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The man credited with controversially turning around the fortunes of BBC Radio 1 in the 90s, attracting a new, younger audience, is returning to his old stomping ground to give a free public lecture.
Matthew Bannister, former BBC Radio 1 controller and a University of Nottingham alumnus, will give a talk entitled: A Very Personal History of Radio: From My Dad’s Crystal Set to My New iPad at the University on Tuesday 13 March.
Matthew, who graduated in Law in 1978, is returning to the University to officially open the state-of-the-art Humanities Building, one of the most environmentally sustainable buildings in the East Midlands and part of the University’s £90m new-build programme.
Earlier in the day, Matthew will be hosting a Q&A session with students, chaired by Danny Barry, democracy and communications officer for the University’s Students’ Union, before moving on to the award-winning New Theatre and finding out about its development plans.
“The University of Nottingham gave me the springboard for my career,” said Matthew. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to share some of my experiences and revisit my old haunts — including the Buttery Bar, the New Theatre and, occasionally, the law library.
“During my time at Nottingham I lived in the now demolished Wortley Hall, then in Hyson Green, Bramcote and just off Derby Road.”
Matthew’s love of radio stemmed from listening to Tony Hancock and the Goon Show with his father. Matthew went on to play a leading role in shaping British radio. Before his controversial shake-up of BBC Radio 1, he had already influenced a generation of commercial radio newsreaders through his work on Capital Radio in the 80s and launched the cult BBC London station GLR. He went on to become Director of BBC Radio. Matthew now works for Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.
In A Very Personal History of Radio: From My Dad’s Crystal Set to My New iPad – an audio-visual presentation — Matthew opens his scrapbook to reveal a very personal history of British radio — and some thoughts on its future.
Places are free but limited, and will be issued on first-come, first-served basis. To register, email events@nottingham.ac.uk including ‘Matthew Bannister’ in the subject box.
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