They were radio’s most famous generation and became the voices and often faces of British broadcasting from the 60s onwards.
But where are they now?
After the death of beloved radio DJ Steve Wright was announced today, has delved into where all the other household names the broadcaster worked with are now.
Legendary DJ Wright joined the BBC in the 1970s, going on to host shows on BBC Radio 1 and 2 for more than four decades which attracted millions of listeners.
He worked with a string of famous DJs, many of whom shaped the nature of music culture in Britain for decades.
From Tony Blackburn and Annie Nightingale to Janice Long and Mike Smith, this is what happened to radio’s most famous generation…
BBC Radio 1 DJs Christmas Party in 1983. Pictured: 1 Simon Bates, 2 Dave Lee Travis, 3 Adrian John, 4 Mike Smith, 5 John Peel, 6 Gary Davies, 7 Jimmy Savile, 8 Tony Blackburn, 9 Peter Powell, 10 Janice Long, 11 Mike Read, 12 Annie Nightingale, 13 Steve Wright
1 Simon Bates
Simon Bates, 77, was born in Birmingham in 1946. He worked at radio stations in New Zealand and before returning to the UK to join the BBC in 1971
BBC Radio One DJ Janice Long (centre) holding an outsize pair of false teeth in 1985 alongside her then-fellow Radio 1 DJs Bruno Brookes (bottom), Steve Wright (left) and Simon Bates (right)
In 1976, he joined Radio 1, where he stayed for 16 years. His show had segments including The Golden Hour and Our Tune
After leaving BBC in 1993 he had spells at Classic FM, Gold and Smooth Radio
Simon Bates, 77, was born in Birmingham in 1946. He worked at radio stations in New Zealand and before returning to the UK to join the BBC in 1971.
He started at Radio 4 before joining Radio 2 in 1972, where he started presenting music shows including Late Night Extra and The Early Show.
In 1976, he joined Radio 1, where he stayed for 16 years. His show had segments including The Golden Hour and Our Tune.
After leaving BBC in 1993 he had spells at Classic FM, Gold and Smooth Radio.
Last year, Boom Radio announced Bates as a presenter for its Sunday afternoon show.
In October he started presenting 1970s hits on the radio station on Saturdays.
2 Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis, 78, started his career at pirate station Radio Caroline in 1965 before he moved to BBC Radio 1 to be one of their top presenters
Radio Caroline DJs from left to right: Top row – Tom Lodge; Dave Lee Travis; George Saunders. Bottom row – Tony Blackburn; Graham Webb
He stayed at BBC Radio 1 through the 1970s and 80s and became a regular presenter for Top Of The Pops
Dave Lee Travis with Jimmy Savile under his arm on Top of the Pops
Dave Lee Travis (left), Janice Long (centre) and Jimmy Savile joined seven other past and present presenters for the last ever Top Of The Pops, broadcast on July 30, 2006
Dave Lee Travis, 78, started his career at pirate station Radio Caroline in 1965 before he moved to BBC Radio 1 to be one of their top presenters.
He stayed there through the 1970s and 80s and became a regular presenter for Top Of The Pops.
He resigned in 1993 while on air in protest against changes being made at the BBC station.
In 2012, he was arrested by police officers from Operation Yewtree on suspicion of historical sexual offences.
He was found not guilty of 12 counts but the jury couldn’t reach a decision on another two counts.
After a retrial in 2014 he was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and jailed for three months, suspended for two years.
3 Adrian John
King of the early mornings on Radio 1 in the 1980s, Adrian John, 68, joined the Beeb in 1983
He started his career as a disc jockey on the QE2 liner – and previously worked as a butcher and a milkman
After a stint at the digital station Saga Radio, he has since worked on BBC Radio Kent, filling in for DJs on holiday
King of the early mornings on Radio 1 in the 1980s, Adrian John, 68, joined the Beeb in 1983.
He started his career as a disc jockey on the QE2 liner – and previously worked as a butcher and a milkman.
While at the BBC he also presented Top Of The Pops.
He also inadvertently helped a gang of criminals steal £6,000 worth of copper piping from Broadcasting House in 1987.
‘Adrian is always ready to help anyone, so he decided to give them a hand loading up their van,’ said a colleague.
After a stint at the digital station Saga Radio, he has since worked on BBC Radio Kent, filling in for DJs on holiday.
4 Mike Smith
Mike Smith was one of the most familiar faces on British television in the 1980s
Smith (pictured with wife Sarah Greene in 1999) presented Radio 1’s flagship breakfast show between 1986 and 1988 and was described as Princess Diana’s favourite DJ
Smith (pictured in 2000 with Sarah) died in 2014, aged 59, from complications arising from major heart surgery
Mike Smith was one of the most familiar faces on British television in the 1980s.
Smith presented Radio 1’s flagship breakfast show between 1986 and 1988 and was described as Princess Diana’s favourite DJ.
Known for his boyish good looks and affectionately dubbed ‘Smitty’, he was a regular on Top of the Pops.
He also made frequent appearances on the BBC’s Breakfast Time programme and The Late, Late Breakfast Show, hosted by Noel Edmonds.
Other programmes he presented included That’s Showbusiness and Julian Clarey’s Trick Or Treat.
His experience as a live broadcaster and his knowledge of popular music led to him hosting the BBC’s Live Aid broadcast in 1985.
He died in 2014, aged 59, from complications arising from major heart surgery.
5 John Peel
John Peel was the longest-serving of the original Radio 1 DJs. He broadcast from 1967 until his death, aged 65, in 2004
He promoted a wide variety of genres while broadcasting. Peel also appeared on Top Of The Pops as a presenter in the 1980s
Pictured: John Peel at Reading Pop Festival, Berkshire, in 1975
Following his death, historic sex abuse allegations were made against Peel (pictured in 1967)
In 1998, Peel was given an OBE for his services to British music. Talking about young women, Peel had previously said: ‘All they wanted me to do was abuse them, sexually, which, of course, I was only too happy to do’
John Peel was the longest-serving of the original Radio 1 DJs. He broadcast from 1967 until his death, aged 65, in 2004.
He promoted a wide variety of genres while broadcasting.
Peel also appeared on Top Of The Pops as a presenter in the 1980s.
He died suddenly from a heart attack in Peru aged 65 in October 2004, and was then described as a ‘one of the BBC’s great radio talents’ who ‘personified so much of what the BBC stands for – quality, creativity and innovation’.
Following his death, historic sex abuse allegations were made against him including one from a woman who claimed in 2012 that she became pregnant by Peel during a three-month affair when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 1969.
Talking about young women, Peel had previously told The Guardian: ‘All they wanted me to do was abuse them, sexually, which, of course, I was only too happy to do.’
In 1989, he told the Sunday Correspondent: ‘Girls used to queue up outside. Oral sex they were particularly keen on, I remember one of my regular customers, as it were, turned out to be 13, though she looked older.’
6 Gary Davies
Gary Davies, 66, first joined Radio 1 in 1984 when he fronted lunchtime show The Bit in the Middle and presented Top Of The Pops
The disc jockey, 65, (pictured in 1984) made a sudden exit from BBC Radio 1 in 1993
BBC radio DJ’s Simon Bates, (left) Gary Davies (centre) and Steve Wright promote Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day on March 10, 1989
After his departure from the station, he moved to Virgin Radio in 1994, where he remained until 2000. Pictured: Davies in 1992
Last year, it was announced he would present Radio 2’s mid-morning show after Ken Bruce’s departure until Vernon Kay takes over in May
Gary Davies, 66, first joined Radio 1 in 1984 when he fronted lunchtime show The Bit in the Middle and presented Top Of The Pops.
The disc jockey, 65, made a sudden exit from BBC Radio 1 in 1993 when station bosses rushed to embrace Britpop and make way for the likes of Chris Evans, 56, to host its programmes.
After his departure from the station, he moved to Virgin Radio in 1994, where he remained until 2000.
Last year, it was announced he would present Radio 2’s mid-morning show after Ken Bruce’s departure until Vernon Kay takes over in May.
7 Jimmy Savile
For decades, Jimmy Savile had been at the the forefront of national life as a BBC TV presenter, charity fundraiser and music industry bigwig
After his death in 2011, a flurry of sex abuse allegations came and soon the once BBC star was revealed as a paedophile
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1968 from Radio Luxembourg and became a regular presenter on Top Of The Pops (pictured on the show)
For decades, Jimmy Savile had been at the the forefront of national life as a BBC TV presenter, charity fundraiser and music industry bigwig.
He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1968 from Radio Luxembourg and became a regular presenter on Top Of The Pops.
After his death in 2011, a flurry of sex abuse allegations followed. They turned into an irrefutable deluge.
Savile used his celebrity status as presenter of the likes of Top of the Pops and eponymous show Jim’ll Fix It to prey on hundreds of people of both sexes, many of them children.
Jimmy Savile showing off his OBE after his investiture at Buckingham Palace, on March 21, 1972
Savile smiles and gives a thumbs up after receiving his knighthood from the Queen in 1996
Jimmy Savile at The Radio Academy Hall of Fame lunch at the Savoy Hotel in London on December 5, 2006
Dame Janet Smith’s BBC inquiry found that Savile (pictured in 1970) abused at least 72 victims at the BBC, including 34 girls and boys under 16. One was aged just eight
Despite the fact rumours and allegations plagued the monstrous star for years before his death, he always escaped censure in life.
At the height of his popularity, he was close to King Charles (then the Prince of Wales), dozens of celebrities and even Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
After Prince Harry’s birth in 1984, Charles included Savile’s name on a list of names of potential godfathers.
In the weeks after his death in 2011, the BBC broadcast three tribute programmes to Savile his long career and extensive charity work.
As well as his roles at the broadcaster, he had a long associations with a series of NHS hospitals, including Broadmoor and Leeds General Infirmary.
He abused dozens of patients at both institutions, as well as others.
Dame Janet Smith’s BBC inquiry found that Savile abused at least 72 victims at the BBC, including 34 girls and boys under 16. One was aged just eight.
Eight victims, including a ten-year-old, were raped. Two were attacked by Savile when he was wearing a Womble costume.
Dame Janet also concluded that the BBC missed ‘clear’ opportunities to uncover Savile’s misconduct and that some victims were dismissed as ‘silly’ after reporting their allegations.
8 Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn, 81, started his career in radio for pirate station Radio Caroline and Radio London
He had begun his career as a singer. In 1967 he joined the BBC ad was the first DJ to be heard on the station when it launched later that year
Tony Blackburn pictured when he worked for Radio One. He remained a celebrated disc jockey at Radio 1 for 17 years before he left in 1984
Pictured: Tony Blackburn celebrated turning 50 in 1993. In 2002, the veteran DJ won the first series of I’m A Celeb
Pictured: Tony Blackburn on Top Of The Pops in 1976. He received an OBE in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and charity
Tony Blackburn, 81, started his career in radio for pirate station Radio Caroline and Radio London.
He had begun his career as a singer. In 1967 he joined the BBC ad was the first DJ to be heard on the station when it launched later that year.
He remained a celebrated disc jockey at Radio 1 for 17 years before he left in 1984.
Blackburn then returned to Radio London to present their weekday mid-morning show.
He later had spells at Capital London, Classic Gold Digital and Smooth Radio.
In 2002, the veteran DJ won the first series of I’m A Celeb.
In 2016, he was dismissed from the BBC because his evidence to the Jimmy Savile sex abuse inquiry ‘fell short’ of the standards demanded, according to BBC Director General Tony Hall.
However, he later returned to the Beeb and still does radio work for them today.
He received an OBE in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and charity.
9 Peter Powell
Peter Powell, 72, first joined the Beeb as the first voice on air at BBC Radio Birmingham in 1970
He was married to Blue Peter host Anthea Turner from 1990 to 1998. Pictured: The couple on their wedding day
They divorced after Turner publicly humiliated him by having an affair with Grant Bovey, who later cheated on her with a 24-year-old heiress. Pictured: Powell and Turner together
Peter Powell, 72, first joined the Beeb as the first voice on air at BBC Radio Birmingham in 1970.
He was – for a short time – on BBC Radio 1 in 1972 but went to Radio Luxembourg instead.
Then, in 1977 he returned to Radio 1 and started presenting Top Of The Pops.
He stayed at the station for 11 years, until 1988. Since leaving radio he has focused on nurturing a successful management company.
He was married to Blue Peter host Anthea Turner from 1990 to 1998.
They divorced after Turner publicly humiliated him by having an affair with Grant Bovey, who later cheated on her with a 24-year-old heiress.
10 Janice Long
Janice Long was the first woman to regularly present Top of the Pops, enjoyed a 40-year career in broadcasting, hosting shows on television and radio
Janice Long, holding an outsize pair of false teeth, UK, 16th May 1985. With her were fellow Radio One DJs (left to right) Steve Wright, Bruno Brookes and Simon Bates
English radio and television broadcasters, Annie Nightingale (left) and Janice Long at the launch of BBC television’s Rock Around the Clock 15-hour music schedule in London on August 15, 1983
Long (pictured in 1986) went on to work at the BBC’s flagship stations including Radio 1, where she was also the first woman to have her own regular daily show.
Janice Long was the first woman to regularly present Top of the Pops, enjoyed a 40-year career in broadcasting, hosting shows on television and radio.
Brought up in Liverpool, Miss Long – the older sister of late children’s television presenter Keith Chegwin – started out as a radio assistant on BBC Radio Merseyside in 1979.
She went on to work at the BBC’s flagship stations including Radio 1, where she was also the first woman to have her own regular daily show.
She championed future stars including The Smiths, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Primal Scream, Adele and Amy Winehouse and was one of the main presenters of the Live Aid charity concert in 1985.
During her career she was also a patron of Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘fame’ school in her home city, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and a judge of the Mercury Music Awards.
She passed away aged 66 in 2021.
11 Mike Read
Mike Read, 76, had his heyday was the mid-Eighties, where he regularly pulled in 17 million listeners on his Radio 1 breakfast show
BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Wright (left), Mike Read (centre) and Bruno Brooks (right) in 1988
In 1991, he left the Beeb and moved to Capital Gold. He later had spells at Radio 2, Classic FM, Jazz FM and Magic. Pictured: Mike Read presenting Top Of The Pops in 1988
Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read arrives at the 2014 UKIP Conference at Doncaster Racecourse
Mike Read, 76, had his heyday was the mid-Eighties, where he regularly pulled in 17 million listeners on his Radio 1 breakfast show.
He pulled the plug on Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax single on his show after realising the explicit content of its lyrics.
The BBC then banned the song, it shot to No 1 and Read was ridiculed.
In 1991, he left the Beeb and moved to Capital Gold. He later had spells at Radio 2, Classic FM, Jazz FM and Magic.
In 2004, he lasted eight days on I’m A Celeb before he was ousted by the public.
12 Annie Nightingale
Annie Nightingale first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panelist on Juke Box Jury, before joining Radio 1 seven years later. She passed away in January 2024 , aged 83, after a short illness
Nightingale (pictured in 1970) became Radio 1’s first female DJ with her show What’s New
The broadcaster posing with Paul McCartney in 1975, who once called her live on air after John Lennon’s death
A stylish presence both on and off the screen, Nightingale was photographed alongside the likes of Kate Moss – who attended a party to mark her 40th anniversary at Radio 1 in 2010
She is survived by two children – Alex and Lucy – who she shared with her first husband Gordon Thomas
Nightingale reclines on her stereogram at her home in Brighton in a photo taken on December 14, 1964
Annie Nightingale first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panelist on Juke Box Jury, before joining Radio 1 seven years later.
She joined Radio 1 in 1970 as its first ever female DJ and went on to become its longest-serving host.
She remained the station’s only female DJ until 1982, when Janice Long joined, and is credited with helping to pave the way for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.
Known for promoting new and underground music, she was also praised for supporting other women in a male-dominated industry.
As a DJ she has travelled the world, and once said she had been ‘mugged in Cuba, drugged in Baghdad and bugged in Russia’.
A stylish presence both on and off the screen, Nightingale was photographed alongside the likes of Kate Moss – who attended a party to mark her 40th anniversary at Radio 1.
Another of her confidants was Paul McCartney, who dramatically phoned her live on air to give a statement after John Lennon was assassinated in 1980.
In 2019, she was made a CBE for services to radio having previously been made an MBE in 2002.
She passed away in January 2024, aged 83, after a short illness.
13 Steve Wright
Steve Wright got his break at Radio Luxembourg presenting his own nightly show. He later hosted a Saturday evening, and a later Saturday morning, show
Steve Wright, who has died at the age of 69, pictured in his recording studio in 1994
The DJ was married to Cyndi Robinson until they divorced in 1999. They are pictured on their wedding day
The legendary broadcaster presented Steve Wright in the Afternoon for 12 years on Radio 1 and a further 23 years on Radio 2. He is pictured in 1980
The legendary DJ joined the BBC in the 1970s, going on to host shows on BBC Radio 1 and 2 for more than four decades which attracted millions of listeners.
He got his break at Radio Luxembourg presenting his own nightly show. He later hosted a Saturday evening, and a later Saturday morning, show.
Today’s shock announcement of his passing aged 69 left colleagues ‘heartbroken’ and prompted an outpouring of emotional tributes from stars including Sara Cox, Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley.
Wright was also a long-standing presenter of Top Of The Pops on BBC One and presented the popular Sunday Love Songs weekend mid-morning show on Radio 2.
The DJ, seen in 2003, was made an MBE for services to radio
Wright with Bunny Campione at an event at Hamleys Toy Store in London on October 24, 2004
Wright in a photo taken in 1995
The DJ with Alice Cooper at the Sony Radio Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel on May 12, 2004
Wright being surprised in his studio by Paul McCartney in 1990. Also pictured is his production assistant Dianne Oxberry
His last show was a pre-recorded Valentine’s Day edition of the programme two days ago. Wright told listeners in his final sign-off: ‘I’ll be back for more love songs next Sunday, ta-da then.’
A statement shared by Wright’s family said: ‘It is with deep sorrow and profound regret that we announce the passing of our beloved Steve Wright.
‘In addition to his son, Tom, and daughter, Lucy, Steve leaves behind his brother, Laurence and his father Richard. Also, much-loved close friends and colleagues, and millions of devoted radio listeners who had the good fortune and great pleasure of allowing Steve into their daily lives as one of the UK’s most enduring and popular radio personalities.
‘As we all grieve, the family requests privacy at this immensely difficult time.’