Kevin Greening
Encyclopedia
Kevin Greening was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted the BBC Radio 1
breakfast show with Zoe Ball
from 1997 to 1998.
where he worked voluntarily for the Bristol Hospital Broadcasting Service and was educated at Bristol Grammar School
. He later studied chemical engineering
at St Catharine's College, Cambridge
, where he was station manager at Cambridge University Radio. His first job was as a construction worker
on the Humber Bridge
. He then trained as a studio manager and began his broadcasting career at the BBC World Service
. After a brief spell as a Programme assistant at BBC Radio Solent, in 1989 Greening joined London's Local station BBC GLR
as a producer, before becoming a presenter of their Breakfast show in 1991.
In April 1993, Greening joined the newly launched Virgin Radio
, presenting a Friday and Saturday evening show and a Sunday morning show. After two months, he took over their weekday afternoon show, where he remained until he quit Virgin in December 1993.
, presenting the Weekend Breakfast Show (Saturday & Sunday 7-10am). In the summer of '94, Radio 1 agreed to cover the Gay Pride
event for the first time and these reports into the general days output were fronted by Greening; the success of these led to Radio 1 becoming a regular fixture at Gay Pride events. In May 1995 Greening was named in Gay Times
' Top 200 Gay Men and Lesbians as an out gay DJ.
In November 1994, Greening took over the Weekend Lunchtime show (Saturday & Sunday 12-2pm). Again he featured many of his comedy characters (usually voiced by Andrew McGibbon) featured on Weekend Breakfast. October 1995 saw Greening move back to Weekend Breakfast where he would remain for another 16 months. Greening was given the Drivetime show in February 1997. Regular features on the show included the "Joke du Jour", "60 Second Cinema", and the "Evening Procession".
Early mornings seemed to play a big role during Greening's time at Radio 1, as he had presented Weekend Breakfast and had also been the main stand-in presenter for Steve Wright, Chris Evans and Mark Radcliffe
on Weekday Breakfast, but October 1997 saw Greening present the Weekday breakfast show alongside Zoe Ball
, where he would remain for 12 months.
Greening moved to a Sunday morning show from 6.30-10am in September 1998. At the time he was also presenting shows for BBC World Service
and a TV show for digital station BBC Choice
. It was during this period that Greening became the main stand-in presenter on the network, covering for many weekday presenters including Scott Mills
, Simon Mayo
and Mark Radcliffe
. There was also a period when Greening took over the weekday lunchtime show whilst regular presenter Jo Whiley
was away on maternity leave
. He occasionally made light of his status as a stand-in presenter, giving an alternate email address
as supply.dj@bbc.co.uk (his main address being kevin.greening@bbc.co.uk)
On Sunday 16 January 2000, Greening presented his final Radio 1 show. In the last half hour he played some of the sketches from his time with the station.
, where he was a stand-in presenter for various daytime slots.
In March 2001, whilst undertaking supply work at Five Live, he began co-presenting a Saturday Morning show on GLR's replacement, BBC London Live, alongside Amanda Hussain, the show went out from 8-11am on Saturday mornings and lasted until September the same year when the show was taken over by Danny Baker
.
employed Greening for various stints, then in May 2002, he briefly joined London's Heart 106.2
presenting their 2-6pm Weekend afternoon show.
In June 2002, Greening joined London's Rock station XFM
, sitting in for Christian O'Connell
on the Breakfast Show. One Month later, he took over the station's mid-morning slot from 10am-1pm, where he remained until December 2003.
In January 2004, Greening was then shunted off to the Station's Best of X show on Saturday evenings from 6-9pm.
After a stand-in stint on the BBC 6 Music
Night Train Programme, and in addition to his Saturday evening show on XFM
, in April 2004, Greening re-joined 102.2 Jazz FM where this time he presented a Sunday morning show from 10am-2pm. Not long after, he also took over from Clive Warren
on the Saturday Morning show, which also went out from 10am-2pm.
On 7 June 2005, Greening took over the 10am-3pm slot on 102.2 Jazz FM's replacement, 102.2 Smooth FM
. From 26 March 2007, he moved to a 1pm-4pm weekday afternoon slot on the relaunched 102.2 Smooth Radio
where he built up a cult following. His "game with no name" quiz show, in which listeners had to suggest the most suitable song to play against a particular news item, was particularly popular.
He also presented Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm on the station.
in 2001 , he was the only non-executive ever to be so honoured in the academy's 25 years.
Greening was openly gay
and had a previous long-term relationship with Andy Lowe, whom he often referred to on air as his "lesbian
life-partner" or "live-in chum". When their relationship came to an end in 2005, after a brief separation they continued to share their house in North London
.
At the time of his death Greening had been in a relationship with Sean Griffin for some time.
On 3 January 2008, it was revealed following the post-mortem
that Greening died of a heart attack
after taking large quantities of cocaine
, ecstasy
and GHB
. He had spent part of the night prior to his death at the Recon event held at The Arches nightclub in Southwark
, London.
Greening was buried on 18 January 2008 in a woodland burial ground after a secular humanist
farewell ceremony in accordance with his wishes.
At the inquest into his death, a verdict of death by misadventure was recorded as a result of a self-induced drug overdose.
After his death an award was named after him at the Student Radio Association Awards, The Kevin Greening Award. It is dedicated to recognising unique on-air creativity, for which Greening was known.
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...
breakfast show with Zoe Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
from 1997 to 1998.
Early career
Kevin Greening grew up in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
where he worked voluntarily for the Bristol Hospital Broadcasting Service and was educated at Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School
Bristol Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England. The school was founded in 1532 by two brothers, Robert and Nicholas Thorne....
. He later studied chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
at St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, where he was station manager at Cambridge University Radio. His first job was as a construction worker
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
on the Humber Bridge
Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world...
. He then trained as a studio manager and began his broadcasting career at the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. After a brief spell as a Programme assistant at BBC Radio Solent, in 1989 Greening joined London's Local station BBC GLR
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
as a producer, before becoming a presenter of their Breakfast show in 1991.
In April 1993, Greening joined the newly launched Virgin Radio
Virgin 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 a Friday and Saturday evening show and a Sunday morning show. After two months, he took over their weekday afternoon show, where he remained until he quit Virgin in December 1993.
Radio 1
In January 1994, Greening joined 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...
, presenting the Weekend Breakfast Show (Saturday & Sunday 7-10am). In the summer of '94, Radio 1 agreed to cover the Gay Pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
event for the first time and these reports into the general days output were fronted by Greening; the success of these led to Radio 1 becoming a regular fixture at Gay Pride events. In May 1995 Greening was named in Gay Times
Gay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
' Top 200 Gay Men and Lesbians as an out gay DJ.
In November 1994, Greening took over the Weekend Lunchtime show (Saturday & Sunday 12-2pm). Again he featured many of his comedy characters (usually voiced by Andrew McGibbon) featured on Weekend Breakfast. October 1995 saw Greening move back to Weekend Breakfast where he would remain for another 16 months. Greening was given the Drivetime show in February 1997. Regular features on the show included the "Joke du Jour", "60 Second Cinema", and the "Evening Procession".
Early mornings seemed to play a big role during Greening's time at Radio 1, as he had presented Weekend Breakfast and had also been the main stand-in presenter for Steve Wright, Chris Evans and Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
on Weekday Breakfast, but October 1997 saw Greening present the Weekday breakfast show alongside Zoe Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
, where he would remain for 12 months.
Greening moved to a Sunday morning show from 6.30-10am in September 1998. At the time he was also presenting shows for BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
and a TV show for digital station BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
. It was during this period that Greening became the main stand-in presenter on the network, covering for many weekday presenters including Scott Mills
Scott Mills
Scott Robert Mills is a British radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor, best known for presenting The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1...
, Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo is an English radio presenter who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981. As of January 2010, Mayo is presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2 and, with Mark Kermode, presenter of Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews on BBC Radio 5 Live.In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "radio...
and Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
. There was also a period when Greening took over the weekday lunchtime show whilst regular presenter Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
was away on maternity leave
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
. He occasionally made light of his status as a stand-in presenter, giving an alternate email address
E-mail address
An email address identifies an email box to which email messages are delivered. An example format of an email address is lewis@example.net which is read as lewis at example dot net...
as supply.dj@bbc.co.uk (his main address being kevin.greening@bbc.co.uk)
On Sunday 16 January 2000, Greening presented his final Radio 1 show. In the last half hour he played some of the sketches from his time with the station.
Radio 5 Live
Not long after he left Radio 1, in 2000 Greening moved to BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, where he was a stand-in presenter for various daytime slots.
In March 2001, whilst undertaking supply work at Five Live, he began co-presenting a Saturday Morning show on GLR's replacement, BBC London Live, alongside Amanda Hussain, the show went out from 8-11am on Saturday mornings and lasted until September the same year when the show was taken over 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....
.
Commercial radio
Throughout late 2001 into 2002, 102.2 Jazz FM102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London to around 15.5 million people within the broadcasting area...
employed Greening for various stints, then in May 2002, he briefly joined London's Heart 106.2
Heart 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 their 2-6pm Weekend afternoon show.
In June 2002, Greening joined London's Rock station XFM
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
, sitting in for Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...
on the Breakfast Show. One Month later, he took over the station's mid-morning slot from 10am-1pm, where he remained until December 2003.
In January 2004, Greening was then shunted off to the Station's Best of X show on Saturday evenings from 6-9pm.
After a stand-in stint on the BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
Night Train Programme, and in addition to his Saturday evening show on XFM
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
, in April 2004, Greening re-joined 102.2 Jazz FM where this time he presented a Sunday morning show from 10am-2pm. Not long after, he also took over from Clive Warren
Clive Warren
Clive Warren is a British radio DJ. He has worked at several broadcasters and now presents on weekdays and Sundays for Metro Radio.-Early career:...
on the Saturday Morning show, which also went out from 10am-2pm.
On 7 June 2005, Greening took over the 10am-3pm slot on 102.2 Jazz FM's replacement, 102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM was an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7 June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg...
. From 26 March 2007, he moved to a 1pm-4pm weekday afternoon slot on the relaunched 102.2 Smooth Radio
102.2 Smooth Radio
102.2 Smooth Radio was an Independent Local Radio station for the Greater London area, which replaced 102.2 Smooth FM on 26 March 2007, launched by Gavin McCoy with Barbra Streisand's "A Star Is Born"...
where he built up a cult following. His "game with no name" quiz show, in which listeners had to suggest the most suitable song to play against a particular news item, was particularly popular.
He also presented Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm on the station.
Personal life
Greening was awarded a Fellowship by The Radio AcademyRadio Academy
The Radio Academy is a registered charity that is dedicated to 'the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production'....
in 2001 , he was the only non-executive ever to be so honoured in the academy's 25 years.
Greening was openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and had a previous long-term relationship with Andy Lowe, whom he often referred to on air as his "lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
life-partner" or "live-in chum". When their relationship came to an end in 2005, after a brief separation they continued to share their house in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
.
At the time of his death Greening had been in a relationship with Sean Griffin for some time.
Death
On 30 December 2007, it was announced by Chris North, Greening's agent, that Greening had "died peacefully in his sleep", aged 44, one day before his 45th birthday. His boyfriend, Sean Griffin, was arrested the following day in connection with his death, and for possession of a Class A drug, but charges in relation to Greening's death were not pursued by police.On 3 January 2008, it was revealed following the post-mortem
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
that Greening died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
after taking large quantities of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
and GHB
Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid
γ-Hydroxybutyric acid , also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid and sodium oxybate when used for medicinal purposes, is a naturally occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts. It is also categorized as an illegal...
. He had spent part of the night prior to his death at the Recon event held at The Arches nightclub in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, London.
Greening was buried on 18 January 2008 in a woodland burial ground after a secular humanist
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
farewell ceremony in accordance with his wishes.
At the inquest into his death, a verdict of death by misadventure was recorded as a result of a self-induced drug overdose.
After his death an award was named after him at the Student Radio Association Awards, The Kevin Greening Award. It is dedicated to recognising unique on-air creativity, for which Greening was known.