Jon Briggs
Encyclopedia
Jon Briggs was educated at Magdalen College School
, Oxford. His work spans Radio, TV, Voice-Over, Training and Conferences. He started in radio in 1981 as tea boy and progressed to the breakfast show with BBC Radio Oxford
aged 19.
Briggs is the station voice of BBC Radio 2
, but is perhaps best known as the voice of the BBC quiz show, The Weakest Link. In 1996, he founded and is the managing director of London based talent agency, The Excellent Voice Company – marketing and representing vocal talents.
His journalism spans Radio and TV, mostly for the BBC
although, he was a continuity announcer for Channel 4
for a while in the late eighties. Having worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4
current affairs programmes, he went on to spend two years anchoring the breakfast news programme for BBC Radio 5
when the corporation launched its first new station for 23 years.
Having worked for LBC
— London's oldest commercial station—in the mid-1990s, Briggs was asked back under the tenure of ITN in 1999 to referee the weekly political debate on Sunday mornings, and in 2003 he finished three years working on a weekly review of London's entertainment scene every Saturday morning. He returned to the BBC in 2003 to work on BBC Radio 5 Live
.
Briggs is a well-recognised conference moderator, having worked for many of the world's largest companies, including IBM
, Canon
, BT
, Hewlett-Packard
, Cisco Systems
, Deloitte & Touche and Ericsson
. His experience spans the Automotive, IT and Telecommunications industries.
Jon Briggs also provided the narration for the start of the drum and bass song 'Blood Sugar
' by Pendulum
. He also provided his voice for text-to-speech software, including the British version of Siri
, the personal assistant application for the Apple's iPhone 4S
His voice recordings for Siri were made some 4-5 years before the iPhone4S was even released..
Magdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School is an independent school for boys aged 7 to 18 and girls in the sixth form, located on The Plain in Oxford, England. It was founded as part of Magdalen College, Oxford by William Waynflete in 1480....
, Oxford. His work spans Radio, TV, Voice-Over, Training and Conferences. He started in radio in 1981 as tea boy and progressed to the breakfast show with BBC Radio Oxford
BBC Radio Oxford
BBC Radio Oxford is the BBC Local Radio station for the English county of Oxfordshire, broadcasting on 95.2 FM via the Oxford transmitter and online. The station broadcasts live from the BBC's Summertown studios in Oxford between 5am and 7pm each weekday, for over 13 hours on Saturdays & 19 hours...
aged 19.
Briggs is the station voice of BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, but is perhaps best known as the voice of the BBC quiz show, The Weakest Link. In 1996, he founded and is the managing director of London based talent agency, The Excellent Voice Company – marketing and representing vocal talents.
His journalism spans Radio and TV, mostly for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
although, he was a continuity announcer for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
for a while in the late eighties. Having worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
current affairs programmes, he went on to spend two years anchoring the breakfast news programme for BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 may refer to the following United Kingdom radio stations:* BBC Radio 5 , on air from 1990 to 1994.* BBC Radio 5 Live, the current station, which replaced BBC Radio 5 in 1994....
when the corporation launched its first new station for 23 years.
Having worked for LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
— London's oldest commercial station—in the mid-1990s, Briggs was asked back under the tenure of ITN in 1999 to referee the weekly political debate on Sunday mornings, and in 2003 he finished three years working on a weekly review of London's entertainment scene every Saturday morning. He returned to the BBC in 2003 to work on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
.
Briggs is a well-recognised conference moderator, having worked for many of the world's largest companies, including IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Canon
Canon Inc.
is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.-Origins:...
, BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
, Deloitte & Touche and Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
. His experience spans the Automotive, IT and Telecommunications industries.
Jon Briggs also provided the narration for the start of the drum and bass song 'Blood Sugar
Blood Sugar / Axle Grinder
"Blood Sugar" / "Axle Grinder" is a single by Australian drum and bass band Pendulum, released 18 June 2007 in the UK. It was the band's final single with Breakbeat Kaos, and was released in 12" vinyl and download formats only, including a 12" picture disc format...
' by Pendulum
Pendulum (band)
Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a club, they were inspired to enter into the drum and...
. He also provided his voice for text-to-speech software, including the British version of Siri
Siri (software)
Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
, the personal assistant application for the Apple's iPhone 4S
IPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
His voice recordings for Siri were made some 4-5 years before the iPhone4S was even released..
External links
- Jon Briggs' web site.
- The Excellent Voice Company - Voice Artists, TV presenters and Conference Speakers.