Robert Brinley Joseph Harris (born 11 April 1946), popularly known as "Whispering Bob" Harris, is an English music presenter. He was a host of the

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

music programme ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

'' from 1972 to 1979, and was a co-founder of the listings magazine '' Time Out'', co-editing until the early part of 1969. He has presented ''The Country Show'' on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

on Thursday nights since April 1999, and ''

Sounds of the 70s ''Sounds of the 70s'' is the name of a BBC radio programme, currently broadcast on Sundays on BBC Radio 2, with the ''Sounds of the Seventies'' name also having been used by BBC Television for a number of themed music compilations, now repeate ...

'' on Sunday afternoons since November 2024, replacing

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

. Harris has been broadcasting on the BBC for 50 years and has been recognised with the

Americana Music Association The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music globally, and supporting professionals within the field. Purpose The Americana Music Association was founded in order to advocate and p ...

of America Trailblazer Award, a UK Heritage Award and a MOJO Medal, as well as his OBE for services to broadcasting.

Early life

Born on 11 April 1946 in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England, Harris first followed in his father's footsteps and joined

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northamptonshire police area i ...

as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

for two years. Harris's father was from

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community (Wales), community in the lower Swansea Valley (). it had a population of approximately 7,172 in the 2021 Census for Pontardawe Parish, and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. On the opp ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. Rugby was a childhood passion for Harris who played at school and later at county level. Interviewed in 2023, he said "I did have a couple of

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s played but not the 25 people have said." He played for the Midlands and aspired to play for England team, but his interest in music took over. He then helped found '' Time Out'' magazine, as co-editor. Years later, he still refers to himself as "a journalist who can broadcast".''Old Grey Whistle Test'' DVD Vol 3; Bob Harris speaking before Track 3

Career

''The Old Grey Whistle Test''

Harris presented ''

'' on

from 1972 until December 1979. His first appearance on the show was as chair of a debate on the Night Assemblies Bill, based on his experience as a journalist and at the invitation of producer Richard Williams. Shortly afterwards he was invited to be the main presenter. His velvety voice and quiet delivery earned him his enduring nickname "Whispering Bob". His

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

-style beard and laid-back presentation made him a favourite target for

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

, most notably by

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...

on the 1970s BBC comedy show ''

Rutland Weekend Television ''Rutland Weekend Television'' (''RWT'') is a television sketch show written by Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes. Two series were broadcast on BBC2, the first consisting of six episodes in 1975, and the second series of seven episodes in 19 ...

''. Harris later became notorious among the younger generation for distancing himself on air from

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

's first performance on the show and deriding the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

as "mock rock". In the summer of 1974,

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

and

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...

included Harris ("or the 'Sniffing Whistler' as we know him") on a "Hates" list on their "You're going to wake up one morning and find out which side of the bed you've been lying on" T-shirt. In early 1977, at the Speakeasy (a London nightclub popular with rock stars of the day)

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

fan and subsequent bass player

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

threatened Harris over whether the Pistols would appear on the ''Old Grey Whistle Test''.

1980s

In 1981 Harris moved to

BBC Radio Oxford BBC Radio Oxford is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Oxfordshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Summertown, Oxfo ...

, presenting the weekday afternoon show from 15:00-17:00, taking over from

Timmy Mallett Timmy Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English television presenter, broadcaster, author and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses and shirts, and a giant pink foam mallet (known as "Mallett's Mallet"), as we ...

. He remained there until 1984. He then joined London's

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadc ...

radio station, presenting a weekly half-hour music review and also joined GWR, where he did shows on Saturday lunchtimes and Sunday afternoons. From October 1984, Harris presented a Saturday evening show on

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Radio Broadland Heart Norwich (formerly Radio Broadland) is an Independent Local Radio station for Norfolk and North Suffolk, including Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, until early 2009. The station is owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart ...

, and the Sunday afternoon show on

Hereward FM Heart Peterborough (formerly Hereward FM) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Cambridgeshire, south Lincolnshire and west Norfolk. Launched on 10 July 1980 as Hereward Radio 225, the station was the first local service in the area, wi ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. At the same time, he was still continuing with his half-hour music review on LBC and was recording shows for GWR. In 1986, he was offered the ''Weekend Nightline'' phone-in on LBC every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 pm until 1 am, which he hosted until 1989. He was heard on BFBS from 1986 to 1998 and on the UK

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...

sustaining service,

The Superstation The Superstation (or ''Radio Radio'' as it was known in the industry) was set up in 1987 as an overnight sustaining service for Independent Local Radio. Launched in July 1988, the station broadcast from 10.00pm until 6.00am on many of the UK's ...

Return to BBC Radio 1

Harris rejoined

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in 1989, standing in for Richard Skinner for two weeks on the weekday midnight to 2 am slot, before being offered his own weekly show on Sunday nights from 11 pm to 2 am later that year following the death of

Roger Scott Roger Scott (23 October 1943 – 31 October 1989) was a British radio disc jockey. He was best known for presenting an afternoon radio show on Capital London from 1973 until 1988 and a late night Sunday show, ''Scott on Sunday'' on BBC Rad ...

. Harris then took over the weekday midnight to 2 am slot from April 1990, which then became midnight to 4 am when Radio 1 started broadcasting 24 hours a day on 1 May 1991. His programme on Radio 1 came to an end in October 1993 when

Matthew Bannister Richard Matthew Bannister (born 16 March 1957) is a British media executive and broadcaster. Early career After attending King Edward VII School, Sheffield, he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio N ...

took charge of the station, although he continued to present documentaries for the station for some time after.

Move to BBC Radio London

In summer 1994, Harris moved to

BBC GLR BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

, presenting a three-hour Saturday night show from 10 pm to 1 am, then additionally on Monday to Wednesday evenings from 8 pm to midnight. He later left the Saturday night show to concentrate on BBC GLR's Monday-Wednesday evening shows.

Return to national radio

In spring 1997, Harris returned to the national airwaves, this time on

, where he took up an 11 pm to 1 am Saturday night slot. He still continued to present on GLR, but at this stage he quit the Monday to Wednesday evening shows and presented a Saturday afternoon show from 2 to 6 pm. Harris eventually quit GLR in late 1998 as he took over another show for Radio 2, ''Bob Harris Country'', (previously David Allan's ''Country Club'') on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8 pm, from 8 April 1999, and his Saturday night show then went out from 10 pm to 1 am. From April 2006, his Saturday show moved to an 11 pm to 2 am slot, and moved back another hour from 4 April 2010, meaning it aired early Sunday mornings from midnight to 3 am. From October 2014 until January 2017, the show was on from 3 am to 6 am on Sundays. In February 2017, his Sunday show moved back to midnight to 3 am. However, on 26 March 2017, Harris presented his last weekend Sunday early morning show on Radio 2 due to major changes to the weekend schedule. The final song played was ''When You Come to the End of a Lollipop'' by

Max Bygraves Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Roya ...

. On 9 January 2022, Harris started a weekly show on

Boom Radio Boom Radio (also Boom Radio UK) is an independent, commercial, national radio station in the United Kingdom. Owned by Boom Radio Ltd, the station is aimed at baby boomers, the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964. Launched on 14 Febr ...

, sponsored by Find My Past, which explored how songs link together with other tracks. The hour-long programme was broadcast on Sunday nights from 9 pm and repeated on Wednesdays. The series ended its run on 27 February. On 10 January 2022, Harris announced he was returning to the ''Sounds of the 70s'' programme after more than 50 years away by sitting in for

on the episodes to be broadcast on Radio 2 on 16 and 23 January. He also sat in for Walker for four shows in January 2023. He currently presents ''The Country Show'' on Thursdays on BBC Radio 2 at 9 pm. He celebrated his 25th anniversary as host of the country show in 2024. On 6 October 2024,

announced that Harris would take over as host of Radio 2's ''Sounds of the 70s'' in November, with Walker leaving the show due to illness after 15 years.

Other work

In addition to his Radio 2 programmes, in 2002 Harris was a presenter on the newly launched digital station

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

, presenting a Sunday evening show from 5 to 8 pm. He left 6 Music in 2004. He went on to present a new show on Radio 2, which broadcast on Friday nights/Saturday mornings from midnight to 3 am. He was replaced in this slot by

Mark Lamarr Mark Lamarr (born Mark Jones; 7 January 1967) is an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. He was a team captain on ''Shooting Stars (1993 TV series), Shooting Stars'' from 1995 to 1997, and hosted ''Never Mind the Buzzcock ...

, but returned to it temporarily, when Lamarr left the BBC at the end of 2010. The end of the Friday show has allowed Harris to concentrate more on producing one-off shows such as the ''Maple Leaf Revolution'' under the auspices of the Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company. Harris was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 2003 when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

at BBC

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

. Harris has presented the C2C: Country to Country festival live from

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

in London every year since its inception in 2013 and simultaneously broadcasts over BBC Radio 2 Country which was first established in 2015, the same year when Harris was given his own stage to present at the festival. This stage, the Under the Apple Tree stage, formed the basis for his own Under the Apple Tree festival which will first take place in 2016. Harris has been credited by John Thomson as the inspiration for his ''

The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', also known as ''Brilliant'' in the United States, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran on BBC Two, BBC 2 from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Si ...

'' character Louis Balfour, who comperes "Jazz Club" and whose softly spoken delivery echoes Harris' "unshakeable enthusiasm" on ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. In 2018 Harris made a cameo appearance in Tom Harper's country music drama film '' Wild Rose''. In 2018 Harris joined 26 other celebrities at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor, Karin Clayton and Alexander Skeaping. Donald Brackett It is located in the Power House, a Grade II listed building, ...

, to perform the original Christmas song " Rock with Rudolph", written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was created in aid of

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

and was released digitally on independent record label Saga Entertainment on 30 November 2018. The music video debuted exclusively with ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' on 29 November 2018 and had its first TV showing on '' Good Morning Britain'' on 30 November 2018. The song peaked at number two on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

pop chart. In 2023 Harris began presenting on the

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

1960s music channel That's 60s. In April 2025 Harris appeared as a contestant, paired with expert Margie Cooper, on BBC's ''

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip ''Antiques Road Trip'' (also known as ''Celebrity Antiques Road Trip'') is a BBC television series produced by STV Studios. It was first shown on BBC Two from 2010 to 2012, and has been shown on BBC One since 2013. Format Regular In the progr ...

''.

Personal life

Harris has eight children and six granddaughters. Harris married Trudie Myerscough who is also his manager, in 1991. She is the mother of his three youngest children. Harris lives in Steventon, Oxfordshire. In 2007, Harris was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, for which he was treated with

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are hormonal therap ...

and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ...

. In May 2019 it was announced that Harris would take a break from his Radio 2 presenting for a while, after suffering an

aortic dissection Aortic dissection (AD) occurs when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart. In most cases, this is associated with a sudden onset of agonizing ches ...

. He returned to Radio 2 on 19 September 2019. He is an ambassador for the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust.

Awards

*Honorary Fellowship from the School of the Arts, Northampton University. *Sony Radio Academy Awards 2009 – Silver for ''The Sandy Denny Story: Who Knows Where The Time Goes'' *Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008 – Silver for ''The Day John Met Paul'' * Country Music Association (CMA) International Broadcaster of the Year 2004. * 2011 Mojo Medal * Harris was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the

in 2011. *Harris was appointed Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,CMA awards, Harris was awarded the CMA Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award by

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...

. *In 2013, Harris won his second CMA International Broadcaster of the Year Award. *On the last day of the 2016 Country to Country festival, Harris was awarded his second CMA Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award by

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

. *On Day 2 of C2C 2017,

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim (band), Billy Pi ...

surprised Harris with the CMA International Broadcaster of the Year Award.

Books

* *

References

External links

*
Official archive website''The Country Show with Bob Harris''
(BBC Radio 2)
''Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris''
(BBC Radio 2)
The Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Bob 1946 births Living people BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters BBC Radio 6 Music presenters BBC television presenters English male journalists English people of Welsh descent English radio DJs English television presenters Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Northampton Record collectors