Kenny Everett (who I mentioned in a previous post) was born Maurice Cole in Crosby, Merseyside, Liverpool on 25 December 1944 and died 4 April 1995 - his first break (as Maurice Cole) came when he sent a tape to the BBC in 1962. The BBC gave him an interview and offered him a job as a presenter on the Light Programme, the forerunner to BBC Radio 2. He declined, however, in favour of the less constrained world of pirate radio, where he began his career as a DJ for Radio London. Kenny teamed up with Dave Cash for the 'Kenny & Cash Show' one of the most popular pirate radio programmes. His offbeat style and likeable personality quickly gained him attention, but in 1965 he was fired after some outspoken remarks about religion on air. Like most of the pirate stations, Radio London carried sponsored American evangelical shows, and Everett's disparaging remarks about The World Tomorrow caused its producers to threaten to withdraw their lucrative contract with the station.
Everett returned six months later, however, before being given his own show by Radio Luxembourg in 1966. Within a year, he had joined the BBC's new pop music station Radio 1 after previewing The Beatles' new album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and interviewing the band. Everett had struck up a friendship with The Beatles and accompanied them on their 1966 tour of the United States, sending back daily reports for Radio London. He also produced their 1968 and 1969 Christmas records.
At Radio 1 Everett continued to develop his own unique presentation style, featuring zany voices, surreal characters, multi-tracked jingles and trailers, all of his own creation and compilation. It was ground-breaking radio material that has since been much copied.
In 1970, however, Everett again found himself fired, this time after suggesting on air that the British Transport Minister's wife had bribed her driving test examiner. Following an interview on the BBC Radio Solent children's show Albert's Gang, Kenny submitted weekly shows to the station that he had pre-recorded at home. This afforded the BBC the opportunity to vet the shows before broadcast. Everett was then heard on various BBC local radio stations before being reinstated at Radio 1 in 1972.
During this time, legislation had been passed allowing the licensing of commercial radio stations in the UK. One of the first, Capital Radio, began broadcasting to London and the Home Counties in 1973. Everett joined the station and was given his own show, where he further developed his distinctive ideas. From 1974 to 1980 he presented the station's breakfast show, initially alongside Dave Cash, a friend and colleague from Radio London days, and later as the sole presenter. Subsequently, he moved to a less high-pressure timeslot at Capital, a transfer that was made upon medical advice and which was associated with complications in his personal life.
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
During his time at Capital Radio, Everett was given a copy of a new single (which record companies felt was too long to be successful) from Queen by the group's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, a good friend, with the proviso that it was not to be played on the air. As expected, Mercury's reverse psychology worked – Everett loved the song and began to play it several times a night on his show (once claiming that "his finger slipped"), helping the song — "Bohemian Rhapsody" — to go quickly to number one in the UK. So greatly did Everett love this song he played it 14 times in one day when it was released. It went on to become a world-wide hit.
During his time at Capital Radio, Everett was given a copy of a new single (which record companies felt was too long to be successful) from Queen by the group's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, a good friend, with the proviso that it was not to be played on the air. As expected, Mercury's reverse psychology worked – Everett loved the song and began to play it several times a night on his show (once claiming that "his finger slipped"), helping the song — "Bohemian Rhapsody" — to go quickly to number one in the UK. So greatly did Everett love this song he played it 14 times in one day when it was released. It went on to become a world-wide hit.
In October 1981, Everett returned to BBC Radio, albeit this time on Radio 2, on Saturday lunchtime from 11am-1pm. This lasted until 1983, when he was once again dismissed after making a rude joke about Margaret Thatcher. He then returned to Capital Radio, presenting the same slot as he did on Radio 2.
After Capital split its frequencies in 1988 he was heard on Capital Gold, with a line-up that included people like Tony Blackburn and David Hamilton. Everett presented the afternoon show and then moved to the mid-morning show. He left in 1994 when his health deteriorated to the point that he was unable to continue.
The joke that reportedly led to the non-renewal of his contract with BBC-2:
"When England was a kingdom, we had a king. When we were an empire, we had an emperor. Now we're a country ... and we have Margaret Thatcher."
