BRMB
In 1974, he was hired to be the first sports editor at Birmingham's new independent (i.e. non-BBC) radio station BRMB, one of a handful of commercial stations to launch at that time. With BRMB striving to offer something different from the established BBC radio stations, Butler was encouraged to act naturally on the air, emphasising rather than hiding his accent.
After being sent on a tour of radio stations in Canada and the U.S., Butler noticed the success of the forthright North American broadcasters and, back in the UK, he began to develop a similar aggressive manner on the air, offering controversial opinions and arguing with callers to his shows. In another innovation imported from the across the Atlantic, Butler began to offer sports fans the opportunity to call into his shows with their opinions of their teams’ performances, giving birth to his boast that he was the inventor of the football phone-in.
Butler's much repeated catchphrase "On 'yer bike" was used to cut off callers whose opinions he disagreed with, whilst his competitions would tax listeners with questions such as "How many yards of elastic are there in a golf ball?". During live coverage of football games, fans were encouraged to "get out their prayer mats" in order to help their ailing teams. Similar encouragement was offered through frequent playing of “The Butler Theme Tune” (in reality Hurricane Smith's "Theme from an Unmade Silent Movie").
Butler's outspokenness and unique radio shows soon made him one of Birmingham's most recognised voices. It helped that the late 1970s and early 80s were a particularly good time for local sport, with five of the West Midlands' teams enjoying top flight football. Butler and his team of reporters were also able to cover memorable European campaigns for Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Well known locally, Butler's abrasive style was also brought to national attention after being worked into the routines of Birmingham comic Jasper Carrott, who often liked to poke fun at the homespun nature of BRMB's programming at the time.
In 1984, Butler was sacked from BRMB after a row with fellow broadcaster Brian Savin, who is disabled. Savin had sent a note to Butler complaining about coverage of a cricket match overrunning into his show; Butler was said to have found the content of the note offensive and confronted Savin, pulling him out of his chair during the ensuing argument. The dismissal of such a high profile personality was front page news in Birmingham, and programmes on BRMB were severely affected as some of Butler's former colleagues walked out on strike.
Butler later commented that the matter had been blown out of all proportion, claiming that he remained friends with Savin. He preferred to attribute the sacking to a general falling-out with BRMB management.
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