17 Facts About Johnny Beerling

John William Beerling was born on 12 April 1937 and is a British radio producer and station controller.

Johnny Beerling attended the Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent.

Johnny Beerling began his radio career during national service from 1955 to 1957, when he ran a radio station for the Royal Air Force station British Forces Aden in the Aden Protectorate, acting as its station manager, studio engineer and morning DJ.

Johnny Beerling brought in Simon Dee from the pirate radio scene and he was the first producer of Terry Wogan.

Johnny Beerling was one of the few employees of the BBC Light Programme in the mid-1960s to regard the model of offshore pirate radio as one which the BBC would have to follow and to that end he managed to take a trip to visit Radio London to see for himself how they operated.

Johnny Beerling was at the forefront of this process, recruiting the DJ talent and devising the jingles, subsequently producing the first ever show with Tony Blackburn.

Johnny Beerling became an Executive Producer in 1972 and the following year conceived and launched the show for which he is best known, the Radio 1 Roadshow.

Johnny Beerling oversaw the transfer of the network from AM to a better quality FM transmission system.

Johnny Beerling introduced comedy onto the airwaves of Radio 1 with shows like The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Victor Lewis Smith.

Johnny Beerling rarely socialised with any of the DJs or staff at Radio 1.

Johnny Beerling took enforced early retirement, aged 56, from the station in October 1993, and many of the station's veteran DJs either resigned or were sacked when Matthew Bannister succeeded him as controller.

Johnny Beerling publicly criticised the new regime at the BBC, specifically Director-General John Birt.

Johnny Beerling was involved with the Radio Data System from 1985 onwards when the BBC appointed him Chairman of the Programme Experts Group tasked with promoting the system worldwide and ensuring compatible radios became generally available.

Johnny Beerling's responsibility extended across European territories, via the European Broadcasting Union, which represented the public broadcasters for Western Europe.

Johnny Beerling commissioned the design of the RDS logo and encouraged car manufacturers to factory-fit compatible radios in their vehicles.

Johnny Beerling remained involved as Chairman of the RDS Forum for 30 years until he resigned in 2016.

Johnny Beerling became a governor of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in May 1993, and in the same month was presented with a Sony Award for Outstanding Services to the Radio Industry.