Graham "Spider" Webb (born 19 April 1936)[1] is a prominent Australian radio and TV broadcaster and producer.
Webb began his career in radio in Australia and hosted the first Top 40 radio show on Sydney radio in the late 1950s.[2] After moving to the UK in the mid-1960s he became one of several Australian DJs who were prominent in the pirate radio scene that flourished at that time.
He joined Radio Caroline in May 1965, going on to become Programme Controller and later News Director. He was one of the staff rescued from the Mi Amigo when she ran aground at Walton in 1966. He left Caroline and returned to Australia after the proclamation of the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, which forced the closure of the pirate stations.[3] In the late 1960s he presented the Australian end of the long-running Family Favourites radio series.
In the early 1970s webb moved into television, hosting and producing many popular TV shows, including the original version of Blind Date. In 1973 he was the founding host and producer of the pioneering Saturday morning music video series Sounds Unlimited -- the world's first show featuring pop clips.[3]
As producer of Sounds, Webb played a pivotal role in the career of music video and feature film director Russell Mulcahy. In need of material for the new show, Webb approached Mulcahy (then a staffer in the ATN-7 newsroom) and asked him to film some footage to accompany popular songs for which there were no purpose-made clips (e.g. Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talking"). Using this method, Webb and Mulcahy assembled a collection of about 25 clips for the show. The success of his early efforts encouraged Mulcahy to quit his TV job and become a full-time director, and he made clips for several popular Australian acts including Stylus, Marcia Hines, Hush and AC/DC,[4] before moving to the UK, where he became one of the most successful music video directors of the 1980s and beyond.