Stuart Henry (24 February 1942 – 24 November 1995) was a Scottish
disc jockey on
pirate radio station
Radio Scotland from January 1966 to September 1967. He then worked at
BBC Radio 1 from its start in 1967. Between 1967 and 1969 he was one of the
regular presenters of BBC's ''
Top of the Pops''. He left the
BBC in 1974 to join
Radio Luxembourg.
Biography
Early life and acting career
Born in Edinburgh Henry attended
Stewart's Melville College in the city after which he trained at
Glasgow College of Dramatic Art. His early career started as an actor for six years having had appearances in ''
Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' and ''
Z-Cars'', and films such as the 1970 musical ''
Toomorrow'' in which he played the part of the compere.
Pirate DJ work, Radio 1 and Radio Luxembourg
On 1 January, 1966 he started in radio and became a pirate DJ with Radio Scotland although suffered from seasickness on the ship, named ''The Comet'', and so was delighted to accept a new job, just over a year later, with the new BBC station Radio 1. On his shows, whilst working on Radio 1, he enabled the broadcaster to find missing young people and called it ''She's Leaving Home'' using the tune recorded by
The Beatles called
She's Leaving Home, a track from their 1967 album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...
. He would encourage young people to contact the station by telephone enabling their parents to be aware that they were safe and well. He also presented a programme on the station called ''Midday Spin'' and a successful Saturday morning show called ''Noise at Nine''.
The opening theme music to his Radio 1 shows was
Soul Finger a 1967 track recorded by the
Bar Kays. At the peak of his career with the station, in the early seventies, his show attracted audiences regularly of more than 11 million.
In later years with Radio 1 he began to slur his speech, caused by his condition with
multiple scelrosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
and he was eventually sacked in 1974 after which he then went to work with
Radio Luxembourg in 1975. His speech deteriorated further until his wife, Ollie, assisted with his presentations and newsreading. His show became known as ''The Stu and Ollie Show''. He remained at Radio Luxembourg for 12 years until 1987.
Personal life and death
Henry married Ollie (1943-2020), a former model, in 1976. He suffered for many years with multiple sclerosis, the illness accounting for his later distinctive rather halting speech delivery. Ollie dedicated the remaining years of their married life to providing round-the-clock care for Henry.
[
Henry died on 24 November 1995. On 2 December 2004 he was posthumously inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame, honouring his outstanding contribution to UK radio. His wife Ollie died in Wales on 12th August 2020 aged 77.
]
Filmography
References
External links
Radio Academy biography of Stuart Henry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Stuart
1942 births
1995 deaths
Entertainers from Edinburgh
British radio DJs
Pirate radio personalities
Offshore radio broadcasters
People educated at Stewart's Melville College
Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters
20th-century British musicians
BBC Radio 1 presenters
Top of the Pops presenters