Simon Bates (born Birmingham, 17 December 1947) is best known for being a disc jockey in the UK and New Zealand. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, spending the vast majority of his time at the station presenting the weekday mid-morning show. He is now a regular on Classic FM. The city from above Centenary Square. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... “Radio 1” redirects here. ... Classic FM is the United Kingdoms first national commercial radio station, broadcasting classical music in a popular and accessible style. ...

Early career

Bates lived in Suffolk and Shropshire and was educated at Adams' Grammar School before working for radio stations in New Zealand and Australia during his teenage years. Bates returned to the UK in 1971 to join the BBC, initially working for Radio 4 and then joining Radio 2 in 1973 presenting the Late Night show, before presenting the Early Morning show in 1975. Bates left Radio 2 in January 1976 and joined Radio 1 in May the same year standing in for Tom Browne to host the Top 20 before presenting the Sunday Morning show two months later. Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Shropshire (alternatively Salop or abbreviated Shrops) is an English county in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. ... Adams Grammar School is a state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire. ... Tom Browne (born on armistice day 1945) is a British broadcaster and actor, born in Lymington, Hampshire, and educated at Kings College School, Wimbledon. ...

Radio 1

Initially a weekend presenter playing brand new pop records, Bates took over the weekday mid-morning programme in November 1977 and stayed there for 16 years. Arguably the most un-showbiz of Radio 1's big-name presenters, with limited banter and avuncular appearance (sober clothes, large glasses), Bates nevertheless became very popular, with up to 11 million listeners. His voice — essentially a sped-up, slightly Americanised version of the standard Received Pronunciation associated with BBC Radio 4 — has long been one of the most recognised in the UK, unusual in that most Radio 1 DJs of the time had a more informal "DJ" voice, and most Radio 4 presenters did not pep up their RP with anything like Bates' informal touch. Uncle may refer to: A family relationship, see Cousin chart A cry of surrender An idiom: Dutch uncle, a person who delivers stern lectures Uncle Sam, a national personification of the United States Uncle Tom, a pejorative term for a black person Uncle Tom Cobley, a British folk saying meaning... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Two long-running features of his programme were particularly well known, The Golden Hour and Our Tune.

Bates inherited The Golden Hour from his predecessor, Tony Blackburn. The listener had to "guess the year" from the records played and clues given by Bates. Tony Blackburn (born 29 January 1943 in Guildford, Surrey) is an award winning English disc jockey, who broadcast on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first presenter to appear on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. ...

However, Bates is mainly remembered for Our Tune, which, from 1980, became a daily 11am feature of his show. Over the background score of Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, Bates would read out a true story sent by a listener. The story invariably had a theme of tragedy running through it, often starting with an initially happy courtship but followed by a disaster, such as an illness or death. The story would conclude with a record chosen by the correspondent. Although many bemoaned the largely mawkish nature of the feature, it was widely listened to and earned Bates much popular acclaim. A number of spin-off albums, featuring songs chosen by listeners, would be released. Franco Zeffirelli (born Gianfranco Corsi on February 12, 1923), is an Italian film director. ... Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. ... In general usage a tragedy is a play, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ...

A third, less well-remembered feature was The Birthday File, in which Bates would play music by stars celebrating a birthday.

Bates afforded regular airtime to pop guru Jonathan King to comment about the music scene, and was always the presenter sent by Radio 1 to interview the stars at the BRIT Awards. In 1989 he did a summer series called Round The World in which his show would be broadcast from a new country each day — the idea being that he would go around the world without flying within in 67 days, an aim in which he was ultimately unsuccessful (he had to fly over Saudi Arabia) although he did raise £300,000 for Oxfam and it did only take 78 days. This won him awards, though cynics claimed he only did it in order to avoid being given one of the infamous Radio 1 roadshows, and Bates himself has since effectively confirmed that suggestion. Bates' daily reports ran for only half an hour — Mike Read stepped in to present The Golden Hour during this period while the rest of the morning was taken up by the roadshow. Jonathan King (born December 6, 1944) is the stage name of Kenneth George King, a British pop music producer and personality. ... The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... A trick photograph of Mike Read Mike Read (born 1 March 1951 in Manchester, England) is a British disc jockey and former television presenter. ...

Bates also had two runs presenting the Sunday afternoon Top 40 run-down, from 2 April 1978 to 26 August 1979 (during which time the Top 20 was extended to the Top 40 on 12 November 1978) and 8 January 1984 to 23 September 1984. He presented Top of the Pops regularly from 1980 to 1988, and presented the roadshow — which he came to despise — every summer for many years until 1988, on one occasion insisting on wearing long trousers when it was compulsory to wear shorts. After his round-the-world trip in 1989, he was exempted roadshow duties for his last four summers at the station. Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (239th in leap years). ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a long-running British music chart television programme, made and broadcast by the BBC. It was originally shown each week, mostly on BBC One, from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. ...

Bates worked on the mid-morning slot until 1993, seeing breakfast show presenters like Noel Edmonds, Dave Lee Travis, Mike Read, Mike Smith and Simon Mayo come and go. It is safe to say that he was not the most popular member of staff at Radio 1.John Peel was fond of repeating an anecdote that he formed a posse with David Jensen and Paul Burnett to attack him in the car park but admitted they never actually confronted him. Edmonds presenting Top of the Pops Noel Ernest Edmonds (born December 22, 1948 in Ilford) is an English television presenter, DJ and executive who made his name on BBC Radio 1 in England. ... Born in Buxton, Derbyshire in 25 May 1945, Dave Lee Travis, or DLT, is a UK radio presenter. ... A trick photograph of Mike Read Mike Read (born 1 March 1951 in Manchester, England) is a British disc jockey and former television presenter. ... Mike, (left), alongside wife Sarah Greene and Michael Parkinson, (right) on Ghostwatch Mike Smith is a British television and radio presenter. ... Simon Mayo (born 21st September 1958 in Southgate, London) is one of the most recognised and respected voices of radio in the UK, currently presenting a daily afternoon programme on BBC Radio Five Live. ... “Peel Sessions” redirects here. ... David Kid Jensen (*July 4, 1950 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ. // After beginning his career in his home country at the age of sixteen, joined Radio Luxembourg at the age of eighteen in 1968. ... Paul Burnett (born 1943) is a British radio disc jockey, who began his radio career while in the Royal Air Force in the Persian Gulf in 1964. ...

When new controller Matthew Bannister arrived at the station intending to shake-up its "safe" feel and modernise it, Bates was one of the elder presenters whose position was thought to be under threat. Bannister's comments in the book "The Nation's Favourite" indicate that he feared Bates's supposed subversive influence rather than disliked his broadcasting style.He resigned before the station was able to sack him. Matthew Bannister is a British radio administrator and broadcaster. ... A resignation occurs when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down. ...

During his BBC career Bates was heard on all five BBC stations — apart from his stint at Radio 1 and his broadcasts for Radio 2 and Radio 4 (unusually before he joined the pop network), he also presented a Prom concert on Radio 3 in 1987 and presented a digest of the daily papers on the original version of Radio 5 (now Five Live) in 1990. A Promenade concert in the Royal Albert Hall, 2004. ...

After Radio 1

After leaving Radio 1 he briefly worked for Irish-based long wave station Atlantic 252, reviving Our Tune and then presented a TV version of the feature daily for BBC1's Good Morning with Anne and Nick in 1994/95 and later for Sky One. Longwave radio frequencies are those below 500 kHz, which correspond to wavelengths longer than 600 meters. ... ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest United Kingdom, and indeed, the world. ... was a BBC1 daytime television show presented by Anne Diamond and Nick Owen, from 1993 to 1997. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

From September 1995 - April 1996, Bates went onto broadcast for Talk Radio UK (now TalkSport) as the Breakfast show presenter. He was then heard on London's Liberty Radio as mid-morning presenter until 1997. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Liberty Radio is a defunct independent/commercial radio station (ILR) based in Stratford, London. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1997, Bates joined Classic FM, presenting their weekly Classic Romance Programme & was also heard on BBC Southern Counties Radio presenting a Sunday morning show until late 1998. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Classic FM is the United Kingdoms first national commercial radio station, broadcasting classical music in a popular and accessible style. ... BBC Southern Counties Radio is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...

In addition to this, between 1996 & 1998, Bates was heard presenting a voicetracked show on the Classic Gold Network on weekday evenings. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... Classic Gold is one of the biggest gold formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. ...

Bates then moved to London's LBC 97.3 as Breakfast host from 1999–2002. LBC 97. ...

Classic FM

Having originally joined Classic FM since 1997, presenting the weekly Classic Romance show, in mid 2002, just before leaving LBC, he was offered his first daily show on the station, presenting the drivetime show. Classic FM is the United Kingdoms first national commercial radio station, broadcasting classical music in a popular and accessible style. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... LBC Radio (originally the London Broadcasting Company) operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. ...

Since June 2003, Bates has presented Classic FM's breakfast show weekdays from 7 to 11am and he continues to present the two-hour "Classic FM at the Movies" programme discussing films and film music on Saturday evenings. Since September 2006, his show has been broadcast from 8am-12noon. For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

A Revival

In addition to his Classic FM shows, Bates can also be heard presenting a revival of his classic feature from Radio 1 Our Tune. Our Tune at Noon can be heard every Monday–Friday at 12.00 Midday, which is syndicated on various commercial stations across the UK.

Tom Browne (born on armistice day 1945) is a British broadcaster and actor, born in Lymington, Hampshire, and educated at Kings College School, Wimbledon. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at a young audience (children, teenagers and young adults). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... Tony Blackburn (born 29 January 1943 in Guildford, Surrey) is an award winning English disc jockey, who broadcast on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first presenter to appear on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. ... Tommy Vance, born Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (July 11, 1941 – March 6, 2005) was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at a young audience (children, teenagers and young adults). ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Richard Skinner (born December 26th 1951) is a British radio and televison broadcaster. ...

External links

• Radio Rewind biography
• Aircheck Tracker biography