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<\/p>\nBob Harris first shot to fame as a BBC Radio 1 DJ in the early 1970s, but 56 years later he is celebrating turning 80 and reliving meeting some of the most famous names in music<\/p>\n
On Bob Harris at 80: A Life in Music, the DJ shares a treasure chest of amazing memories<\/p>\n
Not many kids can boast that their granddad interviewed John Lennon<\/a> and hung out with David Bowie, Elton John and Marc Bolan, as well as being best mates with Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant. But, as he approaches his 80th birthday on Saturday, \u2018Whispering\u2019 Bob Harris<\/a>\u2019s six grandchildren can.<\/p>\n Now, in a two hour birthday celebration, Bob Harris at 80: A Life in Music, he shares a treasure chest of amazing memories from a lifetime of adventures – as well as a playlist of special records – with his Radio Two colleague Zoe Ball<\/a>. Zoe introduces him, saying: \u201cWe are here to raise a glass to a broadcasting legend, a man whose voice is smoother than a perfectly poured pint.\u201d He replies: \u201cI don’t feel 80. I think I’m still that teenager buying singles from the local record shop.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob, who has eight children by four different partners, lives in Steventon, Oxfordshire, with his wife and manager Trudie Myersough-Harris, 61. The presenter of Radio Two\u2019s Bob Harris Country and Sound of the 70s, he says: \u201cEighty is the new 60.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Coronation Street actor Paul Seed dies as tributes paid to TV Bafta winner<\/a>READ MORE: Repair Shop guest felt like she’d been ‘kicked in the stomach’ after expert’s help<\/a> He sits down with Zoe Ball for the special show(Image: Sarah Jeynes\/BBC)<\/p>\n Growing up in Northampton, the son of a policeman, Bob left school rather than face the cane, after being reported to the headmaster for having a shandy in the pub and agreed with his dad he\u2019d join the police cadets and give it everything until he turned 19.<\/p>\n He kept his word but, at 19 he moved into a shared house in north London\u2019s Hampstead with his art student pal John Bird and a coterie of bohemian young people. There, he collaborated on a university magazine and became co-creator of Time Out magazine.<\/p>\n Touting some copies of the mag to a shop called Music Land in London\u2019s Merrick Street, he showed a copy to the chap behind the counter, who was none other than Elton John<\/a>.<\/p>\n He recalls:\u201cThat was Elton in the summer. Earning a bit of extra money ’cause he was still doing sessions. And he reached under the counter and gave me a copy of Empty Sky.\u201d It was the start of a lifelong friendship.<\/p>\n Meeting Elton John in a record shop was the beginning of their life-long friendship(Image: Bob harris )<\/p>\n He turned to his friend Robert Plant over his prostate cancer diagnosis(Image: Richard Young\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n But Bob\u2019s heart lay not in print, but in music broadcasting and, with the help of BBC<\/a> producer Jeff Griffin, who invited him to do a pilot for Radio One, he was soon living the dream.<\/p>\n At first, Bob became holiday cover for another DJ, but his skill soon earned him his own show – Sounds of the Seventies \u2026 the first time around! He laughs: \u201cIt\u2019s [come] full circle!\u201d<\/p>\n And the show cemented his friendship with music icons including David Bowie<\/a>. He says: \u201cMarc Bolan and David used to come over to our place and just hang out.\u201d His voice even featured on Memory of a Free Festival on Bowie\u2019s Space Oddity album. And he went on the road with Marc Bolan and T Rex.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cMarc loved me being around him. Even when he began to get genuinely really, really famous. He liked having me by his side. Marc invited me to go out on tour with the band when they hit number one with Hot Love.\u201d Recalling how the police had to hold screaming fans back, he says: \u201cIt was like Beatlemania, I’m not kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob\u2019s next great adventure was in 1972, presenting TV\u2019s coolest music show, The Old Grey Whistle Test<\/a>. He says: \u201cI got a call from Mike Appleton [the producer] saying, do you wanna do it? Honestly, that was it. Mike, still to this day, I think of him as being one of the most important people in my entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n He interviewed all four members of The Beatles, including Paul McCartney<\/p>\n Keen to get his musician pals on the show, he knew one would be Elton John. He says: \u201cWhen I started on Radio One and then started on Whistle Test, obviously, on both those programmes, I supported Elton just massively. I was talking to him about it not that long ago and he said, \u2018we had so much fun then didn’t we?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Other big names featuring in Bob\u2019s story are Mike Oldfield, creator of the masterful Tubular Bells album and the Beach Boys – who he was sent to LA to interview for Radio One in 1974 – but he couldn\u2019t pin singer songwriter Brian Wilson down.<\/p>\n Far more auspicious was Elton John\u2019s introduction to John Lennon, who was to join him on stage in 1975 at Madison Square Gardens in the US.<\/p>\n Bob in 1973, when he was presenting The Old Grey Whistle Test(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n At Elton\u2019s suggestion, Lennon called Bob out of the blue, inviting him to the US and telling him: \u201cDon\u2019t worry about a contract. I don\u2019t want a contract. Just come over. We\u2019ll do some filming.\u201d<\/p>\n Telling him the BBC would require a contract and offering him a fee of \u00a315, John refused the fee, too. Bob says: \u201cJohn said, \u2018I’ll tell you what, why don’t you bring me over a box of Chocolate Olivers [Huntley & Palmer biscuits].\u2019\u201d In the end, he took him \u00a315 worth and did the interview. He laughs: \u201cThere we were walking into JFK airport with this box of Chocolate Olivers. We had such a great time. One of the greatest experiences of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaving the Whistle Test in 1979, Bob admits he was struggling mentally and that his lifestyle \u201cwasn\u2019t great.\u201d He says: \u201cI was famously quoted at the time as saying that \u2019I’ve become the Ken Barlow of rock.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n So, it was back to his beloved radio, where he restored his mojo – starting on local stations, becoming great friends with Steve Wright<\/a>. Then, at the end of the 90s, he took over Roger Scott\u2019s Radio One Sunday evening show, when the highly respected DJ died of cancer.<\/p>\n Since then, Bob has taken a variety of different roles, surviving life\u2019s ups and downs – career-wise and health-wise, with inimitable style.<\/p>\n Posing with his wife Trudie Myerscough-Harris and children Charlie and Miles after receiving his OBE from Princess Anne in 2011 (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n His tribute interview with Zoe Ball was recorded before his Instagram<\/a> post last week, informing fans he is taking a break for hospital treatment for the prostate cancer he has bravely shared about<\/a>. He promises: \u201cI will come back \u2026 and come back stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, Bob tells Zoe how he was reduced to tears by the sight of his studio, when he first heard his cancer was back. He turned to his friend Robert Plant, 77, for reassurance<\/a>. He says: \u201cI just absolutely fell apart because I thought \u2018I’m maybe never gonna be in the studio ever again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Robert, who was in Rome, told him simply: \u201cYou\u2019ll get through this. You know what to do.\u201d Bob\u2019s mantra ever since has been: \u201cNever give up hope.\u201d<\/p>\n The man whose velvety voice earnt him the \u2018Whispering\u2019 Bob moniker, was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to music broadcasting. Receiving it at Windsor Castle from Princess Ann, she revealed she listens to his country show. Now Bob is determined to get well and return to his radio shows.<\/p>\n He tells Zoe:\u201dI love the Radio Two family. We are a family. I genuinely do believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob Harris at 80 \u2014 A Life in Music is available on BBC Sounds now and Radio 2 will broadcast on 12 April, from 3-5pm<\/p>\n![\"Zoe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_Bob-Harris-Zoe-Ball-16.jpg\")
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