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Keith Fordyce (15 October 1928 – 15 March 2011
) was an English disc jockey and presenter on British radio and television. He is most famous as the first presenter of ITV's ''Ready Steady Go!'' in 1963,
but was a stalwart of both BBC radio and Radio Luxembourg for many years.
Career
Born Keith Fordyce Marriott in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, he attended
Lincoln School and later studied law at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1955 he came to the attention of British radio listeners as a staff announcer at
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
where he worked with
Barry Alldis.
Fordyce later worked for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the 1960s, with such programmes as the lunchtime ''Pop In'' show, and went on to host the television talent show ''
Thank Your Lucky Stars''
On 9 August 1963 he presented the first edition of ''
Ready Steady Go!
''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...
'' on
Associated Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, a ...
television, being joined subsequently in 1964 by
Cathy McGowan and
Michael Aldred
Michael Aldred (6 July 1945 – 15 April 1995) was a British record producer, music journalist, and television presenter. He is best remembered as co-presenter of the 1960s music show ''Ready Steady Go!''.
Life and career
Aldred attended Emanu ...
. McGowan took over the show when Fordyce left in 1965.
In 1967 he provided the commentary for the BBC's first colour test transmission on
BBC2, the first men's singles final of the Open era at
Wimbledon. He presented a game show for Westward Television called ''Treasure Hunt'' (not to be confused with the later Channel 4 programme of the same name). In the early 1980s, he rejoined Radio Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy after Barry Alldis's death, working in the Villa Louvigny again for six months, and regularly attracting audiences of 250,000 or more for his programmes.
On 12 February 1983 he was the first presenter of Radio 2's ''
Sounds of the '60s
''Sounds of the 60s'' is a long-running Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2 that features recordings of popular music made in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on 12 February 1983 and introduced by Keith Fordyce, who had been the firs ...
''. He also hosted Radio 2's ''Beat The Record'' for many years. He later hosted a record programme on west of England local radio.
Prior to his retirement Fordyce worked for the BBC Regional service in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, based at the Radio Devon studios, doing regular weekend shows.
Personal life
Fordyce retired in Devon with his wife Anne. He founded the Torbay Aircraft Museum in the 1970s.
He supported the Liberal Party and spoke in support of
David Penhaligon
David Charles Penhaligon (6 June 1944 – 22 December 1986) was a British politician from Cornwall who was Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency of Truro from 1974–86. He was a popular figure in all parties and had potential to ...
at a 1970s election meeting in
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...
. He died on 15 March 2011 aged 82 after suffering from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
and
Alzheimer's disease.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordyce, Keith
1928 births
2011 deaths
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
British radio personalities
British radio DJs
British television presenters
Deaths from pneumonia in England
Deaths from dementia in England
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
People from Lincoln, England
Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters
BBC Radio 2 presenters
People educated at Lincoln Grammar School