Anyone remember Tommy Vance who used to broadcast on Radio One?
He used to do the Friday Rock Show and TOTP. He was famous for having a kind of deep macho gravelly sort of voice and used to do a load of voiceovers. I think the last I see of Tommy vance was when he had a cameo on an Ozzy Osbourne video. He was funny.
Anyway, Tommy Vance died on Sunday. Three days after suffering a stroke. First Peeley dies now Tommy Vance has gone. If I was Janice Long or David Jenson I'd be careful..... :o
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4326031.stm
I listened to him briefly on radio caroline . cant remember much else about him .
Yes, I read this too and remember him well. Very sad.
Debs x (
David Jensen will always be "Kid" Jensen to me lol (Radio Luxembourg for those who are too young to remember his pre-Beeb days)
I remember Tommy Vance and remember him being on the radio but can't for the life of me remember his voice - even with the description.
I remember him on BBC GLR during the early 90's - he did the drivetime show which was a cross between a Rock show and the Today program.
He was particularly good during the 1992 General Election - his interviewing technique was simple and direct and would put many political journalists to shame - especially on this side of the Atlantic.
Sad - I remember him. Remember him doing TOTP and the UK charts.
David Jensen will always be "Kid" Jensen to me :lol: (Radio Luxembourg for those who are too young to remember his pre-Beeb days)
I used to listen to Kid Jensen on Radio One, but I fondly remember him for being a part of Crystal Palace FC (He was on the board) Things just went on the up and up after Radio One!! :wink:
I have heard Jensen doing the narration on The Gillette World Sports Report on FoxSportsWorld (you know Fox Soccer Channel :roll: )
Do you ever wonder what happened to the old Radio One DJs?
I know a few of them have died now and a few of them have possibly faded away..... (that's the AM signal for ya! :wink: )
I remember him. How sad. He had a great voice.
Sad - I remember him. Remember him doing TOTP and the UK charts.
yep, me too, what a shame...
David Jensen will always be "Kid" Jensen to me :lol: (Radio Luxembourg for those who are too young to remember his pre-Beeb days)
I used to listen to Kid Jensen on Radio One, but I fondly remember him for being a part of Crystal Palace FC (He was on the board) Things just went on the up and up after Radio One!! :wink:
I have heard Jensen doing the narration on The Gillette World Sports Report on FoxSportsWorld (you know Fox Soccer Channel :roll: )
Do you ever wonder what happened to the old Radio One DJs?
I know a few of them have died now and a few of them have possibly faded away..... (that's the AM signal for ya! :wink: )
Try here for classic Radio One deejays. Includes clips:
http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/
And here's one for Radio Luxembourg that hasn't been updated for awhile but has great clips and bios anyway:
http://www.pjede.de/
Hey Lee, thanks for posting that . Hubby and I have just spent time reminising the late 60's early 70's DJ's. One of my favourites was Emperor Roscoe and it was interesting to read how he copied Wolfman Jack.We watched American Grafitti again just the other night and after listening to the Wolfman on the movie, I think Roscoe certainly did a pretty good imitation D
Another favourite was Stuart Henry with his Saturday morning show. Sadly he died in 1995 after battling MS for many years.
Great site Lee wink
I actually found the old Radio One ("The Happy Sound") a little like living in North Korea. But then, I was part of the sulky John Peel brigade who turned our noses up at a lot of the chart music.
Now I think a lot of the glitter rock I snubbed as a teenager is great, while The Incredible String Band and Frigid Pink have aged less well.
There were many individual deejays who I admired, especially Kenny Everett who I adored as a kid and thought was always much funnier on the radio than on TV where he became more well known. His ability to use different voices and stitch different pieces of tape together made him a production whizz as well as a radio and comic genius.
Others I admired included Tommy Vance (he was the voice of the British end of Live Aid which few obits have mentioned), Johnny Walker, Alan Freeman, the aforementioned Emperor Roskoe, Dave Cash (who I went to see underage at a club in Chertsey) Anne Nightingale, David Jensen in the old nightime Radio One days and before on Luxembourg, Janice Long. Richard Skinner and Andy Kershaw. Many of them were more than deejays. They were great broadcasters who may have originally been inspired by American radio, but in my view ended up putting many of their North American counterparts to shame.
I think it's just unfortunate that for so long the deejays were trapped by such a Soviet style system. After all Radio One came into existence by government decree after the pirate ships were brutally and unforgivably smashed, for the sin of being too popular and scaring the s!*t out of the establishment.
But today, British radio, including the BBC itself, offers a huge range of choice, such as my current favourite station BBC 6 Music.
As for Tommy Vance, he became the champion of heavy metal, which was not my favourite sort of music, although I thought he was great. Fantastic voice. He always showed up to pirate radio conventions and was a championing voice of more choice and the de-regulation of British radio (ditto with Johnny Walker).
What I also found immensely appealing was Vance's stint on the BBC World Service show for many years with a show called Rock Salad. It was great fun in the 1980s to hear the rather more genteel and upper crust World Service, as it was then, interupted by the unholy din of Motorhead or Whitesnake.
Apparently his World Service show and John Peel's attracted the most complaints, presumably from appalled district officer types the world over.
Rock on Tommy.