Annie Nightingale

Infobox Radio Presenter
name = Annie (Anne) Nightingale


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = 1942 [http://www.radioacademy.org.uk/record.jsp?type=celeb&ID=39]
birthplace = London, England
yearsactive = 1970 - present
spouse =
show = Annie Nightingale
station = BBC Radio 1
timeslot = Saturdays 05:00 - 07:00
style = Breaks
country = England
web = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/annienightingale/]

Annie (formerly known as Anne) Nightingale MBE is a British radio broadcaster. She was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 and since the death of John Peel in October 2004 has been its longest-serving presenter. Her career at the station is more than twenty years longer than that of her nearest competitor in the role, Pete Tong. This is testimony to her rare ability to move with the times and reinvent herself musically. She was known professionally as "Anne" until the early 1990s when she adopted the name "Annie".

Nightingale was born in London in 1942. [http://www.radioacademy.org.uk/record.jsp?type=celeb&ID=39] After attending Lady Eleanor Holles School, Hampton, Middlesex and the Polytechic of Central London School of Journalism, she began her career as a journalist in Brighton. Nightingale's Radio 1 career began in 1970 with a Sunday evening show. She then hosted the singles review show "What's New" in the early 1970s before graduating to a late-night progressive rock shows then simulcast on the Radio 2 FM frequency. During the later part of the 1970s she presented a Sunday afternoon request show, and by 1980 was presenting a Friday night show and the non-music-based "Radio 1 Mailbag". In 1978, Nightingale began presenting the "The Old Grey Whistle Test" on BBC2; during her tenure, the show moved away from its progressive rock bias and embraced more modern, and popular, styles such as punk rock and new wave.

In the late 1970s her best known show - the Sunday request show - began its run. It was originally broadcast on Sunday afternoons, before moving to a slot immediately after the Top 40 in 1982. The show was one of the first on British radio to regularly play music from CDs. A gimmick was to allow the intro of the first song in the show to play uninterrupted before saying "Hi" in the very last second before the vocals started.

In 1994 Nightingale began her reinvention by ending the request show and moving to a weekend overnight dance music show, initially called "The Chill Out Zone". She can still be heard in the early hours of Saturday mornings on BBC Radio 1. On her current show she spins breaks, often featuring major breaks DJs such as Plump DJs, Freestylers, Noisia and Meat Katie. Annie also plays live regularly at clubs and festivals around the UK and Europe.

Annie has travelled all over the world to DJ and make musical documentaries including to Russia, Romania, Iraq, Chile, The Philippines and Cuba. However, while in Havana in 1996, she was attacked in a mugging causing multiple injuries and an air-lift back to a London hospital. Since that incident she has worn the distinctive shades which are now part of her image.

She was awarded her MBE in 2002 for services to radio broadcasting. In the same year she was award the "Caner Of The Year" Award by Muzik Magazine, the award representing an accolade for Annie's intensive coverage of the scene. In 2004 she was the first female DJ from Radio 1 to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall Of Fame.

Nightingale has published two autobiographical books: "Chase The Fade" (1981) ISBN 0713711671 and "Wicked Speed" (1999) ISBN 0283061979. She has also compiled two Albums "Annie On One" (1996, Heavenly Recordings) and her own installment of the Breaks DJ mix series "Y4K" (2007, Distinctive Records).

On 30 September 2007, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1 Annie co-hosted a special return of the Request Show with Annie Mac, featuring contributions from musicians such as Paul McCartney and Chemical Ed, excerpts from the original show and Annie's recollections of regular contributors such as "Night Owl of Croydon". The show featured many classic tracks which had been requested over the years and closed with one of Annie's favourites, Cristina's version of "Is That All There Is?".

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/annienightingale/biography.shtml Annie Nightingale's biography at BBC Radio 1]
* [http://www.radioacademy.org.uk/record.jsp?type=celeb&ID=39 Radio Academy Hall of Fame page]
* [http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/annie_nightingale_page.htm Annie Nightingale at Radio Rewind]
* [http://www.myspace.com/djannienightingale Official MySpace page]
* [http://www.myvillage.com/brighton/celebs&gossip-annie-nightingale.htm Links to Brighton]