Alumnus BBC Radio announcer Steve Wright, an eminent voice on the airwaves in the United Kingdom, has passed away at the age of 69.
Born in Greenwich, London in 1954, Wright’s professional journey at the BBC commenced when he commenced laboring as a clerk. Subsequently, in 1976, he departed to inaugurate his broadcasting career at Radio 210 in Reading. Wright commenced his tenure at the BBC in the 1970s, subsequently helming programs on BBC Radio 1 and 2 for over four decades, drawing in myriad listeners, and was a venerable host of Top Of The Pops. The broadcaster joined BBC Radio 1 in 1980 to helm a Saturday evening broadcast before transitioning to host Steve Wright In The Afternoon a year later until 1993.
Wright then assumed the helm of the Radio 1 Breakfast show for a year until 1995, and undertook a period at commercial radio stations before rejoining BBC Radio 2 in 1996 to present Steve Wright’s Saturday Show and Sunday Love Songs.
In 1999, he revived Steve Wright In The Afternoon every weekday on Radio 2, incorporating celebrity dialogues and engrossing trivialities featured in his Factoids segment, prior to relinquishing his role in September 2022.
Wright persisted in hosting Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2 and since October last year, he spearheaded the long-standing show Pick Of The Pops, which had formerly been spearheaded by renowned radio DJ Paul Gambaccini.
He was appointed an MBE for his contributions to radio in the December 2023 new year honors list and expressed his desire to dedicate it “to all the individuals in broadcasting who provided solace and public service during the pandemic”.
His latest on-air appearance was on Sunday, presenting a pre-recorded special Valentine’s Day edition of his Love Songs series on Radio 2.
A declaration conveyed to the broadcaster by Wright’s kinfolk stated: “It is with profound sorrow and great lamentation that we announce the demise of our cherished Steve Wright.
“In conjunction with his son, Tom, and daughter, Lucy, Steve departs behind his sibling, Laurence, and his patriarch Richard. Moreover, dearly beloved intimate companions and associates, and myriad devoted radio listeners who had the good fortune and immense delight of welcoming Steve into their day-to-day existence as one of the UK’s most enduring and admired radio personalities.
“As we all undergo mourning, the family beseeches privacy during this exceedingly arduous period.”
Steve Wright (center) with colleagues Tony Blackburn (left) and Paul Gambaccini during the Sony Radio Awards launch soirée in London, in 2002. Photograph: Michael Crabtree/PA Wire
His confidant and longstanding BBC Radio comrade Ken Bruce articulated he was “completely astounded” by the news as he disclosed they were contemplating commemorating Wright’s “well-deserved” MBE with a luncheon in the near future in a homage post on social media.
“An exceptional and innovative broadcaster whose audience adored him. What a deprivation to the domain of radio,” he appended.
In a poignant video message disseminated on Instagram, Gambaccini recollected inscribing: “If you wish to encounter the foremost radio luminary of the radio 1980s, heed Steve Wright” in his column in the Radio Times numerous years ago. He appended alongside the post: “We will cherish you eternally. We will yearn for you.”
Head of BBC Radio 2, Helen Thomas, expounded Wright “comprehended the linkage and camaraderie that radio fosters better than anyone, and we all admired him for it” in her homage post.
“He was an consummate professional whose meticulousness was invariably unparalleled, and he elicited mirth from his guests, he was equitable, and he aspired to exhibit them and their labor in the optimum light, imparting splendid tales to our listeners”, she appended.
She reminisced sensing “complete astonishment” witnessing him 20 years ago when he emerged as the foremost presenter she produced.
“For each of us at Radio 2, he was a splendid colleague and a comrade with his outstanding wit, generosity with his time, and perpetual sagacious utterances,” she appended.
“We were fortunate to have him with us for all these decades, and we will yearn for his talent and his comradeship terribly.”
BBC director general Tim Davie paid tribute to Wright, remarking everyone at the BBC is “grief-stricken” at the “dreadfully sorrowful news”.
He appended: Steve was a truly remarkable broadcaster who has been an extensive component of so many of our lives over myriad decades. He was the ultimate professional – fervent about the artistry of radio and profoundly in tune with his audience.
