Hey Hi Hello

 

It must have been about 1983 when I had the most homework - I was doing more O levels than was strictly necessary.  I'd have to say that even back then some of them didn't feel essential (my German vocabulary hasn't exactly proved useful in the intervening years) but I still liked to do my best and there was, at times, a lot of it.  Sunday night was "finish up the homework" night - we'd have dinner in the early evening and I'd retire to my room to get things sorted out and, completely coincidentally, also catch the end of the charts.  And I never, ever, ever imagined I wouldn't avidly listen to the charts for the rest of my life - deal with it, teenage me!

After the charts finished, whichever faceless nonentity (that no-one really remembers these days) was presenting it that week, whether it be Tommy Vance or Richard Skinner or Bruno Brookes would indulge in some idle banter with the follow-on DJ who was, without exception, Annie Nightingale.  And Annie would always be unfailingly polite, whilst also making it perfectly clear that she had no interest in that world and you'd now entered a different kind of place.  You were welcome to stay or you were welcome to leave - but whichever you chose, she'd be playing what she wanted to, thank you very much.  And if you stayed - then, just possibly, you might hear something you'd not heard before and you might like it.  Yes, you might not but why wouldn't you at least try?

I can't say I was an instant convert, but she and the music worked their magic on me - whilst I never thought I was cool enough to belong in her world, I absolutely never felt excluded and over the next couple of years, me and my homework always attempted to spend the hours of 7-9 on a Sunday night in the company of Annie Nightingale.

So how did she do it?  As with all the best DJs, it's a mix of music and personality - she radiated a warm, accepting ethos and the music was interesting and varied, particularly compared with what Radio 1 played at other times.  I remember enjoying quite a few other slots throughout the week (although it's amusing to compare my memories with reality these days) but my overriding memory is the lack of musical variety or history provided by anyone else - yes, John Peel provided both but me and John never really got on for some reason.  

I remember very little that Annie specifically introduced me to, but it's more that she taught me that music doesn't have to come in convenient three-minute shaped packages (she often used to play either Dire Straits' "Sultans Of Swing" or "Telegraph Road" in full and you never heard them anywhere else) and that you shouldn't forget music you enjoyed in the past - just because its time has passed doesn't mean it can't be revisited.

Amusingly, for someone who undoubtedly had great taste in music, the tracks I remember her most for were abso-fucking-lutely atrocious - Barnes & Barnes' "Fish Heads", Andy Pandemonium's "Lamb Kebab", Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl" and Splodgenessabound's "Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please".  I do feel I ought to include some cool stuff in here as well, so let's go for This Mortal Coil's "Song To The Siren", Fiction Factory's "Feels Like Heaven" and Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down" - all of which she might have introduced me to, but who really knows!?!

It's about more than the music though - I'm certain she had a much more subtle influence for the good which continues to guide me to this day.  Her mantra was "accept, don't reject" and I hope I've applied that to so much more than music in my life (or at least tried to).  When I went to university, I somewhat unexpectedly and regretfully (with hindsight) pretty much gave up on all radio so our paths diverged but I remember our time together with fondness and I love the fact that she remained cool and committed until the end - hers was a life well lived.  Thank you.

Annie Avril Nightingale CBE (1 April 1940 – 11 January 2024)