Late DJ Janice Long is to be the subject of a new BBC Radio tribute.
The beloved presenter passed away last month on Christmas Day, aged 66, with a flood of stars taking to social media to pay tribute to the Liverpudlian personality.
Now, a new special – titled ‘A Life In Music’ – will look back on her career an feature Radio 2’s Zoe Ball chatting with guests including Paul McCartney, New Order’s Peter Hook, Elvis Costello and more.
On the show, The Beatles legend will remember his “old Liverpool mate”, while Costello will discuss Long’s more recent work with BBC Radio Wales.
Richard Hawley, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, Ian Broudie of The Lightning Seeds, Noddy Holder of Slade and BBC DJs Jo Whiley and Greg James will also appear, alongside other friends and family from outside music, such as the actor David Morrissey.
It will be broadcast at 7pm on Sunday January 23.
Meanwhile, the first series of ‘A Long Walk With…’ is also available on BBC Sounds from January 23.
A press release states: “Long walks through key places in Liverpool with Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Holly Johnson as he remembers the characters and music that shaped his life and career to date; through key places in Basildon with Alison Moyet, as she remembers the characters and music that shaped her life and career to date…
“Janice meets Richard Hawley in a pub and parkland on one of the seven hills of Sheffield, as he remembers the characters and music that shaped his life and career to date and Janice takes the electronic pioneer Gary Numan, who David Bowie once credited with writing two of the finest songs in British music, back to some west London haunts.”
Janice rose to prominence as the first woman to regularly host ‘Top of the Pops’ and enjoyed a 40-year career in broadcasting across TV and radio.
Having started out as a radio assistant on BBC Radio Merseyside in 1979, the star went on to work at the BBC’s flagship stations including Radio 1.
At the station, she was also the first woman to have her own regular daily show, on which she championed future stars such as The Smiths and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, and Adele and Amy Winehouse.
