Simon Bates facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Simon Bates
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Bates at Ossett Town Hall in West Yorkshire in the 1980s.
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Simon Philip Bates
17 December 1946 Birmingham, England
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| Occupation | DJ TV presenter |
| Years active | 1971–present |
Simon Philip Bates (born 17 December 1946) is a well-known English disc jockey (DJ) and radio host. He is famous for his time at BBC Radio 1 from 1976 to 1993. During this time, he hosted the popular weekday mid-morning show. Later, he became a regular voice on Classic FM.
Simon also hosted the breakfast show on Smooth Radio from 2011 to 2014. After that, he took on the same role at BBC Radio Devon from 2015 to 2017. He was also the first host of the BBC Two TV show Food and Drink in 1982.
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Who is Simon Bates?
Simon Bates grew up in Suffolk and Shropshire, England. He went to Adams' Grammar School. Before starting his career in the UK, he worked for radio stations in New Zealand and Australia.
In 1971, Simon returned to the UK and joined the BBC. He first worked for BBC Radio 4 as an announcer and newsreader. In 1972, he moved to BBC Radio 2. There, he continued to read the news and host music shows. These shows included "Sounds Easy" and "The Early Show."
Joining BBC Radio 1
In May 1976, Simon Bates joined BBC Radio 1. He started by filling in for other presenters. Soon after, he began hosting the Sunday morning show.
Simon Bates's Radio Career
Simon Bates became a very popular radio host. He was known for his unique style and special show features.
His Time at BBC Radio 1
Simon started as a weekend host, playing new pop songs. In November 1977, he took over the weekday mid-morning show. He stayed in this role for 16 years. His show was incredibly popular, reaching up to 11 million listeners!
What were his famous show features?
Two of the most loved parts of Simon's show were "The Golden Hour" and "Our Tune".
- The Golden Hour: Simon took over this feature from another DJ, Tony Blackburn. In "The Golden Hour," listeners had to guess the year. Simon would play songs and give clues from that specific year.
- Our Tune: This special segment started in 1980. At 11 AM, Simon would play a famous theme song from the film Romeo and Juliet. While the music played, he would read a touching story sent in by a listener. The story would end with a song chosen by the person who sent it in.
Simon also had "The Birthday File." In this part of the show, he played music by stars who were celebrating their birthday.
Other work at BBC Radio 1
Simon's show also featured Jonathan King, who would talk about music. Simon interviewed many stars at the BRIT Awards. In 1989, he hosted a summer series called "Round The World." For this series, he broadcast from a different country each day. He traveled around the world in 67 days. This trip helped raise £300,000 for the charity Oxfam.
Simon also hosted the Sunday afternoon Top 40 chart show for a few periods. He regularly presented the BBC TV show Top of the Pops from 1980 to 1988. He also hosted the station's roadshow events.
Leaving BBC Radio 1
In 1993, Simon Bates decided to leave Radio 1. He played the song "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion as his last record.
Simon Bates has worked on all five national BBC radio stations. Besides Radio 1, 2, and 4, he also hosted a Prom concert on BBC Radio 3 in 1987. In 1990, he presented a summary of daily newspapers on the original BBC Radio 5.
After BBC Radio 1
After leaving Radio 1, Simon worked for Atlantic 252, a long-wave radio station in Ireland. He brought back his popular "Our Tune" feature there. He then hosted a TV version of "Our Tune" for BBC1's Good Morning with Anne and Nick and later for Sky One.
For a few years, he was also the face of the VSC. He appeared before rental videos, explaining the film's age rating. This was even made fun of by comedians like Harry Enfield. Simon appeared as himself in a funny ad for the video game Primal Rage.
From 1995 to 1996, Simon hosted the breakfast show for Talk Radio UK (now TalkSPORT). He then worked for London's Liberty Radio until 1997.
In 1997, Simon joined Classic FM. He hosted the weekly "Classic Romance" program. He also presented a Sunday morning show on BBC Southern Counties Radio until 1998. Between 1996 and 1998, he hosted a show on the Classic Gold Network. He then moved to London's LBC as the breakfast host from 1999 to 2002.
Classic FM
Simon Bates first appeared on Classic FM in 1997. He hosted the weekly Classic Romance show. In 2002, he got his first daily show, hosting the drivetime program. From June 2003, he hosted the Classic FM weekday breakfast show. He also hosted "Classic FM at the Movies," a show about films and film music. In 2006, his show hours changed. In 2010, he moved to the mid-morning slot. He left Classic FM in January 2011 to join Smooth Radio.
Smooth Radio
On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Simon Bates would host the Breakfast Show on Smooth Radio. He started on 4 January 2011. He brought back both "The Golden Hour" and "Our Tune" to the show. "The Golden Hour" aired every day from 9 AM to 10 AM. "Our Tune" aired each morning at 8:40 AM. Another feature was the "Thousand Pound Minute." Listeners had to answer ten questions correctly in 60 seconds to win £1,000.
Simon Bates left Smooth Radio on 21 March 2014.
BBC Radio Devon
Simon Bates lives on a farm in mid-Devon. He started hosting the BBC Radio Devon breakfast show from 6:30 AM to 10 AM on weekdays. This began on 12 January 2015. He also included "The Golden Hour" from 9 AM to 10 AM. The years for "The Golden Hour" ranged from 1956 to 2004.
Simon left BBC Radio Devon on 8 January 2017. He said he wanted to "move on to other things."
Recent Appearances
On 2 October 2017, Simon Bates took part in Radio 1 Vintage. He gave an interview about his time at BBC Radio 1.
In 2020, Simon Bates became the voice-over artist for Channel 5's weekly countdown shows. These shows feature the 30 biggest selling singles of a specific year in the UK.
In August 2023, Boom Radio announced that Simon Bates would join them. He now presents a regular Sunday show from 2 PM to 4 PM. In October 2023, he also began presenting hits from the 1970s on Boom Radio on Saturdays from 12 PM to 2 PM.
