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Annie Nightingale didn’t only kick down doors in radio – she held them open


The late Radio 1 DJ was inspiring for so many reasons: her unbounded tastes, her all-star connections, and her refusal to be a gatekeeper

Photograph: Richard Young/REX/ShutterstockNightingale was a pioneer, then, and a tireless music enthusiast who had little interest in fame (when she landed the Radio 1 job, she asked to be on in the evenings, all the better to play whichever records took her fancy). Nightingale’s musical connections were remarkable – along with the Beatles, she interviewed Keith Moon, Bob Marley, Dusty Springfield, Marc Bolan, Malcolm McLaren and David Bowie. Like her one-time contemporary John Peel, Nightingale was held in high regard by musicians of all stripes who would deluge her with demos in the hope of getting her seal of approval and, if possible, some airtime on her show.

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