My heroes in 1978 were Debbie Harry, Poison Ivy, Fay Fife, and Tina Weymouth so it wouldn’t have entered my head that it was unusual for a woman to present OGWT in 1978. And as that woman was the cooler than cool Anne Nightingale – tinted hair, smoky voice, sunglasses – I never really understood why some men’s musical noses would be put out of joint. As she points out, she didn’t just appear out of nowhere in 1978, she’d been honing her craft for years: DJ, presenter, journalist, an all-rounder who lucky for us loved music and whose real focus was being a DJ, “I didn’t join a radio station in order to seek fame or promote my public profile…my thing was my passion for music”. Hey Hi Hello demonstrates this by intercutting the highs (and occasional lows) of her career as a broadcaster and DJ with interviews with Bob Marley, Ian Dury, Dusty Springfield, Mike Skinner, and Little Simz among others. Her musical knowledge is immense not because she worked at being a scenester or was good at music biz bullshit but because her interest and excitement about music has never waned. For anyone who’s thinking about becoming a DJ I can think of no better primer than this fabulous book. Well done Annie Nightingale (and White Rabbit books).

Hey Hi Hello – Annie Nightingale– Publ. by White Rabbit Books- £10.99

Steven Long