Frank Wappat
Encyclopedia
Frank Wappat is an English
Radio personality
, Disc jockey
and singer. He has worked with The Premier Band, Bobby Thompson, Renato Pagliari
, The Pipe-dreamers, Flintlock (musical group), The Dooleys
and many others in a career spanning the 1950s to the present day
Circle, Memory Lane Magazine, British Band-Leaders Club and The Thirties Club. He is the longest serving presenter on BBC Radio Newcastle
, having started in 1970, following his first broadcasting via Radio 390
on the Thames Estuary
.
In 1999 he won a Sony Radio Academy Award for his Master Joe Peterson programme (a thirties music hall star who turned out to be Mary O'Rourke), and in 2000 he won a second for Investigative Journalism unearthing the truth about the death of 1940’s Chick Henderson (singer), later publishing a biography.
Both his Gospel & Inspiration show and Frank Wappat Nostalgia show continued on BBC Radio Newcastle
and BBC Radio York
until August 2010 when Wappat decided to retire after 40 years.
Frank's son Paul Wappat was a radio presenter at BBC Radio Newcastle
before moving to 97.5 Smooth Radio
in January 2008.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
, Disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and singer. He has worked with The Premier Band, Bobby Thompson, Renato Pagliari
Renato Pagliari
Renato Pagliari was an Italian singer, probably most notable for being lead vocalist it the short-lived 1980s pop group Renée and Renato, Pagliari died on 29 July 2009, aged 69, after a short battle with cancer.-References:...
, The Pipe-dreamers, Flintlock (musical group), The Dooleys
The Dooleys
The Dooleys were a United Kingdom male–female pop group comprising eight members — six of them family members — at their peak. They achieved several UK chart hits between 1977 and 1981 including top-ten hits "Wanted", "Love of My Life" and "The Chosen Few"....
and many others in a career spanning the 1950s to the present day
Biography
Frank founded the Al BowllyAl Bowlly
Albert Allick Bowlly was a Southern-African singer, songwriter, composer and band leader, who became a popular Jazz crooner during the 1930s in the United Kingdom and later, in the United States of America. He recorded more than 1,000 records between 1927 and 1941...
Circle, Memory Lane Magazine, British Band-Leaders Club and The Thirties Club. He is the longest serving presenter on BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Newcastle is the BBC Local Radio service English metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, broadcasting from studios on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne.- Technical :...
, having started in 1970, following his first broadcasting via Radio 390
Radio 390
Radio 390 was a pirate radio station which operated from Red Sands Fort, near Whitstable), a former Maunsell Fort located on the Red Sands sandbar....
on the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
.
In 1999 he won a Sony Radio Academy Award for his Master Joe Peterson programme (a thirties music hall star who turned out to be Mary O'Rourke), and in 2000 he won a second for Investigative Journalism unearthing the truth about the death of 1940’s Chick Henderson (singer), later publishing a biography.
Both his Gospel & Inspiration show and Frank Wappat Nostalgia show continued on BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Newcastle is the BBC Local Radio service English metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, broadcasting from studios on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne.- Technical :...
and BBC Radio York
BBC Radio York
BBC York is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of North Yorkshire.- Early history :The station was launched at 6:30am on 4 July 1983 - a launch featured on the cover of the Radio Times...
until August 2010 when Wappat decided to retire after 40 years.
Frank's son Paul Wappat was a radio presenter at BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Newcastle is the BBC Local Radio service English metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, broadcasting from studios on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne.- Technical :...
before moving to 97.5 Smooth Radio
97.5 Smooth Radio
97.5 & 107.7 Smooth Radio was an independent local radio station broadcasting to the north east of England. It launched at 8am on 8 January 2008, and was broadcast from new studios based at the Team Valley complex in Gateshead. The station competed with BBC Radio 2, aiming its music at listeners...
in January 2008.