Andy Craig (left), Elton John (centre), and Giles Squire (right).
ByANDY FLEMING
WEBMASTER
Now then, it has been a while since a former Metro Radio presenter has contacted the site directly, so it is a big "thumbs up" to Andy Craig who many will remember from his presentation work on Metro Radio in the late seventies. Andy was also a newsreader, in-vision continuity announcer at Tyne Tees Television and presenter of news magazine Northern Life at around the same time. This is what Andy had to say.
Neil Robinson gave me my first break. I had studied
Agriculture at Newcastle University and graduated in June 1976. I went off to
find fame and fortune, got some shifts with Radio 210 Thames Valley
Broadcasting (the home of Mike Read and Steve Wright) before returning to the North East.
Neil was a farmer in Slaley and liked the fact that I could talk his
language....I got the job!
I joined (Metro Radio) in the late summer 1976 as an assistant to Geoff Brown, and Geoff and I went on to programme all the daily strip shows for almost two years
to guarantee the station sound. The programme controller Mick Johnson didn't
believe that the presenters could be trusted to choose their own music. True in
some cases!
I was instrumental in helping produce the Gentle on Your
Mind jingle package which used the John Miles break from 'Music' as the news
jingle. Geoff Brown was constantly looking for inspiration and I brought in my
own collection of soul and jazz sounds to entice him....One of them by Young
Holt Unlimited 'Soulful Strut' made it through to the Metro New Sound
jingle.....How we got away with it!!
I made it to air with 'Simply Soul' with the soul show long
after Big Phil had gone. I think it was on a Thursday night.
I stayed at Metro until 1978 when I joined Tyne Tees.
Initially in continuity and then News. I went on to front Northern Life with Tom
Coyne (and on my own at the tender age of 27).
I then moved to Central ITV in
Nottingham and anchored the news in the Midlands for close on ten years before
moving to BBC Pebble Mill and Daytime Live. Then it was on to launch the ITV
franchise Meridian, hosting Meridian tonight for thirteen years. In between I hosted
TV-am with Anne Diamond, countless weeks of This Morning with Fern...and for
some reason a whole raft of game shows including Sporting Triangles (ITV), One
False Move (Sky), Going Going Gone (BBC1) BrainWave (BBC2), Search Line Special
with Cilla.....and so on and so on.
Perhaps most interestingly I invested wisely and went on to
own
As you can see I am Chairman and shareholder of a company
that is still pioneering in the broadcast world with most of its work in the
United States. It's a fascinating business.
I have some interesting early photos at Metro which I will
look out and some amazing memories. Including meeting Mohammed Ali who wanted
to take away the song he had heard on Metro as he was driven to the studios. I
gave him the K-Tel album from which the track was played.....you wouldn't argue
would you.
Finally if you look at the 40 year YouTube video there is a
'still' before Giles makes his speech. That is yours truly with Giles.....and
could it be Elton John under the hat?
All the best
Contact Andy via this website: www.ionoco.com
And thanks to you Andy for contacting the website. Good to hear from you!
