Peter Mitchell (11 December 1958 – 12 March 2020) was a British radio DJ and presenter. He was born in Crumpsall, Manchester. Mitchell was a radio presenter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, Key 103,

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 ...

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 ...

, Radio X and

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 ...

, and was one half of duo Pete and Geoff on Virgin Radio (which later became Absolute Radio). His music documentaries have been aired in the US, Canada, Australia and Asia. He later worked for the relaunched Virgin Radio and wrote for the ''Radio Times'', the ''Daily Express'' and ''Q'' magazine. Mitchell began his career in 1986 as a sports commentator for Red Rose Radio in Lancashire. He moved to Manchester's Piccadilly Radio in 1989 and, as the station gained a new identity and became Key 103, presented the popular afternoon show and developed, wrote and produced ''IQ'', his own specialist weekend music programme. ''IQ'' featured guest interviews and live sets from both established and up-and-coming acts. He championed the indie bands of the Madchester scene in the early 1990s. ''IQ'' featured bands such as

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentInspiral Carpets, James, Badly Drawn Boy,

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. Taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" the members shared, they released ...

and

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...

. Mitchell was introduced to Geoff Lloyd in the mid-1990s by actor and writer Craig Cash, star of '' The Royle Family''. Lloyd was an aspiring comedy writer and performer, and a fellow radio presenter. In 1996 Lloyd joined Mitchell on his afternoon radio show. The duo rapidly established a cult following with their witty and slightly risquė banter, and in 1998 won a Sony Radio Academy Award for their show. Mitchell died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 12 March 2020 after collapsing near his home in Stockport. He was survived by his wife Helen and sons Adam and Sean.

Virgin Radio

In 1999 Pete and Geoff were recruited by

Virgin Radio UK Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by News Broadcasting, which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the U ...

, where they took over the weekday evening show and covered Chris Evans on the breakfast show, and again rapidly built up a significant audience. The pair took over the drivetime show in early 2002. By 2003 they were the most popular DJs on the station and were moved to the breakfast show to increase the audience. This they did very successfully, sticking to their well-established formula of slightly risquė banter about contemporary news and culture, with Mitchell tending to play the "straight man" to the more outrageous Lloyd. They won another Gold Sony Radio Award for their show. On 28 November 2005, the duo announced that they were splitting up and leaving the breakfast show on Virgin Radio. Their final show together took place on 16 December. While Lloyd remained at Virgin Radio, Mitchell left for a while to join

. In addition to this, Mitchell took over the Saturday sports show ''Rock & Roll Football'' when Chris Evans stood down. From 2002 Mitchell also presented a weekly show on his own called ''Razor Cuts'', where he showcased new music and interviewed many bands and artists who picked their favourite tunes and played live on the show. Guests included

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Pixies Pixies may refer to: * Plural of Pixie * Pixies (band) The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

New Order New Order may refer to: Politics * ''L'Ordine Nuovo'' (''The New Order''), a socialist newspaper edited by Antonio Gramsci in the early 1920s * ''New Order in East Asia'', propaganda term for Japanese-dominated East Asia announced by Japanese ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

. In 2018, Mitchell rejoined

and presented a monthly documentary series called "Revolutions In Music".

BBC

From April 2006 until May 2009, Mitchell presented shows for

, featuring interviews with guests including

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (October 12, 1935 – January 10, 2025) was an American singer who was best known as a member of the soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave from 1961 to 1981. He was a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (f ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Gloria Jones Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has wo ...

The Velvelettes The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s. Their biggest chart success occurred in 1964, when Norman Whitfield produced "Needle in a Haystack", which peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". ...

and

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his disti ...

. A regular spot named "Where in the World is Carmine?" featured former

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...

drummer

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( ; born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is the older brother ...

. American broadcaster Leslie 'Radio Chick' Gold guested as the show's USA correspondent, while Professor Timothy English looked into

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

in music. During his time at

Mitchell also presented ''Sold on Song'' live with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

, and appeared as a fan of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

in the BBC radio series ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

''. He also covered many shifts across Radio 2 and

. In 2008, Mitchell produced and presented the Radio 2 documentary ''I'm on My Way'', on

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

star

Dean Parrish Dean Parrish (born Philip Anastasi, or Anastasia; December 30, 1942 – June 8, 2021) was an American singer from New York City, best known for the song " I'm on My Way", which became noted for being the penultimate record that was played at th ...

; he later produced ''Spellbound'', on guitarist

John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977–1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980–1982). He has been described as o ...

who played with

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

, Visage and PiL amongst others. ''Toerag'', the story of Liam Watson, a documentary about one of Britain's most in-demand record producers, presented by Mitchell, was broadcast on 3 May on Radio 2. Watson produced ''

Elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

'' by the

White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indie rock and ...

, which went to number one around the world, from his little studio in Hackney in East London. The ''

Story'', the tale of the rock drummer with

, was broadcast in September on Radio 2. In 2009, the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

record label celebrated its 50th birthday. Mitchell indulged his passion for the subject and presented various programmes to mark the occasion. The 6-part series ''Hitsville USA: 50 Years of Heart & Soul'' ran weekly from 5 January 2009 on Radio 2 and offered (to quote the ''Radio Times'') "a nourishing insight into the label's rare treasures". ''Motorcity Blues'' aired on 10 January on Radio 2, with a fascinating portrait of the city of Detroit and how its events and people have shaped the Motown label. ''The Sound of Young America'' went out on Radio 2 on 17 January and told of how the Motown Sound has influenced music today. Mitchell's documentary ''Toerag'' was broadcast on 6 Music in July 2009. ''Spellbound'', the story of guitarist

, was broadcast on 6 Music in April 2011.

Xfm

Mitchell presented his first

Xfm Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

(now Radio X) breakfast show on 15 June 2009 and his alternative radio show ''Razor Cuts'' on 21 June 2009. His first ''Razor Cuts'' guest was former

member bassist

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

, who spoke candidly about the break-up of the legendary band. Guitarist

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

revealed that he had been offered $50 million to reform

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

on the show recently. Other guests included

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bl ...

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...

, Mike Joyce, Delphic, Ian McCulloch,

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

and

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...

. On 9 August 2009 Mitchell presented a

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

documentary with producer John Leckie about the 20th anniversary of The Stone Roses' debut album. In May 2010 he produced and presented ''Some Friendly'', a documentary on the 20th anniversary of the Charlatans' debut album, where the band and producer Chris Nagle were reunited by Mitchell for the first time since the album was recorded. It was broadcast on 16 May 2010.6Music: Pete Mitchell Vs George Lamb – Radio – Digital Spy Forums
/ref> ''Screamadelica and The Second Summer of Love'', produced and narrated by Mitchell, aired on

Absolute 90s Absolute Radio 90s is a semi-national digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. Its output is non-stop 1990s hits. The station launched on DAB in London in June 2010 and on the Digital One plat ...

, billed as the UK's only station dedicated to music from that decade, on 26 November 2010 at the end of a week of

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

activity timed to coincide with the band's Screamdelica live dates. It charted the making of the album, including an interview with singer

Bobby Gillespie Robert Gillespie ( ; born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead singer, founding member, primary lyricist, and sole continuous member of the alternative rock band Primal Scream. He wa ...

, as well as examining the wider context of the dance music explosion and rave culture, with contributions from The Inspiral Carpets'

Clint Boon Clinton David Boon (born 28 June 1959) is an English musician, DJ and radio presenter. Boon originally rose to fame as the keyboard player (and sometimes vocalist) of Inspiral Carpets. Music career Born in Oldham, Lancashire, Boon joined the Ins ...

, Hacienda DJ

Dave Haslam Dave Haslam is a British writer, broadcaster and DJ who DJed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJed worldwide. He has written for the ''New Musical Express'', ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Books' ...

and Scream vocalist Denise Johnson.

Absolute Radio

Mitchell presented Absolute Radio Q Radio Show 10pm, Absolute Radio 90s (Pete Mitchell's 24hr Party People: 8pm10pm) and Absolute Radio 60s/70s. He presented the Absolute Radio 60s weekday mid-morning show (10am1pm), plus the Absolute 60s and Absolute Radio 70s Soul and Funk show Soul Time, which is broadcast on Saturday/Sundays. The show looks at Motown, Northern Soul, funk and Stax records amongst others. He regularly had star guests who have included

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

, George Clinton,

Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper " Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

and Mary Wilson of the Supremes, who pick their favourite soul and funk recording. He also presented documentaries and interviews across the Absolute Radio network which have included Come On: 50 Years of the Rolling Stones; One Love: the Continuing Story of the Stone Roses; Revolutions: the influence of the Beatles; Inside Joy Division; Hacienda: the World's Greatest Night Club; The Story of the Clash; Here Come the Girls: the story of the Girl Group Sound; Good Times: Nile Rodgers; The Boy from Burnage: the Noel Gallagher Story; and Not Fade Away: the Return of the Rolling Stones.

Other work

Mitchell has appeared on Sky News, Channel 4's ''Top 100 Albums'', Channel 5's ''Top 100 Singles'', ITV's Madonna special, ''Eggheads'' for the BBC, Sky One's ''Hidden Secret'', MTV, CNN, Channel 5 news, ''Pete & Geoff's Top 9s'' for VH1 and ''The Royle Family'' for Granada/BBC—to name but a few. He has written regularly for the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' and often contributed to the '' Daily Star''. During his career he has guest written for some of the UK's most influential music magazines including City Life and Q Magazine. A love of alternative music, along with a passion for funk, soul and Motown has led to various high-profile appearances as a club DJ. Mitchell had also DJed at Manchester venue

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England, which became famous during the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually fosteri ...

and at

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

's Death Disco at Notting Hill Arts Club.

References

External links

Pete Mitchell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Pete Virgin Radio (UK) BBC Radio 2 presenters BBC Radio 6 Music presenters British radio personalities British radio DJs People from Crumpsall 1958 births 2020 deaths