Annie Nightingale mentioned ‘a number of love from me, to you’ in final log off

Trailblazing DJ Annie Nightingale signed off her ultimate Radio 1 present by sending her listeners ‘a number of love from me, to you’.

The broadcasting icon, who turned BBC Radio 1’s first feminine DJ when she joined the station in 1970, handed away at residence aged 83 after a brief sickness, her household introduced right now. 

She is survived by two kids – Alex and Lucy – who she shared with her first husband Gordon Thomas. She was later married to actor Tony ‘Binky’ Baker however the couple later divorced. 

Wrapping up a glittering profession spanning greater than 50 years, Nightingale appropriately instructed her listeners on December 19: ‘Wishing you a superb Christmas from us all on the Annie Nightingale present. And a number of love from me, to you.’ 

Her ultimate phrases on Radio 1 got here on the finish of her three-part ‘better of 2023’ present, the place she performed tracks by Dillon Francis, Dimitri Vegas, Daft Punk, Sam Smith and Bad Bunny.

After her loss of life was introduced right now, feminine DJs and presenters have been fast to pay tribute, with Zoe Ball hailing her because the ‘unique trailblazer for ladies’.

Ball, who hosts BBC Radio 2’s breakfast present and beforehand helmed the present on Radio 1, mentioned she was ‘heartbroken’ to listen to the information.

She added: ‘She cherished music like no different… and will out final any of us on the occasion. So grateful for all of the love & help she supplied me over time. What a dame… relaxation nicely.’

Annie Mac, who hosted a wide range of Radio 1 reveals earlier than leaving in 2021 after 17 years, described Nightingale as a ‘trailblazer, spirited, adventurous, fearless, hilarious, good, and so good at her job’.

Alongside a black-and-white photograph of a younger Nightingale, she wrote: ‘This is the girl who modified the face and sound of British TV and Radio broadcasting eternally. You cannot underestimate it.

‘Before Annie Nightingale got here on Radio 1, it was legitimately believed by BBC bosses that folks did not wish to hear girls’s voices on the radio.

‘Radio DJs have been seen as husband substitutes for the wives who listened at residence. God forbid British girls may wish to hearken to different girls.’

The Dublin-born DJ, who actual title is Annie Macmanus, mentioned Nightingale ‘smashed via all of the sexist stereotypes of what sort of broadcaster a girl ought to be’ and continued on via till she was an older lady who performed underground music on Radio 1.

She added: ‘She was at all times the epitome of ‘cool’, relentlessly curious and enthusiastic and hungry to study. She at all times had the messiest desk in our workplace, one of the best outfits, and essentially the most outrageous tales to inform. She was so sound!

‘I hope phases and festivals and awards might be named in her honour for many years to come back. Queen of breaks! Annie Nightingale, you absolute legend, could you at all times be ‘on One’.’

Nightingale was appointed an MBE for companies to radio broadcasting in 2002, and in 2010 acquired a Guinness World Record because the longest serving feminine broadcaster at a ceremony attended by Liam Gallagher, one in every of her favorite musicians.

Announcing her loss of life right now, her household launched the assertion: ‘Annie Nightingale MBE handed away yesterday at her residence in London after a brief sickness.

‘Annie was a pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many. Her impulse to share that enthusiasm with audiences stays undimmed after six many years of broadcasting on BBC TV and radio globally.

‘Never underestimate the function mannequin she turned. Breaking down doorways by refusing to bow right down to sexual prejudice and male worry gave encouragement to generations of your girls who, like Annie, solely needed to let you know about a tremendous tune they’d simply heard.

‘Watching Annie do that on tv within the Seventies, most famously as a presenter on the BBC music present The Old Grey Whistle Test or listening to her play the most recent breakbeat techno on Radio One is testimony to somebody who by no means stopped believing within the magic of rock ‘n’ roll.’ 

The assertion added {that a} celebration of her life might be happening within the spring at a memorial service. 

A classy presence each on and off the display screen, Nightingale was photographed alongside the likes of Kate Moss – who attended a celebration to mark her fortieth anniversary at Radio 1. 

Another of her confidants was Paul McCartney, who dramatically phoned her dwell on air to offer a press release after John Lennon was assassinated in 1980. ‘Don’t wobble,’ Nightingale instructed herself – as she recalled in a 2020 interview. 

Her function noticed her interview a dizzying forged of celebrities, together with Sean Connery for his first function in James Bond. It could be one of many many highpoints of a profession that started as a normal reporter on her native paper, the Brighton and Hove Gazette.

BBC director normal Tim Davie right now hailed Nightingale as a ‘uniquely gifted broadcaster who blessed us along with her love of music and keenness for journalism for 50 years’, whereas Radio 1 DJ Danny Howard known as her an ‘all time radio nice’. 

DJ and presenter Trevor Nelson, who began his broadcasting profession within the Eighties and nonetheless presents on BBC Radio 1Xtra, mentioned Nightingale, who was twice divorced, had made him ‘really feel like music broadcasting is for all times’.

‘Dear Annie, you have been greater than only a trailblazer for ladies on radio, you made me really feel like music broadcasting is for all times. Rave in peace,’ he posted on X.

BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley, who had her personal long-running present on Radio 1, mentioned: ‘The coolest lady who ever graced the airwaves. She blazed a path for us all and by no means compromised. Her ardour for music by no means diminished. Annie – My utmost respect and thanks for all of it.’ 

Glastonbury Festival co-organiser Emily Eavis remembered her as ‘an inspiration to so many ladies in music’ and a ‘pretty human being’.

She additionally recalled: ‘Annie gave me a lot help after I was in my twenties, I at all times felt so grateful to have such a powerful lady encouraging me alongside the way in which and I’m positive she has accomplished the identical for a lot of others like me.’

Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Greg James mentioned being within the presence of Nightingale was ‘such a deal with’ and he or she might be missed ‘a lot’.

Nightingale first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panelist on Juke Box Jury, earlier than becoming a member of Radio 1 seven years later.

She remained the station’s solely feminine DJ till 1982, when Janice Long joined, and is credited with serving to to pave the way in which for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.

As a DJ she has travelled the world, and as soon as mentioned she had been ‘mugged in Cuba, drugged in Baghdad and bugged in Russia’.

Over the years, she rubbed shoulders with music titans together with the late David Bowie, who she delivered to a pub after watching him open for an additional band, to reward his expertise when she was aged 22.

She additionally befriended The Beatles and was a visitor occasionally on the band’s Apple Studios in London through the Nineteen Sixties.

During a particular present with former BBC Radio 1 host Nick Grimshaw she instructed him that Sir Paul McCartney as soon as ‘type of’ proposed to her, including: ‘But I do not assume he was severe.’

During her trailblazing profession, she was the primary lady to current the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test music present which aired on BBC Two and has written two autobiographical books.

In 2021, BBC Radio 1 launched a brand new scholarship for feminine and non-binary dance music DJs which was named after Nightingale.

Up till lately she nonetheless hosted her present Annie Nightingale presents… on BBC Radio 1.

In 2019, she was made a CBE for companies to radio having beforehand been made an MBE in 2002.

Tim Davie mentioned Nightingale was a ‘uniquely gifted broadcaster’ and hailed her as a ‘champion for feminine broadcasters’ as he paid tribute following her loss of life aged 83.

‘I’m deeply saddened by Annie’s passing and our ideas are along with her household, many pals and the entire of Radio 1,’ he mentioned. 

‘Annie was a uniquely gifted broadcaster who blessed us along with her love of music and keenness for journalism, for over 50 years. 

‘As nicely as being a trailblazer for brand spanking new music, she was a champion for feminine broadcasters, supporting and inspiring different girls to enter the business.

‘We will all miss her terribly.’

The head of BBC Radio 1, Aled Haydn Jones, additionally paid tribute to Nightingale, saying: ‘All of us at Radio 1 are devastated to lose Annie, our ideas are along with her household and pals.

‘Annie was a world class DJ, broadcaster and journalist, and all through her whole profession was a champion of recent music and new artists. She was the primary feminine DJ on Radio 1 and over her 50 years on the station was a pioneer for ladies within the business and in dance music.

‘We have misplaced a broadcasting legend and, because of Annie, issues won’t ever be the identical.’

BBC Radio 1 DJ Danny Howard, host of Radio 1’s Dance Party, described Annie Nightingale as an ‘all time radio nice’.

‘Very unhappy to listen to the information of Annie Nightingale passing,’ he posted on X. ‘An all time radio nice and an inspiration to many!

‘I used to be in awe of her data and keenness for music, the way in which she talked about it and the tales she had! Such a sort soul and might be missed. Thank you Annie R.I.P.’ 

The broadcasting trailblazer who turned first lady on BBC Radio One: How station’s longest-serving presenter Annie Nightingale battled misogyny to develop into one of the vital influential DJ’s in world of British music tradition

Annie Nightingale was a trailblazer on the planet of broadcasting, having develop into the primary lady to DJ on BBC Radio 1 throughout a time the place misogyny pervaded the business.

The radio station’s longest-serving presenter supported waves of standard music genres together with prog rock, German electronica, punk, acid home and dirt and her highly effective affect on the world of British music tradition can’t be understated.

The DJ mentioned she confronted a ‘big lot of opposition’ going into radio in an interview for the BBC Centenary Collection in 2018.

‘What the hell is it about radio that it must be male’, she mentioned.

‘This was my battle.’

Nightingale began out as a journalist primarily based in Brighton and he or she first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panellist on TV present Juke Box Jury.

She joined Radio 1 seven years later in 1970 and remained the station’s solely feminine DJ till 1982, when Janice Long began internet hosting a Saturday night present.

Nightingale is credited with serving to to pave the way in which for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.

She was additionally the primary lady to current music present The Old Grey Whistle Test, from 1978, which featured dwell efficiency from artists as various as Bob Marley, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Roxy Music and Randy Newman.

As a DJ she travelled the world, and he or she as soon as instructed The Independent that she had been ‘mugged in Cuba, drugged in Baghdad and bugged in Russia’.

Nightingale acquired an MBE in 2002 and a CBE within the New Year Honours listing in December 2019 for companies to radio, which she described because the ‘coolest big-up ever’.

In the BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs, she instructed host Lauren Laverne that radio had ‘such an impact’ on her, the primary phrase she tried to say was ‘music’.

Also on the radio programme, which aired in 2020, she revealed she knew about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship earlier than it was made public, however didn’t report the story for worry of breaking her bond of belief with The Beatles.

The DJ was a frequent visitor on the band’s Apple Studios in London through the Nineteen Sixties and he or she had a front-row seat to one of the vital artistic durations in British standard music.

She additionally spoke to host Laverne concerning the sexism she confronted coming into the business and mentioned her request to develop into a DJ was initially turned down as a result of she was a girl.

Nightingale mentioned: ‘They got here out with this excellent line, they mentioned ‘our disc jockeys are husband substitutes’. Which I believed was a rare factor to say.

‘That arrange a number of assumptions that every one the ladies pop followers have been housewives at residence doing the ironing. And they might say, ‘why would a girl wish to be a DJ?’. They have been bewildered.’

Nightingale was requested by The Ministry Of Sound to curate a Masterpiece compilation CD in 2015 which featured tracks from the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Joy Division and The Who.

Her memoir Hey Hi Hello was launched in 2020 and supplied a glance again at her 5 many years on the forefront of standard music tradition in Britain.

A scholarship for feminine and non-binary music DJs, named after Nightingale, with goals to ‘have a good time and elevate proficient girls and non-binary folks within the digital music scene’ was launched by BBC Radio 1 in 2021.

Nightingale remained on air till late final yr with Annie Nightingale Presents.