Paul Gambaccini pays tribute to Steve Wright, who revolutionised British radio

More than 40 years ago, Gambaccini used his column in Radio Times to tell readers, "Steve Wright is likely to be one of [BBC Radio's] big names in the '80s, so you should get to know him before seven million others do."

"I was instantly captivated by Steve, because of what tens of millions would go on to hear in the coming years," says Gambaccini. "With very little resources, he was creating an entire world – a world of optimism, humour and sunlight. He illuminated the lives of generations."

It was as if Wright created a club, says Gambaccini, and all you had to do to join was listen. "And if you were in this club, you had a one-to-one relationship with Steve Wright."

"Wrighty" did what all the greats did, according to his fellow broadcaster: "Go with what you've got". He didn't try to be a music expert, but he had an intuitive knowledge of radio, the medium he would dominate with unassuming mastery for more than four decades.

According to Gambaccini, after he was hired by Radio 1, Wright would often fly to the United States for the weekend, book a hotel or drive around, simply to sample different radio shows and pick up ideas.

The DJ was excited by the "zoo format", in which the presenter is joined in the studio by sidekicks and co-hosts. Wright was the first to introduce it to British schedules, even creating fictional on-air partners and comedy characters, including Gervais the hairdresser and Mr Angry.

Many of our best-loved broadcasters owe a debt to Wright for the radio revolution he launched, as they have been quick to acknowledge. "Greg James of Radio 1 said that without Steve Wright there would be no Greg James Show, nor many of the breakfast shows that came before it," Gambaccini says.

Wright's effortless style belied meticulous presentation. He was very good technically, according to Gambaccini. "There are people like Steve and Noel Edmonds who were very good at making it all look spontaneous. Both of them were geniuses of timing, of putting a show together for maximum impact."

A former controller of Radio 2, Jim Moir, who brought Wright to the station, used to say of another presenter, "He thinks about his show the moment his arse hits the seat." By contrast, Wright would come in hours before his programme every day to prepare it. "He was putting in a nine-to-five day for a three- hour show," says Gambaccini.

"Like Kenny Everett, whom Steve greatly admired, he treated the studio like an instrument. Most of us just tolerated it, but Steve would come in with piles of tape cartridges – the cutting-edge audio technology of the day – and they were full of voices, jingles, musical passages... Watching him in the studio was like looking at an octopus, he was arms, arms, arms!"

The two DJs had dinner together from time to time. "He would invite me to the RAC Club in London," recalls Gambaccini. "In fact, the last time I spoke to him, a few days before his death, he was on the steps of the club and I warned him not to get soaked in the rain."

After it emerged that his Radio 2 weekday afternoon Big Show was coming to an end, Wright confided in his friend. He left the show in 2022 but continued to present his Sunday Love Songs programme. "Steve was disappointed when, to his personal surprise, he was cut off in his ratings prime," says Gambaccini.

"He was incredulous from the perspective that he was still doing the job. But what he hadn’t anticipated was that the station wanted different listeners."

The two presenters discussed reports that the BBC is planning new digital stations, including a spin-off channel for Radio 2 listeners who want to hear the hits of the '50s, '60s and '70s. "We were the only two people mentioned in the press release so we thought 'let’s check in with each other'. Now Steve will never find out what was intended."

Gambaccini says the best tribute to his old friend is that he made the lives of many other people better. "Think about that – millions of people every year, for 44 years. He had one of the biggest radio audiences in history. This wasn't the death of a star – it was the death of a giant."

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