Gary Davies
Encyclopedia
Gary Davies is a British broadcaster
. During the 1980s and 1990s he was a BBC Radio 1
disc jockey
and also a regular presenter of Top of the Pops
.
in 1982 to present a Saturday late night show. Within weeks he was on the roster to present Top Of The Pops
on BBC television alongside his Radio 1 colleagues. He initially spoke with strong hints of a Mancunian accent, but by the mid-1980s he had adopted an exaggerated mid-Atlantic twang
, which would become the object of much parody by the early 1990s .
-playing of a well-known hit for listeners to identify.
The show was hugely important in the 1980s as, at this time the new UK Top 40
was announced on Tuesday afternoons.
There was a marketability
about Davies as he was arguably alone in being regarded by female listeners as a heart-throb. Though the station was young and trendy and a big favourite with pop-loving kids, the male DJs generally did not come into the "hunk" category and therefore Davies was projected as the eligible bachelor
of the station, complete with catchphrase "Young, Free and Single" and saucy jingle
s which went "Wooh! Gary Davies".
Davies became popular on the Radio 1 roadshows throughout the 1980s but his own show rarely changed until it was rebranded in 1991 as Let's Do Lunch, with new features, including Spin & Win (a variation on Willy On The Plonker, with a cryptic clue replacing the frenetic piano work) and the Classic Track, which was the one time of the week Radio 1 played a piece of classical music. Previous feature The Sloppy Bit (a dedication followed by love song) was unchanged but renamed Lots Of Love.
With updated technology, the chart rundown was moved forward to Sundays from 4 October 1987 onwards. Instead, Davies did countdowns of the US chart and the UK album chart — although the US chart he featured was not the official Billboard one, but an airplay-only chart compiled by Radio and Records magazine.
. During this period, he could also be heard deputising for weekday presenters when taking their holidays, usually Steve Wright
or Nicky Campbell
.
by Derek and the Dominoes
— which had also been his first record on the station eleven years earlier. The next show on Sunday mornings was by then presented by Danny Baker
, who began his show by saying sarcastically that if you wanted to hear Layla over and over again you could always listen to Virgin.
The last two years of Davies' Radio 1 career allowed him the opportunity to display his love of music; higher-profile shows often negated the need for DJs to be heard caring for the songs they were playing, concentrating instead on the personality side of the programming. Davies got his opportunity to display his musical knowledge - he was, for example, the first DJ to play Radiohead
on Radio 1, when a copy of their Drill EP
was sent to him.
, presenting their Sunday morning Classic Tracks slot from 10am-2pm. The show later went out from 9am-1pm & he remained there until early 1995.
After a brief sabbatical, Davies then rejoined Virgin Radio in November 1995, taking over a Sunday late night show from 10pm-2am. This gave him the chance to revive his Sunday night format. Davies then went on to present the Weekday late night slot in January 1999, where he remained until December 2000.
and the Century Radio
network, presenting a CD chart show every Sunday originally from 1-4pm but from 2006 the show went out from 4pm–7pm. However, this finished in mid-2008. Currently he now owns a publishing company called Good Groove, where he also manages new artists.
, and was developed into the Byker Grove
theme tune
for BBC Television
.
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...
. During the 1980s and 1990s he was a 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...
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...
and also a regular presenter of 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...
.
Early career
After working in marketing for a mail order company and managing a Manchester disco, Davies began his broadcasting career at Manchester's Piccadilly Radio in 1979 before joining BBC 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...
in 1982 to present a Saturday late night show. Within weeks he was on the roster to present 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...
on BBC television alongside his Radio 1 colleagues. He initially spoke with strong hints of a Mancunian accent, but by the mid-1980s he had adopted an exaggerated mid-Atlantic twang
Mid-Atlantic English
Mid-Atlantic English is a cultivated or acquired version of the English language that is not a typical idiom of any location. It blends American and British without being predominantly either. It is also used to describe various forms of North American speech that have assimilated some British...
, which would become the object of much parody by the early 1990s .
The Bit in the Middle
In 1984 Davies was given the slot for which he became one of radio's biggest stars when he took over the Radio 1 lunchtime show. He called it The Bit In The Middle and it consisted of humorous features, such as The Day-To-Day Challenge, in which the same person would go on air each weekday to answer quiz questions and try to upgrade their prize, and Willy On The Plonker, which involved a crazed pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
-playing of a well-known hit for listeners to identify.
The show was hugely important in the 1980s as, at this time the new UK Top 40
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
was announced on Tuesday afternoons.
There was a marketability
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
about Davies as he was arguably alone in being regarded by female listeners as a heart-throb. Though the station was young and trendy and a big favourite with pop-loving kids, the male DJs generally did not come into the "hunk" category and therefore Davies was projected as the eligible bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
of the station, complete with catchphrase "Young, Free and Single" and saucy jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s which went "Wooh! Gary Davies".
Davies became popular on the Radio 1 roadshows throughout the 1980s but his own show rarely changed until it was rebranded in 1991 as Let's Do Lunch, with new features, including Spin & Win (a variation on Willy On The Plonker, with a cryptic clue replacing the frenetic piano work) and the Classic Track, which was the one time of the week Radio 1 played a piece of classical music. Previous feature The Sloppy Bit (a dedication followed by love song) was unchanged but renamed Lots Of Love.
With updated technology, the chart rundown was moved forward to Sundays from 4 October 1987 onwards. Instead, Davies did countdowns of the US chart and the UK album chart — although the US chart he featured was not the official Billboard one, but an airplay-only chart compiled by Radio and Records magazine.
Weekends
In 1992, Davies quit the lunchtime show and moved to weekend breakfast, keeping a selection of the features. He also started a Sunday late night "no frills" slot, with the music taking over, and this was regarded as easily his best radio work. The Lots of Love feature moved to this show, with dedications being read out over the music to Dances with WolvesDances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
. During this period, he could also be heard deputising for weekday presenters when taking their holidays, usually Steve Wright
Steve Wright
Stephen Richard "Steve" Wright is an English radio presenter. He presents the afternoon show on BBC Radio 2. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s while working with Peter Dickson on BBC Radio 1.-Early career:...
or Nicky Campbell
Nicky Campbell
Nicholas Andrew Argyll "Nicky" Campbell is a Scottish radio and television presenter and journalist. He is known for his time presenting on programmes such as the consumer affairs programme Watchdog...
.
Leaving Radio 1
In 1993, with a new regime at Radio 1 wishing to squeeze out the older presenters representing a past era, Davies was sacked. His last record was LaylaLayla
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
by Derek and the Dominoes
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
— which had also been his first record on the station eleven years earlier. The next show on Sunday mornings was by then presented by Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
, who began his show by saying sarcastically that if you wanted to hear Layla over and over again you could always listen to Virgin.
The last two years of Davies' Radio 1 career allowed him the opportunity to display his love of music; higher-profile shows often negated the need for DJs to be heard caring for the songs they were playing, concentrating instead on the personality side of the programming. Davies got his opportunity to display his musical knowledge - he was, for example, the first DJ to play Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
on Radio 1, when a copy of their Drill EP
Drill (EP)
Drill is the debut extended play by English alternative rock group Radiohead, released in May 1992. It is the first-ever commercial release by the band, debuting on the UK charts at number 101...
was sent to him.
Virgin Radio
In January 1994, Davies moved to Virgin RadioVirgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
, presenting their Sunday morning Classic Tracks slot from 10am-2pm. The show later went out from 9am-1pm & he remained there until early 1995.
After a brief sabbatical, Davies then rejoined Virgin Radio in November 1995, taking over a Sunday late night show from 10pm-2am. This gave him the chance to revive his Sunday night format. Davies then went on to present the Weekday late night slot in January 1999, where he remained until December 2000.
Recent work
He was most recently heard on the Real RadioReal Radio
Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night...
and the Century Radio
Century Radio
Century Radio, also marketed as Century 100 and later Century FM, was an early short-lived national commercial radio station in Ireland .-Transmission:...
network, presenting a CD chart show every Sunday originally from 1-4pm but from 2006 the show went out from 4pm–7pm. However, this finished in mid-2008. Currently he now owns a publishing company called Good Groove, where he also manages new artists.
Jingles
The "Ooh Gary Davies on your radio" jingle, was by the 1980s band Kane GangKane Gang
Kane Gang were a Blues rock trio from North East England that had a few UK hits and two U.S. hits in the 1980s. Named after the movie, Citizen Kane, the trio recorded for the indie record label, Kitchenware, that was also home to Prefab Sprout.-Career:...
, and was developed into the Byker Grove
Byker Grove
Byker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One...
theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
.