David Symonds (born 28 June 1943) is an English Radio DJ. He was among the original lineup of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

in 1967 and one of the original

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

DJs.

Early life and career

Symonds was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, the son of Pamela and Ronald Symonds, respectively author of the ''Let’s Speak French'' textbooks and a former acting head of MI5. His grandfather was the neurologist Sir Charles Symonds. He spent a year at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

reading botany. He then moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and started a career as an actor, but began working for NZBC news, reading and general announcing on television and radio. After returning to London in 1965, he spent a period at

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

and on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

where he presented shows including '' Easy Beat'' and ''Breakfast Special''. In September 1967 he was one of the initial

DJs when the station launched. Symonds resigned from Radio 1 in 1973 over a dissatisfaction with the music policy and after the introduction of a new jingle. “It said Radio One was wonderful — and it wasn’t. I couldn’t press the button with a clear conscience," he told his granddaughter, journalist Cara McGoogan, for a ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' profile in 2017. Symonds joined the newly formed

, where he hosted the station's first programme in 1973 and was the breakfast show presenter between 1974 and 1978. In the late 1970s, Symonds was programme controller of

Radio Victory Radio Victory was the independent local radio (ILR) station for Portsmouth in southern England. It was launched on 14 October 1975 and served south Hampshire, West Sussex and the Isle of Wight initially until 1986, with various later reincarnat ...

in Portsmouth, as well as serving as a

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

between 1978 and 1979, and again from 1985 to 1988. He also presented ''Much More Music'' on weekday afternoons on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

between 1979 and 1982. In 1981, the controller of Radio 2 told him he was being taken off air without giving any reason. He presented his last programme naked, a stunt which was reported in the media at the time. He was replaced by

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...

. Between 1988 and 1993, Symonds hosted a weekend show for

Capital Gold The Capital Gold radio station started in London in 1988 on Capital Radio's AM frequency, after the Independent Broadcasting Authority had urged stations to end simulcasting (broadcasting the same programmes simultaneously on AM and FM) and t ...

. In 1995, Symonds moved to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and set up his own radio station, Coast FM. In 2011, he sold Coast FM in Cyprus and 2013 moved to France with his young Dominican wife, Bacilia Symonds, his third wife. ln France, he set up an internet radio station The Roolz. On 14 February 2021, despite being too old to be a baby boomer, Symonds was one of the team of DJs who launched Boom Radio, a station aimed at the baby boom generation, found online and as part of five DAB multiplexes (in various British cities). At Boom Radio, Symonds is part of a presenter line-up which also includes ex-Capital DJs

Graham Dene Graham Dene (born 7 April 1949) is a British radio personality. After a period as a disc jockey on Edgware General Hospital's radio, and at United Biscuits Network, he became famous in the London area as Capital Radio's breakfast presenter in th ...

Nicky Horne Nicky Horne (born 3 September 1950) is an English DJ, who has worked for a variety of radio stations, including Capital Radio. Career Horne worked as a road manager for Emperor Rosko in 1969, before presenting shows on BBC Radio 1, from 19 ...

and David 'Kid' Jensen, along with David Hamilton and

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

(from 1970s children's television show ''

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

''). On 10 August 2021, Symonds announced on Facebook that he had been sacked from his Saturday night show on Boom Radio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symonds, David 1943 births Living people BBC Radio 1 presenters Radio and television announcers English radio DJs English radio presenters Capital (radio network)