Background and career
Stephen Richard Wright (26 August 1954 – 12 February 2024) was an English disc jockey, radio personality and occasional television presenter credited with introducing the morning zoo format to British radio with a humorous collection of personalities. He presented Steve Wright in the Afternoon for 12 years on BBC Radio 1 and 23 years on BBC Radio 2, two of the BBC's national radio stations. He continued to present his Sunday Love Songs on Radio 2 until his death and, in October 2023, he took over as the host of the long-running Pick of the Pops chart show. On BBC Television, Wright hosted Home Truths, Steve Wright's People Show, Auntie's TV Favourites, Top of the Pops and TOTP2. Wright won Best DJ of the Year, as voted by the Daily Mirror Readers Poll and by Smash Hits in 1994. In 1998, he was awarded TRIC Personality of the Year for his radio programmes. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to radio. He was described by Paul Gambaccini as being "among the all-time greats of radio".
Stephen Richard Wright was born on 26 August 1954 in Greenwich, and grew up in New Cross, in South London. He had a brother, Laurence. Their father, Richard, managed the Burton's store in Trafalgar Square. After the family moved to Essex, Wright attended the Eastwood High School for Boys near Southend-on-Sea, where he broadcast a nascent radio show over the speaker system from the stock cupboard. Having finished school with only three O‑levels, he worked in maritime insurance and as a local newspaper reporter. He joined the BBC staff in the early 1970s working as a returns clerk in the Gramophone Library in Egton House, opposite Broadcasting House in London, before leaving to start broadcasting in 1976 at Radio 210 Thames Valley in Reading, Berkshire, where he would present the weekday breakfast show in the latter part of his tenure. He also presented a weekend 'double-header' with Mike Read, called the Read & Wright Show. In 1979, Wright got his big break at Radio Luxembourg, where he presented his own nightly show. He was known for the characters he created, and referred to himself as DJ Silly Boi during the Friday afternoon Serious Jockin' segment of his Radio 2 programme in latter years.
In November 1979, it was announced that Wright would join BBC Radio 1 in January 1980, initially taking over a Saturday evening slot, before moving to Saturday mornings later that year.
Wright moved to daytime radio with Steve Wright in the Afternoon in 1981, and it is regularly stated in articles and features on Steve that he introduced the zoo format to the UK. His producer at the time, however, Jonathan Ruffle, has since documented that Steve's show consisted of far more elements than zoo-style multiple personalities in the studio. In October 1983, Wright took over a Sunday morning show entitled Steve Wright on Sunday, which meant he presented weekday afternoons from Mondays to Thursdays, with Gary Davies being the first to take over Friday afternoon's show, until he moved to the lunchtime programme in March 1984. He was then replaced by Adrian John until September of that year, when Mark Page took over for almost a year, until Paul Jordan replaced him until May 1986, when Wright's Sunday morning show ended, leading to him returning to five afternoons a week. The first run of Steve Wright in the Afternoon was from 1981 to 1993 on BBC Radio 1. The show had a cast of telephone characters created and performed by Gavin McCoy, Peter Dickson, Richard Easter and Phil Cornwell. Like his mentor, Kenny Everett, Wright went out of his way to be irreverent, including stories taken from the Weekly World News. The success led to a hit single, I'll Be Back, released under the name Arnee and the Terminaters. In later years, the style changed, dumping most of the characters and instead having a new format with spoof guests and comedy sketches. A "posse" of producers and radio staff joined in. Another regular character was "Mr Angry from Purley". The Smiths' 1986 hit single "Panic" was inspired by Wright playing "I'm Your Man" by Wham! following a news bulletin about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Johnny Marr and Morrissey were listening and were disturbed by the contrast in tone. The song's lyrics about the event finished; "Hang the DJ" and this slogan appeared on a promotional T-shirt above a picture of Wright. The DJ took it well and bought one of the T-shirts.
In 1994, Wright and his Posse moved to the Radio 1 breakfast show, which was renamed Steve Wright in the Morning. He resigned from the breakfast show in 1995 due to differences with the BBC Radio 1 management and a fall in ratings. This coincided with many of the more established DJs leaving, or being sacked, around this time.
Wright was picked up by the new station Talk Radio in 1995, where he presented a Saturday morning show. He also presented a Sunday morning show, which was heard on a number of GWR radio stations around the UK.
