HEY HI HELLO | BOOK REVIEW

Annie Nightingale (White Rabbit)

Broadcasting legend Annie Nightingale thought that her time at the Beeb was over after an episode of Roundtable went dangerously off the rails on air, an incident fully documented in all its glory within the pages of Hey Hi Hello: Five Decades Of Pop Culture From Britain’s First Female DJ – but Nightingale is still on the airwaves, hanging in there for five decades playing what she wants and at the same time providing a template and inspiration to all those who have followed in her footsteps.

Nightingale was the first female broadcaster on Radio 1 in 1970 and her tales of surviving in a stifling, male-dominated arena are told vividly within Hey Hi Hello, whose non-linear format concentrates primarily on her broadcasting experiences with myriad famous guests. Chapters are broken up with interviews that have been conducted by the author over the years. The Bob Marley chapter is pure joy, as is Nightingale travelling to Kennington to meet Ian Dury outside his flat, and her interview with Karl Hyde of Underworld is mesmerising.

There is tense drama as Nightingale finds herself caught up in the LA riots when Hollywood burns in the early 90s. In fact, it is delightful to see conscious industrial hip-hop renegades The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy get a good mention in that chapter. But there again, the DJ has always had impeccable taste over the years when it comes to enthusiastically promoting innovative music – she was playing Daft Punk long before many people on these shores had a clue who they were, for example. Jam-packed with stories and events that span decades of music and culture, from the Beatles via Marc Bolan to Primal Scream and Little Simz, as a result Hey Hi Hello is very hard to put down.

words DAVID NOBAKHT

Price: £20. Info: here