Read this: A tribute to John Evington

Hello there, my name is John Evington and this is the super Sound of signal radio independent radio station on this special from Radio today.

We pay tribute to a great of our industry and not just a great present a program manager consultant and mentor that bloke John Evington died on 4th of December he been in a coma for a week after being taken ill.

Just days before his 63rd birthday as well as a battle with cancer over the last John had liver cirrhosis, Richard first causing issues over a decade ago.

I became quite ill in 2010.

It was horrible.

I never talk about but I was given 3 years to live 2010 liver disease and it can completely knocked me off tilt.

And so when I put the community licence application here to Skipton which is where we were living at the time.

I kind of saw that as being my final in a few years in in business full episode on Amazon holiday and didn't come back basically.

I lost about a year being unable to do much at all about John from his 22 is a signal radio the last part of that time the group programming roll with the wireless group.

Are you might know from his more recent work as a pioneer of small scale DAB however you knew in you'll have memories that bring a smile to your face coming up with hear from friends and colleagues from down the years in an industry joined in 1978 and is local radio station Piccadilly radio in Manchester Robert Palmer currently at 26 on the Piccadilly

Use the request 11 centigrade 52.

That's a temperature times now exactly 9 Piccadilly the Breakfast Show Tuesday morning.

It's now 5:55.

This is signal radio with the new independent station force and Cheshire on and 14.3 stereo VHF from a very good morning to you and a warm welcome to this day the broadcasting Monday September 5th signal Radio news.

We are together again at the start of the weekend on Radio 2 for the next couple of hours with some m1117 9:49 this Monday morning.

It's Monday the 18th of January 1990 at this obsession with radio.

I always wanted to work in radio.

Nobody works in radio the window wants any radio stations back and apart from the nationals and my dad wants did mention that I had this ambition of working radio the crazy just left at me and some determination to show everyone that I can do it.

Wow, just a tiny selection of bits of John Evington the presenter from the early part of his 40 + years and Stuart Clarkson I'll have to get into no John through my work for radiotoday how to turn into a good friend during his time living just a few miles away from me in Skipton I was part of his team that apply community radio licence in 2012 to 2013 I would often pop in to see him in his Office above Cafe Nero on Skipton High Street well.

I say is Office that's what he called it, but it turned out for the first time there was actually just the upstairs seating area at cafe Nero I'm so sad that we've lost John so suddenly this week.

I hope you knew what a difference he made our industry and to those that he worked with a new you going to hear from some of them and we'll hear a little more of John in his own words to from an interview that he did with David Lloyd for the conversations podcast.

2016 so many tributes where to start how about Steve King XE map and power and one of John's closest friends, would it be in August 1981 when a radio station was being set up in Leicester it was called centre radio and we met there and John was Mr experience as far as I was concerned that younger than me is very experienced cos he spent three years on Piccadilly radio.

I was about to do my first programme September 7th of April sometime around then I was going to do my first program and I was terrified Jones great sports me really help me through those early weeks, so it's Through the only week that he helped me and it was great.

It was he was really good friendship around that you know and he was taken on the swing joke about 6-months be less than that.

So he was Breakfast Show presenter doing very well at it and then I was put on lates, so that really tested our friendship because we're on opposite ends of the day.

I think one point at the best time to meet each other every wanted to have a chat or have a coffee or something would be 4 a.m.

In the morning.

I could stay on a bit and he can come in a bit early, but we might you know we still talk to each other you could meet the groom develop from there and then probably about couple of months before the Demise of centre radio John sensibly left and he took post as representative signal radio cos he was the launch rock on breakfast at signal radio playing Beautiful Noise they launch with so he moved on and centre radio collapsing I didn't move on so I was left on employee for a few months, but I got it back together and probably a few years later.

We stayed in touch few years later we both.

Cells in the position program controller for quite a while so we would be regularly in touch TV programme contact we're in competition Corsa Talent but we are also considered to be in audience tickets to do better than everybody and in terms of that friendship that you develop with my what was it about John that you liked and made you want the beers mate things really that stick out and sort it comes through in it comes through from any other comments that you see on his Facebook page kindness is that's the way lot people describe John and that really come through stronger for the minute.

You need to.be and and that was my first experience of him.

He was helping me out in need to I was new and I was in I didn't really know what I was doing probably still don't you would probably say because he was very kind and the other thing was.

I love this humour.

It was it was very humorous in great sense of irony as well and so we would we will laugh our way through many got many of conversation and we certainly when we when we caught up with each other to catch up with each other more regular basis to all the beginning of this year when your move back to Leicester and we saw each other because we ended up being just a few miles from each other and yeah.

He reminds me again.

Not only but also his great sense of humour a fantastic time reminiscing about our days in radio particularly John then introduced as 222.

Joe my wife and I and then we met as a foursome units of fairly regularly throughout throughout the summer this year and got to know Joe very well and the last 12-months obviously about his cancer diagnosis and the treatment that you managed to get and the prognosis was looking good from that.

He didn't have sale in your download the side of the hospital building in September

People who gnome on Facebook I've seen that he's been on holidays all over the place.

He looks very well and he was doing alright wasn't having a great time and John was very positive about his condition very positive and good but at the same time.

I think he realised that he better make the most of his time and that's what he enjoy were certainly spending the last 12-months doing my then went everywhere they went on holiday travel all over the UK are visiting my favourite wars John was catching up with friends all over the country probably contract that back through Facebook so I think whilst he didn't see you know this coming immediately I think he knew the universe better.

Enjoy yourself.

Why did cos he didn't know what was around the corner and how do you think the industry will remember John most he was an industry great really mean John we worked out that the two of us.

We probably just about everybody in the industry because anybody I didn't know John did anybody didn't know it was a bit like that really you he was at senior level for such a long time and he made in enormous.

Commercial radio enormous contribute to commercial radio and I think that should probably be how he is remembered and still making a difference in the digital space as well with the new companies that have been working on with David yeah.

We have a few jokes about that because I got involved in DAB licence applications whilst hours with email back in 1960 when I was involved in the first few it was John was still develop still giving people chances of people opportunities and a new radio groups opportunities in a right up to the point at which it became too ill to do it, but we're going to hear lots of tributes on This podcast so thanks for that Steve King in the last decade John worked with countless local radio stations community and commercial at through his company's the radio people know how much and his business partner through those days has been David Duffy hello, John just one final note for me to let you know how much I enjoyed working with you and how much you're going to be missed by me.

So many other people 8 years working together and it went by in the blink of an eye but you haven't managed to slip off the radio door for the final time without a few people noticing Dave Gibson at RTE has been in touch to say what a wonderful kind and gentle soul you were what I remember.

Is you getting a selfie under that RTE sign and ask missing her poor connection too many people to mention of said, how great they are for the opportunities.

You gave them in the early part of their career which is nice Paul Holmes from real-world.

Got his first ever PD job from you and Pennington who I remember is the breakfast in Warrington got his first break in commercial radio at Signal 1 from you and you remember Gary Burgess who was on ITV in the Channel Islands he said you encouraged him constantly throughout his radio career and you remember Andy Griffith who worked at the Wireless group while you were there he said in an industry full of loud now some big egos.

John was someone I could trust respect and learn from.

To say most people with totally shocked they describe dewar's generous genuine enthusiastic honest with a deep passion for radio.

It's almost the perfect see the me I will always remember you're insistent or wearing jeans to every customer meeting so that they would know who the programmer was and when we all ordered coffees you would order hot choc with all the trimmings and that meant squirty cream and marshmallows you had to use a broadcast quality microphone for zoom and having full View in fact you're probably listening to this totally that I recorded it on an iPhone you know old radio waves never die your voice is hurtling across the universe right now looking for a new audience.

I'll miss you my old friend.

Goodnight and God speed.

Thank you.

David lovely letter to our friend John now.

Let's say to the heyday of signal radio wear for a period in the late 80s and early 90s the station.

Programming duo with John and Terry good morning world.

It's a brand new day now.

Tell me about the first time you met John would have been she's I guess yeah, what about 1986 when we first met and was one of those trips.

We were both on holiday.

We just bumped into one another and we got chatting away and it was immediately apparent anybody who knew John news it you was just the nicest person that you're ever going to meet you at that dry sense of humour, but he had that wonderful sense of mischief and we met him in a hotel into his wife at the time Sally and my wife Julie we were all there and we just immediately hit it off and there was no question we were going to work together.

It was just a friendship and and just remember things.

First time I met him, you know new of John I was working at the time atmacha, and you'll be here signal everywhere and a course I listen to Signal I love signal cos it was a really cool radio station with great processing shingles and John was the breakfast presenter.

So that was the first time we met and it was sometime later.

Maybe a year later when he rang me and said you know he was about to come off here.

He was the launch presenter of course at signal is about to come off there.

I was doing breakfast of March and he asked if I'd be interested in going to work there and of course my first inclination was alright.

Love to work with John then I can help to Stoke-on-Trent and decided that wouldn't want to work it for Jon but what happened our friendship and and and the Christie offer increase.

Thank you John but the increased as has more times.

I said no then obviously he got a better at the deal so I decided to give it a chance so I took over from John you choose to fill literally and

Baby kiss heatons spectacularly well the radio figures from inchicore then for that station were absolutely off the scale but I thought now to take the chair and had an amazing is a start at signal and an amazing time with John and with the team there at the time.

What was it like to work with as a boss so you were the breakfast present and he was your PD essentially and I was also I I was taking out of presentation and breakfast presenter, but the thing about John was that I'm mediately realised for the first time.

I think in my radio career that point someone who says something is going to happen actually did I've been filled with our going to do this talking to do that and so on but then it never did when I started working for John if he came up with an idea and he came up with a suggestion wanted to borrow something through that would work for the radio station actually happened.

That was a huge surprise to me because he was just an honest genuine person everyone talks about his sense of.

Fantastic personality and his and his great ability on air and anybody heard him on Radio 2 on signal would tell you that he was a great broadcaster, and I just love his honesty and his and don't think about signal in those days, was it is a very different world.

Yeah, you get to lunch time.

It was right.

We're all going to the pub then go on the way home.

I will get the pub and it was like a friendship and the family it was not like an employer-employee relationship and they were really happy times and I think he spent six years together at signal at said she has his defacto number to running the radio station, so you're kind of a double Act at work quite well known in the industry that time apparently so yeah, it's interesting isn't it? Because although John and I kept in touch right up until just a few days before we lost him the reality of the industry.

I was hearing from people having spoken to 4 years in some cases decades getting texts and calls and everything and looking back.

It's all those those.

Record company people have the radio stations of the programmers in directors of stations who seem to remember that John and I would be sort of you know little and large.

We turned up together.

Wherever we were it's interesting because I put a picture on Facebook some people may have seen it at John and I that was taken actually just last year was the last time we physically saw one another and what people will notice have a look at that picture is the same height which is miraculous because John was over 6-ft 9 under 5 not quite what I'm going to do when the dust settles.

I'm going to put a little video of that.

It was one of those live pictures and you can see actually what he did when I said to him John please don't make me look shorts and so he just positioned to help perfectly but when I play the video you can see me really really is that was just John's Again John sense of humour and personality and such a positive outlook on everything I mean I've known him for the last 10 years or so.

Been ill, he got better from that.

We saw also we thought that perhaps not in the long-term.

He's older understood had over the last year or so as well.

Just still wanting to live life and do everything yeah.

I think that typifies John because you know what what he wasn't going to do with just going to sit down and give in what I loved over the last year as you said to you and you're a great friend to him and what will I loved about was that sensor positivity you set up this this WhatsApp group and it would be filled not with doom and gloom but it would fill it with all the positive stuff.

What happened.

What tests what he thinks he's going to happen and actually we it's been a really sad to hear from me because very close friend not nothing radio bit of a very close friend of mine.

Also died this year from liver cancer and what I was able to do when John rang me and told me that he had this we did have Facetime but he only told me about this condition again laughing joking making light of it.

Not allowing it to define his personality which is just too.

Sean and was able to do is to put him in touch with my friend and see who he knew because she came over to work at signature lived in America she came over to work at signal for a year lives at our house around the corner from John's in you a very well, but he hasn't spoken to her for 30 years and when I said to him.

She's got exactly the same condition as you I put them both together.

They took every single day and they were an absolutely wonderful comfort for that fills me with some sense of happiness that they found a reconnection to be able to talk about a shared a terrible moment that they were going through.

I would have lost her but John was seemingly doing really well.

He was he was it might be I saw only literally 3 days before he found to The Coma we were sharing videos he went on holiday this year and I'm going to a similar place and I've got this video so thrilled resend it to me of him.

Just goofing about on on a boat just pretending to dance and doing typical John things and it's the most.

Video and it just brings to hand back to live every time.

I look at it.

I love it so much.

Yeah, I've been doing the same looking through my texts and emails from John over the years as well and the so many can a good memory say what what what? Thank you for remembering for most and how are you remembering? I think it's always difficult one to answer cos you don't want to even think about the fact that he's no longer here, but on the basis that in life.

You know unless you live with somebody and you're with them 24/7.

There are periods where you're not together.

They might be weeks months or even in some cases years where you don't talk to somebody it doesn't mean they're not there.

It just means that you're not specifically seeing them to meet John will always be around John will always be that absolutely cheeky mischievous brilliantly talented radio person.

Are you never go away? And I don't think anybody who ever met anybody was ever fortunate enough to meet John had a work which are meeting socially even just casual acquaintances.

You won't fail to have been impressed by him and I think for me.

He's a real real.

That we lost but we will never forget and as I said in my life.

You'll always be there hello.

This is Phil trow and it's a pleasure to be asked to say few words about John Evington John gave me my first job in 1986 at signal radio at stayed there for four very happy years really enjoyed it.

I've always said that John was brilliant allowing the radio presenters at the time to basically.

Do you felt was right to do that provided some of the best maybe some of the worst radio but you know we learn from it and I think the important thing was the listeners were with us as well.

He certainly know how to program a radio station if I got one memory of John John had a very mischievous.

I to him it was just after we commissioned a new set of jingles and these have come from America from jam and we were in the commercial production studio one day and there were 405 people gathered round and they said right you've got your jingle.

I was like what how exciting and they said there is a bit of a problem though because

When we sense the pronunciation for your name we said that it was pronounced as in Phil t row a boat so they said this is how it's turned out and the jingle filltir thinking.

Oh my goodness and rather than say don't worry we're getting it remade they actually it's a little bit too expensive to get the singers back in the studio.

So you're ok and future to be called filltir.

Oh and of course as a 19-year old eager to please I should buy head messages course I will so I potentially could have come I could have become filthy road from that moment on until I saw all the smiles and everybody at bursting into hysterical laughter is John Evington filtro Neil Gough ill Tierney vs.

Martin Campbell I was so sorry to read about John Evington and from my ears and the radiotherapy and Ofcom as well.

If you like and I met John on many many occasions, so I'm always so pleased to meet him and to see him a real giant and someone who has done so many things people live on in radio and I always always happy always a nice guy to meet and really in radio one of the good guys, so rip John hello.

John was my inspiration getting to do what I dreamt of doing in my professional working life one of my first Buses the guiding light and a kindred spirits.

Yes, I bombarded him with because I wanted to be on the radio and I wanted to be on his radio station in my local station signal radio our first meeting was to listen but not to listen particularly tonight demo but some miscellaneous recordings a different stations is that's what John was he was proud to be an enthusiast of the industry and he knew how to get the best out of people he listened intently to.

Comprehensive documentary I put together on the first five years of signal radio we kept in touch.

I did some more hospital radio.

I worked on my craft.

I did some radio Topshop and then give me a dream opportunity to become the broadcast assistant akf my incremental station which signal adequately 1990s.

How was the cost of the ads East do the what's on diary take the radio car out The Selecter logs and that the cherry on top of the cake was to do the early show 5 till 7 a.m.

Every day Monday to Friday and then produce the breakfast show which was hosted by another legend listening to on Piccadilly Pete Baker John was my first boss for the 2 years which followed kfm.

Became signal Cheshire I got the chance to go over to Paris we one of the first stations broadcast from Euro Disney got to interview this open coming band called take that and then when the time came around encourage me to move on and try and seek out new opportunities just

Done years and years earlier with sensor radio and then becoming the first Voice on signal radio and go for a fact.

I'm just one of countless people who John gave that big break.

I just want to say thank you.

I can't believe you gone John but one thing I do know is that you will never ever be forgotten in this fine industry of Us here's another signal call Jason had my first match on Evington back in 1988, but I first heard his Dorset towns in 1983 as he was the first Voice on my local radio station at the time signal radio living in Stoke-on-Trent heard this radio station come on for the very first time and heard John Evington open up the station and then introducing it's the song Neil Diamond Beautiful Noise and I said to my mum that time I'm going to work that radio station.

I'm going to be a DJ on my local radio station 1988 came along.

And after her a lot of demos Laura persuasions a lot of knocking on the door of hanging around becoming a bit of a nuisance for money to get into signal to answer the phone, but then the Sunday afternoon programme with the most goals that soon moved onto working on the phones on the evening show with Neil Atkinson at the time well there and it up doing a few demos and John Evington Gateshead yeah, ok, will try one weekend overnights never looked back if it wasn't for John I wouldn't be doing what I love doing.

I don't think of this is work.

It's my hobby and I've been doing it now the pastor 33 34 years and it's all down to join Everton who gave me that chance who gave me loads of as one of the things.

I always remember was.

Not being very one-to-one when it came to the radio and he came in on morning and said I've been listening and you're not being one-to-one think someone I meant any explain that radio is a one-to-one forum.

So we true this face on a piece of paper stuck it on the mic and said right that face as a person you want talking to that one person and nobody else and since that day that is stuck in my head and always thought of just one person while presenting my radio shows so that's one of many many advice that I got from John what signal for a good to watch from 1988 to 1996 before moving to Radio City and even when I left stayed in touch with j.

Asking for advice when things got a little bit tough in this business that we call radio not getting contract renewed.

He was always there to a give me a little bit support and also rehi me I can went back to signal about three or 4 times and then when I did finally leave after joining the BBC full time he got in touch with me in the past couple years to start some online radio stations Albert Dock Radio 1 of the heatwave.

It's radio radio Wirral and it was all down to John contacting me believing in me as I believed in him.

It's going to be a sad loss.

I was always speaking to him a few months back and he said if you life-changing situations coming up.

I'll be ok.

It's a sad affair and it's feels like just part of me been taken away that little safety mess which I had for the past.

He's no longer there John thank you for everything and I'm going to miss you all the very best rest in peace my friend until we see each other again.

Take care.

Hello.

It's Paul chantler hear from fix radio and podcast Radio and all sorts of other things very very sad to hear the news at the weekend of the wonderful John Evington who I knew for 30 years or so, I suppose fantastic radio programmer full of knowledge and has Phil Riley said that I think on Twitter someone who was really had interests at heart radio as a whole and also a top bloke are parts first Cross don't think many times but I particularly remember a great trip that we did.

To Dallas in the early 90s I was working at the time as PD for the Hot FM Chiltern radio group and John was a working as pd4 signal radio Stoke-on-Trent and it was in the days before you had isdn or ways of remotely directing single sessions and so it was a terrible but we both had to fly over to Dallas to supervise the recording sessions and it was a great trip and we went to we were taken to jams which is the famous worldwide headquarters of of the jingle company.

They were making all of our jingles customer packages with the famous singers and it was a fantastic experience and I remember one night going out for dinner with John and John wolfert.

Who was the guy who ran jams?

For dinner and then afterwards John invited us to go for a little flight in his aircraft and he had a small private plane and we drove to the airfield and he should have pulled it out of the Hanger and we all got 18 and I'm being the size.

I am I'm pretty fat and managed to squeeze into the back of the plane and we did a fantastic night trip across Dallas in John's plane and it was very memorable and both John and I afterwards we always East remind ourselves when we met subsequently that that lovely evening we we flew over Dallas with the man who made so many wonderful radio jingles, so yeah John a lovely lovely man and will be sorely missed by myself and and I suspect the whole of the radio industry.

Thank you for letting me have the opportunity to to bring that memory to the for hairs fell England so many happy.

Is working with John where do you start the sales guy but John actually gave me the opportunity to do a show live on our signal and forever grateful.

He wants compliment me add a feature called zero talk and according to John this was the best feature.

I ever did because I didn't say anything.

Hi this is James Pie course.

I was really saddened to see the passing of John Evans reported on Radio today this morning and I just thought of a memory of my first dealing with John when I just started in my first paid work in radio working in traffic link at the top of Portland Tower in Manchester and to suddenly be thrown on all these big radio stations with virtually no experience was really exciting and really taking a bit of a roller coaster for me at the time.

I think I was a little bit of my depth what I certainly was the morning John cold and rang me very calmly after a bulletin on Signal 1 and said Joe

Can you tell me what's a unit failure and in that moment? I immediately realised what jobs point was that I was taking this technical jargon and spewing out there and not speaking in the same language that the listener might broken down train that was quite a valuable and important lesson for me to speak in plain English and John went on to be a really helpful mentoring gave me a lot of encouragement and support throughout my career.

So I'm really sad to hear about his passing.

Hello.

My name is Paul Carrington I first met John in July 1990.

I received a call from him.

Asking me to pop over to Stockport for a chat as working at Piccadilly radio in Manchester at the time and there was sun on a reshuffle that for me men coming off there and going back into the production department something that I didn't really want to do I just

Stay on our and so chance call couldn't have come at a better time signal has just acquired kfm.

Radio in Stockport sand he wanted to offer me the late night show doing what I done.

It nearly a year or so earlier, which was this I don't know crazy madcap.

Nonsense noisy racket of a show when I met him.

We clicked straight away and his family of his time at Piccadilly but also has signal had great plans as well.

It was very quiet gentle and understated though.

I'm not sure if he kept that compose you when you heard my first show I was only at kfm for a couple of months before relocating to Stoke for what would become some of the happiest days of my life since John's untimely passing.

I've thought a lot about how he helps dear my career development.

I will always owe him and enormous debt of gratitude for giving me the creative free.

Noah the program director has done since he would encourage me to take risks and to be as inventive as my own imagination would allow got gently keep me in check if I overstepped the mark but encouraging he reminded me many years later that he still encounter members of my on a team who went out working full-time as some of the radio stations.

He was involved with and in particular occasion that the creative writer at one of the stations under his watch a custard in one day by saying she was formerly nurse leg over from the funds to show John like to take a few calculated risks and he persuaded me to take over the breakfast show which to be honest.

I didn't think I was ready for or really would be any good at however under John's guide the show picked up a bronze award and the 1993 Sony Radio Awards which I think he was actually quite proud of as well.

I look back at those halcyon days with gratefulness and mi.

The richer for having known John Goodbye my old friend he will be remembered.

I'm Johnny billing and I used to be control of Radio One nowadays, I'm abroad from Serenade radio many years ago when I moved up north to Skipton one of the people who pretended me was a neighbour John Evington and although we never came across each other when I was at Radio One we both share the background in radio and became good pals.

We put in a joint be to set up a community station radio Skipton and share that disappointment when the big failed are part of waiting in recent years, but we was kept in touch from time to time we meet up for a convivial lunch with other radio folk in the area you Stuart John Foster Stephanie Hirst and of course John happy memories of all of his chewin' the fat about the latest gossip developments and news of our business all of which makes it even more sad knowing this lovely man has left us for that radio station in the sky.

Even if so speak is suspected up there somewhere offer accent Peter a few production tips on his welcombe.

Devon presentation.

He may have commissioned a jingle to I can just imagine him suggest singer with the lyric.

It's heaven up here the abs lovely and clear tune into Angel Radio the most seriously I shall miss his knowledge his Wisdom and his name is Yasin prometrium.

John was a great guy gentle why isn't happy and I'm very sad to say farewell to such a good man another big voice from signal now Barry David John Evington was a true radio anorak.

Just rang me he called me the Scouse plumber has now with my day job.

I first met him at signal radio shows on signal radio and breakfast on Echo 96 which ones baby a radio station for Stoke Stafford and Cheshire are playing Led Zeppelin and more all day everyday the jingles broke away from the norm as used on my alarm.

Scripts like 96 even John couldn't tell me the meaning of radio great.

I just don't think there are people in the industry with the same Enthusiasm I could be wrong by Crowder is another former colleague who got his break from John and is now part of the team at Stafford FM John Evington is a true legend in the world of radio and gave me my first Sherwood signal radio in Stoke-on-Trent back in 1986 John Evington has been a major influence on my career and was also instrumental in Stafford FM winning it's community radio licence 2015 is passion for radio and recognising a nurturing new Talent was incredible.

There's so many household names now in the world of entertainment that John gave the first break and for that they Andy all over him a huge.

Debt of gratitude John he was simply one of a kind.

Thank you so much for all you did for me and the star.

Let's hear from magic Jim Davies gym hi Stuart thank you for putting together this tribute podcast IO John Evington so much and I never really got lots to say how grateful I was to him.

I dreamt of working in radio four years as I was growing up grafting at the hospital radio in Maidenhead and then listening avidly to Radio 1 and capital and then I moved to the north west in 1996.

I think it was I decided I wasn't going to wait any longer.

So put together Rufford shaky demo after hours in the pub.

I was working out because I had a mixing desk there and then in the morning after I finished the shift.

I put it through the door of signal radio in Stoke-on-Trent and will learn behold a few weeks later.

I got a call from John inviting me to popping is unique why I started at signal presenting the late night love affair and eventually move into the breakfast owned and I can't believe it but next year Mark

25th anniversary in radio having worked all over the country stations like century hard LBC at most recently BBC Radio 5 Live of course and magic and I owe so much to John just for starting me out and guiding me nurturing me often reassuring me you and I was so full of self-doubt and encouraging me to go further look and he was infuriated times, but he was really wrong and I still find myself now relying on so many of the lessons that he took me all those years ago.

So thank you John you will be greatly missed.

This is hiya.

I have many great memories of John but one of my earliest was the many laughs.

We had and he's brilliant sense of humour and his remarkable Talent for mimicry when I first joined Piccadilly radio you was ATO technical operator and the 20th at Piccadilly radio had an area in The Newsroom where John could often be found doing his impressions of all the present.

On the station at the time and there was one particular presenter that John was brilliant at and that was called Tony Emerson Tony in the main did the overnight show that was cold night beats he was on there from 2 a.m.

To 6 am no longer with us, but we Tony and his impression of Tony was laugh-out-loud funny and Tony was often shall we say a little accident-prone on are in fact Tony once actually fell asleep on their mid show and it was John that her this was John was travelling home switch the radio and all we could hear was.

And it's the days of course when all the music we played as vinyl so John turn the car around when back to the radio station, what's in the Tony fast asleep slumped on the desk fallen asleep and all you could hear on the air was the record for going round at the end.

So John obviously woke him up, but before he left the radio station you obviously that little bit of audio off the put it on to court, so that we could all enjoy that moment but John could often be found in The Newsroom with Lisa is collection Descartes mainly of Tony Emerson and holding Court to doing impression fantastic radio memory around.

78 the radio station for about 6-months and and when John join he was one of those people in life that when you first you first meeting just instantly liked him.

He was just it was just one of those people in all the time that I knew John and never once saw him shout of razors voice saw get angry.

He was just life's gentle people looking for someone to run the Revolution for me when I bought the radio station back in 2008 and at that point during the 5 1/2 years that that I owned the Revolution we probably spent the most time together that we ever spent since we first met all those years earlier enchant for me.

He just never changed it was the same easy going laid back.

You know gentle sort of guy that I'd always known and and obviously.

Funny stories to tell many memories across the 43 years that I knew him but he was he was someone that you could always rely on we spent hours and hours on the phone as well.

You know since the days of the Revolution and you know swapping ideas and discussing the end of strien and I just always enjoy our conversations and our time together.

So thank you John for the many laughs.

We had the money stories.

We told each other but most of all thank you for your friendship and just being a lovely guy.

I miss you buddy.

Thank you Steve at now.

Let's go 21999 signal along with a handful of other radio stations were bought by Kelvin Mackenzie the wireless group is John to take out the story when we all went and Googled Kildare McKenzie very interesting reading and what are the things that caught my eye?

Was k attitude towards people who've been in the same role for more than 304 years not very impressed.

He isn't by anyone who stays in the same Rover more than a couple of years the deal went through and k k play Grand Tour to meet the management team that each of the radio stations and I'll never forget that first meeting with K about station in the area in the opportunities for his new group and then the question I was hoping he wouldn't ask me he asked me so how long have you been here then smiled and said K you don't want to know how long 16 years the went blue 16 years in Stoke-on-Trent the graveyard of ambition and he gave me a fair amount of grief over that of all the people I met in radio you couldn't meet anybody.

What's a nicer wanting to be part of a team guy 101% employment people he was number one in honestly.

Don't think it's a good idea the people stay in their jobs for years on end and especially during a big company like five 7-years 16 years basically so rather than ending.

He actually changed my view of you.

Have a very good guy running your business and in essence if you get the music wrong you are in big trouble earlier on because what happens is for some reason the audience seemed to know that music from before the management and so by the time you get home.

Over 94 and that they are they are in the class where they advertised it doesn't want to meet and you suddenly discovered that the but you didn't know by now.

I only have used to John and I said I think what we need is we need a bit more Robbie Williams if I said that now.

I'll probably be much doubt that the time it seems to be to be a reasonably appropriate what happened with John and with other TVs with a smile and what used to happen was if it turns up clearly it is interesting music died when when one of the Everly what they do is they not but actually there shaking their heads at the same time so you'll end up ones like John would actually who was really quite in.

Legendary weapon movie is headwrap in a circular motion, so that anytime it was neither agreeing with you know this but was thinking to be bothering off and we won't see him for a while.

I've been around here in this kind of business literally all his life and you did and the difference between him and I is I didn't know so in the end because of the way he presented himself mentally you say John is you ask you carry on in the truth about the matinee never let you down and if you disagree with them, which I didn't with it.

He would send you a note explaining the wiser that kind of person.

I think his business simply because versions of a I have effectively taken over and if you looked at you and John side-by-side people would say how did you?

How did you have a working relationship because you're quite known for being quite outspoken and perhaps would shout at people where is John was very quiet and reserved actually think that they're there has been kind of massive transformation Michelle people today because this is that I can't have a shelter because the message gets round and in the end of the day good people won't work is quite interesting was I didn't become like me.

He didn't start shouting as there was no point in you more than I did and my job was to find out the best out of him.

Not the other way around as a businessman, running a big radio company having people like John on your

Made you a winner lots of reasonably talented College honestly John have something else about it and the other thing was that John carrier team with it.

You never got a secret email now the colleagues.

There's a lot of the stairs.

There's a lot of sophistication to radio whenever decisions made a very brave very brave.

Don't worry wasn't like that this works.

This has worked before work again.

John first-class guy loves working with and during your time working together for a few years.

Obviously regular things that will happen every 3-months would John would need to report into you about the radar figures and I guess that was an interesting time because of your views on the matter John did believe in it it was

Dim light and within the radio industry, it is actually behind me why intelligent commercial please load of old people wandering around with pieces of paper boxes saying they listen to some complete waste of time for John this was obviously a difficult ring up and tell you that the some clapped out station in the middle of nowhere.

It's suddenly doubled its audience in a month or some quite well in the community station and invite actually the great thing about radio is always some good news.

So you know something like John well done very well.

That's a shame.

He said that is an absolute Triumph in the 18 buses.

At the end of the day John's job was to try and make good news out sometimes things that piece of gold hidden among the answer try and John was a Triumph for that people use to industry events towards the end.

It was a breeze cos Ray's coming usual things and good one Sinbad and some ok's I K 1200 LT down a tad Swansea's perform brilliantly and you don't know about the rest don't tell me I can't think of a time when I woke up in the morning.

I didn't want to go to work.

It's it's just something about this business.

Energizer sleep I'm lucky in that.

I've had a lot of very different experience have worked at small stations big stations are presented level on Radio 2 presenter Don the smallest of stations, but the jobs the job early days when I was working overnight at Piccadilly I get home and think to myself.

This is a phase I'm going through.

This is not a career.

This is a phase and I'll get it on.

And then I find a proper job and go through life like everybody else.

He will 40 is almost and I've done pretty much everything I ever wanted to do in terms of broadcasting was always an ambition to be on National radio when I did that not for long, but I did and quite enjoyed it 4:27 Radio 2 with you on a Sunday morning driving around 6.

I think the closest you are to your listener and your audience the more rewarding it is my name is Jonathan and I'll be your homepage weekday morning between 6 and 9 but the music news and information which I hope you'll soon get into that piece of waiting on every level and enjoyed his career and

like a plumbing Liam

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