Editing Mike Read

{{Short description|English radio presenter and musician (born 1947)}}
{{About||the swimmer|Michael Read|those of a similar name|Michael Reed (disambiguation)|and|Michael Reid (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Mike Read
| image        = Mike Read.jpg
| alt          =
| caption      = Read in 2013
| birth_name   = Michael David Kenneth Read
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1947|03|01|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Bury, Lancashire]], England
| other_names  =
| known_for    = ''[[Saturday Superstore]]''; [[BBC Radio 1]]; ''[[Top of the Pops]]''; ''[[Pop Quiz]]''
| occupation   = {{hlist|Radio DJ|writer|journalist|television presenter}}
| nationality  = British
| years_active = 1976 – present
}}
'''Michael David Kenneth Read''' (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio [[disc jockey]], writer, journalist and television presenter. 

Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with [[BBC Radio 1]], and television host for music chart series ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', children's programme ''[[Saturday Superstore]]'' and music panel game ''[[Pop Quiz]]''. He is also a prolific author, having written over 50 books, including his [[autobiography]], ''Seize the Day''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/seize-the-day|title=Seize the Day|website=www.bitebackpublishing.com}}</ref> Read currently hosts ''The Heritage Chart Show'' on various radio stations and [[Talking Pictures TV]]. He also co-hosts ''The Footage Detectives'' with Talking Pictures TV founder Noel Cronin.

==Early life==
Michael David Kenneth Read was born 1 March 1947 in [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]], north of [[Manchester]], the only child of a publican.<ref name="Wilde man"/><ref>{{cite tweet|last=Read|first=Mike|user=MikeReadUK|title="@CharismaLabel: @MikeReadUK Happy birthday Mike." Thank you. Let's raise a glass to #TonyStrattonSmith!|number=572101555199082498|date=1 March 2015|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref> The family moved from Manchester to [[Walton-on-Thames]], [[Surrey]], when he was an infant. He attended Woking Grammar School followed by a sixth-form college. Later, Read worked as an [[estate agent]], and recorded under various names, including Mickey Manchester.<ref name="Wilde man">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/mike-read-wilde-man-28295.html| date=17 October 2004| first=Robert| last=Chalmers| title=Mike Read: Wilde man| newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |access-date=2 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041022085556/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=571549|archive-date=22 October 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Broadcasting career==
Read's professional broadcasting career began in March 1976 at [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading's]] [[Radio 210]], where he co-hosted a slot with [[Steve Wright (DJ)|Steve Wright]] – entitled ''Read and Wright'' – before joining [[Radio Luxembourg]] late in 1977. Read joined Radio 1 in November 1978 and was soon presenting the night-time programme before the slot fronted by [[John Peel]]; here, Read championed new groups and featured live sessions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.celebrityradio.biz/mike-read-dj-life-story-interview/|title=Mike Read Interview|date=27 March 2011|work=Celebrity Radio By Alex Belfield|access-date=1 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> On 5 January 1981, he took over ''[[Radio 1 Breakfast]]''.

On 11 January 1984, Read suddenly interrupted broadcasting the [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]] song "[[Relax (song)|Relax]]", halfway through playing the single, denouncing the lyrics as 'obscene'.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duffy |first=Jonathan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3395823.stm |title=Banned on the run |publisher=BBC News |date=14 January 2004 |access-date=24 December 2012}}</ref> Read has said this account of his intervention is a myth; the interruption of the record was solely for timing reasons, as he only had access in the studio to the longer 12" version.<ref>{{cite news|last=Frost|first=Caroline|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/11/frankie-goes-to-hollywood-relax-banned-mike-read_n_4574908.html|title='Britain's Most Dangerous Songs: Listen to the Banned': Mike Read Explains What REALLY Happened With Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax'|work=The Huffington Post<!-- Now relabeled HuffPost. -->|date=11 July 2014|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref> The BBC had already decided to ban the record from ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', even though it subsequently reached No. 1 in the [[UK singles chart]].<ref>{{cite news|last=McManus|first=Darragh|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/if-only-they-could-relax-how-the-beeb-helped-frankie-get-to-no-1-30008022.html|title=If only they could relax – how the Beeb helped Frankie get to No 1|work=The Independent on Sunday|date=<!-- Sunday -->15 February 2014|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref>

Following on from his five-year stint on Radio 1's breakfast slot, Read took over a Sunday morning programme in 1986. A year later, he moved to Saturday mornings, and also to a Sunday afternoon series, where he played classic tracks. In addition, he hosted ''Round Table'' and later went back to it as the renamed ''Singled Out'' on Friday evenings, in which musicians and disc jockeys would review new single releases.

Read's Saturday morning slot ended in September 1988, and his Sunday afternoon oldies series finished in January 1989, when [[Alan Freeman]] re-joined the station to host an oldies version of ''[[Pick of the Pops]]'', which Read covered in November that year when Freeman was ill. From January 1989 to September 1990, Read presented a weekly series, ''The Mike Read Collection'', (which was broadcast on Monday evenings) and remained on the Friday panel show ''Singled Out'' (which by then had gone back to its original name of ''Round Table''); he remained in this slot until 1991.

===After Radio 1===
Read left Radio 1 in 1991 and moved to Capital Gold in London, presenting his ''Mike Read Collection'', which went out on a Sunday night, before taking on the weekday 'drive-time' show in mid-1992, where he remained until he left the station in late 1995. Read was heard on [[BBC Radio 2]] in 1992 presenting special shows looking back at the career of [[Cliff Richard]] and playing his music. Read then joined [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]], where he presented a weekend series, and had a stint as weekday breakfast presenter starting in March 1996. The following year, he presented the networked 'breakfast show' on [[Classic Gold Digital Network|Classic Gold]] stations around the UK.

From September 1999, Read presented the breakfast show on [[100.4 Jazz FM|Jazz FM]] in the north of England; then, in 2001, he joined [[Spirit FM (UK radio station)|Spirit FM]] in [[Chichester]], initially presenting a Sunday slot from 10{{nbsp}}am to 1{{nbsp}}pm before moving to a weekday afternoon slot from 2{{nbsp}}pm to 3{{nbsp}}pm, playing music from various featured years.

Between 2003 and 2004, Read presented a Saturday morning slot on the [[Magic (English former radio network)|Magic]] network around the UK. In May 2005, he became the weekday morning presenter on [[Big L 1395]], a station modelled on the 1960s pirate radio station; he has also done occasional stints on [[Talksport]]. In November 2008, he took time out from Big L to present the 3{{nbsp}}pm{{snd}}7{{nbsp}}pm 'drive-time' show on [[KCFM (FM)|KCFM]] (based in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]]) for a week (10–14 November), as cover for [[Shaun Tilley]]. Read became the third former Radio 1 disc jockey to broadcast on the station, along with [[Tony Blackburn]] and [[Paul Burnett]].

In November 2009, Read began hosting a mid-morning slot on [[TotalStar]] in the [[West of England]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?item.4081.17 | title = Mike Read joins Star 107.5 | access-date = 17 April 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224203126/http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?item.4081.17 | archive-date = 24 February 2012 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Exactly a year later, Read had returned to Big L with a daily slot from 8{{nbsp}}am to 12{{nbsp}}pm, Monday-Friday. From July 2011, he hosted the Golden Hour on [[More Radio]] ([[Swindon]] and [[Wiltshire]]), formerly Total Star Wiltshire. Read was heard on [[Magic 1548]] in the north of England, where he presented their weekend breakfast series, on Saturdays and Sundays from 7{{nbsp}}am{{snd}}10{{nbsp}}am, starting in April 2012. He also presented the afternoon slot on Monday to Friday on [[BBC Radio Berkshire]] between 1:00/3:00{{nbsp}}pm and 4{{nbsp}}pm until March 2015, and continued to host programmes for the station, including a Saturday afternoon slot during the summer of 2015.

In April 2018, Read was the first voice heard on the new internet radio station United DJs, where he hosted the station's breakfast slot on weekdays from 7-9am. He also hosted an additional weekly series for the station, entitled ''I Write the Songs''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} From November 2019, he hosted the weekday breakfast slot, from 7-10am, on London and south-east DAB station Vintage Music Radio for several months,
<ref>{{cite news | last = Read | first = Mike | title = Vintage Music Radio launches | url = https://vintagemusictv.com/vintage-music-radio-launches-good-times-great-music/ | work = Vintage Music | date = 4 November 2019}}</ref> but still presented occasional shows on United DJs and returned to the breakfast show there the following spring, staying until November 2020. Read left to join the new line-up of [[Nation Radio UK]] from 4 January 2021, and was replaced by [[Neil Fox (broadcaster)|Neil Fox]] in April.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Heritage Chart show===
Since 15 November 2020, Read has hosted ''The Heritage Chart'' on Sunday afternoons on the Nation Radio network in the UK. The programme was on originally on United DJs Radio from July 26 to 8 November 2020. Dr Fox (Neil Fox) replaced Read on the United DJs version of the show after Read joined Nation Radio.

''The Heritage Chart Show'' is syndicated on other selected radio stations across the UK and around the world. One such example is Enjoy Radio, an online station based in Greater Manchester who started carrying ''The Heritage Chart Show'' in early 2022.  In January 2023, Regency Radio, an [[Ofcom|OFCOM]]-licensed station on the south coast broadcasting on DAB in the [[Brighton]] area, as well on app, online and on smart speaker took the Chart Show on Sunday nights from 5-7pm, the traditional time of the [[BBC Radio 1]] and [[Independent Local Radio|ILR]] chart shows.

====Heritage Chart Radio====
''The Heritage Chart Show'' expanded from a weekly chart show to a full-time radio service,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radio.today/gb/shaun-tilley-takes-a-break-from-sa-radio-live-to-rejoin-heritage-chart-radio-radiotoday/|title=Shaun Tilley takes a break from SA Radio Live to rejoin Heritage Chart Radio – RadioToday – RadioToday World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritagechart.co.uk/radio-schedule|title=Radio Schedule|website=Heritage Chart}}</ref> with presenters including former [[Yell! (group)|Yell!]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thedanieljames.com|title=The Daniel James – The Real Daniel James – Singer/Songwriter, Actor and Radio Host}}</ref> singer [[Colin Heywood|Daniel James]], who has a show called ''Bangers and Chat'', and rockabilly guitarist [[Darrel Higham]]. The station also picked up the radio broadcasts of Rewind TV's ''Stereo Underground'' programme,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereounderground.co.uk|title=Stereo Underground|website=www.stereounderground.co.uk}}</ref> a show Richard Latto<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mbn2d|title=BBC Radio Solent - Richard Latto|website=BBC}}</ref> used to present on various BBC Local Radio stations<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02v9nnp|title=BBC Local Radio - Stereo Underground|website=BBC}}</ref> and hired [[Dave Lee Travis]] for a weekly Sunday morning show starting in March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2025/02/heritage-chart-radio-hires-dave-lee-travis-for-weekly-show/|title=Heritage Chart Radio hires Dave Lee Travis for weekly show|date=21 February 2025}}</ref>

====Other radio shows====
On 12 April 2021, Read started hosting the breakfast show on Downforce Radio, broadcasting from 7-10am.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://downforceradio.uk/programs/mike-read-breakfast-show-5 | title = Mike Read Breakfast Show | work = Downforce Radio}}</ref>

In 2022, Read started presenting his ''Afternoon Delight'' show on the [[Sussex]] station V2 Radio.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mike Read|url=https://www.v2radio.co.uk/on-air/mike-read/|access-date=2022-01-04|website=V2radio.co.uk|language=en}}</ref>

From 1 August 2022, Read continued his breakfast show, but also with an audience from Sunshine Radio Online, with a dual broadcast-type arrangement.

From 22 April 2024, Read started presenting the breakfast show on Regency Radio.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.regencyradio.co.uk/mike-reads-heritage-chart-breakfast/ | title = Mike Read's Heritage Chart Breakfast | work = Regency Radio}}</ref>

===Television===
Read combined his radio work with a second career as a television presenter. He hosted the [[Yorkshire Television]] children's series ''Pop Quest'' from 1977 to 1979;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buckinghamcovers.com/celebrities/view/840-Mike%20Read.php|title=Mike Read|website=Buckinghamcovers.com}}</ref> then, on [[BBC One|BBC1]], Read presented or co-presented 65 editions of the music chart series ''Top of the Pops'' from 9 November 1978 to 28 December 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba28d9f4f|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703071634/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba28d9f4f|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2020|title = Mike Read|website=Bfi.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/trivia/presenters/list8.shtml|title = BBC - Top of the Pops 2 - Trivia|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

From 1982 to 1987, Read presented the BBC's Saturday morning children's programme ''[[Saturday Superstore]]'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/10-top-saturday-morning-childrens-9567172|title=The Saturday morning kids' TV shows we miss the most|last=Bentley|first=David|date=12 February 2018|website=Birminghammail|access-date=1 March 2018}}</ref> as well as the Saturday night music game show ''Pop Quiz'', which regularly got audiences of 10 million and featured rock and pop stars answering music [[trivia]] questions; the series spawned [[board game]] and computer game spin-offs. The penultimate episode of ''Pop Quiz'', in 1984, featured a face-off between pop bands [[Spandau Ballet]] and [[Duran Duran]]. The format was revived twice: firstly in 1994 by the BBC with [[Chris Tarrant]] as the host; and then in June 2008, a revamped ''Pop Quiz'' recorded without a studio audience and in a pub (rather than a television studio) in which the participants were members of the public, aired on [[Brit Hits|Red TV]]; this was again hosted by Read. In 1994, he returned to ''Top of the Pops'' to host a one-off special for its anniversary. Later, in 1997, he presented the [[UK Gold]] television genre quiz ''Goldmaster'' in 1997.

In 2004, Read was one of the contestants recruited for the jungle-based [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] reality series ''[[I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series)|I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!]]'', though his stay in the Australian outback was short-lived, as he was the first celebrity to be evicted by the viewing public.<ref>{{cite book |last=Busk-Cowley |first=Mark |title=I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!: The Inside Story |publisher=[[Bantam Press]] |date=2014 |pages=140 |isbn=978-0593073483}}</ref> Read was among 10 former presenters who returned as guest co-presenters for the final edition of ''Top of the Pops'', broadcast 30 July 2006 on [[BBC Two]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5228858.stm|title=Top of the Pops bids fond goodbye|publisher=BBC News|date=31 July 2006|access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

Read has also appeared as a regular newspaper reviewer for [[Sky News]]. In 2014, he appeared as himself in [[BBC Four]] spoof docudrama ''[[The Life of Rock with Brian Pern]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03wcsfv|title=Death of Rock, The Life of Rock with Brian Pern, Brian Pern – BBC Four|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=1 March 2018}}</ref>

In 2021, he joined [[Talking Pictures TV]] founder Noel Cronin on the channel's archive programme ''The Footage Detectives'', a series which discusses forgotten films and lost TV shows such as ''The Barnstormers'' from 1964.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freesat.co.uk/news/films/talking-pictures-tv-films|title = What's on Talking Pictures? |website=Freesat.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/a-movie-kind-of-love-alex-kane-on-tv-channel-talking-pictures-created-in-a-shed-and-taking-on-entertainment-giants-40864004.html|title = A movie kind of love: Alex Kane on TV channel Talking Pictures, created in a shed and taking on entertainment giants|newspaper=[[Belfast Telegraph]]}}</ref>

{{As of|2022}}, ''The Heritage Chart Show with Mike Read'' is broadcast on Sundays, first by the [[Local Television Limited|Local TV]] network of channels at 7pm, and then by Talking Pictures TV as a late-night repeat. The programme is a pop music countdown of videos and live performances from veteran acts, such as [[Chesney Hawkes]] and [[Tight Fit]], based on the chart broadcast on a number of community radio stations in the UK and abroad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritagechart.co.uk/|title=Heritage Chart|website=Heritagechart.co.uk|access-date=31 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.co.uk/detail/4565568/65439320/the-heritage-chart-show-with-mike-read|title = The Heritage Chart Show with Mike Read on Talking Pictures TV, Sun 3 Apr 11:45pm |website=TVGuide.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tv24.co.uk/p/the-heritage-chart-show-with-mike-read-season-1-episode-3-umpn5u|title = The Heritage Chart Show with Mike Read, 12:00am on Talking Pictures TV|website=Tv24.co.uk}}</ref>

===Song-writing===
In 1979, Read wrote and performed the pop-punk song "High Rise" (upon which his Radio 1 intro jingle was subsequently based) under the guise of The Trainspotters, following this in 1980 with "My Town", by his next studio group, The Ghosts. Read then wrote lyrics to the theme (composed by [[Simon May]]) for the [[Television and Radio Industries Club|TRIC Award]]-winning ''[[Trainer (TV series)|Trainer]]''; the resulting [[UK Singles Chart|UK Top 30]] single, "[[More to Life]]", was performed by [[Cliff Richard]]. In 1991, Read also provided a guest [[rapping|rap]] on "[[Radio Wall of Sound]]", UK Top 30 hit for [[Slade]].

After his appearance on ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', Read recorded a charity single when he lyrically re-worked the [[Hank Mizell]] hit "Jungle Rock" and – as the Jungle Boys (with fellow ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' contestants [[Neil Ruddock|Neil 'Razor' Ruddock]] and [[Charles Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket|Lord Brocket]]) – had a UK Top 30 hit single. The follow-up, which made the Top 75, was a new version of [[Mungo Jerry]] classic "[[In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry song)|In the Summertime]]". In 2005, Read's song "Grief Never Grows Old" featured on a charity recording in aid of victims of the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|2004 tsunami]]. Performed by an ensemble of artists named [[One World Project]], the single reached No. 4 in the UK singles chart.

Read has written music to accompany many poems written by [[John Betjeman]]. Thirty of these songs were recorded by artists including Cliff Richard, [[David Essex]], [[Gene Pitney]] and [[Marc Almond]] for the 2006 various artists' album ''Words/Music'', and subsequently re-released in 2008 as a double CD titled ''Sound of Poetry''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

On 19 October 2011, Read was presented with a [[BASCA]] Gold Badge Award in recognition of his contribution to music.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/gold-badge-awards-in-pictures/|title=Gold Badge Awards in pictures – M Magazine|date=26 October 2011|website=M-magazine.co.uk|access-date=30 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828132336/https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/gold-badge-awards-in-pictures/|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Musicals===
Read has staged a number of musicals, including<ref name=mikeread-theatre>{{cite web|title=Theatre|url=http://www.mikereaduk.com/theatre/|work=Mike Read official website|access-date=20 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319014308/http://www.mikereaduk.com/theatre/|archive-date=19 March 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''Young Apollo'' (a musical about the life of [[Rupert Brooke]]); ''Oscar'' (a 2004 production about [[Oscar Wilde]], which was derided by critics and closed after one performance);<ref name=bbc-wilde>{{cite news |title=Wilde show flops after one night |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3944431.stm |access-date=20 January 2013 |work=BBC News |date=22 October 2004}}</ref><ref name=guardian-wilde>{{cite news |last=Trueman |first=Matt |title=Play it again, Mike Read: DJ's Oscar Wilde musical given another spin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/feb/08/mike-read-oscar-wilde-musical|access-date=20 January 2013 |date=8 February 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref> ''[[Great Expectations]]''; ''A Christmas Carol''; ''[[Cliff - The Musical]]'' (which closed after three months) and ''Ricky Nelson...Teenage Idol''. Read took one of the lead roles in the ''Cliff'' musical, touring with it and appearing for a three-month run in the [[West End theatre|West End]] at the [[Prince of Wales Theatre]]. His production ''Betjeman'' (based on his musical settings of poems by Sir [[John Betjeman]]) has occasionally been staged for charities, including the [[Royal Marsden Hospital]] and [[Children with Cancer UK|Children With Leukaemia]]. Actors appearing in his musicals and shows have included [[Nyree Dawn Porter]], [[Brian Glover]], [[Colin Baker]], [[Anton Rogers]], [[Jeremy Irons]], [[Alvin Stardust]] and [[Bernard Cribbins]].<ref name=mikeread-theatre />

===Books and poetry===
Read was one of the founder editors of the UK chart reference series ''[[British Hit Singles & Albums|Guinness Book of British Hit Singles]]'', and also co-wrote other [[Guinness World Records|Guinness]] music books.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness Book of British Hit Singles|first1=Paul|last1=Gambaccini|first2=Mike|last2=Read|editor-first1=Jonathan|editor-last1=Rice|editor-first2=Tim|editor-last2=Rice|date=22 July 1981|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|id={{ASIN|0851122248|country=uk}} }}</ref>

Read's poetry books include ''The Aldermoor Poems'', ''Elizabethan Dragonflies'', ''A Room With Books'' and the latest, ''New Poems for Old Paintings''. He has edited and supplied biographies for the two best-selling poetry books, ''100 Favourite Poems'' and ''100 Favourite Humorous Poems'', and contributed to many of the titles in the series ''Poets' England''. He has also written two crime novels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/the-importance-of-being-mike-read-can-uk-miss-be-a-hit-in-the-us-792769.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/the-importance-of-being-mike-read-can-uk-miss-be-a-hit-in-the-us-792769.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The importance of being Mike Read: Can UK miss be a hit in the US?|date=22 October 2011|work=The Independent}}</ref> In 1997, he published ''Forever England: The Life of [[Rupert Brooke]]''.

===Contemporary art===
In October 2007, Read started to produce contemporary art, with a gallery of works in the medium of confectionery entitled ''Choc Art''. The work includes recreations of album sleeves by [[the Beatles]], his own take on the famous map of the [[London Underground]], and works based on the paintings of [[L.S. Lowry]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7027828.stm |title=In Pictures: Mike Read's Choc-art |publisher=BBC News |date=4 October 2007 |access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life and ventures==
===Stalker===
Read had a [[Stalking|stalker]] who had changed her name to Blue Tulip Rose Read and believed that she was married to him. Rose was from Welwyn Garden City and her original name was Carol Ballard. She was featured in a 1996 film made by [[Jaine Green]] for [[Channel 4]], entitled ''I'm Your Number One Fan''. The film formed part of Channel 4's "Fame Factor" season, which examined the dark side of fame.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Rose was one of the most candid interviewees in the film. She was filmed as she travelled to the offices of Classic FM, and as she wrote "love letters" to Read.<ref>{{Citation
  | last =Lewis-Smith
  | first =Victor
  | author-link =Victor Lewis-Smith
  | title =I'm Your Number One Fan
  | newspaper =<!-- Current tiitle dates from 2009. -->Evening Standard
  | location=London
  | date =7 October 1996
  | url =https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mbishop/News/funny/vls-fan.htm }}</ref> The film stated that Rose had been writing obscene and threatening letters to Read for many years.

===Politics===
Having spoken three times at [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] conferences, including entertaining guests at a Tory conference dinner in 2006 with a ten-minute political rap,<ref>{{cite news |last= Duff |first= Oliver |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/could-galloways-party-snub-cause-a-cable-street-riot-418737.html |title= Mike Reads 10-minute rap |work= The Independent |date= 5 October 2006}}</ref> Read said that he was asked to run for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] nomination for the [[2008 London mayoral election|London Mayoral elections in 2008]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Read |first= Mike |url= http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mike_read/2007/07/im_backing_boris.html |title= I'm Backing Boris |work= The Guardian |date= 17 July 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071218175323/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mike_read/2007/07/im_backing_boris.html |archive-date= 18 December 2007 |url-status= dead }}</ref> He subsequently announced that he was instead putting his energies behind the ultimately successful candidate [[Boris Johnson]].

On 21 July 2012, Read spoke at the [[UK Independence Party]]'s South East regional Conference in [[Frimley]], where he was also announced as a member of the party.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2724-mike-read-speaks-at-frimley |title=Mike Read speaks at Frimley – UK Independence Party |publisher=Ukip.org |date=24 July 2012 |access-date=24 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416085212/http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2724-mike-read-speaks-at-frimley |archive-date=16 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Read has since spoken at the UKIP 2012 Annual Conference at [[Birmingham Town Hall]] on 21 September.

Read wrote and recorded a song in support of the party, "[[UKIP Calypso]]", which was released in October 2014 as a single credited to The Independents.<ref name="holehouse">{{cite news |last=Holehouse |first=Mike |title=Get Ukip Calypso to No 1, says Nigel Farage |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage/11174130/Get-Ukip-Calypso-with-its-dodgy-faux-Jamaican-accent-to-No-1-says-Nigel-Farage.html |access-date=20 October 2014 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |date=20 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="mikereadwithdraws">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29722860 |title=Mike Read withdraws UKIP Calypso song|access-date=2 November 2014 |work=[[BBC News]]|date = 22 October 2014}}</ref> An online petition was filed by former Labour borough councillor Richard McKenzie in which he called Read's song 'racist and offensive'.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/petition-calls-mike-read-suspended-7976639|title=Petition calls for Mike Read to be suspended from BBC|last=Davidson|first=Gemma|date=22 October 2014|work=getreading|access-date=1 March 2018}}</ref> Party leader [[Nigel Farage]] endorsed it and called for the party's supporters to download the song. Read adopted a faux-Jamaican accent, but said that it was 'not remotely racist' to do so, saying: 'It's a satire and a bit of fun. It's not terribly serious. It wouldn't have sounded very good sung in a Surrey accent.'<ref name="holehouse"/> Debate over the single featured on ''[[Newsnight]]'', with UKIP spokesman [[Winston McKenzie]], himself of Caribbean origin, praising the song and likening it to adaptations of predominantly black musical styles by [[Elvis Presley]] and [[The Beatles]], although the [[BBC Asian Network]]'s [[DJ Nihal|Nihal]] was critical of it.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Meredith|first1=Charlotte|title=Winston McKenzie Defends The Ukip Calypso In The Most Bizarre Newsnight Debate Ever|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/10/21/ukip-winston-mckenzie-newsnight_n_6019290.html|access-date=26 October 2014|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=21 October 2014}}</ref> Read withdrew the song from sale on 22 October 2014 and apologised 'unreservedly' for the fact that it had 'unintentionally caused offence'.<ref name="mikereadwithdraws"/> On 26 October 2014, the song reached number 44 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/meghan-trainor-ties-clean-bandit-for-longest-running-number-1-of-2014-3239/ |title=Meghan Trainor ties with Clean Bandit for longest-running Number 1 of 2014 |access-date=2 November 2014 |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date = 26 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/27/ukip-calypso-fails-to-make-top-40-mike-read |title=Ukip Calypso fails to make Top 40 |access-date=2 November 2014 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date = 27 October 2014}}</ref>

===The Rupert Brooke Society===
In 1999, Read founded the Rupert Brooke Society<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.henleyherald.com/2014/10/06/henley-literary-festival-mike-read-loves-to-sieze-the-day/|title=Henley Literary Festival – Mike Read Loves to Seize the Day|work=Henley Herald|date=6 October 2014}}</ref> of which he was chairman for a few years, as well as editing the society's twice-yearly magazine and creating a museum at [[The Orchard (tea room)|The Orchard]] tea room in [[Grantchester]].

===Charity work===
In 2013, Read and three friends formed the British Plaque Trust, a charity established to commemorate deceased achievers in show business, sport and the general arts by unveiling [[blue plaque]]s on buildings with which they were associated.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} The organisation aimed to act alongside the work in London of [[English Heritage]] who stated that they were "restructuring" their plaque scheme.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In the same year, he was one of the event presenters at [[Concert at the Kings]] in All Cannings, Wiltshire.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=nm0713859}}
* [https://blueplaquesite.com/ British Plaque Trust]
* [https://www.regencyradio.co.uk/the-mike-read-heritage-chart-breakfast-show/ The Mike Read Heritage Chart Breakfast Show at Regency Radio]
* [http://www.songwriter.co.uk/page722.html Interview with Mike Read in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine", dealing mainly with his career as a songwriter]

{{s-start}}
{{s-media}}
{{succession box
| title = [[BBC Radio 1]]<br />[[Radio 1 Breakfast|Breakfast Show Presenter]]
| years = 1981–1986
| before = [[Dave Lee Travis]]
| after = [[Mike Smith (broadcaster)|Mike Smith]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Mike}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:BBC Radio 1 presenters]]
[[Category:DJs from Manchester]]
[[Category:English biographers]]
[[Category:English game show hosts]]
[[Category:English male composers]]
[[Category:English musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:English radio DJs]]
[[Category:English male songwriters]]
[[Category:English television presenters]]
[[Category:Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters]]
[[Category:UK Independence Party people]]