Christopher Needs,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(12 March 1954"Chris Needs" ''BBC Radio Wales'' May 2007 Needs said the song "

Here in My Heart "Here in My Heart" is a popular song written by Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson, and Bill Borrelli, first published in 1952. A recording of the song by Italian-American singer Al Martino made history as the first number one hit on the UK Singles Chart, ...

" by

Al Martino Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...

was from the year he was born. – 26 July 2020) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

radio broadcaster, best known as a regular evening and daytime presenter on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

Personal life

Born in

Cwmafan Cwmafan ( cy, Cwmafan; ), sometimes known as Cwmavon in English, is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It had a population of 5,603 in 2001, increasing slightly to 5,615 at ...

near

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, he was educated at local schools. During his teenage years he was

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

by someone whom he refused to identify, and consequently tried to commit suicide. Chris Needs had known that he was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

while a teenager, and his husband, Gabe Cameron, often answered listeners' calls to the show.

Health and charity work

Needs established and headed the ''Chris Needs Hospital Appeal'', a registered charity that supports South Wales hospitals. For his charity work and services to broadcasting he was awarded an

by Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...

. Shortly after his mother died in 2001, Needs began having symptoms of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. Eventually, when he went to his local

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

to have himself checked, his sugar level was 61 mmol/L (1,098 mg/dL). Subsequently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, he acted as Diabetes Cymru's celebrity ambassador. In 2016, Needs lost six stone as a result of an ulcerated throat. His experiences were followed in an S4C documentary. Needs died on 26 July 2020 from a heart condition, aged 66.

Career

Needs was an accomplished pianist who had accompanied

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

and appeared on S4C programmes such as '' Noson Lawen''. His other jobs included: language translator, actor, tour guide, and all-round vocal / piano entertainer, and through his work he has lived in Spain,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. He spoke English,

, Spanish and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and was learning German. He started his radio career with the Touch AM radio station before co-presenting the mid-morning magazine show ''Live Time'' on Radio Wales while also appearing on S4C television. From 2002 he had his own show, ''The Friendly Garden Programme'', broadcast every week night. In the period up to 2003, Needs was joined nightly on his radio show by his friend Nikki-Sue, a show singer and Tina Turner impersonator. Most of the people who called into his show belonged to an organisation called ''The Chris Needs Friendly Garden Association''. ''The Garden'' as it became known, claimed almost 50,000 members, mainly from Wales but also from as far away as

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The great majority of members were women, and everyone was given a membership number; in the case of men, this would be prefixed with M - for "Mere Male"! Members could even enrol their pets as members; their numbers were prefixed with A for Animal member.

Awards

*1996 –

Sony Radio Academy Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

Silver Award for Best Regional Presenter. *2009 – Variety Club of Great Britain Lifetime Achievement Award.

Books

*2007 – ''Like It Is: My Autobiography'' *2008 – ''The Jenkins's's's's's'' *2009 – ''And There's More ... My Autobiography – part 2'' *2013 - ''Highs And Lows''

References

External links

Official WebsiteMySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Needs, Chris 1950s births 2020 deaths People from Neath Port Talbot Welsh LGBT entertainers British LGBT broadcasters Gay entertainers Welsh radio personalities BBC Radio Wales presenters Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century LGBT people