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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| Born |
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 presenter. He became famous for his work at BBC Radio 1 from 1976 to 1993. During this time, he hosted the popular weekday mid-morning show. Later, Simon Bates became a regular voice on Classic FM. He also presented the breakfast show on Smooth Radio and BBC Radio Devon. In 1982, he was the first presenter of the BBC Two programme Food and Drink.
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Early Life and First Radio Jobs
Simon Bates grew up in Suffolk and Shropshire, England. He went to Adams' Grammar School. After school, he started his radio career far from home. He worked for radio stations in New Zealand and Australia.
In 1971, Simon came back to the UK. He joined the BBC. At first, he worked for BBC Radio 4. He read the news and made announcements. In 1972, he moved to BBC Radio 2. There, he continued to read the news and presented music shows. Some of these shows included "Sounds Easy" and "The Early Show." In 1976, Simon Bates joined BBC Radio 1. He started by filling in for other presenters. Soon, he got his own Sunday morning show.
Simon Bates's Broadcasting Journey
Becoming a Star at BBC Radio 1
Simon Bates started as a weekend presenter at Radio 1. He played the latest pop songs. In November 1977, he took over the weekday mid-morning show. He hosted this show for 16 years. Millions of people, up to 11 million, listened to him every day.
His show had two very popular parts. These were "The Golden Hour" and "Our Tune". Simon took over "The Golden Hour" from another famous DJ, Tony Blackburn. In this part of the show, listeners had to guess the year. Simon would play songs and give clues to help them.
"Our Tune" started in 1980. It played at 11 AM. Simon would read a touching story sent in by a listener. The story was played over music from the film Romeo and Juliet. At the end of the story, he would play a song chosen by the person who sent the story. Another part of his show was "The Birthday File." Here, Simon played music by stars who were celebrating their birthday.
Simon Bates also interviewed famous people. He talked to stars at the BRIT Awards. In 1989, he did a special summer series called "Round The World." He broadcast from a different country each day. He traveled around the world in 67 days. This trip helped raise £300,000 for a charity called Oxfam. Simon also presented the Sunday afternoon Top 40 chart show for a while. He was also a regular presenter on BBC TV's Top of the Pops from 1980 to 1988.
In 1993, Simon Bates decided to leave Radio 1. He played "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" as his last song. Simon Bates has worked on all five national BBC radio stations. This includes BBC Radio 3 and the original BBC Radio 5.
After Leaving Radio 1
After leaving Radio 1, Simon Bates worked for Atlantic 252, a radio station in Ireland. He brought back his popular "Our Tune" feature there. He then presented a TV version of "Our Tune" for BBC1's Good Morning with Anne and Nick in 1994–1995. Later, it also appeared on Sky One.
For a few years, he was also the face of the VSC. He appeared before rental videos to explain their age ratings. This was even made fun of by comedians.
From 1995 to 1996, Simon Bates hosted the breakfast show on Talk Radio UK. He then worked for Liberty Radio in London. In 1997, he joined Classic FM. He presented the "Classic Romance" programme each week. He also worked for BBC Southern Counties Radio and the Classic Gold Network. From 1999 to 2002, he was the breakfast host for LBC in London.
Time at Classic FM
Simon Bates first joined Classic FM in 1997. He hosted the weekly Classic Romance show. In 2002, he got his first daily show there. He presented the drivetime show. From June 2003, he hosted the Classic FM weekday breakfast show. He also had a show called "Classic FM at the Movies" on Sunday evenings. This show talked about films and their music. In 2010, he moved to the mid-morning slot. He left Classic FM in January 2011.
Smooth Radio and BBC Radio Devon
In 2011, Simon Bates became the host of the Breakfast Show on Smooth Radio. He brought back "The Golden Hour" and "Our Tune" to this show. "The Golden Hour" played every day from 9 AM to 10 AM. "Our Tune" aired each morning at 8:40 AM. Another fun part of his show was the "Thousand Pound Minute." Listeners had to answer ten questions correctly in 60 seconds to win £1,000. Simon Bates left Smooth Radio in March 2014.
Simon Bates lived on a farm in mid-Devon. In January 2015, he started hosting the breakfast show for BBC Radio Devon. This show ran from 6:30 AM to 10 AM on weekdays. He also included "The Golden Hour" in this show. He left BBC Radio Devon in January 2017.
Recent Work
In 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. He narrated their weekly countdowns of top-selling songs. These shows had titles like Britains Favourite 80s Songs and Britain's Biggest 90s Hits.
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 started presenting hits from the 1970s on Boom Radio on Saturdays from 12 PM to 2 PM.
