Steve Blame is a British

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. He was the news editor and presenter between 1987 and 1994 for the television channel

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Education

Blame received a Combined Honours Degree: Mathematics and Physics from

Exeter University The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...

in 1980, and a master's degree in screen writing from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

in 2006.

Career

MTV

Blame presented MTV news bulletins from the MTV studios in Camden, and also on location in several countries in Europe. He presented ''MTV News at Night'' from 1987 to 1994, and the daily news show. During his time at MTV he interviewed many pop stars of that era. As the main on-air presenter he also interviewed

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

, the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

and

Gro Harlem Brundtland Gro Brundtland (; née Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician in the Labour Party, who served three terms as the prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, and 1990–1996), as the leader of her party from 1981 to 1992, and as the d ...

. In this function, he commented on an MTV campaign trying to get young people to vote. Blame hosted ''MTV Free Your Mind'' in 1992, with live debate about

racism in Europe Racism has been a recurring part of the history of Europe. Belarus Belgium Racism in Belgium existed since its independence declaration during the colonial era. A 2011 study shows that racism against sub-saharan people is strongly influenced ...

with studio guests including Campino and

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs in ...

amongst others), and filmed interviews included

Wolfgang Schäuble Wolfgang Schäuble (; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic G ...

and

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

MP. He hosted MTV's

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

awareness campaigns on

World Aids Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...

. ''Take the Blame'' in 1988 was a weekly six-part

chat show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...

hosted by Blame and

Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometime ...

. Guests included Jackie Collins, The Communards, Boy George,

Adam West William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in ...

(Batman), Nina Hagen, Lenny Henry, Leo Sayer, Jean Michel Jarre and Dolph Lundgren amongst others. The show contained sketches remaking famous movie scenes including ''Casablanca'', ''Superman'' and ''The Sound of Music''. He hosted MTV's U.S. Video Music Awards (European version), and was a backstage host from MTV's Video Music Awards from the U.S. Interviews included

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

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 ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

, and

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

. ''Reverb'' in 1988 was a weekly review show, presented by Blame and

Chris Salewicz Chris Salewicz ( ) is a journalist, broadcaster and novelist who lives in London. Career Salewicz was as a senior features writer for the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1975 to 1981, where, under tutelage of editor Neil Spencer, he an ...

. This six-part series was replaced by ''Take the Blame''. He also hosted interview specials with artists 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, ...

in Milan,

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

, and

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 ...

Viva 2 (1994-1996)

After leaving MTV in 1994, Blame moved to Germany where he set up VIVA Zwei. Under his direction the channel won the Gold Art Director's Award for its on-air design in 1996. Blame was the presenter of Geschmacksache – a weekly format on Viva Zwei where artists chose the videos which inspired them the most in their careers. From 1994 to 1996 he was the channel's

program director In service industries, such as education, a program manager or program director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services. For example, in education, a program director is responsible for developing ...

Tango TV

In 2002 Blame became program director at Tango TV, and was responsible for the launch of the music channel 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 ...

Other TV appearances

Blame made a guest appearance on ''

TV total ''TV total'' is a German late-night television comedy talk show which originally aired from 8 March 1999 to 16 December 2015 on ProSieben, hosted, created and produced by entertainer Stefan Raab. Following a six-year hiatus, it was revived on 1 ...

'', a German late-night television comedy talk show that on

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

. On RTL, he fronted alternative view features for RTL's Saturday evening show including The Royal Wedding, The German Test and the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. He also appeared as a guest on

RTL II RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by ''RTL2 Television GmbH & Co. KG''. RTL2 is a private general entertainment ''(Vollprogramm)'' tv channel on the bas ...

in the 1990s, on ''Pop Sünde'' (Pop Sins) and on ''The Pop Years''. He made a guest appearance on

MTV Germany MTV is a German language free-to-air television channel operated by Paramount Global. The channel launched on 7 March 1997 as MTV Central, as part of a regionalisation strategy by MTV Networks Europe. Availability The channel primarily se ...

to celebrate its 23rd anniversary. On ITV he was the presenter of ''Simply The Best'', a music documentary about

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

in 1992.

Acting

Blame played himself in '' 30:e november'', a Swedish anti-racist movie directed by Daniel Fridell.

Discography

Blame performed on the single ''Give Me Your Love (Je T'aime)'' in 1993 with

La Camilla Camilla Maria Henemark (born 23 October 1964), also known as La Camilla, is a Swedes, Swedish singer, actress, political spokesperson, and former fashion model. Biography Henemark was born in Stockholm, to a Nigerian father and a Swedish mother ...

of Army of Lovers.

Screenwriting

Blame is currently a

and TV format developer based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. His latest format ''Where is the Money'', co-created with

Eyeworks Warner Bros. International Television Production Netherlands (WBITVP Netherlands), formerly known as Eyeworks, is an Amsterdam-based international television production company founded by Reinout Oerlemans, Robert van den Bogaard and Ronald van W ...

and 2STV, was nominated for the Rose d'Or award in 2005. It has run in the Netherlands and Spain. His autobiography, ''Getting Lost is Part of the Journey: MTV, Deutschland und Ich'' (), was published in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blame, Steve Living people American television journalists Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of East Anglia American male journalists British LGBTQ broadcasters Year of birth missing (living people)