Annie Avril Nightingale was an English radio and television broadcaster.
61 Facts About Annie Nightingale
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Annie Nightingale was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970 and the first female presenter for BBC Television's The Old Grey Whistle Test where she stayed for four years.
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Annie Nightingale was the longest serving broadcaster in BBC Radio 1's history and held the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a female radio presenter.
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Anne Avril Annie Nightingale was born in Osterley, Middlesex, England, on 1 April 1940, the daughter and only child of Celia and Basil Annie Nightingale.
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Annie Nightingale attended St Catherine's School, Twickenham beginning at age five, although her family was not Catholic.
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Annie Nightingale became a fan of blues music as a teenager.
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Annie Nightingale later attended Lady Eleanor Holles School, Hampton, Middlesex, and the School of Journalism at the Polytechnic of Central London.
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Annie Nightingale began her career as a journalist in Brighton, East Sussex.
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Annie Nightingale spent a short time at the Brighton and Hove Gazette as a general reporter, and then moved to become the only woman in the newsroom at The Argus in Brighton.
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Annie Nightingale joined Associated-Rediffusion TV and hosted her own show in the 1960s, That's For Me.
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Annie Nightingale presented the pop culture show, booked guest musicians who had not previously been seen on television such as the Yardbirds, and introduced the Who's first promotion film.
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Annie Nightingale put on fashion shows and took part in them, notably a charity show for Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, at Arundel Castle, West Sussex.
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Annie Nightingale became a well-known fashion model at the time, with sessions with photographers including Philip Townsend and Dezo Hoffmann.
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Annie Nightingale specialised in writing about teen issues, burgeoning feminist perspectives and social issues.
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Annie Nightingale wrote for the music magazine Disc and Music Echo.
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Annie Nightingale was the pop music columnist and feature writer for Cosmopolitan when it launched in the UK in 1970.
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Early in the 1970s, Annie Nightingale hosted a documentary film series for BBC One entitled Before The Event.
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Annie Nightingale played a talk show TV host and was billed as playing the part of herself.
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Annie Nightingale worked with BBC TV on The Old Grey Whistle Test for four years.
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Annie Nightingale interviewed artists for the show, including Mick Jagger, Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa, Dusty Springfield and Paul Simon.
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In December 1980 Annie Nightingale presented a special edition immediately after the murder of John Lennon.
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Annie Nightingale worked further with the BBC team, presenting long-running shows such as Late Night In Concert in addition to her weekly The Old Grey Whistle Test slot and Christmas specials.
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For Live Aid in 1985, Annie Nightingale was commissioned by the Live Aid team to be the BBC's sole presenter at the Philadelphia US special.
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Annie Nightingale commentated and presented, introducing artists including Duran Duran, Madonna, the Pretenders, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and Crosby Stills and Nash.
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Between 1989 and 1990, Annie Nightingale hosted an interview TV series for ITV entitled One To One.
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Annie Nightingale conducted in-depth interviews with Debbie Harry, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Peter Gabriel, John Taylor of Duran Duran, and Status Quo.
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Annie Nightingale briefly worked at Radio Luxembourg in the 1960s.
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Annie Nightingale applied for a job as a Radio 1 DJ but was firmly rejected on the grounds of being a woman.
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Annie Nightingale persisted for three years, and was only given a chance to audition by her friends The Beatles and their staff at Apple Records.
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Annie Nightingale was given a trial run of six programmes before she was signed as the first female DJ on Radio 1.
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Annie Nightingale started at BBC Radio 1 on 8 February 1970 with a Sunday evening show.
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Annie Nightingale remained the only female DJ at Radio 1 for 12 years, from 1970 until 1982 when she was joined by Janice Long.
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Annie Nightingale hosted a Sunday afternoon request show on Radio 1 from September 1975 till 1979.
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From 1979 till 1982, Annie Nightingale hosted a breakthrough Radio 1 Friday night music chat show, featuring live studio guests including Clive James, Rowan Atkinson, Michael Palin, Sting, Duran Duran and the Who.
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Annie Nightingale opened the show by playing the intro of the show's first song before saying "Hi" in the last second before the vocals started.
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Annie Nightingale credited Bernie Andrews, the producer for the team, for his success with this show, and later Pete Ritzema.
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Annie Nightingale hosted a live Friday night slot, produced by another Radio 1 producer, Jeff Griffin.
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Between 1989 and 1991, in addition to continuing her Radio 1 show, Annie Nightingale hosted a Sunday lunchtime show featuring live phone-ins for Greater London Radio.
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In 1994, Annie Nightingale moved to a weekend overnight dance music show, initially called The Chill Out Zone, which she was still presenting at the time of her death in 2024.
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Annie Nightingale regularly DJed live at clubs and festivals around the UK and Europe.
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On 30 September 2007, the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1 was celebrated, Nightingale co-hosted a special return of the Request Show with Annie Mac featuring contributions from musicians such as Paul McCartney and Chemical Ed, excerpts from the original show and Nightingale's recollections of regular contributors such as "Night Owl of Croydon".
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In 2013, Annie Nightingale was featured in the BBC Radio 4 programme Getting on Air: the Female Pioneers, presented by Jane Garvey.
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In 2015, it was revealed that Annie Nightingale had been approached by the BBC to sign a letter warning Prime Minister David Cameron that his plans to reform the corporation would damage it.
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In 2015, Annie Nightingale was commissioned by Paul McCartney to write the accompanying fully illustrated book as part of the deluxe re-release of his classic albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.
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In July 2020, Annie Nightingale appeared as a guest on the long-running BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs, choosing a saxophone as her luxury item and "Space Oddity" as the one track she would save if marooned on a tropical island.
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Annie Nightingale discovered female and non-binary DJs, three who were given a special one-off slot on a Saturday night.
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Annie Nightingale continued presenting this on an occasional basis, usually on bank holidays.
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In 2020, Annie Nightingale celebrated her 50th anniversary in broadcasting with a series of BBC specials, and a compilation album on Ministry of Sound.
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Annie Nightingale was the station's first female DJ, and the longest-serving broadcaster on the station of any gender.
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Annie Nightingale held the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a female radio presenter.
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Annie Nightingale died on 11 January 2024, aged 83, following a short illness.
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Annie Nightingale compiled three albums: Annie on One, in which she included the then unsigned and undiscovered Daft Punk, her own instalment of the Breaks DJ mix series Y4K, and 'Masterpiece' on the Ministry of Sound compilation series of that name.
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Annie Nightingale recorded an audiobook version to coincide with the hardback publication.
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Annie Nightingale was the first woman to host a rock music TV show singlehandedly.
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In 2002 Annie Nightingale was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to radio broadcasting.
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Annie Nightingale was made an honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Westminster in December 2012.
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Annie Nightingale was an ambassador at Prince Charles' The Prince's Trust and a patron of Sound Women, an organisation to promote women in broadcasting.
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Already Member of the Order of the British Empire, Annie Nightingale was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to radio broadcasting.
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Annie Nightingale is the only BBC Radio 1 broadcaster ever to receive this honour.
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Annie Nightingale was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Audio Production Awards.
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In 2022, Annie Nightingale was included in 100 Voices that represented significant BBC figures to celebrate the corporation's centenary.