Chris Needs
Encyclopedia
Christopher Needs MBE
(born 12 March 1954) is a radio
broadcaster
, currently working with BBC Radio Wales
. He has been broadcasting for several years, and started his radio career with the Touch AM radio station before moving on to co-present the mid-morning magazine show Live Time on Radio Wales while also appearing on S4C
television. Since 2002 he has had his own show, broadcast every weeknight on Radio Wales between 22.00 and 1.00.
Needs's listeners come from a wide and varied area, and not just his native Wales. Most of the people who call into his show belong to an organisation called "The Chris Needs Friendly Garden Association". The Garden as it has become known, has almost 50,000 members from places as close as Wales itself to as far away as Queensland
, Australia
. The garden is open to pets as well as people, and more than a thousand animals have to date been nominated for this service.
Members of the Garden are given their own identification code, usually starting with an M for male members, A for Animals, or without a letter for Female members. Needs may hold the world record for the largest number of registered fan club
members for a radio show.
Shortly after his mother died in 2001, Needs had started having symptoms of diabetes. Eventually, when he went to his local pharmacy to have himself checked, his sugar level was 61 mmol/l (1,098 mg/dl). His pharmacist had never met anyone who had such a high blood sugar.
In the period 2001 to 2003, Needs was joined nightly on his radio show by his friend Nikki-Sue, a talented show singer and Tina Turner impersonator.
Needs is originally from Cwmafan
near Port Talbot
in South Wales, which he affectionately calls "The Land of the Moving Curtains". Needs lives with his partner Gabe Cameron who often answers the calls to the show.
Needs figureheads the Chris Needs Hospital Appeal a registered charity that supports South Wales hospitals. For his charity work and services to broadcasting he was awarded an MBE (Membership of the Order of the British Empire
) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
in the 2005 New Year's Honours.
Needs is an accomplished pianist
and has accompanied Bonnie Tyler
. His other jobs have included: language translator
, actor
, tour guide
, and all-round vocal / piano entertainer, and through his work he has lived in Spain
, Gibraltar
, Belgium
, the Netherlands
, and Jersey
. He speaks English
, Welsh
, Spanish
and Dutch
and is currently learning German
.
Silver Award for Best Regional Presenter.
2009 - Variety Club of Great Britain Lifetime Achievement Award.
2008 - Chris Needs: The Jenkins's's's's's
2009 - Chris Needs: And There's More ... My Autobiography - part 2.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 12 March 1954) is a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, currently working with BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
. He has been broadcasting for several years, and started his radio career with the Touch AM radio station before moving on to co-present the mid-morning magazine show Live Time on Radio Wales while also appearing on S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
television. Since 2002 he has had his own show, broadcast every weeknight on Radio Wales between 22.00 and 1.00.
Needs's listeners come from a wide and varied area, and not just his native Wales. Most of the people who call into his show belong to an organisation called "The Chris Needs Friendly Garden Association". The Garden as it has become known, has almost 50,000 members from places as close as Wales itself to as far away as Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The garden is open to pets as well as people, and more than a thousand animals have to date been nominated for this service.
Members of the Garden are given their own identification code, usually starting with an M for male members, A for Animals, or without a letter for Female members. Needs may hold the world record for the largest number of registered fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
members for a radio show.
Shortly after his mother died in 2001, Needs had started having symptoms of diabetes. Eventually, when he went to his local pharmacy to have himself checked, his sugar level was 61 mmol/l (1,098 mg/dl). His pharmacist had never met anyone who had such a high blood sugar.
In the period 2001 to 2003, Needs was joined nightly on his radio show by his friend Nikki-Sue, a talented show singer and Tina Turner impersonator.
Needs is originally from Cwmafan
Cwmafan
Cwmafan is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It has a population of 5,603. In many ways it is a suburb of the nearby town of Port Talbot which is less than to the south, but it is separated from the town by the local...
near Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
in South Wales, which he affectionately calls "The Land of the Moving Curtains". Needs lives with his partner Gabe Cameron who often answers the calls to the show.
Needs figureheads the Chris Needs Hospital Appeal a registered charity that supports South Wales hospitals. For his charity work and services to broadcasting he was awarded an MBE (Membership of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in the 2005 New Year's Honours.
Needs is an accomplished pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and has accompanied Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
. His other jobs have included: language translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, tour guide
Tour guide
A tour guide provides assistance, information and cultural, historical and contemporary heritage interpretation to people on organized tours, individual clients, educational establishments, at religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest...
, and all-round vocal / piano entertainer, and through his work he has lived in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. He speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and is currently learning German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Awards
1996 - Sony Radio Academy AwardsSony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
Silver Award for Best Regional Presenter.
2009 - Variety Club of Great Britain Lifetime Achievement Award.
Books
2007 - Chris Needs: Like It Is: My Autobiography2008 - Chris Needs: The Jenkins's's's's's
2009 - Chris Needs: And There's More ... My Autobiography - part 2.