Veteran broadcaster Paul Gambaccini is celebrating 45 years in the business with a one-man show. Jane McGowan finds out more from the Professor of Pop
Paul Gambaccini has a dilemma – on the one hand he is thrilled to have been asked to create a one-man show recalling his life and work; but having agreed to the idea, he now finds himself struggling to condense his 45-year broadcasting career into just two-and-a-half hours of stage time.
Dubbed the ‘professor of pop’ for his great knowledge of the industry, Paul has been a familiar voice on the British airways since 1973 when he landed a job on Radio One after being spotted by producer John Walters and another BBC legend-in-the-making, the late, great John Peel. Since then, Paul has hosted countless radio shows on Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as being a founding presenter on Classic FM; he has worked as a film critic; written more than 40 books, presented countless award ceremonies and fronted the US leg of Live Aid, of which he says he is “most proud”.
So yes, compressing all that into a couple of hours may be a challenge. “Let’s just say it will be a labour of love,” he admits with his trademark Atlantic drawl.
Born in the Bronx in 1949 to parents Mario and Dorothy, the young Gambaccini enjoyed music from an early age, citing “dancing round the kitchen to Burl Ives’ Little White Duck”, as one of his first memories. But as with many of his generation, the moment of true musical enlightenment came with the arrival of Elvis Presley.
“I was still really young when Elvis arrived on the scene, but I was aware of this new sound and I was now aware of this thing called ‘music’,” he enthuses.
A gifted pianist, Paul’s teachers believed he could have played professionally, a boast he now shrugs off saying: “I was OK, but no good at sight reading. So it wouldn’t have happened.”
But his love for music stayed with him, leading him to land the job of music director at WDCR, a student radio station at Dartmouth College.
“Music had become a second language to me by that time,” he says. “I loved Bob Dylan and Like a Rolling Stone is my favourite song to this very day.”
But the times, as Dylan so said “were a-changing” and Paul suddenly found himself out of step with those in power.
“I was very much against the Vietnam war and Richard Nixon’s policies,” he says. “It was one of the great challenges of my generation and it’s something I do address in the show. The war had a huge impact and is something I feel deeply about.”
In a bid to escape the draft, Paul headed to England landing a place at Oxford to study politics, philosophy and economics, but his reputation as something of a pop pundit preceded him and it wasn’t long before he was spotted by the ‘hip’ people at the new Radio 1.
“At this stage I think my father still had hopes that I would become a lawyer or a priest,” he laughs. “Or that I would at least go home. But having a job from the BBC made all the difference – that was a worldwide institution and a job there was one you couldn’t turn down.
“I always think of 1973 as my annus miraculous – I had just left Oxford University, I had met Elton John, secured a job at Rolling Stone magazine and then I was offered my own slot on a radio show with the biggest broadcaster in the world. Things were going well.”
Paul’s career went from strength to strength, hosting his own shows on Radio 1, Radio 4, Classic FM and achieving huge sales with his tome The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. Then one day in 2013 everything changed as officers from Operation Yewtree (the investigation launched into historical sex abuse following the Jimmy Savile revelations) arrested Paul on suspicion of sexual misconduct. Protesting his innocence from the start, charges against the DJ were finally dropped over a year later. He was asked by the BBC to step down while the investigation was ongoing and Paul says the inquiry, which he terms as a “witch hunt”, cost him £200,000 in lost earnings. He has been very open about his treatment by both the BBC and the Metropolitan Police.
Paul, who lives in London with his husband Christopher Sherwood, says he has faced “three great crises in my life – Vietnam, AIDs and Operation Yewtree” and he intends to publically address all three during the second half of his show.
“But there will be plenty of music info and gossip too,” he laughs, lightening the mood. “I am, after all, a walking Spotify. So we are having a Q&A session too to give the audience a chance to participate and maybe explore some burning music issues.”
And right now Paul is firmly ensconced where he belongs at the heart of the Radio 2 Saturday schedule with his two-hour Pick of the Pops slot.
“Radio is one of the great recreations – you can enjoy it while you’re shaving or driving and I am so happy to still be involved in music,” he says.
And while he admits he is most at home behind a studio sound desk, he is nevertheless looking forward to treading the boards up and down the country.
“I am interested to see how it will go,” he says a little cautiously. “But it’s up to you to keep driving your career and take the opportunities when they come as people don’t often ask twice.”
AMENDMENT: Unfortunately after this article was published Paul Gambacinni cancelled his UK tour.
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