Alistair Pirrie ( – 27 January 2017) was a British television and radio presenter, producer and director, well known in the North East England for radio and local TV work, primarily on

Radio Tees Hits Radio Teesside, formerly TFM, is an Independent Local Radio station for Teesside, England, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to areas of ...

. He attended Grangefield School,

Stockton on Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees V ...

. His first break into the music scene came as a young journalist for the New Musical Express (NME) in the early 70s, including a seminal interview with

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

in March 1973 at a point when Cohen was debating leaving the industry. However, he is best known nationally in the UK for presenting the

ITV Tyne Tees ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchisee for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a convert ...

children's television pop music programme '' Razzmatazz'' between 1981 and 1987. The show also provided

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

with an early presenting role. He also acted as a producer for ITV's ill-fated ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' competitor, '' The Roxy'' He subsequently moved to London, leaving mainstream broadcasting to focus on social work and community projects such as video and radio workshops at The Community Zone in South London, as well as working on rehabilitation projects for prisoners with The Clink Institute (no
The Clink Charity
. He was also a member of th
Arts Centre Group
a group to encourage Christians in the arts, media and entertainment. He also produced and directed video material for the comedians Jimmy Jones and Roy Chubby Brown. He was married to Noi, and had three children: Tamasin, Dominique, and Atticus. He died, at age 62, following a major stroke, in Streatham, South London, where he had lived for the previous two decades.

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* Year of birth uncertain 1950s births 2017 deaths British radio presenters British television presenters {{UK-tv-bio-stub