Peter Powell (disc jockey)

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Peter Powell (born Peter James Barnard-Powell in Birmingham, 24 March 1951) was a popular BBC Radio 1 disc jockey in the late 1970s and 1980s.

[edit] Early career

Powell was educated at Uppingham School, a boys' Independent school in Southern England. He did not go to university. Powell began his broadcasting career as the first voice on air when BBC Radio Birmingham launched in 1970, and then had a brief spell on Radio 1 in 1972.

He then went to Radio Luxembourg before rejoining Radio 1 in 1977. Almost immediately after his arrival at the station he made his debut as a Top of the Pops presenter, joining his Radio 1 colleagues on the roster.

[edit] Radio 1 Career

Powell began as a weekend presenter, presenting a Sunday Morning show from 10am-1pm, before moving to Saturday mornings in October 1978 again from 10am-1pm.

In 1980 he took over the weekday afternoon show from 3.30-5.30pm, before taking over the weekday teatime slot in 1981 from 5-7pm. The show went out from 4.30-7pm in 1982.

His best remembered feature is 5 45s at 5.45, in which he would (obviously) play 5 new singles at 5.45 pm, but he also featured the Record Race, in which listeners had to identify songs purely from their intros, and every Tuesday he would run through the new singles chart which had been revealed at lunchtime - the first chance many young listeners got to hear the new Top 40. He also featured the album chart on Wednesday evenings.

A lesser-known fact about Powell's career is that Pete Tong - now one of Radio 1's longest-serving DJs - made his first appearance on the network on Powell's show in the early 1980s, presenting a dance music feature. Powell was an early champion of a number of hugely successful mainstream 1980s acts, including Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club.

From 1984 until his departure from the station on 25 September 1988 Powell presented the weekend breakfast show from 8-10am. Throughout his 11-year stint at Radio 1 he became strongly associated with the Radio 1 Roadshow, which he presented each summer, and other outside broadcasts. He was also known for hosting the TV coverage of the annual Montreux Rock Festival and for his high-profile relationship with fellow Radio 1 DJ Janice Long.

[edit] Management

Since leaving the station he has not returned to radio and has concentrated on management and other financial activities, which have proved highly successful, although he had a setback in 2001 when his company worldpop.com went under as part of the great bursting of the dotcom bubble. This company had previously sponsored the Top 40 as used on Radio 1, controversially receiving a credit from Mark Goodier (who ironically succeeded Powell on the weekend breakfast show in 1988) and briefly restoring Powell's connections to the station.

In 1990, Powell married Anthea Turner, a TV host who was previously in a relationship with Powell's successor on the teatime show, Bruno Brookes. He was also her manager. Their marriage broke up in 1998.

Powell continues to work as agent and manager to many performers in the UK.