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KENNY EVERETT ON RADIO MERSEYSIDE (320kbs-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 22nd March 2026
**** This programme was suggested by Paul Phippin, Alan Galliott and Adrian Dayne as part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's All Request Weekend ****
A revealing interview with arguably Britain's most creative broadcaster first heard on his local station, BBC Radio Merseyside.
Thanks to 4 Extra, this is the first national airing of an episode of the weekly series 'Somebody In Particular', subtitled 'Whatever Happened to Maurice Cole?' (Kenny Everett's real name). The "wireless wizard" talks to Iain Mann about leaving school at 15, training to be a priest and joining pirate radio.
Kenny joined BBC Radio 1 for its opening in 1967 - but was sacked three years later after insulting the wife of a Government Minister.
He joined Capital Radio at the launch of Independent Local Radio in 1973. He had to give up the breakfast show after collapsing and saying he hoped to end his career on Radio 3 "drinking tea and slapping disc-jockeys' wrists" as "the naughty young old boy of the BBC".
At the time of the interview, Kenny was still broadcasting on London's Capital Radio at weekends having seemingly turned his back on TV after what he called "an awfully disastrous series" on London Weekend Television which "tore my soul apart", insisting "I'm a radio chap". The Kenny Everett Video Show ran until 1981 before he returned to the BBC later that year for the Kenny Everett Television Show and a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2.
Kenny moved back to Capital, helping relaunch the full AM only service of Capital Gold in 1988. He was still working there shortly before his death from an AIDS-related illness on 4th April 1995, at the age of 50.
Presenter: Iain Mann
Audio supplied by Paul Rowley
First broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside in February 1976.
**** To nominate a programme from the archives that you would like to hear again, please email radio4extra@bbc.co.uk ****
KENNY EVERETT ON BBC RADIO BRISTOL - 3. 03/07/1971 (320kbs-m4a/133mb/58mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 27th December 2024
On March 27th, 1971, Britain's most controversial DJ interviewed the leader of the biggest pop group in the world. Both were at a crossroads in their lives.
Kenny Everett had been fired by Radio 1 the previous summer after insulting the wife of a Government Minister. John Lennon had just produced his first solo album after the break-up of the Beatles and was immersed in a damaging legal dispute with Paul McCartney.
The pair came together for what turned out to be a revealing conversation at John's mansion at Sunningdale in Berkshire. Lennon played the piano in his home studio. Kenny asked a few naïve questions about his relationship with Paul. John gave some blunt but amusing answers. Sadly, few people heard it.
The "wireless wizard" had been close friends with the Fab Four since his days on the pirate ship Radio London. Coming from Merseyside helped Kenny get several exclusives, being the first person in the world to play "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the radio. When the offshore stations were outlawed in 1967 he would interview the lads for the BBC on both the Light Programme and Radio 1. John could be quite cutting with his Liverpool pal, telling him that he wasn't very good at asking questions. Kenny admitted he was "naff" at it. But the Beatles loved his shows, and admired his technical brilliance in the studio, asking him to produce their annual Christmas record for the group's fan club in 1968 and 1969.
But by 1971 there were few takers for his scoop. The interview was featured on Radio Monte Carlo International, a short-lived English language service in France. But it only went out in the early hours of the morning on the station's final broadcast. The only UK outlet to use it was Radio Bristol, one of the BBC's newest Local Radio stations. Kenny had been offered a month-long stint that summer as weekend holiday relief. The Lennon interview seemed a good way for the "bad boy" of the corporation to re-establish his credentials. A remixed version went out on July 3, 1971 in his final show in a four-part series. It hasn't been heard since … until now.
The programme also includes the final episode of his comedy series "Dick Dale – Special Doctor", first broadcast on Radio 1, along with music by Paul McCartney, Hurricane Smith, Smokey Robinson, The Idle Race, Fifth Dimension, Dawn, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Butterscotch, The Yamasukis, Freda Payne and Bread.
The show closes with Kenny making an appeal to BBC bosses to restore him to the national airwaves.
It was almost two years before he returned to Radio 1, but his spell on Radio Bristol led to more BBC Locals taking him on, and getting a regular spot on Radio 4's "Start The Week" and the spin-off series "If It's Wednesday … It Must Be".
He joined London's Capital Radio at its launch in 1973 before becoming a highly successful TV performer both on ITV and BBC1. But radio was his true love, and he was still broadcasting on Capital Gold shortly before his death from AIDS on April 4, 1995. He was just 50.
The last of three shows Kenny made for BBC Radio Bristol first broadcast in July 1971.
*** Part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's celebration of Kenny Everett who was born 80 years ago on Christmas Day, 1944.
The Beatles - Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Hurricane Smith - Don't Let It Die
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Don't Blame You At All
The Idle Race - I Like My Toys
Honey Come - Want Ads
Dick Dale - Special Doctor (Final Episode)
Paul McCartney - Too Many People
John Lennon interview
John Lennon - Isolation
John Lennon - Love
Paul McCartney - Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
Fifth Dimension - Light Sings
Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday
Cat Stevens - Sad Lisa
Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy In New York
Butterscotch - All On A Summer's Day
The Yamasukis - Yamasuki
Cat Stevens - Father And Son
Bread - It Don't Matter To Me
Freda Payne - Bring The Boys Home
Bread - Truckin'
KENNY EVERETT ON BBC RADIO BRISTOL - 2. 26/12/1971 (320kbs-m4a/126mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 26th December 2024
Festive frolics from the home of radio's enfant terrible.
Kenny Everett was a radio genius, loved by millions and lauded by his fellow broadcasters. He honed his craft on pirate radio, helped launch Radio 1, and was there at the start of Capital Radio, the UK's most successful commercial station.
He described himself, slightly tongue in cheek, as "the wireless wizard". He worked harder than any of his rivals to produce innovative programmes laced with wacky jingles, crazy sound effects and zany comedy moments. But he pushed the barriers, was always getting into trouble with management, and was regularly fired.
The crunch came in July 1970 when he was sacked by Radio 1 after insulting the wife of a Government Minister. He was just 25, at the height of his creativity. The BBC had a radio monopoly and there was nowhere else to go. The only other outlet was the corporation's Local Radio stations. But they didn't play many records, had little money, and had few listeners, as they could only be heard on VHF (now FM) when most people had medium wave sets. But a chance phone call from BBC Radio Bristol led to the corporation's "bad boy" returning to the airwaves on June 12, 1971.
The station manager David Waine, who was the same age as Kenny, took a gamble against the advice of Broadcasting House bosses, hiring him as a stand-in for an hour-long Saturday morning show. Everett got £50 for a month's work, with the proviso that the programmes were pre-recorded so they could be checked before they went on air just in case the enfant terrible said something naughty.
The appointment was deemed such a success that by the end of the year Kenny was doing similar shows for five other BBC Local Radio stations. He also did a Christmas special for Radio Bristol on Boxing Day 1971, the day after his 27th birthday. You can now hear it for the first time since it was originally broadcast 53 years ago.
The programme closes with Kenny making a whimsical appeal to BBC management to put him back on national radio, describing himself as a "poor soul on the dole" living in a "rat-infested mansion" with "no food in the fridge and no dough in the bank".
It includes music by the Beach Boys, Mama Cass, Rich Fever, Peter Noone, Colin Blunstone, John Barry, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, The Jimmie Haskell Orchestra, Gilbert O'Sullivan, The Faces, Cat Stevens, Tony Christie, Mike Vickers, Matt Munro, Rich Fever and Rossini.
Kenny returned for another Radio Bristol series in 1972 before eventually being let back on air by Radio 1 the following year. Shortly afterwards he joined Capital Radio at the launch of Independent Local Radio before beginning a successful television career in 1978. But Kenny remained true to his radio roots and was still broadcasting on Capital Gold shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50.
So did these BBC Local Radio programmes help rehabilitate Kenny Everett's career? Judge for yourself.
The second of three shows Kenny made for BBC Radio Bristol first broadcast on 26th December 1971.
*** Part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's celebration of Kenny Everett who was born 80 years ago on Christmas Day, 1944.
The Beach Boys - Wake The World
Mama Cass - One Way Ticket
Rich Fever - Everything's Moving
Peter Noone - Walnut Whirl
Colin Blunstone - I Can't Live Without You
Colin Blunstone - Let Me Come Closer To You
John Barry - Theme From The Persuaders
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Bless You
The Jimmie Haskell Orchestra - William Tell Overture
The Beach Boys - Be Here In The Mornin'
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Houdini Said
Faces - Stay With Me
The Beach Boys - Busy Doin' Nothin'
The Beach Boys - Friends
Cat Stevens - i Want To Live In A Wigwam
Tony Christie - (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
Mike Vickers - Match Of The Day
Matt Munro - We're Gonna Change The World
Rossini - Unknown
KENNY EVERETT ON BBC RADIO BRISTOL - 1. 12/06/1971 (320kbs-m4a/128mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcat: 24th December 2024
Kenny Everett was arguably the most creative, most innovative, most technically gifted radio presenter the UK has produced.
He was a pioneer, first with the offshore pirates in 1964, then as part of the launch team for BBC Radio 1 in 1967 – and later a key figure when licensed commercial radio began with Capital Radio in 1973.
Kenny spent hours in the studio stitching together truly original shows, filled with his exquisitely produced personal jingles, crazy sounds effects, and zany comedy moments delivered in a frenetic, inventive style that no-one could match. He was close friends with the Beatles, regularly playing their latest tracks before anyone else. Among his peers he was regarded as a "genius". And yet he was a shy Catholic boy from just outside Liverpool who had a habit of being fired.
The BBC banned him from talking to the press after repeatedly complaining about Radio 1's output. Things came to a head in July 1970 after he responded to a news bulletin about the wife of Transport Minister John Peyton passing her advance driving test. Kenny joked that she "probably crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand". As a result, his weekend show was cancelled, a fate he'd previously suffered at Radio Luxembourg, Radio London, and later at Radio 2.
He was just 25, and apart from a few stints on continental stations, there was nowhere else to go. The BBC still had a UK radio monopoly, and his top-flight radio career looked to be over.
A saviour arrived a year later at one of the BBC's fledgling local stations, when Radio Bristol's manager David Waine needed holiday cover. Feeling Kenny had been badly treated, David phoned to offer four programmes at a rate of just £12.50 a week! Desperate, Everett agreed – sparking an internal row with Waine who was rebuked by BBC Radio's MD Ian Trethowan for not consulting him, warning that he'd be in trouble if things went wrong.
To minimise any potential disaster, David wisely asked Kenny to pre-record his shows at home in Sussex. He then posted the tapes for checking by a producer before broadcast. On June 12,1971 the "wireless wizard" was back on-air. It was an occasion largely overlooked as few people heard it.
At the time BBC Local Radio only broadcast on VHF (now FM) when most listeners only had medium-wave sets. Much of the output was "parish pump" material. Broadcast hours were limited, with few staff and tight music restrictions.
So Kenny's first show, heard here in full for the first time since broadcast, was probably the most dangerous show on BBC Local Radio.
He announces his return by saying "It's disgusting. I don't know how they allow him to get away with it". He was clearly relieved to be back with a fast-paced kaleidoscope of his work. It's littered with bespoke Radio Bristol jingles, a chat with Dusty Springfield, and an episode of the comedy serial "Dick Dale – Special Doctor", previously heard on Radio 1.
Listen out for an amusing sequence as he tunes across his radio dial with extracts from Radio Solent, Radio Brighton, Radio 4, Radio 3, and Radio 2, with a cutting swipe at the station who axed him: "We don't play Radio 1!"
The show features tracks from The Move, Nilsson, Peter Noone, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Stavely Makepeace, The Beatles, The Fantastics, Cat Stevens, White Plains, Twiggy, Mungo Jerry, Dusty Springfield, the Supremes and The Four Tops.
You may wonder why Kenny regularly mentions the record labels of songs played. At the time, BBC Local Radio could only play one hour of commercial music a day under strict "needle time" restrictions negotiated with the Musicians' Union. One way to get around them was to play "new releases" giving the record label, and (in theory at least) its number.
Kenny's Radio Bristol shows opened the door at other BBC Locals including Radios Merseyside, Solent, Nottingham, Brighton (now Radio Sussex) and Medway (now Radio Kent). He also appeared on "Start The Week" on Radio 4 over Christmas 1971 – becoming a regular on a spin-off series "If It's Wednesday … It Must Be" over the next 18 months. Ev was finally allowed back on Radio 1 in April 1973 but left six months later as Capital began.
He returned to TV in 1978, with "The Kenny Everett Video Show" from Thames, moving across to BBC1 in 1981 with "The Kenny Everett Television Show" which ran for six years. But radio was his first love. He helped launch Capital Gold, the station's AM service in 1988 where he worked until shortly before his death from AIDS in 1995. He was just 50. But he left a legacy of unique work influencing broadcasters like Noel Edmonds, Steve Wright and Chris Evans.
The first of three shows Kenny made for BBC Radio Bristol first broadcast in June 1971.
*** Part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's celebration of Kenny Everett who was born 80 years ago on Christmas Day, 1944.
The Move - Tonight
Harry Nilsson - Daddy's Song
Peter Noone - Oh You Pretty Things
Paul McCartney - Dear Boy
Paul McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Tom Jones - Puppet Man
Stavely Makepeace - Give Me That Pistol
The Beatles - Paperback Writer
The Fantastics - Something Wonderful
Cat Stevens - Tuesday's Dead
White Plains - When You Are A King
Twiggy - Zoo De Zoo Zong
Harry Nilsson - City Life
Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose
Dusty Springfield - Where Am I Going?
The Supremes & The Four Tops - Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)
KENNY EVERETT: THE BBC LOCAL RADIO YEARS (320kbs-m4a/127mb/55mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 23rd December 2024
The hitherto untold story of the 'wilderness years' of Kenny Everett long before he became a TV star.
In 1970, he was sacked by BBC Radio 1 for insulting the wife of a Government Minister. He was just 25 and was arguably the most creative broadcaster of his generation.
At that time, the BBC still had a radio monopoly in the UK, so the only outlet for his talents was on the corporation's Local Radio stations, then in their infancy.
Cuddly Ken worked for six stations in total, there were few listeners, and they didn't pay much.
The documentary was compiled by journalist and broadcaster Paul Rowley who as a schoolboy recorded Everett's shows on Radio Merseyside on his domestic tape recorder. It was a good job he did because the BBC didn't keep any of those vintage recordings.
Four of the stations even insisted that “the wireless wizard” never worked for them. But after a marathon treasure hunt, Rowley traced listeners who'd similarly recorded Kenny's shows 'off-air' and tracked down some BBC employees who'd 'borrowed' the master tapes.
Paul discloses that one station manager was carpeted after hiring him without permission from the top brass at Broadcasting House. Another station fired him after a feature deemed to be anti-BBC. Part of the banned show is included.
The documentary also looks at the internal politics of the corporation over its handling of the 'enfant terrible'.
Featuring:
* Kenny Everett's then wife Lee who blitzed stations to put her husband on-air
* Former BBC Radio 1 Controller Johnny Beerling
* David Waine (BBC Radio Bristol)
* Victor Marmion (BBC Radio Merseyside)
* Ken Warburton (BBC Radio Solent)
* John Holmes (BBC Radio Nottingham)
* Dennis Lewell (BBC Radio Medway, now BBC Radio Kent)
* Phil Fothergill (BBC Radio Brighton, now BBC Radio Sussex)
* Barbara Taylor
* Lawrie Bloomfield
* Richard Skinner
* Rob Salvidge
Kenny was finally allowed back on Radio 1 in April 1973 but left six months later at the start of Independent Local Radio, being part of the launch team for Capital Radio, the UK's first commercial music station.
He died on April 4, 1995 from an AIDS-related illness. He was just 50.
Fittingly, Radio 4 Extra is broadcasting the programme on December 23, 2024 on the 60th anniversary of the opening of pirate ship Radio London, where Kenny's radio career began. It was arguably the UK's most successful offshore station, with Kenny making his debut the following day on Christmas Eve, 1964 on his last day as a teenager.
The documentary was shortlisted for a Sony Radio Award in 2002 in the "Music Special" category.
Engineer: Darynn Garrett
First broadcast on BBC local radio across England at Christmas 2001.
*** This programme is part of a collection of shows in Christmas week as BBC Radio 4 Extra celebrates the work of Kenny Everett to mark what would have been his 80th birthday on Christmas Day, 2024.