John Osborne (broadcaster)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Osborne is a British radio broadcaster. He started his radio career on London's
pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
circuit, culminating in
South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
's very successful Horizon Radio.


Career

In 1981 he became the resident DJ at the famous nightclub, Room At The Top, also at this time he worked for Soul On Sound and Soundwave magazines where he did reviews and interviews including
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
,
Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo ( ) were an English Pop music, pop band. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed ...
, Nick Heywood and In the mid-1980s on his pirate broadcasts on London station Horizon radio he interviewed artists such as Mary Wilson of
The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
. Osborne continued to DJ in clubs such as Hippodrome, Camden Palace, Limelight, Buzz Bar, London. Stage 3, Cinderellas Rockerfellas, 5th Avenue and The Ritzy. In 1992, Osborne won the BEDA Club DJ of the year award and was nominated for The Disco International award. Osborne became the presenter of the DMC Mixing Championships from 1992 to 1994. In the '80s and '90s he wrote articles for the music press. In 1996 Osborne started working in legal local radio. He joined
Invicta FM Heart Kent (previously Invicta FM) was an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable. History Invicta in the 80 ...
, the independent local radio station for Kent owned by
Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...
. His interviews included The
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
,
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...
,
Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
,
Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include " Don't You (Forget About Me)", " Glittering Prize" (1982), " Someone Somewh ...
and
Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...
. He presented various radio shows including ''The Wind Down Zone'', ''Just 80's'', ''Boogie Years'', ''The Online Request Show'' and the afternoon weekday slot and the Friday and Saturday night ''Club Dance Show''. He appeared at most nightclubs in Kent during this time.


Virgin/Absolute Radio

In 2002 Osborne joined
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio is a branding of radio stations broadcast in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. As of April 2024, there were over 40 stations globally. The stations ...
. He presented many different shows but mainly ''Virgin Party Classics'' and ''Early Breakfast'', also covering daytime shows including breakfast and drive-time. He continued to guest DJ at clubs such as Strawberry Moons, Club Boulevard and The Electric Ballroom where he broadcast the New Year's Eve show on Virgin Radio. He continued writing for newspapers and magazines. When Virgin became
Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via digital audio broadcasting. The station focuses on alternative ...
began presenting ''Weekend Breakfast'' and mid-week overnights, also filling in for absent DJs.


Gold

Osborne worked on
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
for two years, on the late night weekend slot from 10pm, including covering other shows. He appeared at Gold's Music Weekenders.


Jazz FM

Osborne joined Jazz fm in 2012 to present weekend breakfast. He became host of the weekday ''Jazz Breakfast'' in late 2013, before being moved to weekend breakfast a year later. He has hosted ''Funky Sensation'' and ''Saturday Soul'' for the station on Saturday evenings.


Solar Radio

In addition to Jazz FM, Osborne is a presenter on digital soul music station
Solar Radio Solar Radio is a London-based radio station, which originally started life as a UK pirate radio, pirate radio station. Solar broadcasts primarily Soul music, soul to London on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB and online. Solar (originally short ...
on Tuesday afternoons.


Other work

Osborne appears at nightclubs and music festivals and is one of the main DJs at the Caister Soul Weekenders. He runs a DJ agency.


References


External links


John Osborne on Jazz FM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, John English DJs Living people Musicians from London Year of birth missing (living people)