It was in the interval of watching a Cliff Richard concert in Cardiff last night that I learned that Brian Hayes had died at the age of 87. I knew he was ill, but it was still something of a shock, following hot on the heels of learning that one of my footballing heroes, Billy Bonds, had died earlier that morning
Brian had a huge influence on me and my rather late in life new career as a presenter on speech radio. I had appeared many times on his LBC and Radio 5 Live late night shows, and was fascinated by his unique style. If he thought a caller was talking nonsense he had no compunction about telling them so. He could be irascible, irritable and had little patience for the uninformed. It was a joy to watch the master at work. He could always spot a weakness in an argument and many was the time he put me in my place.
I never worked out where he stood politically, even though he wasn’t backward in coming forward with opinions of his own, even on his BBC shows.
No one could dispute the role of Brian Hayes in developing UK speech radio. He joined LBC in 1976 as the host of the mid morning slot, and held down the role for 14 years. There was no one like him on the radio and he garnered admirers from all over, and this eventually led to him joining the BBC where he presented various shows on Radio 2, including a short period on the breakfast show. He eventually went freelance, rejoining LBC in 2000 and 5 Live a little later. He regularly stood in for Jeremy Vine, when he took over from Jimmy Young.
I interviewed him on LBC in October 2013 on LBC’s 40th anniversary on my then Drivetime show. My imposter syndrome really kicked in – it really was the apprentice interviewing the master. When the interview was over, he told me how proud of me he was for what I had achieved as he knew it was always what I had wanted to do, but didn’t get the chance until quite late on. Only a few months earlier, I had won Radio Presenter of the Year, and he knew all about it.
I can honestly say that without Brian Hayes I would not have had the radio career I have had. He was a total inspiration.
I will be paying tribute to Brian on my LBC show this evening.