R.I.P. Steve Wright

[biggs682]

Just been announced.
A great DJ

 

[Smokin Joe]

That's rather sad.

For all his faults he was a lot better than the dross that followed him.

 

[Drago]

Never my cup of tea, but sad nevertheless.

 

[johnnyb47]

That's so sad.Just listening to Radio 2 and the presenters are in tears doing the show

 

[Drago]

I see Radio 2 are trotting out the tributes. They didn't seem so fond of the old boy when they sacked him.

 

[figbat]

He was of his time. I listened to him a lot through the late 80s/early 90s but when the world moved on, he didn’t so I went elsewhere.

But it is sad as he was definitely a big part of BBC radio and the soundtrack to a part of my life.

 

[Cycleops]

I see Radio 2 are trotting out the tributes. They didn't seem so fond of the old boy when they sacked him.

...but now he's dead he's the greatest DJ in the UK. Isn't it always the way.

 

[Beebo]

Why bash the Beeb now?
They didn’t sack him. His contract ended and he still did a Sunday show for them.
Stations like Radio 2 have to evolve with their audience and he was 69 and had been there ages.
I felt his time had gone, but he was very good at what he did, just not my cup of tea.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I see Radio 2 are trotting out the tributes. They didn't seem so fond of the old boy when they sacked him.

TBF I think it was very amicable and gentlemanly on both sides, and he continued to broadcast for the Beeb. It was time to pass things on to Scott Mills...

Great broadcaster, some people's cup of, others not so much, but a national figure for 3 decades is good going.

 

[Bristolian]

Steve Wright probably saved my sanity back in the 1980's when I was a struggling sales rep, under pressure and hating life. His afternoon radio show was the one thing I looked forward and cheered me up to as I drove around the UK from one meeting to the next. I loved his Mr Angry sketches

I thought the BBC treated him really badly when they axed his daily show and I stopped listening to Radio 2 on the day he left. Amazing how they only have good things to say about him now.

RIP Steve Wright you are already missed

 

[Cycleops]

Strangely he morphed into Steven Seagal.


Steve Wright


Steven Seagal.

 

[Drago]

Why bash the Beeb now?
They didn’t sack him. His contract ended and he still did a Sunday show for them.
Stations like Radio 2 have to evolve with their audience and he was 69 and had been there ages.
I felt his time had gone, but he was very good at what he did, just not my cup of tea.

I bash the Beeb all the time. I don't pay the licence, that how much I disapprove of the organisation.

Despite the technicalities over contract renewal, there's no doubt it was ineffect a sacking. Wright had been on a rolling contract and it was terminated without notice. That's as near to a sacking as someone on a contract can get as dammit is to swearing. Lets make no bones, he was treated very poorly.

 

[Slick]

Steve Wright probably saved my sanity back in the 1980's when I was a struggling sales rep, under pressure and hating life. His afternoon radio show was the one thing I looked forward and cheered me up to as I drove around the UK from one meeting to the next. I loved his Mr Angry sketches

I thought the BBC treated him really badly when they axed his daily show and I stopped listening to Radio 2 on the day he left. Amazing how they only have good things to say about him now.

RIP Steve Wright you are already missed

I agree, I enjoyed his afternoon shows back in the day as well.

Either way, very sad.

 

[Bristolian]

Why bash the Beeb now?
They didn’t sack him. His contract ended and he still did a Sunday show for them.
Stations like Radio 2 have to evolve with their audience and he was 69 and had been there ages.
I felt his time had gone, but he was very good at what he did, just not my cup of tea.

Okay, so they didn't sack him but they didn't offer him another contract either. Not much of a difference and part of a BBC clear-out of older presenters at the time to bring the station more up to date.

Radio 2's audience was (maybe even still is) the biggest in the world and Steve Wright's show the mainstay of that accolade. Number of listeners for the afternoon spot have dropped severely since he left so maybe he (and Ken Bruce) was more in tune with what his audience wanted than the BBC mandarins.

 

[Dogtrousers]

In 1983 (I think) I was working in a warehouse. A boring and easy job, we had to give engineers sets of parts they needed for jobs. We spent a lot of time being silly and zooming around the warehouse spinning on swivel chairs and generally killing time. Anyway, my abiding memory of that job is of Steve Wright being on the radio.

Incidentally my fellow warehouseman at the time was a former bass player for Bronski Beat.