Philip Clift Sayer (18 May 1953 – 14 April 2016) was an English

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, newsreader and radio presenter. He was one half of the Sayer Hamilton voice studio, based in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, Greater Manchester, in partnership with his wife, Elinor Hamilton.

Early life and career

Sayer was born Philip Clift, on 18 May 1953, in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Norfolk, the son of Cyril Clift, a

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

. His parents’ marriage was unhappy, however, and his mother Hazel moved the family to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, where she remarried. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School at Great Crosby on Merseyside, where he was a member of the successful public speaking team. From 1976 Sayer, having adopted his stepfather's surname as a stage name, was a newsreader on

BBC North West Tonight ''BBC North West Tonight'' is the BBC's regional television news programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 1.30pm (as ''North West Today''), 6.30pm and 10.30pm, with shorter bu ...

, where he remained for ten years. After that he was a presenter on several radio stations, including

Piccadilly Radio Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...

, where he began in 1976,

Red Rose Radio Red Rose Radio was the first UK Independent Local Radio station to be licensed for Lancashire by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Although a company of that name was incorporated in 1978 (as Red Rose Radio Limited), the licence was awa ...

BBC GMR BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

(now

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford ...

), Radio City, Jazz FM and Smooth FM. His voice was used at many British railway stations. The provision of announcements regarding train arrivals, departures and cancellations or delays, as well as general information for the travelling public. Sayer would probably be best remembered for his voice, on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

system, warning passengers to "mind the gap" and "stand clear of the doors please". He also announced the trains for

South West Trains Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017. SWT op ...

(now South Western Railway). Sayer's obituary in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' suggested that the "'mind the gap'... warning is one of the system's most distinctive features". Rail staff referred to his voice as "

Metal Mickey Metal Mickey is a fictional five-foot-tall robot, as well as the name of a spin-off television show starring the same character. The robot character was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. The character of Metal Mickey first appe ...

". His voice may also be heard in announcements on

The Smiler The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. With ...

rollercoaster at

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

and on the audio at the Beatles Story Exhibition, Albert Dock Liverpool.

Death

On 4 April 2016 it was announced, on the Sayer Hamilton website, that due to a rapid and unexpected decline in Sayer's health, the company was temporarily closing for business and that Sayer would be retiring. Sayer died of

oesophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

on 14 April. Announcing his death on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, his wife wrote that "We are sorry to announce that this service terminates here", echoing the wording of a train announcement. He had four children, two from his first marriage and twin boys from his marriage to Hamilton.

References

External links

*
Biography at BBC Northwest Tonight
1953 births 2016 deaths English male voice actors Media personalities from Norwich BBC North West newsreaders and journalists People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby {{UK-voice-actor-stub