Saturday, 29 October 2011
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG, 1926-2011
Bevin Boy, miner, Mecca ballroom manager and owner, Tour of Britain cyclist, professional wrestler, marathon runner, British Rail and seatbelt safety shill, self-claimed first DJ to operate dual turntables and a mike in 1947, Honorary Chieftain of the Lochaber Highland Games, honorary Royal Marines Commando Green Beret, cigar aficionado, pink Rolls-Royce driver, friend of royalty and Prime Minister, charity fundraiser to the estimated collective tune of more than £40m, fixer, Knight Commander of Saint Gregory the Great, honorary doctor, Knight of Malta, freeman of Scarborough, Radio Luxembourg DJ 1958-1967, Radio 1 DJ 1968-1987, active DJ until 1997 and man synonymous with the greatest chart music show of all. Hosted Top Of The Pops 279 times in all, from the very first to the very last, though his last regular appearance was a one-off in July 1984 and helping The Top Of The Pops Train Special a month afterwards. All this, reader, was his fiefdom.
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8 comments:
Sad news. In his autobiography I enjoyed the story about the stunt he pulled when a miner. He wore a spotless white suit into the pit, but then stripped off and put it into a bag, working his shift in the nuddy, and putting the spotlessly clean suit back on just before leaving the pit at the end of the day!
Surely one of the great TV eccentrics, someone I thought would go on forever.
Today's a sadder day for his passing.
RIP Sir Jimmy.
oh dear - what's going to become of the duchess's wardrobe now that jimmy's gone to see (in the manner of the man himself) "the guvnor upstairs"?
seriously, shocked and saddened to hear he's gone, despite his advanced age - he was one of a kind... although he was often a target for ours and others mirth, without the likes of sir jim around life would be a lot duller!
As someone said over on Digital Spy, it's strange that since the re-runs started we've lost Flick Colby, Robin Nash and now the man most synonymous with the show. And I wonder how many of us might not be visiting this site without the exposure to pop heritage we got from Jimmy's Old Record Club vintage charts? Rest in peace, and thanks from all the guys and gals.
Only a week since I saw a hardback copy of his biography in a bookshop and passed on it as it was written in 1974 and therefore I thought it wouldn't be interesting. I'm seriously regretting that decision now as I've heard so many interesting stories about his early years today that would (presumably) have been covered in the book.
The next repeat with Sir Jim on will now seem very sad.
They just don't make the likes of Jim any more - but then again they only did the once.
Pound for pound, the TOTP guvnor - enthusiastic, gimmicky, knowledgeable, not false like some (hello Tone) or trying to be funny and being pathetic instead (DLT, are you watching?), fully into the music, glamorous with the emphasis on glam, a bit like the old uncle you're a bit wary of but admirable of at the same time. Did you get the artist's full name? Two points there, Dignified. You can tell a man's stature when he passes away and Stuart Hall is asked to reminisce about him straight after his half-time report on Five Live. We'll never see his like again.
Time for a slight revision of history, methinks.
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