Annie Nightingale has died aged 83

“She changed the face and sound of British TV and radio”

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Annie Nightingale, the pioneering DJ and broadcaster, has died aged 83. She passed away at her home in London after a short illness, according to a statement from her family.

Born in Middlesex in 1940, Nightingale began her career as a journalist and television presenter. She started at BBC Radio 1 in 1970, where she remained the only woman broadcaster for 12 years.

Although Miranda Ward was the first female voice on Radio 1 – as host of Miranda’s Meanders on Scene And Heard – Nightingale joined the station with her own Sunday evening show in February 1970, moving on to Sounds Of The ’70s and then a Sunday-afternoon request show from 1975 – 1979.

She also co-hosted The Old Grey Whistle Test from 1978 to 1982. During the first half of her career, she enjoyed good relations with many artists, including The Beatles and Marc Bolan.

In the second half of her career, she embraced club culture and in 1994 she began presenting The Chill Out Zone. She continued to broadcast a dance music show, Annie Nightingale Presents, until December 2023.

On Instagram, fellow DJ and broadcaster Annie Mac wrote, “What a devastating loss. Annie Nightingale was a trailblazer, spirited, adventurous, fearless, hilarious, smart, and so good at her job. This is the woman who changed the face and sound of British TV and Radio broadcasting forever. You can’t underestimate it.”

Uncut’s Richard Williams – who was The Old Grey Whistle Test’s first host – wrote on Twitter, “I knew Annie Nightingale a little bit in the 1970s and not at all thereafter, but that passing acquaintanceship was enough to leave memories of a warm, funny, clever, wholehearted and generous-spirited person — exactly the one to whom people have been paying tribute all day. RIP.”

Aled Haydn Jones, Head of BBC Radio 1 said, “She was the first female DJ on Radio 1 and over her 50 years on the station was a pioneer for women in the industry and in dance music. We have lost a broadcasting legend and, thanks to Annie, things will never be the same.”