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Clive Bull (born January 23 1959) is an award-winning radio talk show host on LBC 97.3 in London, England.
Background
Bull was educated at Dulwich College, south east London between 1970-77. He has a degree in Educational Broadcasting from the University of London and a distinction in Radio Journalism from The National Broadcasting School.
He joined LBC as a telephone operator. Later he presented a range of programmes including gardening phone-ins and the station's youth programme Young London.
His big break was as host of the Clive Bull Through the Night Show which ran for several years in the early 1990s.
LBC 97.3 radio show
Bull's show airs live Monday to Thursday from 10pm to 1am. With slight variations in show times, Bull has occupied the same late night slot since 1994 despite numerous changes of station brand and ownership during this time.
Discussions tend to focus around two or three topics each evening based loosely upon what is in the news, or what has interested or affected Clive. However, Bull encourages callers to talk about whatever they like, on the basis they more interesting discussions come from things people genuinely care about. There have been special-interest nights, including the successful science hour series with Brian J. Ford. Since 1999 Bull's show has been produced by Bob Johnson.
In June 2005, Bull came 19th in the Radio Times survey of the forty most powerful people on radio, the highest ranked phone-in host. He was described as "a brilliant phone-in host who knows that the way to make captivating talk radio is not to rant or rage, but to create a separate world, away from the nonsense of current affairs - then invite his listeners into it. His show is the most listened-to night-time programme in London and is an understated joy," while The Independent called him "The Emperor of night-time talk radio."
The Experts' Expert from The Observer wrote "There's no-one quite like him. You get the impression that he's living just a bit dangerously, and that's what makes phone-ins exciting".
He has won several awards including a Bronze Sony Radio Award. The judges described him "An exception to the run-of-the-mill phone-in. It was all down to the presenter who appeared so laid back that his callers could not see how he was teasing them. A very dry sense of humour and great fun."
He won Best Talk Show Host at the New York Radio Awards in 2001.
Celebrity callers
- Peter Cook made a series of calls with the pseudonym "Sven from Swiss Cottage", a Norwegian fisherman who'd come to London looking for romance and to escape the fish-related phone-ins of Norway. These have been recorded in "Tragically I Was An Only Twin", a collection of his writings and are also available on Bull's subscription podcast. Peter Cook's former neighbour Rainbow George Weiss remains a regular caller with news of his political activities.
- Michael Barrymore once phoned in to take part in a talent contest as himself. He came seventh.
- Tony Blackburn called in to defend Smart cars.
- Jane Horrocks answered a listener's question about a movie.
- Patsy Palmer, called in to join a discussion about Cockney accents, and on another occasion, for listeners to look out for her lost dog, which was subsequently found and returned to her.
- Kerry McFadden called in just before leaving to play 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!' when Bull wondered whether she'd had a cosmetic surgery, which she said she hadn't.
- Brian Conley rang on his way home after appearing in a West End show.
- Iain Lee, used to make prank calls to the show. Years later he had his own show on the station.
References
- Radio Times 11th-17th June 2005
- ^ http://www.jla.co.uk/Biographies/CliveBull.asp Cite error: The named reference "Biography" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ http://www.lbc.freeuk.com/lbc.html Cite error: The named reference "lbc" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
External links
- LBC 97.3 presenter page and mirror at
- Clive Bull Official Website pre-LBC 97.3 era
- Clive Bull at IMDb