Malcolm Laycock
Encyclopedia
Malcolm Richard Laycock (1 November 1938 – 8 November 2009) was a British
radio presenter and producer, best known for his work on programmes related to jazz
, dance band
and big band
music. During his career he presented shows for both BBC Radio 2
and the BBC World Service
. Between 1995 and 2009 he was also the host of Sunday Night at 10
, a long running weekly Sunday evening show on Radio 2.
, West Yorkshire
where his parents owned a grocer's shop. He attended Bradford Grammar School
after gaining a scholarship, and was a contemporary and friend of the artist David Hockney
. He went on to train as a teacher at Goldsmiths College
in London
, and after graduating taught at a number of schools in south London, including the William Penn School in Dulwich
, where he established a radio station for excluded pupils. He eventually rose to become deputy head of Peckham School, but his work with radio brought him to the attention of Radio London and he joined the BBC in the late 1960s. In 1971 he was seconded to Radio London as an education producer.
-based radio station 102.2 Jazz FM
, where he became its programme controller.
His other credits include documentaries on performers such as Nat King Cole
, Ted Heath
, Joe Loss
and Gilbert Becaud
(who Laycock famously interviewed on the singer's yacht in the south of France). He also presented a documentary about Billie Holiday
, Billie Holiday In Her Own Words (for which he won a Sony Award).
In 1992 along with fellow broadcaster Dave Gelly Laycock established a production company devoted to making programmes about vintage jazz
and popular music
. Encore Radio was one of the first companies to take advantage of restructuring at the BBC
which opened its radio networks to independent producers, and operated for six years.
He began presenting on Radio 2
in 1994 when he started filling in for the ailing Alan Dell
on his Dance Band Days
show, and following Dell's death in 1995 he took over the Sunday afternoon slot on the network. Dance Band Days was later subsumed into a Sunday evening programme and became Sunday Night at 10
. Laycock's presenting style and vast musical knowledge quickly made him popular with listeners, and the programme would regularly draw a weekly listening audience of 360,000. For many years the show featured a mixture of music from British dance band
s of the 1920s and '30s and from the big band
era. However, in November 2008 its format was altered to focus mainly on swing bands from the late 1930s and early 1940s to the present day. The decision led to complaints from the programme's traditional listeners who believed Radio Two was turning its back on its older listeners, and this sentiment was echoed by Laycock himself, who later claimed that he had been ordered to drop the British-dance-bands part of his show.
Following a dispute with BBC management over his salary, Malcolm Laycock announced his departure from the station at the end of July 2009. He had been due to take a four-week holiday, but instead decided to leave after failing to negotiate a new contract. He claimed later in a newspaper interview to have been constructively dismissed
by Radio 2. The BBC denied this was the case and said his departure had occurred because they were unable to meet his demand for a pay rise (from a salary of £24,000) of 60%.
He presented his final edition of Sunday Night at 10 on 26 July 2009, announcing his departure on air, a move that took his bosses by surprise. Clare Teal
took over the show from the following Sunday, 2 August.
Laycock's departure prompted outraged listeners to write to Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan
and even their local MPs
in an attempt to bring him back. It was lamented also by the magazine The Oldie
. Shennan later said that he had tried to persuade Laycock not to resign, but without success.
and pneumonia
. Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan said that former colleagues were "shocked and saddened" to hear the news of his death, and paying tribute to him Shennan said, "Malcolm was a much-loved and highly respected broadcaster, renowned for his skill as a presenter and producer, and his passion for music and radio." As part of a tribute programme to him, on Sunday 15 November BBC Radio 2 repeated an edition of Sunday Night at 10 from April 2009 in which Laycock had celebrated his 700th programme in the series by playing some of his favourite tracks from the big band era.
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
radio presenter and producer, best known for his work on programmes related to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, dance band
Dance band
Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...
and big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
music. During his career he presented shows for both 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...
and the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. Between 1995 and 2009 he was also the host of Sunday Night at 10
Sunday Night at 10
Sunday Night At 10, also known as The Age of Swing, is a weekly hour long programme on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. Aired on Sunday evenings at 10pm, it features big band music from the late 1930s and early 1940s through to the present day...
, a long running weekly Sunday evening show on Radio 2.
Early life
Malcolm Laycock was born in KeighleyKeighley
Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
where his parents owned a grocer's shop. He attended Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School
Bradford Grammar School is a co-educational, independent school in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Headmaster, Stephen Davidson is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference . The school was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1662...
after gaining a scholarship, and was a contemporary and friend of the artist David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
. He went on to train as a teacher at Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and after graduating taught at a number of schools in south London, including the William Penn School in Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
, where he established a radio station for excluded pupils. He eventually rose to become deputy head of Peckham School, but his work with radio brought him to the attention of Radio London and he joined the BBC in the late 1960s. In 1971 he was seconded to Radio London as an education producer.
Broadcasting career
During a broadcasting career spanning four decades Malcolm Laycock presented jazz-related programmes for both Radio London (for which he worked for 20 years) and later the World Service. At Radio London he produced a nightly magazine programme for black listeners, Black Londoners and helped to improve the station's coverage of minority and community affairs. As a presenter for the World Service he hosted a number of shows, including Jazz For The Asking, several series of Kings Of Swing, The Big Band Singers, and the documentary Glenn Miller - The Legacy. He also helped to establish the former LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based radio station 102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London to around 15.5 million people within the broadcasting area...
, where he became its programme controller.
His other credits include documentaries on performers such as Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Ted Heath
Ted Heath (bandleader)
Ted Heath, musician and big band leader, led Britain's greatest post-war big band recording more than 100 albums and selling over 20 million records...
, Joe Loss
Joe Loss
Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...
and Gilbert Becaud
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et Maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love"...
(who Laycock famously interviewed on the singer's yacht in the south of France). He also presented a documentary about Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Billie Holiday In Her Own Words (for which he won a Sony Award).
In 1992 along with fellow broadcaster Dave Gelly Laycock established a production company devoted to making programmes about vintage jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. Encore Radio was one of the first companies to take advantage of restructuring at 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...
which opened its radio networks to independent producers, and operated for six years.
He began presenting on 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...
in 1994 when he started filling in for the ailing Alan Dell
Alan Dell
Alan Dell, born Alan Creighton Mandell , was a BBC radio broadcaster, associated with dance band music of the 1920s, 30s and early 40s.- Formative years :...
on his Dance Band Days
Dance Band Days
The Dance Band Days was a weekly half hour programme on BBC radio of recordings by dance bands of the 1920s to early 1940s. It ran from 1969 to 1995 and was introduced, until his death, by Alan Dell...
show, and following Dell's death in 1995 he took over the Sunday afternoon slot on the network. Dance Band Days was later subsumed into a Sunday evening programme and became Sunday Night at 10
Sunday Night at 10
Sunday Night At 10, also known as The Age of Swing, is a weekly hour long programme on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. Aired on Sunday evenings at 10pm, it features big band music from the late 1930s and early 1940s through to the present day...
. Laycock's presenting style and vast musical knowledge quickly made him popular with listeners, and the programme would regularly draw a weekly listening audience of 360,000. For many years the show featured a mixture of music from British dance band
British dance band
British dance bands developed a unique style of popular jazz and dance music during the 1920s and 1930s that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms thousands of miles away from the true origins of jazz...
s of the 1920s and '30s and from the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era. However, in November 2008 its format was altered to focus mainly on swing bands from the late 1930s and early 1940s to the present day. The decision led to complaints from the programme's traditional listeners who believed Radio Two was turning its back on its older listeners, and this sentiment was echoed by Laycock himself, who later claimed that he had been ordered to drop the British-dance-bands part of his show.
Following a dispute with BBC management over his salary, Malcolm Laycock announced his departure from the station at the end of July 2009. He had been due to take a four-week holiday, but instead decided to leave after failing to negotiate a new contract. He claimed later in a newspaper interview to have been constructively dismissed
Constructive dismissal
In employment law, constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge, occurs when employees resign because their employer's behaviour has become so intolerable or heinous or made life so difficult that the employee has no choice but to resign. Because the resignation was not truly...
by Radio 2. The BBC denied this was the case and said his departure had occurred because they were unable to meet his demand for a pay rise (from a salary of £24,000) of 60%.
He presented his final edition of Sunday Night at 10 on 26 July 2009, announcing his departure on air, a move that took his bosses by surprise. Clare Teal
Clare Teal
Clare Teal is an English jazz singer who has become famous not only for her singing, but also for having signed the biggest ever recording contract by a British jazz singer.-Biography:...
took over the show from the following Sunday, 2 August.
Laycock's departure prompted outraged listeners to write to Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan
Bob Shennan
Robert Duncan James Shennan is a British radio executive who was appointed as Controller of BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music in January 2009.-Early life:...
and even their local MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in an attempt to bring him back. It was lamented also by the magazine The Oldie
The Oldie
The Oldie is a monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye. It carries general interest articles, humour and cartoons, and has an eclectic list of contributors, including James Le Fanu, John Sweeney, Thomas Stuttaford, Virginia Ironside,...
. Shennan later said that he had tried to persuade Laycock not to resign, but without success.
Away from broadcasting
Away from broadcasting, Laycock was President of the Frank Sinatra Society, and the Big Bands Windsor Appreciation Society. He was also vice president of the Syd Lawrence Society and regularly travelled with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra to compère their concerts. He compiled many CD reissues and wrote essays for the sleeve notes. In addition he wrote a column for the magazine Big Bands International, and was briefly editor of the short-lived 1990s publication Jazz Magazine International.Death
Malcolm Laycock died on 8 November 2009, after having been ill with emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
and pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan said that former colleagues were "shocked and saddened" to hear the news of his death, and paying tribute to him Shennan said, "Malcolm was a much-loved and highly respected broadcaster, renowned for his skill as a presenter and producer, and his passion for music and radio." As part of a tribute programme to him, on Sunday 15 November BBC Radio 2 repeated an edition of Sunday Night at 10 from April 2009 in which Laycock had celebrated his 700th programme in the series by playing some of his favourite tracks from the big band era.
Personal life
Laycock's wife Liz died of cancer in July 2009. He is survived by two sons, Dominic and Andrew. Andrew (Andy) Laycock is a member of the a cappella vocal group The Flying PicketsThe Flying Pickets
The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella vocal group, who had a Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You".-History:...
.
External links
- Radio 2 profile
- Jazz FM tribute, Retrieved 15 November 2009.