Brian Matthew

Brian Matthew (17 September 1928 – 8 April 2017) was an English broadcaster who worked for the BBC for 63 years from 1954 until 2017. He was the host of Saturday Club, among other programmes, and began presenting Sounds of the 60s in March 1990, often employing the same vocabulary and the same measured delivery he had used in previous decades.

In January 2017, after a short break from the programme after suffering a fall at home, the BBC announced, against Matthew's wishes, that he would not be returning to the programme and that he would be replaced by Tony Blackburn. Matthew later died of pneumonia on 8 April 2017, aged 88.

Early life Matthew was born on 17 September 1928 in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of musical parents. His father was a conductor of the Coventry Silver Band and his mother a professional singer. He was educated at the city's Bablake School. (originally called Saturday Skiffle Club, starting in 1957 and changing to its more familiar name in 1958) and Easy Beat (starting in 1960). In 1972, he narrated The Beatles Story, a 12-part documentary series on BBC Radio 1 and 2, which has been repeated on BBC Radio 6 Music.

In 1973, Matthew fronted a new radio series entitled My Top 12, which lasted for an hour on weekend afternoons on Radio 1. The programme was later presented by Bob Harris and Noel Edmonds. Guests in 1974 included Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell and Neil Diamond.

Later, Matthew was the presenter of BBC Radio 2's arts magazine Round Midnight, from 1978 to 1990. Sandie Shaw, Joe Brown and Suzi Quatro were also guest hosts. Matthew returned to the show and the station on 10 February 2007.

On 26 November 2016, Tim Rice stood in as presenter of the show. Rice announced that he would be sitting in for a few weeks since Matthew was "under the weather". In fact, Matthew had suffered a fall at home and had spent a few weeks in hospital. On 27 January 2017, the BBC announced that he would not return to the station due to ill health. Matthew himself, however, disagreed with the BBC's statement, saying: "That's absolute balderdash. I was ready and willing and able to go back, and they've just said they are going to put the programme in the hands of other people."

The BBC's treatment of Matthew led to an online petition, which was signed by thousands of listeners who demanded his return, but it failed. As a result, Matthew presented his final show on 25 February 2017, which was a compilation of his favourite tracks and moments from his time on the show. They involved themselves in amateur theatre and were prominent members of Chelsfield Players in Kent from 1958 to 1966. He built a theatre in his Chelsfield home and formed his own dramatic society called the Pilgrim Players. During this time he worked with actor brothers Arthur White and David Jason.

Matthew died of pneumonia on 8 April 2017 in London. Four days before his death, the BBC had reported that he had died, but later corrected this, saying he was critically ill in hospital. He was survived by his wife and their son.