Kenny Everett On BBC Radio Bristol

Kenny Everett was arguably the most creative, most innovative, most technically gifted radio presenter the UK has produced.

He was a pioneer, first with the offshore pirates in 1964, then as part of the launch team for BBC Radio 1 in 1967 – and later a key figure when licensed commercial radio began with Capital Radio in 1973.

Kenny spent hours in the studio stitching together truly original shows, filled with his exquisitely produced personal jingles, crazy sounds effects, and zany comedy moments delivered in a frenetic, inventive style that no-one could match. He was close friends with the Beatles, regularly playing their latest tracks before anyone else. Among his peers he was regarded as a “genius”. And yet he was a shy Catholic boy from just outside Liverpool who had a habit of being fired.

The BBC banned him from talking to the press after repeatedly complaining about Radio 1's output. Things came to a head in July 1970 after he responded to a news bulletin about the wife of Transport Minister John Peyton passing her advance driving test. Kenny joked that she “probably crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand”. As a result, his weekend show was cancelled, a fate he'd previously suffered at Radio Luxembourg, Radio London, and later at Radio 2. He was just 25, and apart from a few stints on continental stations, there was nowhere else to go. The BBC still had a UK radio monopoly, and his top-flight radio career looked to be over.

A saviour arrived a year later at one of the BBC's fledgling local stations, when Radio Bristol's manager David Waine needed holiday cover. Feeling Kenny had been badly treated, David offered four programmes at a rate of just £12.50 a week! Desperate Everett agreed - sparking an internal row with Waine rebuked by BBC Radio's MD Ian Trethowan for not consulting him - warning that he'd be in trouble if things went wrong.

To minimise any potential disaster, David wisely asked Kenny to pre-record his shows at home in Sussex. He then posted the tapes for checking by a producer before broadcast. On June 12,1971 the “wireless wizard” was back on-air. It was an occasion largely overlooked as few people heard it. At the time BBC Local Radio only broadcast on VHF (now FM) when most listeners only had medium-wave sets. Much of the output was “parish pump” material. Broadcast hours were limited, with few staff and tight music restrictions.

So Kenny's first show, heard here in full for the first time since broadcast, was probably the most dangerous show on BBC Local Radio. He announces his return by saying ”It's disgusting. I don't know how they allow him to get away with it”. He was clearly relieved to be back with a fast-paced kaleidoscope of his work. It's littered with bespoke Radio Bristol jingles, a chat with Dusty Springfield, and an episode of the comedy serial “Dick Dale – Special Doctor”, previously heard on Radio 1.

Listen out for an amusing sequence as he tunes across his radio dial with extracts from Radio Solent, Radio Brighton, Radio 4, Radio 3, and Radio 2, with a cutting swipe at the station who axed him : “We don't play Radio 1!” The show features tracks from The Move, Nilsson, Peter Noone, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stavely Makepeace, The Beatles, The Fantastics, Cat Stevens, White Plains, Twiggy, Mungo Jerry, Dusty Springfield, the Supremes and The Four Tops.

You may wonder why Kenny regularly mentions the record labels of songs played. At the time, BBC Local Radio could only play one hour of commercial music a day under strict “needle time” restrictions negotiated with the Musicians' Union. One way to get around them was to play “new releases” giving the record label, and (in theory at least) its number.

Kenny's Radio Bristol shows opened the door at other BBC Locals including Radios Merseyside, Solent, Nottingham, Brighton (now Radio Sussex) and Medway (now Radio Kent). He also appeared on ”Start The Week” on Radio 4 over Christmas 1971 – becoming a regular on a spin-off series “If It's Wednesday - It Must Be” over the next 18 months. Ev was finally allowed back on Radio 1 in April 1973 but left six months later as Capital began.

He returned to TV in 1978, with “The Kenny Everett Video Show” from Thames, moving across to BBC1 in 1981 with “The Kenny Everett Television Show” which ran for six years. But radio was his first love. He helped launch Capital Gold, the station's AM service in 1988 where he worked until shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50. But he left a legacy of unique work influencing broadcasters like Noel Edmonds, Steve Wright and Chris Evans.

The first of three shows on BBC Radio 4 Extra celebrating Kenny Everett who would have been 80 - being born on Christmas Day, 1944.

The wireless wizard's first BBC Local Radio show in 1971 after Radio 1 fired him.

Fired from BBC Radio 1, Kenny Everett records shows for BBC Radio Bristol in 1971.

Almost a year after being fired from BBC Radio 1, Kenny Everett makes his debut on BBC Radio Bristol. From June 1971.

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Festive frolics from the home of radio's enfant terrible.

Kenny Everett was a radio genius, loved by millions and lauded by his fellow broadcasters. He honed his craft on pirate radio, helped launch Radio 1, and was there at the start of Capital Radio, the UK's most successful commercial station.

He described himself, slightly tongue in cheek, as “the wireless wizard”. He worked harder than any of his rivals to produce innovative programmes laced with wacky jingles, crazy sound effects and zany comedy moments. But he pushed the barriers, was always getting into trouble with management, and was regularly fired.

The crunch came in July 1970 when he was sacked by Radio 1 after insulting the wife of a Government Minister. He was just 25, at the height of his creativity. The BBC had a radio monopoly and there was nowhere else to go. The only other outlet was the corporation's Local Radio stations. But they didn't play many records, had little money, and had few listeners, as they could only be heard on VHF (now FM) when most people had medium wave sets. But a chance phone call from BBC Radio Bristol led to the corporation's “bad boy” returning to the airwaves on June 12, 1971.

The station manager David Waine, who was the same age as Kenny, took a gamble against the advice of Broadcasting House bosses, hiring him as a stand-in for an hour-long Saturday morning show. Everett got £50 for a month's work, with the proviso that the programmes were pre-recorded so they could be checked before they went on air just in case the enfant terrible said something naughty.

The appointment was deemed such a success that by the end of the year Kenny was doing similar shows for five other BBC Local Radio stations. He also did a Christmas special for Radio Bristol on Boxing Day 1971, the day after his 27th birthday. You can now hear it for the first time since it was originally broadcast 53 years ago.

The programme closes with Kenny making a whimsical appeal to BBC management to put him back on national radio, describing himself as a “poor soul on the dole” living in a “rat-infested mansion” with “no food in the fridge and no dough in the bank”.

It includes music by the Beach Boys, Mama Cass, Peter Noone, Colin Blunstone, John Barry, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, The Jimmie Haskell Orchestra, Gilbert O'Sullivan, The Faces, Cat Stevens, Tony Christie, Mike Vickers, Matt Munro, Rich Fever and Rossini.

Kenny returned for another Radio Bristol series in 1972 before eventually being let back on air by Radio 1 the following year. Shortly afterwards he joined Capital Radio at the launch of Independent Local Radio before beginning a successful television career in 1978. But Kenny remained true to his radio roots and was still broadcasting on Capital Gold shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50.

So did these BBC Local Radio programmes helped rehabilitate Kenny Everett's career ? Judge for yourself.

Kenny Everett would have been 80 on Christmas Day 2024.

First broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol on 26 December 1971.

Kenny Everett on BBC Radio Bristol, a day after his birthday - Boxing Day 1971.

Fired from BBC Radio 1, Kenny Everett records shows for BBC Radio Bristol in 1971.

Kenny Everett presents another show on BBC Radio Bristol, a day after his birthday. From Boxing Day 1971.

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The 'wireless wizard' invites a fellow Liverpudlian in for a chat on Radio Bristol

John Lennon sings and reveals some secrets about the Fab Four. Not broadcast in over 50 years...

Kenny Everett was arguably the most creative, most innovative, most technically gifted radio presenter the UK has produced.

He was a pioneer, first with the offshore pirates in 1964, then as part of the launch team for BBC Radio 1 in 1967 – and later a key figure when licensed commercial radio began with Capital Radio in 1973.

Kenny spent hours in the studio stitching together truly original shows, filled with his exquisitely produced personal jingles, crazy sounds effects, and zany comedy moments delivered in a frenetic, inventive style that no-one could match. He was close friends with the Beatles, regularly playing their latest tracks before anyone else. Among his peers he was regarded as a “genius”. And yet he was a shy Catholic boy from just outside Liverpool who had a habit of being fired.

The BBC banned him from talking to the press after repeatedly complaining about Radio 1's output.. Things came to a head in July 1970 after he responded to a news bulletin about the wife of Transport Minister John Peyton passing her advance driving test. Kenny joked that she “probably crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand”. As a result, his weekend show was cancelled, a fate he'd previously suffered at Radio Luxembourg, Radio London, and later at Radio 2. He was just 25, and apart from a few stints on continental stations, there was nowhere else to go. The BBC still had a UK radio monopoly, and his top-flight radio career looked to be over.

A saviour arrived a year later at one of the BBC's fledgling local stations, when Radio Bristol's manager David Waine needed holiday cover. Feeling Kenny had been badly treated, David phoned offered four programmes at a rate of just £12.50 a week! Desperate Everett agreed - sparking an internal row with Waine rebuked by BBC Radio's MD Ian Trethowan for not consulting him - warning that he'd be in trouble if things went wrong.

To minimise any potential disaster, David wisely asked Kenny to pre-record his shows at home in Sussex. He then posted the tapes for checking by a producer before broadcast. On June 12,1971 the “wireless wizard” was back on-air. It was an occasion largely overlooked as few people heard it. At the time BBC Local Radio only broadcast on VHF (now FM) when most listeners only had medium-wave sets. Much of the output was “parish pump” material. Broadcast hours were limited, with few staff and tight music restrictions.

So Kenny first show, heard here in full for the first time since broadcast, was probably the most dangerous show on BBC Local Radio. He announces his return by saying ”It's disgusting. I don't know how they allow him to get away with it”. He was clearly relieved to be back with a fast-paced kaleidoscope of his work. It's littered with bespoke Radio Bristol jingles, a chat with Dusty Springfield, and an episode of the comedy serial “Dick Dale – Special Doctor”, previously heard on Radio 1.

Listen out for an amusing sequence as he tunes across his radio dial with extracts from Radio Solent, Radio Brighton, Radio 4, Radio 3, and Radio 2, with a cutting swipe at the station who axed him : “We don't play Radio 1!” The show features tracks from The Move, Nilsson, Peter Noone, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stavely Makepeace, The Beatles, The Fantastics, Cat Stevens, White Plains, Twiggy, Mungo Jerry, Dusty Springfield, the Supremes and The Four Tops.

You may wonder why Kenny regularly mentions the record labels of songs played. At the time, BBC Local Radio could only play one hour of commercial music a day under strict “needle time” restrictions negotiated with the Musicians' Union. One way to get around them was to play “new releases” giving the record label, and (in theory at least) its number.

Kenny's Radio Bristol shows opened the door at other BBC Locals including Radios Merseyside, Solent, Nottingham, Brighton (now Radio Sussex) and Medway (now Radio Kent). He also appeared on ”Start The Week” on Radio 4 over Christmas 1971 – becoming a regular on a spin-off series “If It's Wednesday - It Must Be” over the next 18 months. Ev was finally allowed back on Radio 1 in April 1973 but left six months later as Capital began.

He returned to TV in 1978, with “The Kenny Everett Video Show” from Thames, moving across to BBC-1 in 1981 with “The Kenny Everett Television Show” which ran for six years. But radio was his first love. He helped launch Capital Gold, the station's AM service in 1988 where he worked until shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50. But he left a legacy of unique work influencing broadcasters like Noel Edmonds, Steve Wright and Chris Evans.

Kenny Everett would have been 80 on Christmas Day, 2024.

First broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol in July 1971.

Kenny Everett is joined by Beatle John Lennon on local radio. From July 1971.

Fired from BBC Radio 1, Kenny Everett records shows for BBC Radio Bristol in 1971.

The sacked DJ brings his original run of Radio Bristol programmes to a close and is joined by Beatle John Lennon. From July 1971.

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