Mike Read

: This article is about the broadcaster, Mike Read. For similarly-named people with the 'ei' spelling of 'Reid', see Mike Reid.

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Mike Read (born March 1,1951) is an award-winning broadcaster from the UK, renowned for his work on both radio and TV.

Related Topics:
March 1 - 1951 - Broadcaster - Radio - TV

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Read joined BBC Radio 1 in 1978, presenting a Saturday evening show from 7.30-10pm and made his TV presenting debut in the same year when he became one of the hosts of Top Of The Pops. In 1979, he took over the Monday - Thursday evening show from 8-10pm, then in 1981 he began a successful stint on the Radio 1 breakfast show until April 1986.

Related Topics:
BBC Radio 1 - 1978 - 1979 - 1981 - April - 1986

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He combined his radio work with a second career as a children's TV presenter, hosting the popular Saturday morning programme Saturday Superstore, as well as the teatime music game show Pop Quiz, which featured rock stars answering music trivia questions. The show spawned a successful board game spin-off.

Related Topics:
Saturday Superstore - Trivia - Board game

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Read's radio career was respected and impressive but largely uneventful until he played the Frankie Goes To Hollywood single Relax on his show in 1984. Seeing the saucy imagery and lyrics on the cover, he listened more intently to the song and took action, removing it from the turntable midway through, snapping it on air and branding it "disgusting".

Related Topics:
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 1984

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The BBC backed up Read's stance by banning the song from all of its broadcasting outlets, but this led to huge public clamour and the song went to Number 1 for five weeks.

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Read is a guitarist and writer in his own right, producing songs and poems. He wrote lyrics to Simon May's music for More To Life, which was recorded by Cliff Richard. The song was used over the closing credits for the BBC TV show Trainer. He has written music and lyrics for a selection of musicals and also some accompanying books. In 1979, recording as The Trainspotters, Read released "High Rise", a single based on his Mike Read, Mike Read, 275 & 285, Mike Read, Mike Read, National-Radio-1 radio show jingle.

Related Topics:
Guitarist - Simon May - Cliff Richard - BBC - Musical

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Following on from his five years stint on Radio 1's Breakfast show, Mike took over a Sunday morning show in 1986, from 10am-12.30pm. In 1987, he took over a Sunday afternoon show from 1-3pm, where he played classic tracks and also anchored the Friday panel show Singled Out in which musicians and disc jockeys would review the new single releases.

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In his later years at Radio 1, Read presented a weekly show called The Collection which went out on Monday evenings, and still remained on the Friday panel show Singled Out (which had now reverted to its original name of Round Table).

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Read left Radio 1 in 1991. He was subsequently heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting special shows looking back at Cliff Richard's career and playing his music, but by 1992 he was the weekday drivetime presenter on Capital Gold, then a London-only station. He has since worked for Classic FM, presenting the Breakfast Show for a period starting in 1996, and for Classic Gold stations around the UK.

Related Topics:
1991 - BBC Radio 2 - 1992 - Capital Gold - London - Classic FM - 1996 - Classic Gold

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In September 1999 he presented the Breakfast Show on Jazz FM in the North of England, occassional & special shows on Spirit FM in the South of England throughout 2001 and in 2002 presented a Saturday Morning show on the Magic network around the UK, where he remained until 2004. Currently (2005) he is the weekday morning presenter on Radio London, a revival of the 1960s pirate radio station which broadcasts on 1395kHz AM (215m mediumwave) to the East of England, nationally on Sky Digital channel 940 and around the world at bigl.co.uk

Related Topics:
1999 - Jazz FM - Spirit FM - 2001 - 2002 - Magic - 2004 - 2005 - Radio London - 1960s - Pirate radio - Mediumwave - Sky Digital

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In 2003 he married long time partner Eileen, an interior designer.

Related Topics:
2003 - Interior designer

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In October 2004, his musical about Oscar Wilde closed after just one night at the Shaw Theatre in Euston after a severe critical mauling. He has also staged a musical based on the songs of Cliff Richard, and is reported to be producing one about the Village People.

Related Topics:
October - 2004 - Oscar Wilde - Village People

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He was one of the founder editors of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, the best-known UK chart reference book, and also co-wrote many of the other Guinness music books. In his own right he is the author of Major to Minor: The Rise and Fall of the Songwriter (2000) and, with Richard Havers, Read's Musical Reciter (2004), a collection of tall tales from the music business.

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In 2004, Read was one of the contestants recruited for the jungle-based ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! though his stay in the Australian outback proved short-lived — he was the first celebrity to be evicted by the viewing public.

Related Topics:
2004 - ITV - I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! - Australia - Outback

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Read is one of many celebrities who have had trouble with stalkers. Mike has been said to have stalker who has changed her name to Blue Tulip Rose Read and believes that she is married to him. Rose and Read appeared in a 1996 channel 4 documentary as part of a fame theme night.

Related Topics:
Stalkers - Blue Tulip Rose Read - 1996 - Channel 4

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