Ken Bruce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ken Bruce | |
|
|
|
| Birth name | Kenneth Robertson Bruce |
| Born | February 2, 1951  Glasgow, Scotland |
| Show | The Ken Bruce Show |
| Station(s) | BBC Radio 2 |
| Time slot | 9:30 am - 12:00 pm weekdays |
| Show | Friday Night is Music Night |
| Time slot | 7:30 pm Fridays |
| Style | Live music |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Website | The Ken Bruce Show |
Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951[1] in Glasgow, Scotland) is a veteran British broadcaster known for his programme on BBC Radio 2, which is broadcast on weekdays from 9:30 am until 12 pm. In recent years, he has become a cult figure among the 18-30s generation.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Early life and career
Bruce attended Hutchesons' Boys Grammar School, Glasgow, before training to be a chartered accountant. He began his broadcasting career with the Hospital Broadcasting Service in Glasgow, and went on to become a staff announcer for BBC Radio Scotland. He later took on his own daily afternoon show for the station and was involved in a range of current affairs programmes.[2]
[edit] Radio 2
[edit] History
Bruce has presented different shows on BBC Radio 2. He joined in 1984, taking over Saturday late night. In January 1985, he took over the breakfast show from Terry Wogan. He originally took over mid-mornings in March 1986 but moved to Monday-Thursday late night in April 1990. In January 1991 Bruce presented the early-morning show. He has been in his mid-morning slot since early 1992, following Terry Wogan at 9:30 am and handing over to Jeremy Vine at noon.
[edit] Notable events
While Bruce was on holiday in August 2007, he was briefly replaced by Davina McCall. This attracted more than 150 complaints from listeners.[3]
During his show on 21 April 2008, theatre producer Bill Kenwright told Bruce that Elvis Presley once visited London in 1958.[4][5][6] It was believed that Presley had never visited England and the claim caused considerable controversy.[7]
[edit] Programme format and features
Emphasis on Bruce's show is music. There are regular live performances on air. Each week, a celebrity chooses ten "tracks of their years" - two played and commented at 11:40am each day. Competitions are usually music-based and a love song and dedications feature at 10:15 am. A music news slot with Julie Cullen (Mark Sutherland would do alternate weeks until he left the BBC for Billboard music magazine) appears at about 11:10 am on Thursdays. Other regular features include the Record of the Week and the Album of the Week[8] and the Tracks of My Years, where a celebrity picks two songs each day that have a particular meaning. The Love Song is played at 10.15 am each day, preceded by dedications, although a number of songs in the rotation are not love songs in a romantic sense (e.g. "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian, "The Greatest Love Of All" by George Benson).
The show includes regular features such as the PopMaster quiz, Spin It To Win It, and Words Don't Come Easily, although many have been suspended until the BBC's internal enquiry into possible abuse of phone-ins concludes (despite no allegation of impropriety against Radio 2). PopMaster quiz returned to Bruce's show in January 2008 with a different format, and new Jingles where listeners register first and if successful the production team call back to ask three questions.
Bruce maintains a bantering relationship with the traffic presenter, typically Lynn Bowles, the two teasing each other and responding to listeners' comments. Such comments are read throughout the programme, generally on a theme of the day, such as a news story. Recurring themes include the appearance of Bruce on the studio webcam, Lynn Bowles' involvement with Land Rover and the information included on this Wikipedia profile, with contributors highlighting alterations that have been made; on occasions according to this page, he has become a Knight of the Realm, had a significant number of children, is of limited stature, received an inflated salary and loves caravanning. This cycle of spurious edits being discussed on air has caused the page to be locked due to vandalism on numerous occasions.
Although the programme's playlist is almost exclusively rock, pop and soul from the 1970s onwards, until early 2008 its Radio Data System flag identified it as programme type 12, "M.O.R.". It is now identified as programme type 10, "Pop music".
On 3 August 2006 it was announced that Ken Bruce had added 245,000 listeners, bringing his overall ratings to a record 6.64 million.[9]
A frequent stand-in when Bruce is absent is Aled Jones, who has a wide fanbase of his own.[citation needed]
[edit] PopMaster
Normally, the daily PopMaster quiz, with questions set by music expert Phil Swern, offers a DAB radio for successfully completing the "3 in 10" bonus round. If the listener fails, he/she is awarded a 'Flipper' radio. The previous consolation prize, a 'Space' radio, has been known to appear on eBay, to Bruce's amusement. The losing contestant is given a CD wallet.
The public phone-in PopMaster quiz was last aired, prior to its suspension, on 18 July 2007. A celebrity version was introduced on 20 July 2007, and continued until 18 January 2008. "3 in 10" was not played in the celebrity version and there was no tie-breaker in the event of a draw. It was rumoured that members of the public would be able to play again before Christmas 2007, however this did not happen.[10][11] Following an announcement by Bruce on 7 January 2008, the normal format returned on 21 January 2008.[12] The game returned with new dramatic, orchestral and guitar based jingles.
[edit] Other appearances
Ken Bruce has presented BBC Proms in the Park for numerous years.[13]
He is also Radio 2's regular commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest[14] and one of the regular presenters of the long-running Friday Night is Music Night.[15]
He has made guest appearances in the "Dictionary Corner" on Channel 4's Countdown.[16] When the original presenter Richard Whiteley died in 2005, Bruce said: "Such a nice man - that was the defining quality of him, a genuinely nice man. And he had no real ego."[17]
In November 2007, he appeared on a Never Mind the Buzzcocks special for Children in Need.[18]
He attended each of the Sex Pistols five comeback concerts at Brixton Academy in November 2007.[citation needed]
Bruce is a qualified coach driver and the co-owner of a Routemaster (one of London's red buses) with Charles Nove, Alan Dedicoat, Steve Madden and David Sheppard.[19] He has referred to the buses as "a fantastic piece of engineering and such fun to have".[20]
Along with Lynn Bowles, he took part in Ready, Steady, Cook, broadcast on BBC Two on 3 March 2008.
[edit] Personal life
Bruce has four sons and two daughters, his latest son born in February 2008. He lives with his third wife in Oxfordshire.[21][22] When driving his family in his car, he allows his dog to sit in the front passenger seat, while his wife and children are confined to the back.[23]
In April 2006, the Daily Telegraph reported that Bruce received a salary of £194,000 for his radio show.[24]
Bruce is a a fan of Rangers F.C., and remarks on their fortunes on his show.[25]
He was described as an "old fool" by fellow Radio 2 presenter Sarah Kennedy in 1999.[26]
[edit] References
- ^ BRUCE, Kenneth Robertson (Ken). (2006). In Debrett's People of Today 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/6540226
- ^ BBC Biography
- ^ BBC News Online - Listeners turned off by DJ Davina
- ^ Times Online - Elvis Presley made a secret visit to England
- ^ BBC News Online - Elvis's secret UK visit revealed
- ^ The Guardian - When Elvis came to London
- ^ BBC News Online - Elvis friends dispute London trip
- ^ BBC Album of the Week
- ^ BBC Ratings
- ^ The Guardian - BBC phone-in contests return - with new rules
- ^ Petersfield Post - Phone-ins to resume after scandals
- ^ The Guardian - Radio review
- ^ Radio Rewind - Ken Bruce profile
- ^ BBC talk - Ask Ken Bruce transcript
- ^ BBC Radio 2 - Friday Night is Music Night
- ^ Ask Oxford
- ^ Said What? - Ken Bruce quotes
- ^ Episode World - Never Mind the Buzzcocks appearance record
- ^ The red brigade, The Guardian 9th April 2005
- ^ BBC Four - I Love Routemasters
- ^ International Movie Database (IMDb) Biography
- ^ BRUCE, Kenneth Robertson (Ken). (2006). In Debrett's People of Today 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2007, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/6540226
- ^ Daily Telegraph newspaper - Portrait of a driver: Ken Bruce
- ^ Telegraph.co.uk - Wogan is number one in BBC radio rich list
- ^ Rangers Loyal - Famous Fans
- ^ Daily Mail - Radio 2 host Sarah Kennedy in row over 'invisible blacks' remark
| Preceded by Terry Wogan |
BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show Presenter 1985-1986 |
Succeeded by Derek Jameson |
|
|||||||||||||||||
