 |
Johnny Beerling | |
|---|---|
| Born | John William Beerling 12 April 1937 [1] England |
| Children | 2; including David |
| Website | www |
John William Beerling (born 12 April 1937) is a British radio producer and station controller. [1] [2] [3] [4]
|
Johnny Beerling | |
|---|---|
| Born | John William Beerling 12 April 1937 [1] England |
| Children | 2; including David |
| Website | www |
John William Beerling (born 12 April 1937) is a British radio producer and station controller. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Beerling attended the Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent. [1]
| This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(February 2016) |
He began his radio career during national service from 1955 to 1957, when he ran a radio station for the Royal Air Force station British Forces Aden in the Aden Protectorate, acting as its station manager, studio engineer and morning DJ.
In 1957, he joined the BBC as a Technical Operator and soon became a Studio Manager. In the early sixties he was appointed as a producer in the Gramophone Department where he worked on a number of popular programmes such as Housewives' Choice , Midday Spin, and Two Way Family Favourites as well as late evening shows like Music to Midnight. Beerling brought in Simon Dee from the pirate radio scene and he was also the first producer of Terry Wogan. As an admirer of the pirate radio stations he devised a fast moving new radio show on Saturdays called Where It's At, one of Kenny Everett's earliest shows. Beerling was one of the few employees of the BBC Light Programme in the mid-1960s to regard the model of offshore pirate radio as one which the BBC would have to follow and to that end he managed to take a trip to visit Radio London to see for himself how they operated. [5]
In 1967, the Marine Offences Bill led to the close down of the pirate radio stations and the BBC decided to set up Radio 1 to provide a legal alternative. Johnny was at the forefront of this process, recruiting the DJ talent and devising the jingles, subsequently producing the first ever show with Tony Blackburn.[ citation needed ]
He became an Executive Producer in 1972 and the following conceived and launched the show for which he is best known, the Radio 1 Roadshow. This grew from a small caravan operation on Newquay Beach to an 80-foot mobile stage show housed in a series of articulated trucks, supported by a giant outdoor TV display visited by 500,000 people a year.[ citation needed ]
In 1985, he was appointed Controller of the Radio 1 Network, responsible for the entire output including such major projects as the sound for Live Aid. During his time there he cultivated the "Smashie and Nicey" image despite appointing more music oriented presenters like Mark Goodier, Nicky Campbell and Simon Mayo. He oversaw the transfer of the network from AM to a better quality FM transmission system. In programming, he was responsible to for increasing the number of social action campaigns, extending news coverage and increasing the coverage of live concerts and music sessions recorded in Radio 1 studios. He also introduced comedy onto the airwaves of Radio 1 with shows like The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Victor Lewis Smith.[ citation needed ]
While Controller of Radio 1, he removed Jimmy Savile from the BBC Radio airwaves "because his programme was tired and boring". Of Savile's abusive behaviour, he said: "Jimmy Savile was a loner. He rarely socialised with any of the DJ’s or staff at Radio 1...I was not aware of any sexual improprieties which have now been uncovered." [6]
During this time, Beerling was affectionately known, and referred to on air by some such as Steve Wright in his afternoon show, as "Johnny Bee-Leg". Whilst he was controller, Radio 1 began broadcasting 24 hours a day in May 1991. Beerling took enforced early retirement, aged 55, from the station in October 1993, and many of the station's veteran DJs either resigned or were sacked when Matthew Bannister succeeded him as controller. The network's ethos, music policy and target audience changed dramatically. Beerling publicly criticised the new regime at the BBC, specifically Director-General John Birt.[ citation needed ]
In May 1995, the BBC re-hired Beerling on a short-term contract to organise the "Music Live '95" event in Birmingham, which was broadcast across all the BBC national networks, including Radio 1.[ citation needed ]
Beerling joined Serenade Radio in 2020. His 'Big Band Special' show can be heard Sundays at 6pm (UK time) on www
Johnny Beerling was involved with the Radio Data System from 1985 onwards when the BBC appointed him Chairman of the Programme Experts Group tasked with promoting the system worldwide and ensuring compatible radios became generally available.
His responsibility extended across European territories, via the European Broadcasting Union, which represented the public broadcasters for Western Europe. Beerling commissioned the design of the RDS logo and encouraged car manufacturers to factory-fit compatible radios in their vehicles.
He remained involved as Chairman of the RDS Forum for 30 years until he resigned in 2016.
After his departure from Radio 1, Beerling went to work alongside Noel Edmonds, with his production company Unique Productions where he was Chairman of Unique Special Projects and responsible for "Music Live '95" production for the BBC. Since 2007, he has lectured regularly about broadcasting and popular music on ships operated by Cunard, Fred Olson Cruise Lines, Saga Cruises, Thomson Cruises, P&O Cruises and Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
In 1992, he was the first non-broadcaster to receive a Ferguson Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio from the Radio Academy. The following year, he was elected President of the Television and Radio Industry Club of Great Britain. He also became a governor of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in May 1993, and in the same month was presented with a Sony Award for Outstanding Services to the Radio Industry. In 2005 was made a Fellow of the Radio Academy.[ citation needed ]
In 1959 he married Carol Ann Reynolds, with whom he has a son, David Beerling, [7] and daughter, Julie Margaret Wood. They divorced in 1993. Later that year, he married Celia Margeret Potter, whom he also divorced five years later.
He married Susan Patricia Armstrong in 1999. He lives in West Sussex.
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.
Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.
Kenny Everett was an English radio DJ and television entertainer. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC Radio's newly created BBC Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and comical characters which he later adapted for television.
Antony Kenneth Blackburn is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter.
Alistair Charles McGowan is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression, which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes – winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. He has also worked extensively in theatre and appeared in the West End in Art, Cabaret, The Mikado and Little Shop of Horrors. As a television actor, he played the lead role in BBC1's Mayo. He wrote the play Timing and the book A Matter of Life and Death or How to Wean Your Man off Football with former comedy partner Ronni Ancona. He also provided voices for Spitting Image.
Sir William Frederick Cotton was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The television and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal grandfather's cousin.
Christopher David Denning was an English radio presenter and sex offender. His career effectively ended when he was convicted of sexual offences in 1974. He was imprisoned several times in the United Kingdom, Czechia and Slovakia between 1985 and his death in custody in 2022.
Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster.
David Patrick Griffin, known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English former disc jockey, and former television presenter.
Mike Smash and Dave Nice are comedy characters who first appeared in the early 1990s TV sketch show Harry Enfield's Television Programme. They were played by the comedians Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield respectively.
Edward Stewart Mainwaring, known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, and as a presenter of Top of the Pops and Crackerjack on BBC Television.
Johnnie Walker, MBE is an English radio disc jockey and broadcaster. He began his career on pirate radio, most notably on Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969. He joined BBC Radio 2 in 1998 and currently presents Sounds of the 70s on Sunday afternoons and The Radio 2 Rock Show on Friday nights.
David Charles Wish, known as Dave Cash, was a British radio presenter who latterly worked for BBC Radio Kent, having had previous spells at Radio London, BBC Radio 1, Capital London, Radio West, Invicta Radio, Country 1035 and PrimeTime Radio.
Neil Andrew Howe Fox is an English radio DJ and television presenter, known for many years as Dr Fox before he became "Foxy" in the 2000s, then simply as Neil Fox, M.D. before reemerging as "Dr Fox" in 2020 to host the UDJ "Heritage Chart" countdown.
Trent FM was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Nottinghamshire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Leicester Sound and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands on Monday 3 January 2011.
Richard Keith Skues MBE, AE is a British radio personality. His career spanned more than 60 years.
Between 1956 and 1965 Radio Free Scotland (RFS) broadcast through the PAL audio channel of BBC television after God Save the Queen finished in the evening, and, later on, on 262 metres medium wave on the radio.
Douglas Muggeridge was the controller of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 from February 1969 until 1976.
Charles Derek Chinnery was the controller of BBC Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2011.