Steve Wright Tributes + Labour Suspend Another Candidate
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 13 February 2024
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, we hear tributes to the DJ Steve Wright. We also look Labour’s suspension of a second parliamentary candidate after allegations he made comments about Israel.
Steve Wright, who presented programmes for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades, has died at the age of 69. We hear from his friends and former colleagues: fellow DJ Tony Blackburn and presenter Nicky Campbell.
Also Labour withdraws support for their candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali who claimed Israel had allowed the October 7th attacks by Hamas to happen. Mr Ali apologised, saying his comments were “"deeply offensive, ignorant, and false". A second Labour parliamentary candidate has also been suspended for comments he made about Israel. Adam speaks to Professor of Politics at University of Strathclyde, Sir John Curtice, and Times Radio Presenter, Ayesha Hazarika.
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.scom/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Joe Wilkinson, Natasha Mayo and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Dave O'Neil. The assistant editor is Chris Gray and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:04.7 | Hello there, sad news in Audion Land. |
| 0:09.1 | This afternoon on Tuesday afternoon we got the news that BBC Radio Legend Steve Wright had died at the age of 69. |
| 0:19.2 | Everyone has a memory of listening to him. For me, it was in the back of the car after school. |
| 0:27.4 | I mean, he basically owned the afternoons, |
| 0:29.2 | whichever station he was on, whether it was Radio 1 or Radio 2 and people are really shocked by the news |
| 0:35.2 | and just hearing Sarah Cox who was live on Radio 2 and it happened that was just |
| 0:39.6 | very very powerful. It's really hard to know what to say about the news of Steve Wright's passing, |
| 0:44.8 | except we are all absolutely devastated and shocked and blindsided by this news. |
| 0:51.7 | Steve was an extraordinary broadcaster, a really, really kind person. He was |
| 0:57.1 | witty, he was warm and he was a huge, huge part of the Radio 2 family and I know my fellow dejays will all be |
| 1:05.3 | absolutely shattered to and I imagine you're feeling sad too and we are here for your |
| 1:11.2 | messages we're going to try and do Steve Proud for the rest of the show and we're going to play the music that he loved so much. |
| 1:20.0 | Now, the radio geek in my life the person who knows everything and |
| 1:27.2 | listens to everything and sometimes presumably multiple radio stations |
| 1:30.8 | simultaneously is Chris Mason he loves radio of every genre. |
| 1:35.2 | So here's his reflections on on Steve Wright. |
| 1:38.1 | Hi Adam, hello, newscasters. I can't quite believe at this news today about the death of Steve Wright. I only met him a couple of times. |
| 1:48.0 | So what I'm going to say comes from a place just the same as millions and millions and millions of others, |
| 1:55.0 | the most important people by a mile in radio or in podcasting, in broadcasting, |
| 2:01.0 | the audience, the listener, I was one alongside millions of others and he was always |
| 2:06.9 | there and ever present that distinctive voice that energy innovation, that consistency. |
... |
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