Nigel Ogden (born 1954) is an English

theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements ...

ist, known for presenting and performing on the BBC Radio 2 programme ''

The Organist Entertains ''The Organist Entertains'' was a long-running music programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The 30 minute programme focused on the organ in its many guises, and played recordings and live broadcasts of theatre organs, pipe organs and electroni ...

'' between 1980 and the end of the show's run in 2018. Ogden was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, the son of a church organist, and had several years of piano lessons, before taking up the organ at the age of twelve. As a child, his family took him to

Blackpool Tower Ballroom Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

to hear performances on the

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ there, by

Reginald Dixon Reginald Herbert Dixon, MBE, ARCM (16 October 1904 – 9 May 1985) was an English theatre organist who was primarily known for his position as organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, a position he held from March 1930 ...

. He studied to be a teacher, then worked as a sales demonstrator for an organ retail business in Hyde, Cheshire, where he later started his own business selling organs. From 1972, he started appearing on ''The Organist Entertains'', eventually taking over from Robin Richmond as presenter in March 1980. Ogden is also a composer and a touring musician, playing both theatre and

church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

s, and was the organist for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

production of

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

's '' Lipstick on Your Collar''. Ogden was awarded with a

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Gold Badge of merit on 17 October 2012. He has released a number of CDs. After the final episode of ''The Organist Entertains'' was broadcast in 2018, Ogden began to present regularly on The Organist Encores podcast.

References

External links

Nigel Ogden's Organ Collection
- some of the organs played by Ogden during ''

''
Ogden's touring schedule
at OrganRecitals.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Nigel English organists British male organists Theatre organists Musicians from Manchester BBC Radio 2 presenters English composers English radio presenters 1954 births Living people