RIP Wrighty 😭

squonk

Steve Wright has passed away. Aged 69. Gone too soon.

waywill1966

Fcuk! He was only mentioned last week as being lined up for a new R2 spin off station!

Rubberchikken

Rip.

squonk

Yeah and I loved his new take on pick of the pops on Saturday afternoons. Christ I never imagined last Saturday was the last time I’d hear him on air. That’s another pillar of the radio I remember gone.

squonk

Seems really sudden and has caught the R2 people by surprise. Poor Bobby trying to make it through her traffic update just now. I loved the on air banter between herself and Steve.

waywill1966

Very emotional on R2 at the moment. They are all in shock!

ford fiesta

Shocking news. Extremely popular for decades on UK radio. The king of afternoons.

A proper DJ. A radio anorak. Passes away on World Radio Day.

Tribute currently on BBC Radio 2, they played Christy Moore Ride On just before 6pm one of his favourite songs.

Ironic how BBC Radio 2 are moving out of Wogan House this week, to be beside his former home Radio 1 in Broadcasting House

headnorth

I found his radio show on BBC 2 during lock down 2021. Listened to his shows Monday - Friday. I lived for every Friday @ 4:15pm when DJ Silly Boi would get on the decks with serious jockin'....loved it. Some of the the jingles on serious jockin' were great, I'd audio recorded a load of em and I still play them on a Saturday night when I'm having a kitchen disco with the family. I think Harden My Heart by Quaterflash was 1 of his favourite songs, played 2nd last before he ended with Radio Ga Ga on his last shop. RIP Silly Boi Steve.

Jakey Rolling

Aw, that news hit me hard. RIP Steve.

I grew up through the 80's listening to him. I was surprised when visiting UK a couple of years ago to hear him on air, sounding as fresh as ever. It was like I'd never left. Didn't expect him to still be on prime time, the amount of energy he put in to his shows must have been exhausting.

cml387

Loved the show Steve!

Sad news.

thejuggler

Didn’t Gareth O’Callaghan base his entire career on Steve Wright? Wonder where he will seek inspiration from now……

ford fiesta

Some favourites of Wrighty's:

QUARTERFLASH - Harden My Heart (1982) (youtube.com)

The Fatback Band - I Found Lovin' (youtube.com)

Seals & Crofts - Summer Breeze (Official Audio) (youtube.com)

dublincc2

We need someone like him in Ireland. The non-stop oldies and fun chat inbetween, along with actually interesting interviews. Would be a better afternoon show than Ray f** D’Arcy.

RIP

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764029#Comment_121764029

He did and growing up in RTELand Gareth was my first introduction to what Steve did so well. I liked Gareth back in the 90s but I caught up with Wrighty in the afternoons on BBCR2 around 2018 and it was great to hear the master do his thing. Great presenter.

Radiomeister

One of the great music radio broadcasters.It's hard to imagine just how innovative he was.When he appeared on Radio Luxembourg,he really lit up the airwaves.The persona,the energy,the seamlessness of his links.The voices,the characters,the preparation.There was so much to learn from him,' not a lot of people know that!

Later,on BBC Radio 1/2 he continued to evolve.Perhaps,nearer the end of his career he was less ' edgy' but that impish sparkle was never too far away.

A consumate and innovative radio dj whose creativity was a joy to listen to.

ford fiesta

"Later,on BBC Radio 1/2 he continued to evolve.Perhaps,nearer the end of his career he was less ' edgy' but that impish sparkle was never too far away.

Sadly society and being PC meant his characters and content had to be cancelled or dumbed down.

Why do you say the end of his career ? He was on BBC R2 a few days ago ??

Radiomeister

Apologies ford fiesta if I wrote that phrase awkwardly, I meant in the latter part of his career.

squonk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006wqx7?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Steve’s final Pick Of The Pops show from last Saturday I was sorry to see Gambacini move but delighted his replacement was Steve and he was fantastic in the slot

ford fiesta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764679#Comment_121764679

I was delighted a proper DJ was taking over POTP.

I was really looking forward to continue listening to Steve for the next 5 years at least on Radio 2 on FM (and the planned new digital station).

alzer100

Regarding Gareth O'Callaghan.

Actually Gareth and Steve were good friends and they learned from each other. Steve was VERY aware of who was good on air in Dublin at Radio Nova, Sunshine 101 and later on at Atlantic 252. He was an anorak who loved great tight and slick radio from all over the world. Gareth paid a wonderful personal tribute to Steve this evening on his Facebook page. Their paths first crossed in 1985 when Gareth worked in the UK and was introduced to Steve by Gavin McCoy (Sid The Manager, Mr. Angry, Jervaise and more as well as VO of Steve Wright in The Afternoon).

Steve acknowledged the pirates and had such guests on his show as Jono Coleman, Charlie Wolf, Mark Wesley and Tony Prince. He acknowledged radio stations like Caroline, Laser 558, Atlantic 252 and more "anorakky" topics on his show - an action that never alienated his mammoth audiences on Radio 1 and Radio 2 over the years. He picked his own music for his shows. PD's in Ireland and the UK would more than likely fire someone for doing that.

headnorth

Last few moments of his final 'The Big Show'

https://youtu.be/FmZwuKNZX30?si=daNrO-Xd-4rTkLmT

squonk

It’s interesting hearing Tony Blackburn mentioning how he’d show up at 9 to prep for a 2PM slot! Despite his awesome talent he still put in the legwork. I only wish more of the current batch had that kind of work ethic.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765352#Comment_121765352

Like the way Tubs, D'Arcy, Duffy do/did at rte?

Only joking. I think Tubs used to roll in 5min before the show started, as it was obvious he was reading a lot of the cue cards for the 1st time.

Don't think Duffy puts in much prep either. No need for that mess of a show.

And as for Darcy, if he put in 12hrs prep, he'd still make a balls of something.

squonk

It shows though. I’d say nobody in the BBC Radio 2 daytime lineup is rolling in 5 minutes before air and winging it. You could say the difference is stark and there’s really no danger of any of the RTE daytime lineup even getting a start on BBC Radio Bristol let alone R2.

It’s strange there hasn’t been a mention of his passing on radio this side of the Irish Sea. Not that I’ve heard anyway. I know he’s not Graham Norton level of recognition but still known as a TOTP presenter.

dxhound2005

I always assumed that Terry Wogan came in around 2 am to get ready for 7.30. But Bob Sheenan, the Controller of Radio 2 at the time tells a very different story.

"He described him as a natural when it came to radio, and recalled fellow presenter Jeremy Vine's shock when Sir Terry turned up five minutes before a show one day having done no preparation.

Mr Shennan said: "The thing about Terry was that he really didn't go into a lot of preparation for his programme. He fed off the audience. He didn't pre-judge what it would be about that day.

"Jeremy said to Terry 'How are you going to prepare for everything, have you done all your prep for that?' And Terry said 'No, I'll just get out of the lift and I'll wander into the studio. I'll open the microphone and we'll see what people have got to say.'

"And that was how he did it. And it was why he was so good."

squonk

“No, I'll just get out of the lift and I'll wander into the studio. I'll open the microphone and we'll see what people have got to say”

sounds like Joe Duffy’s motto!

ford fiesta

It's very strange to listen back to Steve's shows (Pick of the pops and Sunday love songs) from just last weekend

ford fiesta

Jeremy Vine opening the phone lines now to fans of Wrighty

dxhound2005

Vine is another one who wings it. He is on Channel 5 TV, and then cycles over to Radio 2. I expect he has people to do the prepartion, just like Wogan would have had.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764250#Comment_121764250

"We need someone like him in Ireland"

Where? Steve Wrights style would be shunned by Dan Healy, Scott Williams, Liam Thompson, Phil Manzor and the rest of them. What PD would allow Wrightey to be himself and on what radio station?

Maybe RTE Radio 1 or 2fm would change format and go HotAC/Gold for an afternoon ending with a little "Serious Jockin' " ?

The majority of PD's and MD's in Ireland today would verbally dismiss Steve as "old hat", "cheesey" and not as good as their current lineups 'Jesus'.

Steve had, on a normal day larger audiences than there are people on the island of Ireland. Mavericks tend to get pariah'd here, they will talk behind your back and undermine your ability and skill and put out the word "he's mad" or "he's too hot" or "American / UK sounding" or do some other such character and professional assassination on the jock. What happened to 'The Boy Jase' for example? or 'Dusty Rhodes'?

"That style doesn't work here"

Unfortunately there is more chance of resurrecting the Titanic.

ford fiesta

As well as the UK population being 10x / 11x more than Ireland - UK are more a dedicated and sensitive audience than those here...in an anorak sort of way.

A Steve Wright sort of presenter here would be lambasted - who would come close in an old school sense ?

Pat Courtenay ??

squonk

Scott Mills doing Steve’s non stop hits hour now on BBC R2 but one song in foiled by dead air and a record not playing along with a shout out to the producer. It just shows what a pro Steve was.

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121766929#Comment_121766929

I’d take Steve and Tony Blackburn’s style over most of the dross that passes for radio here. It might be my demographic in fairness but there is another thread in these parts on A252 with clips of the guys from there and it’s just great radio IMHO. The more of these characters are lost the more radio is just background noise. At a time when most people can bypass live radio in favour of podcasts and online music stations, it’s more important than ever to have these types of strong radio presenters.

Infoanon

Stunned when I heard the news of Steve Wrights passing , BBC Radio 2 are planning specials over the weekend POTP , Pick of the Pops is still scheduled for this Saturday while Liza Tarbuck is to present a special tribute to Steve in what would have been his Sunday morning slot.

Steve Wright RIP

squonk

I was wondering if he had a few POTPs in the can for broadcast. Really I’d love a ‘best of’ show with some of his funny intros to songs from various years he’d done so far, although there aren’t many shows to choose from yet.

ford fiesta

We know Steve was found dead around 10.15am on Monday.

I assume the POTP repeat (1978) scheduled to air at 3am on Tuesday morning went out on R2, even though his death was not made public until 5pm that day?

ford fiesta

Some insights into Steve's final days and radio future from Gambo here on GB news:

'I was due to meet him tomorrow' | Emotional tribute paid to Steve Wright (youtube.com)

squonk

It doesn’t sound like he ever arrived at the point of thinking he was near retirement and started phoning it in. It’s also impressive how genuinely upset the Radio 2 crew were also. It sounds like he was very much liked there and was the positive person everyone who spoke about him has said.

Im not involved in radio but always had a feeling that, like any other career, it could be dog eat dog at times and maybe even more so given it was media. It just makes it even sadder.

squonk

Read this on the pop itch bailout just now.

Tributes to Steve Wright this week have been uniformly glowing, many making a point of the ease with which he conducted his big celebrity interviews. If you're curious to know how Steve managed to strike up such effortless repartee with the stars, we know his secret.

According to one loose-lipped contributor to the show, his technique was simple. Steve would simply slag off his previous guest in front of the current one, while flattering them to the hilt.

A system that worked perfectly – as guests didn't realise they too would be chucked under the bus shortly after leaving the studio.

One year, Children in Need wanted to do a live throw to Steve Wright's radio show. A request which resulted in Steve frantically having to round up staff to cram into his studio to whoop and applaud. All to maintain the illusion that the applause sound effect he played at the beginning of each show was real.

alzer100

7" vinyl copy from '93.

Last song he ever played alive.

Banzai600

he was great no doubt about it. we listened to steve's shows very regular on the smart speaker we have, and others.

The bbc dj's and show formats are just heads above the likes of what we have here, their shows evenings over dinner and weekends pottering around the house. They are just better in every way, plus no annoying adds either.

RIP Steve.

alzer100

......

ford fiesta

She should do something different and replace Scott Mills (Steve's old slot) with some one more suitable. I know he is 50, though he still belongs at Radio 1, or Capital.

squonk

Scott has won me over. I was one of those deeply saddened by Steve’s show being pulled and was a bit biased towards Mills when he started but he’s won me over. He’s no Steve Wright for sure but he’s not doing a bad job IMHO.

Over tge past week they played a lot of Steve’s music in the afternoon slot and I did have to grudgingly admit that it was time to move on really. I’m the same age as Scott but I’d describe myself as having an older demographic taste in music than my age but it was time for a refresh. I didn’t see it at the time. I loved Steve’s show and was hoping it’d live again on the digital station but it’s sadly out of the question now.

squonk

Gary Davies doing POTP today with a tribute show. It’s funny POTP is a show I’d have thought they’d have done several at once so would have had shows in the can but it seems not. Then again it might be too painful to play out any Steve had prerecorded now.

Red Fred

I read that Steve had one more show in the can. Not sure if it was POTP or lovesongs but apparently it will never be aired

https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/16/steve-wrights-last-recorded-show-wont-aired-bbc-death-20293607/

ford fiesta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121779678#Comment_121779678

I don't think Steve bulk pre-recorded his weekend shows, they were recorded during the week for broadcast that weekend

His BBC studio manager confirmed on a "Radio 1 memories" Facebook site that he was meant to be engineering tomorrows Sunday Love Songs on Thursday 16th Sept, though sadly this did not happen.

So despite recent speculation, it seems tomorrows Sunday love Songs was not "In the can"

squonk

It’s harder going listening to POTP this week than I expected. I like Gary Davies but he’s too laid back for POTP although maybe he’s being restrained in the current circumstances. Tge clips of Steve are great to hear. It’s funny I thought I’d come to terms with not hearing Wrighty on a daily basis after he was pulled from afternoons and it was a bonus to have him on POTP now. It’s so sad though that his mic is closed for good now.

headnorth

Steve's last 3 songs on his afternoon show were

3.First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining

2.Quaterflash - Harded My Heart

1.Queen - Radio Ga Ga

Signed off with "remember the old closer. " An old jingle which he played for 30 seconds leading into the 5pm news headlines.

waywill1966

Ah Liza, you’re setting me off here!

ford fiesta

good to see that they kept Steve's name and normal Sunday Love Songs jingles in the show, as if Liza was just filling in for "the chief"