Veteran DJ Alan Freeman Dies

Alan Freeman joined the BBC from Australia in 1960

Veteran DJ Alan "Fluff" Freeman, whose "Not 'arf" catchphrase made him a household name, has died aged 79.

The former BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 presenter had been living in a nursing home in London since 2000 after being diagnosed with arthritis.

Freeman joined the BBC in 1960 after a spell working in his native Australia.

His Pick of the Pops programme - with its distinctive theme tune (At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal) and his "greetings, pop pickers" introduction - saw him become one of the UK's top DJs. This was the original forerunner of today's chart countdown which started in 1962. His imtiminable style of counting down the chart then always ending with That's Right - Goodnight - Stay Bright

You can listen to a clip of him introducing a 1964 Pick Of The Pops HERE

Freeman, nicknamed “Fluff†because of a fluffy pullover he used to wear, had a career spanning four decades on UK radio and worked for a number of the leading stations, including Radios One and Two and Capital Radio.

He passed away at Brinsworth House in Twickenham, a nursing home that had been his home since 2000 when he was diagnosed with arthritis.

Freeman was born in Australia in 1927 and arrived in the UK in 1957 to work, beginning with a spell on Radio Luxembourg.

Four years after arriving in the country he joined the BBC, hosting the Light Programme’s Pick of the Pops programme - with its distinctive theme tune (At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal) and his "greetings, pop pickers" introduction - saw him become one of the UK's top DJs. This was the original forerunner of today's chart countdown which started in 1962. His imtiminable style of counting down the chart then always ending with That's Right - Goodnight - Stay Bright, which became a weekly institution for music fans and was one of the few programmes on the BBC each week to play hit records. It was here, accompanied by the programme’s distinctive theme tune, that listeners would first hear him utter such catchphrases as “Greetings pop pickers†which became his calling card over the ensuing years.

He was part of the launch presentation team for Radio One in 1967, continuing to host Pick Of The Pops until 1972 at the station and then the Saturday Rock Show from 1973 until 1978. He left the station to join Capital Radio in 1979, presenting Pick Of The Pops Take Two, but rejoined Radio One in 1989 to host Pick Of The Pops as an oldies chart show on Sundays as well as a Saturday rock show.

A period with Capital Gold and Virgin Radio in the early Nineties was followed by a return to the BBC in 1997, this time with Radio Two to host Pick Of The Pops. A year later he was awarded an MBE. He also broadcast an opera/classical show for the station. However, illness forced him to give up in 2002.

He was also one of the original Gang Of 4 when Top Of The Pops began - in fact he introduced the 2nd show and went on to present it into the early 70s.

His last TV appearance was on the programme about TOTP before it ended.

R.I.P. Alan

Not 'arf

Edited November 29, 200618 yr by Euro Music