hands^[2], he occasionally handed over to his eventual replacement on both slots, ex-Radio Trent DJ Dale Winton. BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBCs national radio stations and is the most popular station in the UK. It broadcasts throughout the UK on FM radio between 88 and 91 MHz from its studios in Western House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... 96 Trent FM is an Independent Local Radio station which broadcasts from Nottingham in the United Kingdom. ... Dale Winton Dale Winton (born May 22, 1955) is a UK DJ and television presenter. ...

Freeman was awarded the CBE in 1998. In May 2000 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards^[3]. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Sony Radio Academy Awards (the Sonys), started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. ...

Personal life

In March 1994 Freeman revealed on breakfast television that he had become celibate in 1981, but had previously been bisexual^[4]. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Celibacy may refer either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The bisexual pride flag Bisexuality is the sexual orientation which refers to the aesthetic, romantic, or sexual desire for individuals of either gender or of either sex. ...

Suffering from severe arthritis and in need of a Zimmer Frame to get around, as well as severe asthma from a 60 a day smoking habit; Freeman lived his later years as a resident of Brinsworth House, a retirement home for actors and performers run by the Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund until his death in November 2006. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... A Zimmer Frame is the trademarked name for a supportive frame designed to assist the elderly or disabled. ... Look up Smoking in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund is a British charity dedicated to supporting distressed members and former members of the entertainment industry and their dependents. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Style

Freeman's distinctive presenting style included the frequent use of classical music stings between records, and many memorable catchphrases such as 'Alright, pop pickers? Alright!' and 'Not 'arf!'. His style has been much parodied, and he was the model for Harry Enfield's popular character 'Dave Nice', although he contributed to the satire himself in good grace by appearing on Enfield's show. For all Freeman's supposed clichés and archetypes in his broadcasting style, he has always been regarded as a true original by his fellow broadcasters - when he appeared on John Peel's This Is Your Life, Peel said: "Fluff was the greatest out-and-out disc jockey of them all." Harry Enfield Harry Enfield (born May 30, 1961 in Sussex, England) is a comedian educated at Derwent College at the University of York who quickly came to prominence after appearing on Channel 4s Saturday Live in a number of different personae created with Paul Whitehouse. ... Mike Smash and Dave Nice were two characters played by Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield respectively in the latters early 1990s TV sketch shows. ... The World According To Ronald Reagan, a satirical map by Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist David Horsey Satire is a technique used in drama and the performing arts, fiction, journalism, and occasionally in poetry and the graphic arts. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An archetype is a generic, idealized model of a person, object or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned or emulated. ... Autobiography John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 â€“ 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, and journalist. ... This Is Your Life was a television show hosted by Ralph Edwards, first broadcast in the United States from 1952 to 1961 on NBC. It originated as a radio show airing from 1948 to 1952. ...

Trivia

The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Dr. Terrors House of Horrors is a 1964 British horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror film director Freddie Francis. ... BBC Local Radio Mark III radio mixing desk In professional audio, a mixing console, mixing desk (Brit. ... The Young Ones was an anarchic British sitcom which ran for two seasons in 1982 and 1984. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

External links

Categories: 1927 births | 2006 deaths | British radio personalities | British radio DJs | BBC Radio 1 DJs | BBC Radio 2 DJs | Virgin Radio (UK) | Sony Radio Academy Award winners | Commanders of the Order of the British Empire The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, video games and production crew personnel. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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