David Jensen
Encyclopedia
David "Kid" Jensen is a Danish Canadian-born, British radio DJ.
, Jensen began his career in his home country at the age of sixteen playing jazz
and classical music
. He then joined Radio Luxembourg
at the age of eighteen in 1968. His late-night show, "Kid Jensen's Dimensions," concentrated on what was then referred to as "progressive" music and attracted many fans, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
. By 1974, Jensen was becoming a TV personality in Britain
, hosting pop shows on ITV
, and in the mid-1970s he worked for the then-new Radio Trent (now Trent FM) in Nottingham
, one of the first legal, land-based commercial radio stations in the UK. During the early part of his career he was billed as "Kid Jensen" and did not use his given name professionally until 1980.
, initially hosting a Saturday morning show from 10am-Midday, but sitting in for many other DJs, and eventually graduating to a weekday late afternoon/early evening show in the spring of 1978 from 4:30 to 7:00 PM. He kept his profile high through regular appearances presenting Top of the Pops
, and championed many acts who went on to achieve huge commercial success, notably The Police
and Gary Numan
. He was effectively a halfway house between the specialist music-orientated DJs such as John Peel
and the daytime "personality jocks" such as Dave Lee Travis
.
In September 1980, Jensen left Radio 1 to work for the then-new CNN
in Atlanta, but he returned a year later, presenting the weekday evening show from 8-10pm (later extended to run from 7-10 pm). Soon afterwards he dropped the "Kid" name, although he would still be popularly known by it for many years to come. His mid-evening show was dominated by indie-rock, but which also featured interviews with mainstream acts such as Duran Duran
, and was the first show to champion Frankie Goes to Hollywood
, long before their commercial success. He remained a regular Top of the Pops presenter and struck up a legendary partnership with John Peel
.
In addition to his weekday shows he also presented the weekly The Network Chart Show
, the UK's first syndicated commercial radio show which originally went out every Sunday between 5 and 7pm, directly opposite the BBC Radio 1
Top 40 show. Its anticipation of commercial radio's future direction is far more important than the chart it actually broadcast, which never equalled the definitive status of the official chart (then compiled by Gallup) used by Radio 1, even though it was considerably more up-to-date until the compilation of the official chart was speeded up in 1987.
While presenting the Network Chart, Jensen became ITV
's unofficial "face" of pop music, presenting pop shows such as "The Roxy", an attempt to compete with Top of the Pops. He would continue to comment regularly on pop-related stories in ITN and Sky News
bulletins for some time after he left the Network Chart in 1993, when he was replaced by Neil Fox
(the show has since evolved into hit40uk
). He continued to present the weekday drivetime show on what was now called Capital FM until 1998.
He also presented various children's programmes including Worldwise and Popquest.
, presenting the weekday drivetime show from 4-7pm. He also presented a Saturday afternoon show which was networked on Birmingham
's 100.7 Heart FM
.
In 2002 he returned to Capital and since then has been heard on its oldies service Gold, first presenting the Monday - Thursday late night show from 10pm - 1am, before taking over the weekday mid-morning slot in February 2003, then the breakfast show, which he used to co-host with Erika North. Jensen later moved to late morning slot 10.00 – 13.00. On Saturdays Jensen teamed up with Capital Radio Producer Craig Kingham, between them they devised the Saturday morning show which was sponsored by OK magazine, this also featured weekly celebrity interviews including Elton John and Stevie Wonder. He left Gold in Dec 2010.
In September 2008, David hosted the evening show of Planet Rock
(7pm - 11pm) as a stand-in for Nicky Horne
. He currently hosts Planet Rock's Sunday Morning show, "Another Dimension". He also co-hosted with Rick Wakeman
on Saturday mornings on Planet Rock
until December 2010, he now hosts the Saturday morning 10am-1pm show on his own.
The "Kid" occasionally appears on LBC's breakfast show with Nick Ferrari reviewing the newspapers.
He currently hosts one of the inflight entertainment Radio Channels for Hong Kong
's flagship airline Cathay Pacific
.
David joined Smooth Radio in April 2011 and currently presents an afternoon show.
, a successful racing driver, both competed in and was also a National Class winner in the 2007 British and International Formula 3 Championship. David also founded the Kid Jensen Racing team that briefly raced in the Formula 3000 championship, which won one race at the hands of Nicolas Minassian
in 1999 at Silverstone
.
A Freemason
, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers.
In 2010 he became a Freeman of the City of London and was inducted into the UK Radio Hall of Fame
David Jensen is a fan of Crystal Palace
, is Chairman of the Crystal Palace F.C. Vice-President's Club, and also acted as ambassador for the CPFC 2010 consortium during the purchase of the club from administrators.
Early career
Born in a Danish family residing Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, Jensen began his career in his home country at the age of sixteen playing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. He then joined Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
at the age of eighteen in 1968. His late-night show, "Kid Jensen's Dimensions," concentrated on what was then referred to as "progressive" music and attracted many fans, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. By 1974, Jensen was becoming a TV personality in Britain
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...
, hosting pop shows on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, and in the mid-1970s he worked for the then-new Radio Trent (now Trent FM) in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, one of the first legal, land-based commercial radio stations in the UK. During the early part of his career he was billed as "Kid Jensen" and did not use his given name professionally until 1980.
BBC Radio 1
In 1976 he joined the BBC's pop network, Radio 1BBC 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...
, initially hosting a Saturday morning show from 10am-Midday, but sitting in for many other DJs, and eventually graduating to a weekday late afternoon/early evening show in the spring of 1978 from 4:30 to 7:00 PM. He kept his profile high through regular appearances presenting 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...
, and championed many acts who went on to achieve huge commercial success, notably The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
and Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
. He was effectively a halfway house between the specialist music-orientated DJs such as John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
and the daytime "personality jocks" such as Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis , also known professionally as DLT and the Hairy Cornflake, is a British radio presenter, best known for his career on BBC Radio 1.-Early life:...
.
In September 1980, Jensen left Radio 1 to work for the then-new CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in Atlanta, but he returned a year later, presenting the weekday evening show from 8-10pm (later extended to run from 7-10 pm). Soon afterwards he dropped the "Kid" name, although he would still be popularly known by it for many years to come. His mid-evening show was dominated by indie-rock, but which also featured interviews with mainstream acts such as Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, and was the first show to champion Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
, long before their commercial success. He remained a regular Top of the Pops presenter and struck up a legendary partnership with John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
.
Capital Radio
In 1984, Jensen quit Radio 1 & joined London's Capital FM, for whom he presented a weekday mid-morning show, then moving to weekday drivetime - as it is now called - in 1987.In addition to his weekday shows he also presented the weekly The Network Chart Show
The Network Chart Show
The Network Chart Show was a radio programme launched across Independent Local Radio in the UK on 30 September 1984.-Background:The main presenter was David Jensen , however Pat Sharp would often provide holiday cover in its later years: in its earlier years Timmy Mallett and Alan Freeman also...
, the UK's first syndicated commercial radio show which originally went out every Sunday between 5 and 7pm, directly opposite the 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...
Top 40 show. Its anticipation of commercial radio's future direction is far more important than the chart it actually broadcast, which never equalled the definitive status of the official chart (then compiled by Gallup) used by Radio 1, even though it was considerably more up-to-date until the compilation of the official chart was speeded up in 1987.
While presenting the Network Chart, Jensen became ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's unofficial "face" of pop music, presenting pop shows such as "The Roxy", an attempt to compete with Top of the Pops. He would continue to comment regularly on pop-related stories in ITN and Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
bulletins for some time after he left the Network Chart in 1993, when he was replaced by Neil Fox
Neil Fox
Neil Andrew Howe Fox is an English DJ and TV presenter, known for many years as Dr. Fox before he became "Foxy" in the 2000s. He is now known simply as "Neil Fox". He is not to be mistaken for Conservative MP Liam Fox who is also known as Dr. Fox...
(the show has since evolved into hit40uk
Hit40uk
Hit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It is now a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio and Somethin' Else...
). He continued to present the weekday drivetime show on what was now called Capital FM until 1998.
He also presented various children's programmes including Worldwise and Popquest.
Recent years
In 1998 Jensen joined rival London FM station, Heart 106.2Heart 106.2
Heart 106.2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in London and is owned by Global Radio as part of the Heart Network.On 25 June 2007 it was announced that Heart along with its sister stations The Arrow, Sky News Radio, LBC and Galaxy were to be sold for £170 million to Global Radio from...
, presenting the weekday drivetime show from 4-7pm. He also presented a Saturday afternoon show which was networked on Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
's 100.7 Heart FM
100.7 Heart FM
Heart West Midlands is a radio station based in Birmingham, England, as part of the Heart Network, with a regional license to broadcast to the West Midlands...
.
In 2002 he returned to Capital and since then has been heard on its oldies service Gold, first presenting the Monday - Thursday late night show from 10pm - 1am, before taking over the weekday mid-morning slot in February 2003, then the breakfast show, which he used to co-host with Erika North. Jensen later moved to late morning slot 10.00 – 13.00. On Saturdays Jensen teamed up with Capital Radio Producer Craig Kingham, between them they devised the Saturday morning show which was sponsored by OK magazine, this also featured weekly celebrity interviews including Elton John and Stevie Wonder. He left Gold in Dec 2010.
In September 2008, David hosted the evening show of Planet Rock
Planet Rock
Planet Rock may refer to:* "Planet Rock" , a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force* Planet Rock: The Album, a 1986 album containing the song...
(7pm - 11pm) as a stand-in for Nicky Horne
Nicky Horne
Nicky Horne was a road manager for Emperor Rosko in 1969, before presenting shows on BBC Radio 1, from 1970 - 1973.Horne was one of the original line-up on London's Capital Radio, where he presented shows such as Your Mother Wouldn't like it, Mummy's Weekly & 6 of the Best...
. He currently hosts Planet Rock's Sunday Morning show, "Another Dimension". He also co-hosted with Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
on Saturday mornings on Planet Rock
Planet Rock
Planet Rock may refer to:* "Planet Rock" , a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force* Planet Rock: The Album, a 1986 album containing the song...
until December 2010, he now hosts the Saturday morning 10am-1pm show on his own.
The "Kid" occasionally appears on LBC's breakfast show with Nick Ferrari reviewing the newspapers.
He currently hosts one of the inflight entertainment Radio Channels for Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's flagship airline Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
.
David joined Smooth Radio in April 2011 and currently presents an afternoon show.
Personal life
Jensen is married to wife Guðrún and they have three children and one grandchild. Their youngest son, ViktorViktor Jensen
Viktor Þór William Jensen is an Icelandic racing driver, with dual nationality. His father is Canadian-born British radio DJ David Jensen....
, a successful racing driver, both competed in and was also a National Class winner in the 2007 British and International Formula 3 Championship. David also founded the Kid Jensen Racing team that briefly raced in the Formula 3000 championship, which won one race at the hands of Nicolas Minassian
Nicolas Minassian
Nicolas Minassian is a French race driver of Armenian descent.After spending finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, he graduated to the French Formula Three Championship where he finished runner-up to countryman Laurent Redon at his second attempt in 1995...
in 1999 at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
.
A Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers.
In 2010 he became a Freeman of the City of London and was inducted into the UK Radio Hall of Fame
David Jensen is a fan of Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
, is Chairman of the Crystal Palace F.C. Vice-President's Club, and also acted as ambassador for the CPFC 2010 consortium during the purchase of the club from administrators.