Bob Fischer (broadcaster)

Last updated

Robert (Bob) Fischer (born 15 November 1972) is a British broadcaster, writer and performer. As a regional broadcaster he is best known as a DJ and radio presenter for BBC Tees, as a writer for writing the book Wiffle Lever To Full! (2009), [1] and a columnist for the Fortean Times in the area of Hauntology.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Early life

Fischer was born on 15 November 1972 in Middlesbrough, in north east England.[ citation needed ] He attended Levendale Primary School and Conyers' School in Yarm, before going on to read Linguistics at Lancaster University.[ citation needed ]. He changed programmes, and subsequently completed a degree in Philosophy. [2]

Career

Fischer was a presenter for BBC Tees in the north east of England until Spring 2020. Latterly he presented a three-times-weekly evening show mixing music, arts and culture, which often featured local musicians, performers and writers. He has previously also presented shows during daytime and weekends. For a number of years he also fronted the station's BBC Introducing output, and remains a well-known figure in the local music and arts scene. As well as presenting, he also produced a documentary for the station about local folklore for the station in 2014, Worms, Witches and Boggarts. He has also been a guest presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music.

His first book, Wiffle Lever to Full!, first published in 2009, is a mix of travelogue and memoir, talking about his childhood love of science fiction, revisiting it as an adult by attending a number of fan conventions and recording the experience.

His regular column for the Fortean Times began following positive reception for an article he wrote for the publication, The Haunted Generation, [3] [4] about unsettling elements of children's television in the 1970s and 1980s. He also writes for the magazines Doctor Who Magazine, and Electronic Sound.

In 2018, together with the writer Andrew T Smith, he co-wrote and performed in the show Summer Winos, about the television show Last of the Summer Wine at the Edinburgh Fringe, and subsequently on a national tour into 2019.

He is the co-founder of Mulgrave Audio, a producer of audio drama, whose first release, Simon Perkins' Lurgy, features the voice talents of Ethan Warren, and Roger Limb.

He has hosted occasional live shows under the Chinwag banner, featuring Q&A sessions with performers such as Ray Brooks and Reece Dinsdale.

He also acts as host for live shows under the banner Scarred For Life, with the authors Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence, again about the hauntological aspects of 1970s and 1980s broadcast media. [5]

He has appeared as a guest on several podcasts, including the cultural commentator and writer Tim Worthington's Looks Unfamiliar in May 2019. [6] and August 2020.

Related Research Articles

<i>Tiswas</i> British childrens TV series (1974–1982)

Tiswas was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Norden</span> English writer and TV presenter (1922–2018)

Denis Mostyn Norden was an English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World War. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the BBC Radio comedy programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir. Muir and Norden remained associated for more than 50 years, appearing regularly together on the radio panel programmes My Word! and My Music after they stopped collaborating on scripts. He also wrote scripts for Hollywood films. He presented television programmes on ITV for many years, including the nostalgia quiz Looks Familiar and blooper shows It'll be Alright on the Night and Laughter File.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Tyne Tees</span> ITV television franchise for North East England

ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchisee for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire.

<i>The Tube</i> (1982 TV series) United Kingdom music television programme

The Tube is a United Kingdom music television programme, which ran for five series, from 5 November 1982 to 24 April 1987. It was filmed in Newcastle upon Tyne and produced for Channel 4 by Tyne Tees Television, which had previously produced the similar music show Alright Now and the music-oriented youth show Check it Out for ITV; production of the latter ended in favour of The Tube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Tees</span> Radio station in Middlesbrough

BBC Radio Tees is the BBC's local radio station serving the Tees Valley and the northern parts of North Yorkshire, including Whitby. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Newport Road in Middlesbrough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Bristol</span> Radio station in Bath and Bristol

BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC's local radio station serving the cities of Bristol and Bath and the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvette Fielding</span> English television presenter, producer and actress

Yvette Paula Fielding is an English television presenter, producer, actress, and writer. In 1987, aged 18, she became the youngest presenter on the BBC television programme Blue Peter. With her husband Karl Beattie, she presented the Most Haunted series on the Living channel, via their own production company, followed by Ghosthunting With..., establishing Fielding as 'first lady of the paranormal'. She has appeared in a wide range of other programmes, from The Wright Stuff to Through the Keyhole and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

John Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist and media personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Neville (newsreader)</span>

Michael Neville, MBE was a British broadcaster, best known as a presenter on regional TV news in north-east England in a 43-year career with the BBC and ITV franchisee Tyne Tees Television. In 1990, Neville was awarded the MBE for services to broadcasting.

Alan Robson is an English radio presenter, and host of the North East radio talk show, Alan Robson's Night Owls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hamilton (broadcaster)</span> British radio and TV presenter

David Hamilton is an English radio and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pluckley</span> Human settlement in England

Pluckley is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The civil parish includes the adjacent hamlet of Pluckley Thorne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live 8 concert, London</span> 2005 benefit concert in London, England

The main Live 8 concert was held at Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom on 2 July 2005. The event is also referred to as Live 8 London or Live 8 UK.

<i>Multi-Coloured Swap Shop</i> BBC childrens TV series (1976–1982)

Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, more commonly known simply as Swap Shop, is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1976 to 27 March 1982. It was groundbreaking in many ways: by broadcasting on Saturday mornings, being live, being three hours in length, and using the phone-in format extensively for the first time on TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew McGibbon</span> Musical artist

Andrew McGibbon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, musician and composer. He has also produced and directed extensively, chiefly for radio.

Pete Mitchell was a British radio DJ and presenter. He was born in Crumpsall, Manchester. Mitchell was a radio presenter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, Key 103, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio, and was one half of duo Pete and Geoff on Virgin Radio. His music documentaries have been aired in the US, Canada, Australia and Asia. He later worked for the relaunched Virgin Radio and wrote for the Radio Times, the Daily Express and Q magazine.

Robert "Bob" Preedy is a broadcaster, a book author and was formerly a presenter on BBC Radio York and the chief continuity announcer for Yorkshire Television.

<i>Newsjack</i> Satirical sketch show on BBC Radio

Newsjack was a British satirical sketch show which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra between 2009 and 2021. It was hosted by Miles Jupp, Justin Edwards, Romesh Ranganathan (2014), Nish Kumar (2015–2016), Angela Barnes (2017–2018) and Kiri Pritchard-McLean (2019–2021). It was first broadcast on 4 June 2009. The series was notable for having an "Open door" policy on writing, advertising itself as "the scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public" meaning that unsolicited writers without contract to the BBC could send in material. The show was designed to give new writers an opportunity to get material broadcast. It was hoped by the people behind the show that it would be a modern version of Week Ending, an earlier sketch show which also accepted material the same way. Most shows were recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio Teesside</span> Radio station in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Hits Radio Teesside, formerly TFM, is an Independent Local Radio station for Teesside, England, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to areas of County Durham and North Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio 2</span> British national radio station

BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. The 'About Radio 2' BBC webpage says: "With a repertoire covering more than 60 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio - from classic and mainstream pop to country, folk, jazz, musical theatre, soul, hip hop, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues."

References

  1. Fischer, Bob. Wiffle Lever to Full!. Hodder, 4 October 2018. ISBN   978-1-47368-095-1
  2. "Hauntologist - Bob Fischer". Spotify.
  3. "The Haunted Generation". Fortean Times. 330. August 2017.
  4. "The Haunted Generation – A Spectral Primer/Revisiting and Hookland Re-Enchantments: Ether Signposts #49/52a". 4 December 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  5. Brotherstone, Stephen and Lawrence, Dave. Scarred For Life. Lonely Water Books. 23 March 2017
  6. "Looks Unfamiliar #42: Bob Fischer – False Flag Giant Hogweed". Looks Unfamiliar. May 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2019.