Morrissey Central "STEVE WRIGHT, RIP" (February 13, 2024)

"Steve Wright, Annie Nightingale, Janice Long, John Peel … a generation gone. I once bumped into Steve outside Woolworths in Henley-on-Thames. He said "what the hell are YOU doing here?" and I replied "precisely." During an interview he edited out diarist when I mis-pronounced it as diary-ist … he resisted the perfect opportunity to make fun of me. He played 'I Have Forgiven Jesus' and 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' when no other radio DJ would. Great minds play the music, small minds block the music. But it's too late for compliments now. Appreciating the living is still a ludicrous concept for most people, alas. "

MORRISSEY 13 February 2024.

STEVE WRIGHT, RIP - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - STEVE WRIGHT, RIP

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

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Related item:

• Morrissey-solo: BBC: "Steve Wright: Radio 2 presenter dies aged 69" - February 13, 2024

 

[Anonymous]

i think you read my post wrong,in the 80s steve wright would have been in the studio himself,for me it was the chris evans era who brought other people in the studio,later steve wright had as you say a posse but not when he started.

Also just to clarify this further, Chris Evans was brought to Radio 1 to take over the breakfast show from Steve Wright after Wright quit. The reason Evans had a gang of sychopants in the studio was because that's what the listeners were used to with Wright. He didn't invent it, he was mimicking his predecessor.

For anyone interested, there is footage of Wright and his Afternoon Posse in this excellent documentary about Matthew Banister's modernising of Radio 1 in the early 90s. I'd recommend the whole documentary tbh, but the Steve Wright/Posse clip starts at the 20.15 mark. Try not to cringe too hard...

 

[gordyboy9]

Steve Wright had his Afternoon Posse in the mid-80s as I recall. Certainly by the late 80s ie way before Chris Evans came along. Wright was not alone in the studio, he had the 'Posse' in there with him every day. And bloody annoying they were too.

Are you sure you're not confusing him with Simon Bates again?

his afternoon show ran from81-93 where he had people like phil cornwell and others who would do phone characters,he changed his style after 93 with the posse.you can check for yourself.
simon bates says hello.

 

[gordyboy9]

Also just to clarify this further, Chris Evans was brought to Radio 1 to take over the breakfast show from Steve Wright after Wright quit. The reason Evans had a gang of sychopants in the studio was because that's what the listeners were used to with Wright. He didn't invent it, he was mimicking his predecessor.

For anyone interested, there is footage of Wright and his Afternoon Posse in this excellent documentary about Matthew Banister's modernising of Radio 1 in the early 90s. I'd recommend the whole documentary tbh, but the Steve Wright/Posse clip starts at the 20.15 mark. Try not to cringe too hard...

90s isnt the 80s.you cant let this go can you,you will be up most of the night trawling the internet whilst im dreaming about a bevy of beauties.

 

[Anonymous]

his afternoon show ran from81-93 where he had people like phil cornwell and others who would do phone characters,he changed his style after 93 with the posse.you can check for yourself.
simon bates says hello.

I don't need to check. That documentary above features the Afternoon Posse, and Wright was doing the breakfast show by then so they'd been with him a while. Evans wasn't even at Radio 1 then. Wright's Posse pre-dates Evans's stint at Radio 1 so however thin you want to keep slicing it, your argument is baloney.

 

[No 27]

I lived the 80’s in Britain and Steve Wright show was the antithesis of John Peel and Janice Long - it was 98% banal Muzak of that era with talkovers and poor humour from him and his hangers on in the studio. It was a show you heard in garages or on engineering shop floors, aimed at Sun newspaper readers and those who were poorly educated.

Well, yes.

 

[Anonymous]

90s isnt the 80s.you cant let this go can you,you will be up most of the night trawling the internet whilst im dreaming about a bevy of beauties.

You're a strange one you are. Why do you find it so difficult to admit that you're wrong about something? It's not a crime you know. You've simply misremembered something from the past. Big deal. The dates don't fit your memory of events and any normal rational human would acknowledge that. But you seem to treat harmless discussions like this as some kind of battleground where admitting you got something wrong is akin to surrendering to the enemy. Weird.

 

[No 27]

Moz changes with the wind, he wore a T-shirt with Wright on it with his hands in his ears at the time, seemed to actively dislike him in 80’s.

It just typifies who Steve is.

At one point, he was faintly leftish, whereas now he's ...errrr... whatever Nerak says he isn't.

 

[Anonymous]

Rip Woolworths

 

[BrummieBoy]

The lunatic Steve Wright in the Afternoon was radio at its best – no matter what Morrissey thought​

The late DJ’s taboo-busting show was the radio equivalent of a whoopee cushion, and made millions laugh on a daily basis. But not The Smiths

Not everyone was so enamoured – but then Wright never minded ruffling features. Among those whose plumage was ruffed were Morrissey and Johnny Marr of The Smiths, inspired to write their 1986 hit Panic! after hearing Wright play Wham!’s I’m Your Man straight after a news report from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

“I remember actually saying, ‘What the f___ has this got to do with people’s lives?’ Marr would say. “We hear about Chernobyl, then, seconds later, we’re expected to jump around to I’m Your Man.”

That was Wright in a nutshell – outrageous, fun-loving, arguably to a fault, and never cursed with crippling levels of self-doubt. And though Morrissey disapproved, Steve Wright in the Afternoon was a sensation.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/r...-wright-in-the-afternoon-death-tribute-funny/

 

[Dusty Miller's Hornpipe]

. Try not to cringe too hard...

I tried and I failed, I tried and I failed

 

[No 27]

Steve Wright had his Afternoon Posse in the mid-80s as I recall. Certainly by the late 80s ie way before Chris Evans came along. Wright was not alone in the studio, he had the 'Posse' in there with him every day. And bloody annoying they were too.

Are you sure you're not confusing him with Simon Bates again?

I always enjoyed Simon Bates' Golden Shower, every morning.

 

[No 27]

This picture says everything that can be said of the character of Steve Wright. Just look at him.

He was a nauseating c_nt with an appalling zest for life.

 

[Les Tameside]

Eh? His execrable Steve Wright in the Afternoon show on Radio 1 in the 80s was the very pioneer of that wacky, Timmy Mallet-style rubbish. He pretty much invented the "three or four people to laugh at his jokes" format with his "Afternoon Posse" (remember them? I bloody do. A bunch of irritating teenagers cackling sycophantically in the background at everything he said).

There's a lot of post-death glossing going on in this thread. His passing is sad and he was a very popular figure in the UK but let's not pretend he was some kind of broadcasting genius. The Radio 1 show on which he built his name was utter dreck.

I liked it.

 

[Anonymous]

'Appreciating the living is still a ludicrous concept for most people, alas.'

I suspect Morrissey is only thinking of himself and his own reputation, but it would be nice if he could turn this around and direct some appreciation to others whilst they are still above ground. We all know that if Johnny Marr got run over by a bus tomorrow, Morrissey would be gushing praise with a obituary on Central - would it hurt to say something pleasant before then?

 

[SeniorLife]

A true legend of American stand up comedy. RIP.

Well done! (being serious)...

 

[Famous when dead]

As I was a devout Smiths fan wrapped up in the whole indie verses pop thing, I called daytime 80's 'Radio fun' hairdresser music - as that would be the only time I heard it.
Nighttime was where it was at.
I think Wright benefited from the move to Radio 2. There may be some empathy from Morrissey with the 'ageism' issues there later on.
I believe Wright's playing of The Smiths/solo was much greater post-split and Morrissey may have mellowed after seeing himself included on his later playlists.
Just a guess
Regards,
FWD.

 

[No 27]

As I was a devout Smiths fan wrapped up in the whole indie verses pop thing, I called daytime 80's 'Radio fun' hairdresser music - as that would be the only time I heard it.
Nighttime was where it was at.
I think Wright benefited from the move to Radio 2. There may be some empathy from Morrissey with the 'ageism' issues there later on.
I believe Wright's playing of The Smiths/solo was much greater post-split and Morrissey may have mellowed after seeing himself included on his later playlists.
Just a guess
Regards,
FWD.

In recent years, I caught snatches of Wright's Radio 2 programmes, now and again, in the car. On a few occasions, I left it on for 10 or 15 mins, and the impression I always got was that he was still presenting pretty much exactly the same programme that he was doing on Radio 1 circa 1985. Even the playlist hadn't changed. It was all Inxs, U2 (circa The Joshua Tree) and Luther fu_king Vandross.

 

[eugenius]

Well slap my ass and call me Sally. I never thought I'd live long enough to see the day when El Hefe had something nice to say about an old adversary. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I look forward to the rest of the new year!

 

[Juan Dulces]

In my first job, I was a painter and decorator, painting wooden show-home signs, in a freezing cold run-down shed in winter. The radio and radio 1 in particular, was my only friend. His show in the afternoon kept me sane and provided many a giggle. Thanks for the fun Steve.

Thank you for sharing that.

 

[celibate]

Godspeed Steve Wright.