Brian Gets Ticked Off...
In the latest installment of our with Sounds of the 60s presenter Brian Matthew, journalist Bob Stanley hears about some of the mistakes Brian made in his early career.
Last week we heard about Brian Matthew's . Returning to Britain in the fifties, his first job at the 成人快手 in London was at the 成人快手 Service, as a news reader. "The head of presentation was Andrew Timothy, father of the actor Christopher. He always monitored news bulletins. I remember being summoned to his office one morning after reading the previous night's nine o'clock news. He asked 'How do you pronounce this?' and pushed across a piece of paper bearing the word 'revolver'. I got it right. 'Then why did you say 'revohlver' last night? Don't be a clot and think what you're doing next time.'" I must emphasise Andrew was a warm and friendly man, a real professional who quite rightly demanded high standards."
...and here he is, Brian Matthew...a symphony in beige
Another time, Brian had to read the word 'exegesis' on the Third Programme, and received an angry letter from an Oxford don, "abusing me and berating the Corporation for employing me. And damn me, I still don't know how to say the wretched word!"
After a couple of years as a temporary employee, Brian landed a full time job as an announcer on the Light Programme in 1957: "I was asked to take on the residency in Take It From Here, written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden." Though he was still fairly impoverished, on part-time wages when he landed the job, Brian and wife Pamela thought he ought to look the part so they "went along to Simpsons in Piccadilly, and bought me not only a suit we could ill afford, but also a shirt and matching tie for my stage debut." Muir and Norden introduced the shy new newcomer "in the Paris studio on Lower Regent Street, a few kind words ending with 'and here he is, Brian Matthew'. I stepped forward, blushing before the audience, but Frank hadn't finished, '...a symphony in beige.'" Charming!
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