David Jensen - BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

In 1976 he joined the BBC's pop network, Radio 1, initially hosting a Saturday morning show from 10am-midday, but sitting in for many other DJs, and eventually graduating to a weekday late afternoon/early evening show in the spring of 1978 from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. He kept his profile high through regular appearances presenting Top of the Pops, and championed many acts who went on to achieve huge commercial success, notably The Police and Gary Numan. He was effectively a halfway house between the specialist music-orientated DJs such as John Peel and the daytime "personality jocks" such as Dave Lee Travis. In the late 1970s he also wrote a column for the new Daily Star newspaper. In September 1980, Jensen left Radio 1 to work for the then-new CNN in Atlanta, but he returned a year later, presenting the weekday evening show from 8-10pm (later extended to run from 7-10 pm). Soon afterwards he dropped the "Kid" name, although he would still be popularly known by it for many years to come. His mid-evening show was dominated by indie-rock, but also featured interviews with mainstream acts such as Duran Duran, and was the first show to champion Frankie Goes to Hollywood, long before their commercial success. He remained a regular Top of the Pops presenter and struck up a legendary partnership with John Peel.