David Symonds | |
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Born | Oxford, England | 28 June 1943
Occupation | Radio presenter |
David Symonds (born 28 June 1943) is an English Radio DJ. He was among the original lineup of BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and one of the original Capital Radio DJs.
Symonds was born in Oxford, the son of Pamela and Ronald Symonds, respectively author of the Let’s Speak French textbooks and a former acting head of MI5. His grandfather was the neurologist Sir Charles Symonds. He spent a year at Oxford University reading botany. [1] He then moved to New Zealand and started a career as an actor, but began working for NZBC news, reading and general announcing on television and radio. After returning to London in 1965, he spent a period at Radio Luxembourg and on the BBC Light Programme where he presented shows including Easy Beat and Breakfast Special. In September 1967 he was one of the initial BBC Radio 1 DJs when the station launched. [1] [2]
Symonds was the last person to interview Gene Vincent, on his Radio 1 show ' Scene and Heard ', broadcast on the 16th. October, 1971. Bear Family Records released the recording of it in their ' Rebel Heart ', series.
Symonds resigned from Radio 1 in 1973 over a dissatisfaction with the music policy and after the introduction of a new jingle. “It said Radio One was wonderful — and it wasn't. I couldn't press the button with a clear conscience," he told his granddaughter, journalist Cara McGoogan, for a Daily Telegraph profile in 2017. [1] Symonds joined the newly formed Capital Radio, where he hosted the station's first programme in 1973. [3] [4]
In the late 1970s, Symonds was programme controller of Radio Victory in Portsmouth, as well as serving as a continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4 between 1978 and 1979, and again from 1985 to 1988. He also presented Much More Music on weekday afternoons on BBC Radio 2 between 1979 and 1982. [5] In 1981, the controller of Radio 2 told him he was being taken off air without giving any reason. He presented his last programme naked, a stunt which was reported in the media at the time. He was replaced by Gloria Hunniford. [1] Between 1988 and 1993, Symonds hosted a weekend show for Capital Gold. In 1995, Symonds moved to Cyprus and set up his own radio station, Coast FM. [4]
In 2011, he sold Coast FM in Cyprus and 2013 moved to France with his young Dominican wife, Bacilia Symonds, his third wife. [1] ln France, he set up an internet radio station The Roolz. [6]
On 14 February 2021, Symonds was one of the team of DJs who launched Boom Radio, a station aimed at the baby boom generation, found online and as part of five DAB multiplexes (in various British cities). [7] At Boom Radio, Symonds became part of a presenter line-up which also included ex-Capital DJs Graham Dene, Nicky Horne and David 'Kid' Jensen, along with David Hamilton and Jenny Hanley (from 1970s children's television show Magpie ). On 10 August 2021, Symonds announced on Facebook that he had been sacked from his Saturday night show on Boom Radio.[ citation needed ]
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hip hop and indie, while its sister station 1Xtra plays black contemporary music, including hip hop and R&B. Radio 1 also runs two online streams, Radio 1 Dance, dedicated to dance music, and Radio 1 Relax, dedicated to chill-out music; both are available to listen only on BBC Sounds.
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya. He replaced Gwyneth Williams, who had been the station controller since 2010.
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Boom Radio is an independent, commercial, national radio station in the United Kingdom. Owned by Boom Radio Ltd, the station is aimed at baby boomers, the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964, and is the first radio station in the UK to specifically target this age demographic. Launched on 14 February 2021, Boom Radio broadcasts nationally on the Sound Digital DAB multiplex and is also available online.