Stephen Richard Wright (born 26 August 1954) is an English

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

and

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

, credited for introducing the zoo format on British radio, with its zany, multi-personality approach. He presented ''

Steve Wright in the Afternoon ''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' was the name given to English DJ Steve Wright's popular radio shows. Wright's afternoon show was known by that name from 1989. Wright presented the afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 from 30 March 1981 to 24 Decem ...

'' for 12 years on

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 ...

and 23 years 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. ...

, two of the BBC's national radio stations, the latter being most popular station in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, ending on 30 September 2022. He continues to present his ''Sunday Love Songs'' weekend mid-morning show on Radio 2. On BBC Television Wright has hosted ''Home Truths'', ''The Steve Wright People Show'', ''Auntie's TV Favourites'', ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' and ''

TOTP2 ''Top of the Pops 2'' (also known as ''TOTP2'') is a British television music show broadcast on BBC Two showing archive footage from the long-running ''Top of the Pops'' show, some dating back to the 1960s when the programme first aired on Britis ...

''. Wright has won awards, including Best DJ of the Year as voted by the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'' Readers Poll and by ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' in 1994. In 1998 he was awarded TRIC Personality of the Year for his radio programmes.

Early life and career

Born in Greenwich, South London, the elder of two boys in a working-class family, Wright was raised in New Cross. His childhood ambition was to work in the entertainment business. His father, Richard Wright, was a tailor and the manager of the Burton's store in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. Wright was a quiet child, and never very scholarly. He was educated at

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station ** Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the P ...

High School for Boys, near

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. Steve occasionally broadcast a nascent radio show over the school speaker system from the school stock cupboard. Wright originally joined the BBC staff in the early 1970s working as a returns clerk in the Gramophone Library in Egton House, opposite Broadcasting House, in London before leaving to start broadcasting in 1976 at Thames Valley Radio

Radio 210 Heart Berkshire (formerly 2-Ten FM) was an Independent Local Radio station, serving Berkshire and North Hampshire from studios in Reading. About Launched as Radio 210 (Two-One-Oh), the station commenced broadcasting in March 1976 on its mediu ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

alongside Mike Read. In 1979 Wright got his big break at Radio Luxembourg, where he presented his own nightly show, presenting a Saturday evening show, then Saturday morning.

BBC Radio 1

In 1980, Wright joined

, taking over a Saturday evening slot before moving to Saturday mornings later that year.

''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' (March 1981 to December 1993)

Wright moved to daytime radio with ''

'' in 1981, later introducing the zoo format to the UK. In 1984, Wright took over a Sunday morning show entitled ''Steve Wright on Sunday'', which meant he presented weekday afternoons Mondays to Thursdays, with Mark Page and Paul Jordan presenting Friday afternoon's show. In 1986 his Sunday morning show ended, and he returned to five afternoons a week. The original incarnation of ''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' ran from 1981 to 1993 on BBC Radio 1. The show became known in its Radio 1 incarnation for its cast of telephone characters created and performed by

Gavin McCoy Gavin McCoy is an English radio broadcaster born and educated 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, ...

, Peter Dickson, Richard Easter and Phil Cornwell. Like his mentor,

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

, Wright went out of his way to be irreverent, including stories taken from the '' Weekly World News''. The success led to a hit single, ''I'll Be Back'', released under the name

Arnee and the Terminaters The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as '' Endangered'' in the IUCN Red List since ...

. In later years the style changed, dumping most of the characters and instead having a "

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

" format, with spoof guests and comedy sketches. A "posse" of producers and radio staff joined in. This format was new to British radio and marked the beginning of the marginalisation (and eventual departure) of several established Radio 1 DJs over the years that followed.

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

' 1986 hit single "

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reac ...

" was inspired by Wright playing " I'm Your Man" by

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

following a news report about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on his show.

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerou ...

and

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since th ...

, who had been listening to the broadcast, viewed this as an insensitive and disrespectful act.

''Radio 1 Breakfast'' (January 1994 to April 1995)

Wright and his Posse moved to '' The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'' in 1994. He resigned from the Breakfast Show in 1995 due to differences with the

management; he was unhappy with the plummeting listening figures of the station due to its restructuring under new controller Matthew Bannister, which led to many of the more established DJs leaving, or being sacked, around this time.

Commercial radio

Wright was picked up by the new station

Talk Radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

in 1995, where he presented a Saturday morning show. He presented various syndicated shows on Sunday mornings on a number of other British commercial stations.

BBC World Service

Wright joined the BBC World Service on 5 January 1999, presenting a 1 hour programme, ''Wright Around The World'' This show ran every Saturday afternoon until the final show on 25th October 2003. This meant that he was now on BBC Radio 7 days a week.

BBC Radio 2

He joined BBC Radio 2 in March 1996, where he began presenting ''Steve Wright's Saturday Show'' (1996–1999) and ''Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs'' (1996–present), and his afternoon show beginning in July 1999. In 2006, Wright was said to earn £440,000 a year at Radio 2.

''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' (July 1999 to September 2022)

In mid-1999 following a shake-up at Radio 2, ''

'' was revived, with Wright taking over this slot from Ed Stewart.

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

took over Wright's Saturday morning slot. Wright presented his Radio 2 version of ''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' on weekday afternoons from 2pm to 5pm, alongside

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians *T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs * Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...

and

Janey Lee Grace Janey Lee Grace (born 4 March 1960) is an English singer, author, television (VH-1 and ITV) presenter and radio disc jockey, first with Virgin Radio as a travel reporter and then graduating to her own late night show for the station. Car ...

, who have both also occasionally appeared as relief presenters on the station, as well as traffic reporter Bobbie Pryor. Another frequent contributor, "The Old Woman", was played by Joyce Frost who died in November 2016. On 1 July 2022 Wright announced that the show would end in September, to be replaced by a new show with

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

. Wright would remain on Radio 2 to continue hosting ''Sunday Love Songs'', along with a new ''Serious Jockin'' podcast, seasonal specials and other projects. The final show was broadcast on 30 September 2022, with Wright playing "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen as his last record.

''Sunday Love Songs'' (March 1996 to present)

''Sunday Love Songs'', which Wright presents solo between 9am and 11am, features a blend of classic love songs, dedications and real-life romance stories. In 2013 it was revealed that the show was recorded on a Friday afternoon. The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee said the failure to inform listeners breached guidelines on accuracy and interacting with the audience.

Career outside radio

Wright presented a BBC TV series, ''The Steve Wright People Show'', from 1994 to 1995. His next stint in television was as the narrator and writer of the retro pop show '' Top of the Pops 2'' between 1997 and 2009. The last episode of ''TOTP2'' he presented was the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

special broadcast on 27 June 2009; Mark Radcliffe presented the next episode, which was the 2009 Christmas special broadcast on 23 December 2009.

UK Chart Hits

Whilst a radio presenter on BBC Radio 1, Wright was involved in a number of UK chart hits with members of his Afternoon Posse (the drive time radio team) including the UK Top 10 hit "I'll Be Back" which was performed in character by Mike Woolmans as ' Arnee' and which featured Wright as one of his backing band, 'the Terminaters', on the 29 August 1991 edition of BBC One's ''Top of the Pops''. * Young Steve & The Afternoon Boys - "I'm Alright" (RCA Records 1982, single) UK Singles Chart number 40 * Steve Wright And The Sisters Of Soul - "Get Some Therapy" (RCA Records 1983, single) UK Singles Chart number 75 * Steve Wright - "The Gay Cavalieros (The Story So Far...)" (MCA 1984, single) UK Singles Chart number 61 in December 1984. * Mr. Angry With Steve Wright - "I'm So Angry" (MCA 1985, single) UK Singles Chart number 90 in August 1985. *

- "I'll Be Back" (Epic Records 1991, single) UK Singles Chart number 5 In addition to these records, Mr Food's number 62 single from 1990 "And That's Before Me Tea!", was based on a jingle by Dave Sanderson recorded for Wright's afternoon show.

Personal life

Little is known about Wright's personal life. He was married to Cyndi Robinson until they divorced in 1999, and has two children. He is allergic to

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premie ...

s and

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from '' Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum usin ...

Bibliography

*Steve Wright ''Steve Wright's Book of the Amazing But True: Trivia for the Connoisseur'', Pocket Books (1995) *Steve Wright ''Just Keep Talking: Story of the Chat Show'', ‎ Simon & Schuster (1997) *Steve Wright ''Steve Wright's Book of Factoids'', HarperCollins Publishers (UK), (2005) *Steve Wright ''Steve Wright's Further Factoids'', HarperCollins Publishers (UK), (2007)

References

External links

*
''Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs''
(BBC Radio 2)

* ttp://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio2/steve_wright_page.htm Radio Rewind: Steve Wright – profile, pics and audio clips – BBC Radio 2br>'Sid the Manager' site
* archive.org: Steve Wright in the Afternoon Airchecks {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Steve 1954 births Living people English radio DJs English radio presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters BBC Radio 1 presenters People from Greenwich Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters Top of the Pops presenters