Peter Murray James, (born 19 September 1925), known professionally as Pete Murray, is a British radio and television presenter and actor. He is known for his career with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, including stints on the Light Programme, Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 4. In the 1950s, Murray became one of Britain's first

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

television presenters, hosting the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

programme ''

Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...

'' (1957–1958) and appearing as a regular panellist on ''

Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American ser ...

'' (1959–1967). He was a recurring presence in the BBC's coverage of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. Murray returned to broadcasting for a Boom Radio special on Boxing Day 2021, over 70 years after his career began. He returned to the station on Boxing Day 2022 where he presented a two-hour show alongside his friend David Hamilton.

Early life

Murray was born in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

on 19 September 1925.

Career

Murray first joined the English service of

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 ...

in 1949 or 1950 as one of its resident announcers in the Grand Duchy, and remained there until 1956. Back in London, and now calling himself "Pete" rather than "Peter", he continued to be heard frequently on Radio Luxembourg for many years, introducing recorded sponsored programmes. He also presented popular music on the BBC Light Programme, particularly in the programme ''Pete Murray's Party'' from 1958 to 1961, and co-hosted one of

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

's earliest pop music programmes, the

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

-based ''

'' (1957–1958); other regular presenters were Jo Douglas and

Freddie Mills Frederick Percival Mills (26 June 1919 – 25 July 1965) was an English boxer, and the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950. Mills was tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relen ...

. He was a regular panellist on the same channel's ''

'' (1959–1967). He was the "guest DJ" on several editions of ABC-TV's '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' (1961–1966) and he later hosted '' Come Dancing''. Murray was among the first regular presenters of ''

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 ...

'' when it began in January 1964. In 1961, he co-starred with

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.''Happily Ever After''. During the early 1960s, Murray co-hosted the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' Poll Winners' Concert, annually held at Empire Pool, Wembley, with acts such as

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers,

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

and many others. These were shown on television. In September 1968, he stood in for

Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 20 ...

on '' Pick of the Pops'', while Freeman was in New York. Murray linked up with him for a look at the American pop scene during the two shows that he did. Murray hosted the UK heat of the

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and provided the British commentary for the contest itself on both radio and television in

until

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and again in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

until

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

for radio, and television commentary for the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and 1977 contest. He was an occasional compère of variety shows at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. Murray was one of the original

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 ...

disc-jockeys when the station started in 1967. By 1969, he was one of the mainstays of

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 ...

, where for over ten years he anchored the two-hour magazine show ''Open House'' five days a week, heard by 5.5 million listeners. One

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

he pretended that the show was being televised. In 1973 and 1976, he was voted BBC Radio Personality of the Year. In 1974, he was featured on the Emerson, Lake and Palmer live album '' Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends – Ladies and Gentlemen'' as the master of ceremonies, at the beginning of the album. In 1980, Radio 2 moved Murray from weekday to weekend programming. In 1981, he began a move into more serious, speech-only radio with a stint as presenter of ''Midweek'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. In 1984, he started afresh as a presenter for LBC, a local talk radio station in London. He later won the

Variety Club of Great Britain Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

award for his show. He introduced his last programme there on 22 December 2002 and has not broadcast regularly since. In August 2008 he returned as a presenter on an Internet-only station, UK Light Radio. Murray also worked as an actor. He attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

and is a RADA Gold Medallist. On the London stage he co-starred with David Hughes and Edward Woodward in the musical ''Scapa!'' (1962). During the 1960s, he starred in the

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...

s '' Happily Ever After'' (1961-64), opposite

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.Bernard Bresslaw and

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

. He had roles in several films including '' Caravan'' (1946)'', '' Hungry Hill'' (1947), My Brother Jonathan'' (1948), '' Portrait from Life'' (1948), ''

No Highway in the Sky ''No Highway in the Sky'' (also known as ''No Highway'') is a 1951 black-and-white aviation drama film directed by Henry Koster from a screenplay by R. C. Sherriff, Oscar Millard, and Alec Coppel, based on the 1948 novel '' No Highway'' by ...

'' (1951), '' Escort for Hire'' (1960), '' A Taste of Money'' (1960), '' Design for Loving'' (1962), '' The Cool Mikado'' (1962), '' Simon, Simon'' (1970) and '' Cool It Carol!'' (1970), and played Philippe in "My Friend the Inspector", a 1961 episode of BBC TV's '' Maigret''. He appeared as himself in several productions including the 1962 British musical comedy ''

It's Trad, Dad! ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (U.S. title: ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'') is a 1962 British musical comedy film directed by Richard Lester in his feature directorial debut. It stars singer and actress Helen Shapiro alongside Craig Douglas, John Leyton, the ...

'' alongside fellow BBC

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

s Alan Freeman and David Jacobs and in "The Writer", an episode of ATV's '' Hancock'' (1963). Murray also appeared in pantomime, and guested on many radio and TV panel games. In 1984 and 1985, he was a team captain on the ITV panel game ''Vintage Quiz''. In 2015, he appeared as a guest on a chat show on Big Centre TV hosted by his friend and former radio colleague David Hamilton. Murray returned to radio to host a special show for Boom Radio on Boxing Day 2021. In 2022, he appeared in the Channel 5 documentary ''TOTP: Secrets & Scandals''. He returned to Boom Radio on Boxing Day 2022 for another show, this time alongside Hamilton. On 2 June 2025, Murray helped Boom Light turn on its DAB+ transmitters at 10am that morning.

Personal life

Murray married his first wife, Germain, in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, in 1952, but they divorced. He was in a relationship with Valerie Singleton, before marrying Patricia Crabbe, a former

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He once broke down on live television after his son, Michael Murray James, who had been a pupil at Wycliffe College, also an actor, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

at the age of 27, and afterwards he gave talks on coping with family tragedy. Murray is a lifelong teetotaller. In 1983, he appeared as a guest newspaper reviewer on the BBC TV's early-morning magazine show '' Breakfast Time''. During an outburst, he told viewers how to vote at the upcoming election, saying that "a vote for Labour is a vote for communism. May God have mercy on your soul if you don't vote

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

". At the end of 1983, the BBC cancelled his radio shows, describing his style of broadcasting as too old-fashioned."Pete Murray is dropped from BBC shows", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London), 18 October 1983.

Publications

* (With Jeremy Hornsby) ''One Day I'll Forget My Trousers'' (autobiography), London, 1975.

References

External links

*
Radio Rewind Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Pete 1925 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British radio personalities British radio DJs English radio presenters Conservative Party (UK) people Male actors from London Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters Officers of the Order of the British Empire