Pop Pickers and Music Vendors
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David Jacobs, Alan Freeman, John Peel, Tommy Vance and Roger Scott were in their different ways five of the greatest pioneering British disc jockeys of the last sixty years. All were accomplished media personalities in their own right, and all were passionate and well-informed about the music they presented on radio and sometimes television. Jacobs, a much-respected broadcaster for over sixty years, was the face of 'Juke Box Jury' and the maestro of easy listening and songs from the shows; 'Fluff' Freeman the pop-picker, who introduced the Top 20 rundown, later championing heavy and progressive rock, followed by opera and the classics; Peel revelled in the alternative music scene generally shunned by most daytime presenters; Vance, 'the Music Vendor' the friend and lover of hard rock and New Wave of British Heavy Metal; and Scott an eclectic mix of genres in a career which sadly proved all too short. This book examines the lives and careers of each.
John Van der Kiste has published over fifty books, including works on royal and historical biography, local history, true crime, music and fiction, and is a contributor to the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'. His previous titles for Fonthill include 'Jeff Lynne: The Electric Light Orchestra-Before and After', 'Alfred-Queen Victoria's Second Son', and 'The Prussian Princesses-Sisters of Kaiser Wilhelm II'. He lives in Devon.