Annie Nightingale: Tributes paid following death of ‘original trailblazer’ and Radio 1’s first female DJ
Tributes have been paid to the “original trailblazer” and broadcast icon Annie Nightingale – Radio 1’s first female DJ – who has died aged 83.
Nightingale started presenting on Radio 1 in 1970 and became its longest-serving broadcaster, hosting her show Annie Nightingale presents… until late last year.
She was awarded an MBE in 2002 and a CBE in 2020. In 2004, she became the first female DJ from Radio 1 to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame.
In a statement, Nightingale’s family said she died at home in London on Thursday, following a short illness, and hailed her for “breaking down doors” throughout her career.
Zoe Ball and Annie Mac, who have both presented Radio 1 shows, led tributes from colleagues and friends, with Ball describing her as “the original trailblazer for us women in radio”.
Read more:
How Annie Nightingale changed the industry forever
“She loved music like no other… and could out last any of us at the party,” she said.
“So grateful for all the love & support she offered me over the years. What a dame… rest well.”
Annie Mac, who hosted a variety of Radio 1 shows over 17 years, said Nightingale was a “trailblazer, spirited, adventurous, fearless, hilarious, smart, and so good at her job”.
Nightingale’s family described how she became a role model for generations of young women.
“Her impulse to share that enthusiasm with audiences remained undimmed after six decades of broadcasting on BBC TV and radio globally,” Nightingale’s family said.
“Never underestimate the role model she became. Breaking down doors by refusing to bow down to sexual prejudice and male fear gave encouragement to generations of young women who, like Annie, only wanted to tell you about an amazing tune they had just heard.
“Watching Annie do this on television in the 1970s, most famously as a presenter on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test, or hearing her play the latest breakbeat techno on Radio One is testimony to someone who never stopped believing in the magic of rock ‘n’ roll.”
‘Thanks to Annie, things will never be the same’
A celebration of Nightingale’s life will take place in the spring, they said.
Radio 1 shared a photo of the renowned DJ on social media, saying the station was “extremely saddened” about her death.
With Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, in 2001
BBC director-general Tim Davie described her as “a uniquely gifted broadcaster who blessed us with her love of music and passion for journalism, for over 50 years”, as well as “a trailblazer for new music” and a “champion for female broadcasters, supporting and encouraging other women to enter the industry”.
Head of Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones described Nightingale as “a world-class DJ, broadcaster and journalist”, who championed new music and new artists “throughout her entire career”.
He added: “We have lost a broadcasting legend and, thanks to Annie, things will never be the same.”
Greg James, Zoe Ball, Jo Whiley and more pay tribute
Nightingale first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panellist on Juke Box Jury, before joining Radio 1 seven years later.
She remained the station’s only female DJ until 1982, which saw the arrival of Janice Long, and is credited with helping to pave the way for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Ball.
Whiley described her as “the coolest woman who ever graced the airwaves”.
Jo Whiley and Annie Nightingale
Sharing a black and white picture of the broadcaster in a radio studio on X, Whiley wrote: “She blazed a trail for us all and never compromised. Her passion for music never diminished.”
Over the years, Nightingale rubbed shoulders with stars including the late David Bowie and The Beatles, and was a guest on occasion at the band’s Apple Studios in London during the 1960s.
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Her life and achievements “were so extraordinary you couldn’t possibly sum them up on here”, wrote Radio 1 breakfast show presenter Greg James on X.
“It was such a treat if you happened to be in the building at the same time as her,” he wrote. “She was always so interested in what everyone else was up to. We’re going to miss her so much. She was just absolutely amazing.”
Glastonbury Festival co-organiser Emily Eavis also joined the tributes, sharing on Instagram how the DJ helped her when she was younger.
“Goodbye dear Annie, a female trailblazer and true enthusiast,” she wrote. “Annie gave me so much support when I was in my twenties, I always felt so grateful to have such a strong woman encouraging me along the way and I’m sure she has done the same for many others like me.
“She was an inspiration to so many women in music, broadcasting and beyond and just a lovely human being.”
Nightingale had two children, Alex and Lucy, from her first marriage to writer Gordon Thomas.
Entertainment
‘People want you to stay in your lane’: Reese Witherspoon on her ‘deeply personal’ decision to write a novel
It is “pretty surreal”, Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon admits, finding herself at the top of The New York Times bestsellers list.
When I meet the actress alongside her co-writer, best-selling author Harlan Coben, overnight the pair have learned that their thriller is now at number one.
He jokes: “I was texting her last night and saying you’ll now have to call yourself number one bestselling novelist, forget about Oscar winner!”
Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben told Katie Spencer about their novel Gone Before Goodbye
As one of the most successful authors in the world, Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground.
Not content with running a hugely successful production company responsible for a string of hits, as well as one of the most successful book clubs in the world, she explains she felt compelled to give writing a try.
“People want you to stay in your lane… as a creative person I think it’s impossible to just choose one kind of life.
“Creativity is infinite and who I was as a creative person when I was 20 is very different from the person I am now at 49.”
Gone Before Goodbye, a thriller about a talented surgeon who finds herself caught up in a deadly conspiracy, is the result of Witherspoon daring to put her head above the parapet.
Witherspoon says she felt compelled to give writing a try
Coben admits he was “a little wary” at first.
“I don’t co-write novels but when she made the pitch and started talking about it, I was like ‘dang that’s good, we can do something with that’.”
While countless celebrities work with ghostwriters, Coben says: “I said to her from day one ‘it’s only going to be you and me in here… no third person in here, I don’t do that’. So every word you [read] comes from Reese and me.”
Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground
Witherspoon explains: “He was like ‘if we’re going to do this, it’s going to have to be at a really high level because people going to expect a lot, so our bar was really high.”
“I said to her, in the beginning, novels are like a sausage,” Coben laughs. “You might like the final taste, but you don’t want to see how it was made and Reese got to see the full sausage getting made here.”
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When it came to writing, Coben says they “fell into a rhythm right away”, working together in three-hour stints, “back and forth with a yellow legal pad – what about this? What about that?”
Coben says they ‘fell into a rhythm right away’
Witherspoon says it “feels really deeply personal” to have their work now in print.
“Usually, as an actor, I walk into other people’s worlds and it’s already set up… but this was creating the whole world with Harlan and just from beginning to end feels very personal.”
While the story seems an obvious fit for being adapted to the screen, perhaps with a certain blonde actress in the leading role, Coben says that was never their intention.
“The biggest, biggest mistake novelists make when you write a book is to say ‘this would make a really great movie’. A book is a book, a movie is a movie, and we both focused on wanting this to be just a great reading experience.”
Given that their collaboration is already selling in big numbers, will the pair team up again to write a second?
Witherspoon says: “Let’s just see what people think of this one first.”
Kim Kardashian has revealed that she has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.
- Footage from the latest season of The Kardashians shows the reality TV star going for an imaging scan.
The 45-year-old appears to suggest her small aneurysm may have stemmed from stress.
Brain aneurysms are relatively common, with data suggesting they affect about one in every 50 people.
In many cases, patients may be unaware that they have one – as they tend to cause few symptoms when unruptured.
Brain aneurysms are common but often go undiagnosed. iStock file pic
Should an unruptured aneurysm grow to a larger size, it can cause headaches, balance problems and speech issues.
Those that burst are extremely dangerous and can prove fatal in some circumstances.
While aneurysms can emerge throughout the body, they are most typically found in the aorta, which carries blood out of the heart.
Research suggests brain aneurysms are most common in adults between the ages of 30 and 60 – with women disproportionately affected.
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Associate professor of neurology Dr Laura Stein told Sky’s US partner NBC News: ” The most well-described risk factors include a predisposition [family history of aneurysm], high blood pressure, cigarette smoking and inflammation.”
She went on to explain that most fatal ruptured aneurysms are in the brain, killing about one in three patients.
“When it’s a blood vessel that’s in the head and it bleeds, there’s a much higher risk of having a very bad problem just because the brain is enclosed in a fixed space,” Dr Stein added.
Low-risk aneurysms are monitored by doctors for growth or abnormalities, and there are a series of potential treatment options for those considered dangerous.
Elsewhere in The Kardashians clip, Kim admitted that her ex-husband Kanye West will be in her life “no matter what” because of the four kids they share together.
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