Colin Berry
Encyclopedia
Colin Berry is a British
radio
disc jockey
/presenter
and newsreader
, best known for his many years at BBC Radio 2
.
Colin started his radio career reading news on Radio Caroline
in 1965.
Before that he had performed administrative duties at Granada Television
and Westward Television
and went on to do similar for Radio Caroline
. After the Marine Offences Bill came into force Colin spent time with more administrative duties for the newly opened Yorkshire Television
while working as a club D-J, moving on to work in record promotion, and BBC Radio Medway as a Saturday afternoon presenter. He also spent the summer of 1971 as an announcer for HTV.
Colin had a brief stint with BBC Radio 1
writing and presenting programme trails, before joining BBC Radio 2
as an announcer/presenter in 1973, where he stayed on the staff for thirty-three years, presenting such shows as Night Ride, The Late Show, Music Through Midnight, European Pop Jury, Band Parade, The Early Show, You & The Night & The Music and countless other shows and concerts. He also deputised for most of the main daytime presenters, including Terry Wogan
, Jimmy Young
and David Hamilton
. During this lengthy period Colin presented programmes for BFBS, and also Inflight Productions which he continues to do now. He has also taken part in various TV programmes over the years.
He was the UK spokesman for the Eurovision Song Contest
for 25 years reading out their country's voting results between 1977 and 2002 (only missing out on the 1980
and 1998
contests). He also appeared on the following shows: The Generation Game
, Blankety Blank
, Top Of The Pops
, Going Live, Supermarket Sweep
and Bargain Hunt
, to name but a few.
The BBC
has a policy of generally retiring all staff at sixty, so Colin is now freelance and still reading the news occasionally on Radio Two, while having recently presented a weekly show for BBC Local Radio across the Eastern Counties - The Saturday Club: 6 to 9pm, playing music from the 1960s and 1970s. He is represented by BigFish Media for his voiceover work. He also has an occasional series for BBC Three Counties Radio
- A Little Light Music, a rare find on today's radio stations. These days he can be heard on The Vintage Top 40 Show from time to time on various BBC Local Stations at 5pm on Sundays.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
/presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
, best known for his many years at BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
Colin started his radio career reading news on Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
in 1965.
Before that he had performed administrative duties at Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
and Westward Television
Westward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise holder for the South West of England from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not...
and went on to do similar for Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
. After the Marine Offences Bill came into force Colin spent time with more administrative duties for the newly opened Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
while working as a club D-J, moving on to work in record promotion, and BBC Radio Medway as a Saturday afternoon presenter. He also spent the summer of 1971 as an announcer for HTV.
Colin had a brief stint with BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
writing and presenting programme trails, before joining BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
as an announcer/presenter in 1973, where he stayed on the staff for thirty-three years, presenting such shows as Night Ride, The Late Show, Music Through Midnight, European Pop Jury, Band Parade, The Early Show, You & The Night & The Music and countless other shows and concerts. He also deputised for most of the main daytime presenters, including Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
, Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young may refer to:*Jimmy Young *Jimmy Young , singer -See also:*Jim Young *James Young...
and David Hamilton
David Hamilton
David Hamilton or Dave Hamilton or Davey Hamilton may refer to:*David Hamilton of Cadzow, 3rd Laird of Cadzow Scottish nobleman*David Hamilton Scottish architect...
. During this lengthy period Colin presented programmes for BFBS, and also Inflight Productions which he continues to do now. He has also taken part in various TV programmes over the years.
He was the UK spokesman for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
for 25 years reading out their country's voting results between 1977 and 2002 (only missing out on the 1980
Eurovision Song Contest 1980
The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 19 April 1980 in The Hague. The presenter was Marlous Fluitsma, although each song was introduced by a presenter from the nation represented...
and 1998
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...
contests). He also appeared on the following shows: The Generation Game
The Generation Game
The Generation Game was a British gameshow produced by the BBC in which four teams of two competed to win prizes...
, Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1978 Australian game show Blankety Blanks ....
, Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, Going Live, Supermarket Sweep
Dale's Supermarket Sweep
Dale's Supermarket Sweep was a UK game show based on the American Supermarket Sweep TV show format.-1993 - 2001:The original show was recorded in the Television House in Nottingham, which was renamed the Carlton Studios in 1996...
and Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt is a British television programme in which two pairs of contestants are challenged to buy antiques at a fair and then sell them in an auction for a profit. It has aired on BBC One since 13 March 2000 in a daytime version and from 22 August 2002 to 13 November 2004 in a primetime version...
, to name but a few.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
has a policy of generally retiring all staff at sixty, so Colin is now freelance and still reading the news occasionally on Radio Two, while having recently presented a weekly show for BBC Local Radio across the Eastern Counties - The Saturday Club: 6 to 9pm, playing music from the 1960s and 1970s. He is represented by BigFish Media for his voiceover work. He also has an occasional series for BBC Three Counties Radio
BBC Three Counties Radio
BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire...
- A Little Light Music, a rare find on today's radio stations. These days he can be heard on The Vintage Top 40 Show from time to time on various BBC Local Stations at 5pm on Sundays.