Bbc radio 2 live steve wright
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As well as replaying them, Steve also introduces, contextualises and shares memories of chatting with the guests.
BBC Radio 2 to celebrate the life and career of Steve Wright
BBC Radio 2 will broadcast a special programme this evening to celebrate the life and career of Steve Wright.
The show, Steve Wright – A Celebration, airs at 5pm ahead of what would have been his birthday on Tuesday 26 August.
It brings together highlights from a special event held earlier this year at the BBC Radio Theatre in London.
That event took place on Wednesday 28th April and was hosted by Vernon Kay.
The audience included Steve’s family, friends, production staff, colleagues from across his career and others from the wider creative and media industries.
The evening was described as warm, funny and filled with memories that reflected his long and influential career in broadcasting.
During the celebration, Vernon Kay was joined on stage by BBC Radio colleagues Zoe Ball, Bob Harris and Greg James, who all shared their personal memories of working with Steve and reflected on his enduring impact on British radio.
They were joined by guests Jack Dee and Jessie J, who spoke about their experiences of being interviewed by him.
There were also surprise live music performances from Joan Armatrading and Michael Kiwanuka.
Somebody who had dedicated his whole life to radio. Both artists performed two of Steve’s favourite songs, including some that had been played on his long-running Sunday Love Songs programme.
The special marathon tribute on Radio 2 will start with a two hour show hosted by Kay with tributes from friends of Wright's including Lord David Cameron, Richard Curtis, Dawn French, Emma Freud, Barry Gibb, Peter Kay, Billy Ocean, and Will Young.
A 2010 interview, much of it previously unaired, for the Radio 2 series 'Music in the Air: A History of Music Radio' will also be played.
'He cared about it. We have stories from all sorts of people who knew and worked with him, and we'd love to hear yours.
'Radio was his life and that is why we are so pleased to salute the life of Steve Wright.'
Wright joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show before moving on to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later until 1993.
Wright then fronted the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and completed a stint at commercial radio stations.
Wright, who died in February at the age of 69, is pictured in his recording studio in 1994
Wright first joined Radio 1 in 1980 to host a Saturday evening show.
Steve was always putting smiles on the faces of his guests as well as his listeners, so it's an honour to present this celebratory programme, where we'll hear tributes from some of the Big Show's most famous guests.'
Tarbuck will then present a two hour-hour live broadcast to give listeners the chance to share their memories of Wright, such as having had wedding or anniversary dedications read out by him on Love Songs.
Kay said: 'Steve Wright was The Don of UK radio, the master of his craft and an absolute perfectionist, researching each guest meticulously to ensure he had the right question at the right time. And, of course, Steve just kept doing the work for decades. He never got tired of thinking of a new programme and when that programme was over, he started thinking about the next one.
They are pictured at their wedding
He then returned to BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to host Steve Wright's Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.
In 1999, he recreated Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, with celebrity interviews and entertaining trivia featured in his Factoids segment.
Wright stepped down in September 2022, replaced by Scott Mills in a schedule shake-up, but Wright continued to present Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2.
Michael Ball took over as the host of a new Sunday love songs show in June, which was retitled Love Songs With Michael Ball.
Wright was made an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to radio.
Paul GambacciniSteve WrightVernon Kay
Share or comment on this article: BBC Radio 2 reveals six-hour tribute to Steve Wright on what would have been his 70th birthday after star's 'unexpected' death
Radio 2 Remembers Steve Wright
A collection of special programmes paying tribute to the much-loved broadcasting great on what would have been his 70th birthday.
We hear from Steve's friends from the worlds of entertainment, broadcasting and beyond - and we hear from listeners themselves, who share their own fond memories of Steve as they look back and remember his many shows from across the decades.
The two hour show will be presented by Gambaccini, who said: 'I recognised in Steve one of the true 'lifers'. It promises to be a gorgeous show. We also hear Steve himself from the BBC archive talking about his career and the broadcasters who inspired him, and playing the records he loved.
And in podcast shows, we showcase the breadth and depth of the guests that Steve sat down with at the BBC, alongside recently recorded interviews to update their story.
Covering the entire period of Steve's career across radio and television, much of the archive material is exactly that - interviews which were archived, but then never heard or seen since their initial broadcast.
"...you really have to be on your mettle because he'll ask you a stupid bunch of questions based on the book, but also questions such as what's your favourite colour?"
"He was a creative whirlwind, not just to listen to but to watch."
Mayo finished our chat by saying that Wright was the envy of presenters like him: "He was a real one-off, a lot of us tried to be as good as Steve Wright but no-one was.
Quote MessageSo I think his legacy was in the thing that he loved doing the most which was making unmissable radio shows."
BBC Radio 2 reveals six-hour tribute to Steve Wright on what would have been his 70th birthday after star's 'unexpected' death
The BBC has announced a six-hour tribute to Steve Wright on what would have been his 70th birthday.
Three programmes dedicated to the late DJ will air on Radio 2 from 2pm until 8pm on Monday, August 26.
Vernon Kay, Paul Gambaccini, and Liza Tarbuck will each host one of the shows in celebration of the life and career of the legendary broadcaster.
'He put his guests at ease and, by doing so, teased out never heard before anecdotes and facts from them.
Vernon Kay (pictured), Paul Gambaccini , and Liza Tarbuck will each host one of three shows in celebration of the life and career of the legendary broadcaster
Gambaccini (left) will present a two hour programme which features archive recordings of Wright. See you there.'
The marathon tribute will culminate with archive recordings of Wright chatting about his career, and features excerpts from his award-winning Radio Radio series that aired in 1986.
He made radio magical."
He added: "When Steve was on the radio, you did not turn it down, you turned it up, you lent in to listen to what he was doing, what he was saying.