Janice Berry, known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio.
31 Facts About Janice Long
2.
Janice Long appeared on other BBC Radio stations, such as BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio WM, and BBC Radio 6 Music, and was a regular presenter on the television chart show Top of the Pops.
3.
Between 2005 and 2021, Long was the Presenter of Moseley Folk and Arts Festival.
4.
Janice Long Chegwin was born on 5 April 1955 in Liverpool, to Margaret and Colin Chegwin, who encouraged their three children to pursue an interest in stage performance.
5.
Janice Long became a station assistant at BBC Radio Merseyside in Liverpool in 1979.
6.
Janice Long was the first woman to have her own daily show on BBC Radio 1.
7.
On television, Janice Long was a regular presenter of Top of the Pops between January 1983 and August 1988, and was the first woman to become a regular host.
8.
Janice Long often presented it in partnership with John Peel, with whom she struck up a solid friendship.
9.
Janice Long returned to co-present the final show in July 2006.
10.
In 2021, Janice Long was among a number of ex-Radio 1 DJs hired by Viacom International Studios to countdown the Official Charts Company's retro hits of the year on Channel 5's Britain's Favourite Songs, with Janice Long first being heard on the 1982 episode which featured Toyah Willcox, Paul Gambaccini and Clare Grogan.
11.
Janice Long left the breakfast show but continued to work for the station, where she took over a weekend show.
12.
Janice Long became involved with XFM in London when it had a Restricted Service Licence, and played a crucial part in its bid for a permanent licence.
13.
In 1995, Janice Long moved back up to Liverpool, where she set up a radio station called Crash FM with Bernie Connor.
14.
Janice Long promoted a number of acts through live music sessions on her show including Adele, The Zutons, Primal Scream, Kasabian, Amy Macdonald, Hard-Fi, Faithless, The Manic Street Preachers, Marillion, Josh Ritter, The Stranglers, Paul Weller, Moby, The Dandy Warhols, Stereophonics, Aslan and a significant number of new and unsigned bands such as Elle S'Appelle, Vijay Kishore, Damien Dempsey, Senses and Sam Isaac.
15.
Amy Winehouse performed her first radio session after Janice Long was the first presenter to give her airtime.
16.
Janice Long left her regular BBC Radio 2 slot after further changes to its schedule.
17.
Janice Long returned to BBC Radio 2 standing in for Jo Whiley for a week commencing 10 April 2017, and was given her own series called A Long Walk With.
18.
Each week, Janice Long walked through the streets of a different city with a popstar from the 1980s or 1990s as they remembered the key places, characters and music that shaped their pop career.
19.
Janice Long took time away from the programme from 11 December 2017 following the death of her younger brother, Keith Chegwin.
20.
Janice Long returned to the show on 18 December 2017.
21.
Janice Long presented her final show on BBC Radio Wales on 9 December 2021 and Adam Walton presented a BBC Radio Wales's tribute show to Janice Long on 27 December 2021.
22.
In January 2019, Janice Long joined Bauer Radio when their 'Bauer City 2' stations were rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio.
23.
The station's tribute show to Long was broadcast from 1pm to 4pm on New Year's Day 2022 and was presented by Alex Lester, who contributed his reminiscences to the show.
24.
Janice Long appeared on The X Factor, Countdown and The Biography Channel, and provided the voiceover for the documentary Desperate Midwives on BBC Three television channel.
25.
Janice Long was one of the personalities at Live Aid in July 1985, in which she mainly interviewed the performers backstage.
26.
Janice Long won the DJ celebrity special of quiz show The Weakest Link, shown on BBC One on 5 September 2009.
27.
Janice Long presented The Janice Long Review Show on Vintage TV and The 2ube on local TV station Made in Liverpool.
28.
Janice Long received an honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University, West Lancashire, in 2018, in recognition of her commitment to music.
29.
Janice Long was a patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
30.
In 1977 Janice married Trevor Long in Liverpool; they divorced in 1982.
31.
Janice Long died at home from pneumonia on 25 December 2021, at the age of 66, surrounded by her family.