Latest news with #NightRide
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Colin Berry, companionable Radio 2 presenter entrusted with its first overnight broadcast
Colin Berry, who has died aged 79, was a familiar voice for almost four decades on BBC Radio 2, both as the host of programmes such as Night Ride and You and the Night and the Music, and in time as the station's longest-serving newsreader. A veteran of Radio Caroline, Berry had briefly written links for Radio 1 before joining Radio 2 in 1973, after some of its announcers had moved to the new commercial radio stations such as Capital. Like many of the other presenters, he took on duties that included news reading and introducing programmes, as well as presenting late night and early morning shows. This remained the pattern of much of the rest of his career. Berry also hosted, from 1976 until 1978, The Early Show – succeeding Simon Bates – as well as The Late Show and Band Parade, and regularly filled in for Terry Wogan, David Hamilton and Jimmy Young. When, in 1979, the station became the first in Britain to broadcast for 24 hours, it was Berry who was its first overnight host, presenting items that included a cookery slot and a what's on guide. He had a wide knowledge of popular music, having fond memories of the Light Programmes he had heard as a boy. Switching between the soothing, unforced tones of a presenter, and then the authoritative ones of a newsreader, Berry was skilled at creating the necessary intimate connection with the listener. For 25 years, from 1977 until 2002 (except in 1980 and 1998), Berry was Britain's voice of the Eurovision contest, announcing the results of the jury's vote to the other watching nations. He was also Wogan's deputy in the event the line went down during the competition. Berry was seen on TV shows such as Top of the Pops and Blankety Blank, and hosted programmes for BFBS. He became a freelance presenter in 2006 and continued to read the news on Radio 2 until 2012. The younger of two brothers, Colin Derrick Berry was born on January 29 1946 at Brocket Hall, the stately home near Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Some 8,338 'Brocket babies' were delivered there in the decade from 1939 after the City of London Maternity Hospital evacuated from the capital (wisely as it proved since its buildings were bombed in 1940). The family subsequently lived at Kenton, north-east London. His father, Cecil, was a director of Allied Suppliers, the buying arm of what was then Home and Colonial Stores, one of Britain's largest chains of grocers. Its subsidiaries included Lipton's, while Cecil Berry was particularly associated with another, Pearks Dairies. He hoped that Colin would follow in his footsteps, but since he was a boy, Colin had been fascinated by the wireless. He enjoyed recording his own mock programme reels at home. Accordingly, after leaving Wembley Grammar School, he began to make his way in the media, at first scheduling advertising slots for Granada and then Westward Television. In 1964, he started to do the same at Caroline House, the Mayfair headquarters of the floating pirate station, Radio Caroline. Part of his remit was to organise the transport of records to the ship from Holland via tender, and on one occasion he was given the chance to sit in for a newsreader aboard when they were ill. Bitten by the broadcasting bug, Berry continued to make regular appearances on the station, for a time sharing a cabin he remembered as rather small with Dave Lee Travis. A bout of especially rough weather, combined with the effects of the Marine Broadcasting Act of 1967, put paid, however, to his enthusiasm for such nautical work. For the next few years, he acquired experience instead as a presenter with BBC Radio Medway, and as a television continuity reader for HTV. After leaving Radio 2, he returned to these roots, hosting a Saturday night show broadcast on BBC Three Counties Radio (and often heard more widely) from 2004 until 2019. The pandemic ultimately forced his retirement, as did a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. He met his wife Sandra (née Barker) at the Valiant Trooper, a pub close to the BBC's Charlotte Street studios. They were married in 1981, and she cared for him in his final illness. She survives him together with their son and daughter. Colin Berry, born January 29 1946, died April 16 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Former BBC Radio 2 DJ Colin Berry dies aged 79
Former BBC Radio 2 DJ and UK Eurovision spokesperson Colin Berry has died at the age of 79. For 25 years, Berry was the person who read out the UK's voting decision at the Eurovision Song Contest until 2002. He joined Radio 2 in 1973, but also presented the long-running BBC music programme Top Of The Pops and appeared on game shows, Blankety Blank and Going Live!. Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said everyone at the company was 'saddened to hear of the passing of Colin Berry, who was part of our on-air family for many years'. 'We send our condolences to his family and friends.' Berry, who started on former pirate radio station Radio Caroline, presented a host of Radio 2 shows. He was a presenter of Night Ride, The Late Show, Music Through Midnight, The Early Show, Happy Hour and the Hogmanay Special, before Radio 2 said he would be leaving in 2012. Writing on X, Bauer Radio's Luke Davies said: 'Extremely sad to hear of the passing of Colin Berry. 'He was a real pioneer of broadcasting and had such a lovely relaxing voice.' Former Radio 2 presenter Andrew Peach said: 'I am very sad to hear news of Colin Berry's passing. I have strong memories of hearing Colin on @bbcradio as a child and it was a thrill to get to work with him there from 1998-2012.' Berry often worked with late Radio 2 DJ and BBC Eurovision presenter Sir Terry Wogan. Following his exit from Eurovision, a rotating cast of famous faces, including chat show host Lorraine Kelly and actress Dame Joanna Lumley, have been the British spokesperson. The Welwyn Garden City-born radio DJ also presented for BBC Three Counties and former BBC Radio Medway and did voiceover work.
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
BBC Radio 2 DJ Colin Berry dies aged 79
Former BBC Radio 2 DJ Colin Berry has died at the age of 79, the corporation has said. Berry, who joined Radio 2 in 1973, presented long-running BBC music programme Top of the Pops, and appeared on game show Blankety Blank and on Going Live!. He also spent 25 years reading out the UK's voting decision at the Eurovision Song Contest, until 2002. Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: 'All of us at Radio 2 were saddened to hear of the passing of Colin Berry, who was part of our on-air family for many years. We send our condolences to his family and friends.' Berry started on former pirate radio station Radio Caroline before joining Radio 2. He was a presenter of Night Ride, The Late Show, Music Through Midnight, The Early Show, Happy Hour and the Hogmanay Special, before Radio 2 announced he would be leaving in 2012. Writing on X, Bauer Radio's Luke Davies said: 'Extremely sad to hear of the passing of Colin Berry. He was a real pioneer of broadcasting and had such a lovely relaxing voice.' 'A thrill' to work with Berry Andrew Peach, another former Radio 2 presenter, said: 'I am very sad to hear news of Colin Berry's passing. I have strong memories of hearing Colin on [BBC Radio 2] as a child and it was a thrill to get to work with him there from 1998-2012.' Berry worked often with Sir Terry Woganm the late Radio 2 DJ and BBC Eurovision presenter. Following his exit from Eurovision, a rotating cast of famous faces including chat show host Lorraine Kelly and actress Dame Joanna Lumley have been the British voice behind the European song contest. The Welwyn Garden City-born radio DJ also presented for BBC Three Counties and former BBC Radio Medway and did voice-over work.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Colin Berry: Ex-Radio 2 newsreader and presenter dies at 79
Former BBC Radio 2 newsreader and presenter Colin Berry has died at the age of was a fixture on Radio 2 from the early 1970s to the early 90s, hosting the early slot and late-night shows including Night Ride and You and the Night and the stood in for daytime presenters including Sir Terry Wogan, and was a host on BBC Three Counties Radio from 2004 to was also familiar to Eurovision viewers, reading out the UK jury's results between 1978 and 2002. Paying tribute, Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: "All of us at Radio 2 were saddened to hear of the passing of Colin Berry, who was part of our on air family for many years. We send our condolences to his family and friends."Berry started his career on pirate station Radio Caroline in 1965, before moving to BBC Radio Medway (now Kent), HTV in Cardiff and Radio 1 before settling at Radio was the station's first overnight host when it started 24-hour broadcasts in 1979, with a programme that included a what's on guide and a cookery slot "for those of our listeners who get home late and feel like a snack".He also made appearances on TV shows including Top of The Pops, Blankety Blank and Going Live.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jennifer Weiner Goes Behind the Music in a Tale of Estranged Sisters
Twenty years ago, the music industry was still fairly flush. There were big budgets for videos, wardrobe and the wooing of press and radio programmers. Stars were made on the road and cemented their followings via monoliths like MTV's 'Total Request Live.' It's an era Jennifer Weiner revisits with nostalgia and a touch of sourness in her latest novel, 'The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits.' Cherry is a 2024 teen with rock-star dreams who believes her destiny will be fulfilled if she can appear on a reality-TV singing competition called 'The Next Stage.' She knows her mother, Zoe, has a past in music — one she refuses to discuss — in a beloved, short-lived 2000s band called the Griffin Sisters, and that the other sister, Cassie, has been M.I.A. for years. In chunks dedicated mainly to that trio that hop around from the 1980s to nearly today, the sisters' stories are revealed. Zoe was the pretty one; Cassie, the talented one, and Weiner hammers the note underscoring her physical unattractiveness until it's tuneless. Zoe lures her prodigy of a younger sibling out of the house to perform at a battle of the bands, and the nephew of a record label executive happens to catch their set. The sisters are swiftly signed, given a new name (Grossberg was a little too Jewish) and paired with a songwriter named Russell D'Angelo who joins their band, uniting them in song while dividing them in lust for his attention. As the Griffin Sisters hit larger stages and their profile swells, Zoe claims Russell and their relationship generates tabloid headlines, but she's increasingly relegated to a backing role in the group. Cassie, who is continually described as a 'fat girl' with untamed hair, is outfitted in a series of bulky pantsuits with 'absurd shoulder pads,' but it's her poetic lyrics that entrance their zealous fans. So what does this mind-blowing music sound like? This is where Weiner, a steadily best-selling writer who can easily coax the reader along despite the sneaking suspicion we know where this 'Behind the Music' is headed, falls off. We're told the band's only album, 'Night Ride,' sold 13 million copies in the year following its 2003 release, and its sound is described in magazine and newspaper reviews dotted throughout. The group's aesthetic 'walks the line between pop and rock,' The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (Hmm.) Cassie's voice is a revelation, melding Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Chrissie Hynde and Liz Phair (but she 'has a sound all her own'). Her lyrics are so raw, they capture fans' fears and desires in couplets worthy of tattoos. (One can only hope that even in this fictional world, nobody inked 'You're a star / You're a scar / And you tore me apart' onto their flesh.) Sarah Seltzer's 2024 'The Singer Sisters' also spins a novel out of the secrets and songwriting of a family band, including a daughter trying to make a name for herself while leaning on its legacy. The sisters there were '70s folkies; the daughter a '90s alt-rocker; and the lyrics a whole lot stronger. Songwriting is not easy! Cass Elliot, a seeming analogue for Cassie, does come up in Weiner's book, but the Mamas & the Papas singer was outgoing and unrestrained. Cassie (and everyone else) is punished after she finally pursues pleasure beyond her art. And as Zoe's selfishness meets increasing self-doubt, she becomes the ugly one. When the band blows up amid tragedy, Zoe shoves her once-starry persona aside and embraces suburban life with a well-meaning husband and his creepy son, who leers at Cherry. Cassie splits for rural Alaska. Though she goes to extreme lengths to preserve her anonymity, the gifted sister is guilted into singing to an employee at a grocery store celebrating a lonely birthday, and a video briefly ends up on Facebook. Cherry seizes on the digital breadcrumb and hunts down the aunt she's never met to bolster her chances on 'The Next Stage,' and everyone is forced to confront their pasts, and their present. Weiner has a clear affection for music, and a strong enough sense of the currents undergirding the business — at least, in the early 2000s. (Why Cherry would be hoping for TV fame rather than a viral TikTok moment is unclear.) But 'The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits' isn't grimy like a rock 'n' roll novel, or a deep meditation on the ways creative personalities and egos can clash, like the Broadway hit 'Stereophonic.' Still, familiar tunes that go down easy often turn into big hits.
