After a distinguished career spanning over five decades, legendary BBC Radio 2 presenter Brian Hayes passed away at the age of 87, as tributes began to pour in.
Some of the most influential radio of his time was created by Hayes, who was the son of a miner, from Perth, Western Australia. He famously said that he saw callers as “real people with something to say.”
The broadcaster relocated from Down Under in the early 1970s to the UK, where he continued his radio career, where he became a producer when Capital Radio first aired on the network in 1973.
He then assumed a presenting position. He made his name, though, when he began hosting the LBC radio morning interview and phone-in show.
The broadcaster’s gruff manner with callers earned him a controversial following, making it clear that he did not suffer fools gladly. Although this caused some to lose their respect, he was still regarded as a top station employee. He was once called “Brian Bastard,” according to satirical publication Private Eye.
The presenter started appearing on various stations starting in 1990, earning him a spot on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show from 1992 until his departure, apparently due to unpopularity, and was then replaced by late Irish broadcasting legend Terry Wogan in January 1993.
He also served as Jimmy Young and his successor Jeremy Vine’s representative until 2006 while hosting the weekly phone-in show Hayes over Britain on BBC Radio 2. He won the Gold Sony Radio Award for “Best Phone-In.”
He was a producer on programs like Not Today and Thank You on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 4 until 2006. He returned to his legendary role at LBC in the middle of the 2000s by hosting Friday nights on BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday nights.
He revealed that his first caller was a rather significant one when he described LBC and his time there to the Guardian in 2003.
“On January 6, 1976, LBC and I started our relationship.” Margaret Thatcher, the opposition’s leader at the time, was the guest on my first phone-in for the station.
She appeared most concerned about whether the clumpy headphones she was wearing would ruin her expertly designed hairdo because it was her first phone-in. She also experienced a lot of anxiety. I was then, too.
He also recalled that during his time at the station, he spoke with a number of political, trade union, and business movers and shakers, as well as the greatest writers, musicians, performers, and of course, the educated, lovable, and enraging Londoners who flooded the phone lines and pleaded with the rest of us to explain how the world should be run.
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Source: Mirror
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