John Kettley
Encyclopedia
John Graham Kettley is a British
freelance weatherman
.
) on Ferney Lee Road in Todmorden
, he played cricket for Burnley
and Todmorden. A geography teacher at his school sparked his interest in weather forecasting. He started Geography A-level, but never took the exam. He worked at the meteorological office at Manchester Airport for two years from 1970 before studying Applied Physics at what is now Coventry University
, where he met his wife. He spent four years researching meteorology
. He trained at Reading College in the art of weather presentation for a year. From 1980, he worked at the Nottingham Weather Centre, presenting his first forecast for Radio Lincolnshire
, then further forecasts for Midlands Today
(Nottingham news opt-out, starting 28 May 1980) and Central Television. In 1985, he became a national forecaster on the BBC
John used to work for the Met Office
, and now presents weather forecasts for the BBC
on Radio Five Live, mainly on Breakfast (6 - 9am).
In 2000 John left the Met Office to join commercial weather company British Weather Services, and continues to provide forecasts across a range of media outlets and sporting concerns including the Football Association
, Twickenham
and leading UK racecourses such as Newbury
, Cheltenham
, Haydock Park
, Newmarket
- and Barbecue's
.
John enjoys playing cricket, fell-walking, horse racing, photography and gardening. A supporter of Burnley F.C.
, John often makes references to the team's performances during broadcasts. He married Lynn Grundy in September 1990 in North Lincolnshire
. His parents live in Littleborough.
needed to re-lay their football
pitch. Having purchased the spare pitch from the new Wembley Stadium
for £120,000, the club consulted various experts on horticulture, as well as Kettley on the projected weather for that week. Having predicted it would just be the average amount of rainfall, the torrential storms washed the pitch away, halting the following game with Leeds United A.F.C.
released the song "John Kettley is a Weatherman
", which also namechecked other TV weather presenters of the day including Michael Fish
, Bernard Davey, Bill Giles
, Ian McCaskill
and Wincey Willis
. The single reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart
The song included the chorus:
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...
freelance weatherman
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
.
Biography
Brought up on Commercial Street and educated at Todmorden Grammar School (now called Todmorden High SchoolTodmorden High School
Todmorden High School is a comprehensive school in the West Yorkshire town of Todmorden, in the Calderdale LEA. The school has specialist Arts College status.-Todmorden High School:...
) on Ferney Lee Road in Todmorden
Todmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
, he played cricket for Burnley
Burnley Cricket Club
Burnley Cricket Club, based at Turf Moor in Burnley, Lancashire, is a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club was a founder member of the Lancashire League in 1892. Its captain for the 2011 season is Steve Brunt and its professional is Imad Wasim...
and Todmorden. A geography teacher at his school sparked his interest in weather forecasting. He started Geography A-level, but never took the exam. He worked at the meteorological office at Manchester Airport for two years from 1970 before studying Applied Physics at what is now Coventry University
Coventry University
Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...
, where he met his wife. He spent four years researching meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
. He trained at Reading College in the art of weather presentation for a year. From 1980, he worked at the Nottingham Weather Centre, presenting his first forecast for Radio Lincolnshire
BBC Radio Lincolnshire
BBC Lincolnshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Lincolnshire — apart from the northern parts, which are covered by BBC Radio Humberside...
, then further forecasts for Midlands Today
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
(Nottingham news opt-out, starting 28 May 1980) and Central Television. In 1985, he became a national forecaster on 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...
John used to work for the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
, and now presents weather forecasts for 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...
on Radio Five Live, mainly on Breakfast (6 - 9am).
In 2000 John left the Met Office to join commercial weather company British Weather Services, and continues to provide forecasts across a range of media outlets and sporting concerns including the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
, Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
and leading UK racecourses such as Newbury
Newbury Racecourse
Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps...
, Cheltenham
Cheltenham Racecourse
Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury on the outskirts of the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...
, Haydock Park
Haydock Park Racecourse
Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Haydock, Merseyside, England. The track is a mostly flat left-handed oval of around 1 mile 5 furlongs with a very slight rise on the run-in. There are courses for flat racing and National Hunt racing...
, Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
- and Barbecue's
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
.
John enjoys playing cricket, fell-walking, horse racing, photography and gardening. A supporter of Burnley F.C.
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, John often makes references to the team's performances during broadcasts. He married Lynn Grundy in September 1990 in North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
. His parents live in Littleborough.
Birmingham City
In January 2007, Birmingham City F.C.Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
needed to re-lay their football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
pitch. Having purchased the spare pitch from the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
for £120,000, the club consulted various experts on horticulture, as well as Kettley on the projected weather for that week. Having predicted it would just be the average amount of rainfall, the torrential storms washed the pitch away, halting the following game with Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
Immortalised in song
Kettley's status as a cult figure was confirmed in 1988, when a band called A Tribe of ToffsA Tribe of Toffs
A Tribe of Toffs were a novelty pop band from Sunderland, England, best remembered for their 1988 Top 40 single, "John Kettley is a Weatherman"....
released the song "John Kettley is a Weatherman
John Kettley is a Weatherman
"John Kettley Is a Weatherman" is a 1988 novelty record by the band A Tribe of Toffs, from Sunderland, UK. The song peaked at 21 in the UK Singles Chart....
", which also namechecked other TV weather presenters of the day including Michael Fish
Michael Fish
Michael Fish MBE is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....
, Bernard Davey, Bill Giles
Bill Giles
William George Giles OBE is a former British weather forecaster and television presenter.-Early life:...
, Ian McCaskill
Ian McCaskill
Ian McCaskill is a former BBC weatherman. His Scottish accent, manner of speech, and relentless enthusiasm for severe weather made him popular with viewers . He became the most imitated weather presenter in the UK...
and Wincey Willis
Wincey Willis
Wincey Willis is a British broadcaster who found television success in the 1980s....
. The single reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart
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 ...
The song included the chorus:
- John Kettley is a weatherman
- A weatherman, a weatherman
- John Kettley is a weatherman
- And so is Michael FishMichael FishMichael Fish MBE is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....
Publications
- Rain Stopped Play: The Geography of Cricket (co-author) ISBN 0714651737 April 2002
- Weatherman ISBN 9781905080618 September 2009
External links
- Kettley's official website
- Bio at BBC Weather Centre
- Bio at British Weather Services
- John Kettley's Book - "Weatherman"
- John Kettley Interview at Best British TV
News items
- Halifax Courier article October 2007
- Lancashire Evening Telegraph article January 2005
- His memories of cricket in July 2000
- Lancashire Evening Telegraph article April 1998
- http://www.iabm.org International Association of Broadcast Meteorology