Bill Grundy
Encyclopedia
- For the former VFL player, see Bill Grundy (footballer)Bill Grundy (footballer)William "Bill" Grundy was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League ....
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William "Bill" Grundy (18 May 1923 – 9 February 1993) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television presenter and former host of Today, a regional news programme broadcast on Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
. He became nationally notorious because of a foul-mouthed interview with the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
on his show in 1976.
Biography
The son of a factory owner, William Grundy was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1923 and educated at Manchester University
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, where he read geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. Grundy began his career as a geologist and as a part-time journalist. When Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
began broadcasting in 1956, Grundy auditioned for the post of newsreader, which at first he held in tandem with his geological work. He was the first television presenter to present The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
on Granada Television on 17 October 1962. He appeared on several TV shows, including People and Places
People and Places
People and Places is a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television from 1961 to 1962.-Premise:The series featured film and studio segments for children on topics such as camping, geography, puppets and writing.-Scheduling:...
and Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
, but his greatest claim to fame was as host of the Today show.
The Today show incident
Grundy became notorious in a matter of two minutes owing to an incident that occurred when the punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
and their entourage appeared at short notice on the Today show of 1 December 1976. They were a last minute stand-in for Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, who were forced to cancel. The Today show was broadcast live and uncensored during daytime hours at a time when obscenities were forbidden.
The interview began when Grundy proceeded to introduce and provoke the band, with tongue firmly in cheek. He joked that he was under the influence as he introduced them - "...they are as drunk as I am!" Initially, he received mocking but relatively innocuous responses from Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock is an English bass guitarist most famous for being in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs and most of the lyrics, while lead singer Johnny Rotten made some adjustments...
. However, Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
, when asked by Grundy what the band had done with the £40,000 given to them by their record company, said: "Fuckin' spent it", an obscenity which was overlooked by Grundy at the time. Following this, John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
, in response to a question about Mozart, muttered the word "shit" under his breath, but when asked, said that it was nothing but a "rude word" and asked Grundy to proceed with the interview. Grundy insisted that Lydon repeat what he had said, which Lydon did, with Grundy then mocking Lydon.
Next, Grundy jokingly made advances on Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
, who appeared as part of the band's entourage
Bromley Contingent
The Bromley Contingent is a label invented by journalist Caroline Coon about a group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols. They owed their name to Bromley, a suburb of London, in the county of Kent, where some of them lived. They helped popularize the fashion of the early UK punk movement...
, by saying "let's meet afterwards shall we?" An angry Steve Jones responded by calling Grundy a "dirty sod" and a "dirty old man." Grundy further goaded Jones to "say something outrageous", a challenge that Jones met by calling Grundy a "dirty bastard" and a "dirty fucker". Grundy mockingly responded "what a clever boy" and Jones retorted "what a fucking rotter." As the show ended and the credits rolled, Grundy mouthed "oh shit" as the band began dancing to the closing theme.
Although Today was only shown in the 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...
ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
region, it became a national story due to coverage and comment by the tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
press. As a result, Grundy was suspended for two weeks and Today was cancelled
Cancellation (television)
In television, cancellation refers to the termination of a program by a network, typically because of low viewership and/or unfavourable critical reviews. Another reason why television programs can be cancelled is to make room for new television programs...
two months later.
Post-Today
The broadcast wrecked Grundy's television career. By 1979 he was presenting a book review programme, A Better Read, broadcast not at prime time like Today, but early on Sunday mornings. His presenting slot on What the Papers SayWhat the Papers Say
What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
in the early 1980s was his last on national British television, although he continued to present on BBC North West on such shows as Sweet and Sour and The Lancashire Lads into the mid-80s. He also appeared as an interviewer in ITV's adaptation of A Kind of Loving
A Kind of Loving
A Kind of Loving is a novel by the English novelist Stan Barstow. First published in 1960, it has long been used as a set text in British schools...
in 1982. Grundy died of a heart attack in Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, on 9 February 1993, aged 69. His obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
was by his friend and colleague Brian Inglis
Brian Inglis
Brian Inglis was an Irish journalist, historian and television presenter. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and retained an interest in Irish history and politics....
. Two days later Inglis himself died.
His son Tim Grundy
Tim Grundy
Timothy "Tim" Grundy was an English television and radio presenter. He was born in Manchester.-Biography:...
was a popular radio presenter in the Manchester area until his death in 2009. Grundy's other son Nick lives and teaches English in France.