This article is about the broadcaster. For those with an identical-sounding, but differently-spelled name, see Mike Reid. Mike Reid can refer to Mike Reid (entertainer (1940-2007 late English comedian and actor best known for his role as Frank Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders

A trick photograph of Mike Read

Mike Read (1 March 1948) is a British broadcaster, writer and television presenter. The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event

Pre-Broadcasting

As a young boy Read took dancing and singing lessons with Julie Andrews' mother and aunt and appeared in many amateur stage productions from an early age. His grandfather bought him his first guitar and he got his first songs published at the age of sixteen. In between studying he played and sang in pubs and clubs in the Surrey area. At college he wrote a spoof operetta and his first book of poems.

Broadcasting

Read has won many broadcaster of the year awards including Sonys, Smash Hits and Carl Allan Awards. Read's professional broadcasting career began in March 1976 at Reading's Radio 210, where he co-hosted a show with Steve Wright, before joining Radio Luxembourg late in 1977. 2Ten FM (Originally styled 2-Ten FM) is an Independent Local Radio station serving Berkshire and North Hampshire with studios in Reading Stephen Richard (Steve Wright (born 26 August 1954 in Greenwich, London) is a radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom. Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

He joined Radio One at the end of 1978 and was soon presenting the night time programme before John Peel's show, where he championed new groups and featured live sessions. He was one of the most popular Roadshow presenters during his time at the station and took over the Breakfast Show in January 1981.

Following on from his five year stint on Radio 1's Breakfast show, Read took over a Sunday morning show in 1986, from 10 a. m. -12. 30 p. m. . In 1987, he moved to Saturday Mornings from 10 a. m. -1 p. m. , & also a Sunday afternoon show from 1-3 p. m. , where he played classic tracks. In addition to this, Mike also hosted 'Round Table and later went back to it as the re-named 'Singled Out on Friday evenings. This is where musicians and disc jockeys would review the new single releases. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience

Read's Saturday morning show ended in September 1988 & his Sunday afternoon oldies shows finished in December 1988. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) This was when Alan Freeman rejoined the station to host an oldies version of Pick of the Pops. Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 &ndash 27 November 2006 was a British Disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom Pick of the Pops in its original incarnation was a BBC radio programme based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme

From January 1989 to September 1990, Read presented a weekly show called The Mike Read Collection which went out on Monday evenings, and still remained on the Friday panel show Singled Out (which had now reverted to its original name of Round Table). Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) He remained on this slot, until 1991. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.

After Radio One

Read left Radio 1 in 1991 and moved to Capital Gold, (then a London-only station), presenting his Mike Read Collection, which went out on a Sunday Night, before taking on the Weekday Drivetime show in mid-1992, where he remained until he left the station in late 1995. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Gold is a network of oldies Radio stations which was formed by the merger of the Capital Gold network and the Classic Gold Network in August 2007 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

Also in 1992, Read was heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting special shows looking back at Cliff Richard's career and playing his music. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman.

In addition to his Daily Show on Capital Gold, he joined Classic FM, where he presented a weekend show. Gold is a network of oldies Radio stations which was formed by the merger of the Capital Gold network and the Classic Gold Network in August 2007 Classic FM is one of the United Kingdom 's three Independent National Radio stations broadcasting classical music in a popular and accessible style In 1996, he presented the networked Breakfast ShowClassic Gold stations around the UK. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Classic Gold was a network of three "Gold" music formatted stations which broadcast on AM in Bradford, Hull and Sheffield.

In September 1999, he presented the Breakfast Show on Jazz FM in the North of England, then in 2001 joined Spirit FM in the South of England, firstly presenting a Sunday morning show from 10am-1pm then moving to a weekday afternoon show from 2-3pm, playing music from various featured years. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Spirit FM was also a Country music station in Southern Ontario before it was closed down

In 2003, Read presented a Saturday Morning show on the Magic network around the UK, where he remained until 2004. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Magic is a music Radio and (later a TV brand in the United Kingdom, run by the German publishing company Bauer. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

In May 2005, he became the weekday morning presenter on Big L 1395, a station modelled on the 1960s pirate radio station. May 2005 was the fifth month of that year It began on a Sunday and ended after 31 days on a Tuesday. Big L is the name of a broadcasting company registered by the British licencing authority Ofcom from June 11 2002 to June 10 2100 for a satellite radio service The term pirate radio usually refers to illegal or unregulated radio transmissions He has also done occasional stints on Talksport. talkSPORT is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters offering a commercial sports and talk radio service from London Big L also broadcasts across Europe on Sky 0190 and around the world on line at www. bigl. co. uk. Among the line up of presenters are former Radio One colleagues, David Hamilton, Emperor Rosko and Adrian John as well as former Capital colleague Randell Lee Rose. David Hamilton or Dave Hamilton or Davey Hamilton may refer to David Hamilton of Cadzow, 3rd Laird of Cadzow (c

Mike made a guest appearance on BBC Radio Berkshire Sunday 1st June 2008

Television

He combined his radio work with a second career as a TV presenter, hosting the popular Saturday morning programme Saturday Superstore, as well as the Saturday Night music game show Pop Quiz,which regularly got audiences of 10 million and featured rock and pop stars answering music trivia questions. Saturday Superstore was a Children's television series, broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1987. Trivia (singular trivium) are unimportant (or "trivial" items especially of information The show spawned board game and computer game spin-offs. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather The penultimate episode of Pop Quiz in 1984 featured a face-off between New Romantic icons Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. New Romantic was a short- lived Fashion and music movement that occurred primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the very early 1980s Spandau Ballet were a popular British band in the 1980s Initially inspired by a mixture of Funk and Synthpop, the group eventually mellowed into a Duran Duran are an English Pop rock band famous for a long series of popular singles, albums and vivid Music videos for which they've won two During the 90s he hosted Sky Gold's Goldmaster and in 1994 returned to host a one-off special of the show for the anniversary of Top Of The Pops. Additionally, he presented Top of the Pops on many occasions between 1978 and 1989, and hosted Yorkshire Television's children's series Pop Quest from 1977 to 1979. Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart Television programme, made and broadcast Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise In 2005 he returned to co-host the show when his single 'Grief Never Grows Old' reached #4 in the singles chart. He is a regular newspaper reviewer for Sky News.

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here

In 2004, Read was one of the contestants recruited for the jungle-based ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! though his stay in the Australian outback was short-lived — he was the first celebrity to be evicted by the viewing public. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here! is a Reality television show in which celebrities live in jungle conditions with few creature comforts and have to earn For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Outback or the Outback refers to remote arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can refer to any lands outside of the main Urban areas He recorded a charity single off the back of the show when he lyrically re-worked Hank Mizell's Jungle Rock and as The Jungle Boys (with Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and (Lord) Charlie Brocket had a UK Top 30 hit single. The follow-up, which made the top 75 was a new version of Mungo Jerry's' In The Summertime.

Stalkers

Read is one of many celebrities who have had trouble with stalkers. Read famously had a stalker who has changed her name to Blue Tulip Rose Read and believes that she is married to him. Blue Tulip Rose Read was the infamous Stalker of British TV and radio personality Mike Read. Rose appeared in a 1996 Channel 4 documentary as part of a fame theme night. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began

Songwriting

Read has written songs for dozens of artists, including, Cliff Richard, Donovan, Leo Sayer, Don McLean, Steve Harley, David Essex, Colin Bliunstone, Jon Anderson, Gene Pitney, Alvin Stardust, Captain Sensible, Annie Haslam, Matchbox, Kym Mazelle and Justin Hayward. He has also had his work recorded by The Kings College Choir, The Eton College Choir, The Rodolfus Choir and HM Band of the Royakl Marines. He and Simon May won the TV Them of the Year Award in 1992 for the theme from the TV series, Trainer, performed by Cliff Richard. He also provided the voice on the single for Slade's hit Radio Wall Of Sound as well as appearing in the video. A collection of his releases from the 70s and 80s was released with considerable success in Japan a couple of years ago. He has however never had a UK hit on his own. In 2005 his song 'Grief Never Grows Old' reached #4 in the Uk singles chart. The star-studded line up of artists performing it were Brian Wilson, Barry & Robin Gibb, Steve Winwood, Cliff Richard, Russell Watson, Boy George, America, Rick Wakeman, Bill Wyman, Kenney Jones, Gary Moore Selins Cherry and members of Brian wilson's group. The single, in aid of the Tsunami was written by Read and produced by Steve Levine. The single also featured versions by a Sri Lankan Choir and The Children's Orchestra of Great Britain.

Musicals

Read has had many musicals on stage, including Young Apollo, Oscar, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol,Cliff the Musical and Ricky Nelson. . . Teenage Idol. He took one of the lead roles in the Cliff Musical, touring with it and appearing for a three month run in the West End at the Price of Wales Theatre. His Betjeman show, based on his many collaborations with Sir John Betjeman form the basis of a show that has occasionally been staged for charities, including The Royal Marsden Hospital and Children With Lukaemia. Eminent actors appearing in his musicals andf shows have included Nyree Dawn Porter, Brian Glover , Colin Baker, Anton Rogers, jeremy Irons, Alvin Stardust and Bernard Cribbens.

However as in his radio career he is remembered for a disaster. His Oscar Wilde:the Musical closed after one night after thunderously bad reviews. The Daily Telegraph received it with "incredulous contempt" and referred to Read's "presumptuous mediocrity". For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. ^[1]

Books & Poetry

He was one of the founder editors of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, the best-known UK chart reference book, and also co-wrote many of the other Guinness music books. he and his fellow authors received a special award for the sales of the Guinness books, one of which topped the best-selling book chart. In his own right he is the author of 35 books, the most current being 'Forever England' a new biography of Rupert Brooke,'Major to Minor: The Rise and Fall of the Songwriter (2000) and, with Richard Havers, Read's Musical Reciter (2004), a collection of trivia from the music business. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. His poetry books include 'The Aldermoor Poems,' 'Elizabethan Dragonflies,A Room With Books' and the latest, "New Poems for Old Paintings. "Also on the Poetry front he has edited and supplied biographies for the two best-selling poetry books '100 Favourite Poems' and '100 Favourite Humorous Poems' and contributed to many of the 'Poets' England' series. He has just completed his first crime novel and is currently working on a second.

The Rupert Brooke Society

In 1999 he founded the Rupert Brooke Society of which he was Chairman for a few years as well as editing the Society's twice-yearly magazine and creating a museum at The Orchard Grantchester with Robin Callan

Contemporary Art

In October 2007, Read embarked on a career in the world of contemporary art, with a gallery of works in the medium of confectionery entitled Choc Art. The work includes recreations of album sleeves by The Beatles, his own take on the iconic map of the London Underground, and works based on the paintings of L.S. Lowry [1]. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Laurence Stephen Lowry (1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976 was an English Artist born on Barrett Street Stretford, Lancashire. By the beginning of 2008 he has created over 25 canvasses. Two galleries had exhibitions of his Choc Art at the latter end of 2007 in Surrey and Hampshire and another in Essex in January 2008. At Easter 2008 there was a successful exhibition at the Julie-Ann Gilburt Gallery in Brighton.

Politics

Having spoken three times at Conservative Party conferences, including in 2006 entertaining guests at a Tory conference dinner with a ten minute political rap^[2], Read claims he was asked to run for the Conservative Party nomination for the London Mayoral elections in 2008. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The London mayoral election 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May, 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate ^[3]

References

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External links

• Big L Radio London International website
• Pop Quiz at the Internet Movie Database