Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted the
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
breakfast show with
Zoe BallZoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting 1990s kids show Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of children's TV presenter Johnny Ball, Zoë Ball grew up in...
from 1997 to 1998.
Early career
Kevin Greening grew up in
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
where he worked voluntarily for the Bristol Hospital Broadcasting Service and was educated at
Bristol Grammar SchoolBristol Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England.It was founded in 1532 by two brothers, Robert and Nicholas Thorne, when it was housed in the St Bartholomew's Hospital, as part of the new founding of schools after Henry VIII's closure of the monasteries,...
. He later studied
chemical engineeringChemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science , and life sciences with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
at
St Catharine's College, CambridgeSt Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, where he was station manager at Cambridge University Radio. His first job was as a
construction workerIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
on the
Humber BridgeThe Humber Bridge is the fifth-largest single-span suspension bridge in the world, near Kingston upon Hull in England. It spans the Humber between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the north bank, connecting the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire...
. He then trained as a studio manager and began his broadcasting career at the
BBC World ServiceThe BBC World Service is one of the most widely-recognised international broadcasters, currently broadcasting in 32 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays. It is politically independent, non-profit and...
. After a brief spell as a Programme assistant at BBC Radio Solent, in 1989 Greening joined London's Local station
BBC GLRBBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Digital Channel 0152 and also online. Previously known as BBC London Live, GLR and Radio London...
as a producer, before becoming a presenter of their Breakfast show in 1991.
In April 1993, Greening joined the newly launched
Virgin RadioAbsolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
, presenting a Friday and Saturday evening show and a Sunday morning show. After two months, he took over their weekday afternoon show, where he remained until he quit Virgin in December 1993.
Radio 1
In January 1994, Greening joined
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
, presenting the Weekend Breakfast Show (Saturday & Sunday 7-10am). In the summer of '94, Radio 1 agreed to cover the
Gay PrideLGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
event for the first time and these reports into the general days output were fronted by Greening; the success of these led to Radio 1 becoming a regular fixture at Gay Pride events. In May 1995 Greening was named in
Gay TimesGay Times is the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.- Publication and content :The Gay Times magazine is run by Millivres Prowler Group Ltd. and has a sister paper, Diva, for lesbians. The first issue of the Gay Times appeared in 1984, when it was created as a spin-off...
'
Top 200 Gay Men and Lesbians as an out gay DJ.
In November 1994, Greening took over the Weekend Lunchtime show (Saturday & Sunday 12-2pm). Again he featured many of his comedy characters (usually voiced by
Andrew McGibbonBorn in Chiswick in 1961, Andrew McGibbon is an English comedian, actor, writer, musician and composer. He has also produced and directed extensively, chiefly for radio.-Education:...
) featured on Weekend Breakfast. October 1995 saw Greening move back to Weekend Breakfast where he would remain for another 16 months. Greening was given the Drivetime show in February 1997. Regular features on the show included the "Joke du Jour", "60 Second Cinema", and the "Evening Procession".
Early mornings seemed to play a big role during Greening's time at Radio 1, as he had presented Weekend Breakfast and had also been the main stand-in presenter for Steve Wright, Chris Evans and
Mark RadcliffeMark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs...
on Weekday Breakfast, but October 1997 saw Greening present the Weekday breakfast show alongside
Zoe BallZoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting 1990s kids show Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of children's TV presenter Johnny Ball, Zoë Ball grew up in...
, where he would remain for 12 months.
Greening moved to a Sunday morning show from 6.30-10am in September 1998. At the time he was also presenting shows for
BBC World ServiceThe BBC World Service is one of the most widely-recognised international broadcasters, currently broadcasting in 32 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays. It is politically independent, non-profit and...
and a TV show for digital station
BBC ChoiceBBC Choice was a TV station from the BBC, which launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format....
. It was during this period that Greening became the main stand-in presenter on the network, covering for many weekday presenters including
Scott MillsScott Mills is an English radio DJ best known for presenting The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1.-Early radio career:...
,
Simon MayoSimon Andrew Hicks Mayo is an English radio presenter, who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981. Mayo has been presenter of a BBC Radio Five Live weekday afternoon programme since May 2001....
and
Mark RadcliffeMark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs...
. There was also a period when Greening took over the weekday lunchtime show whilst regular presenter
Jo WhileyJohanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio DJ on BBC Radio 1, and a television presenter. She is married to Steve Morton and has four children.-Early life and education:...
was away on
maternity leaveParental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
. He occasionally made light of his status as a stand-in presenter, giving an alternate
email addressAn e-mail address identifies a location to which e-mail messages can be delivered. An e-mail address on the modern Internet looks like, for example, jsmith@example.com and is usually read as "jsmith at example dot com"...
as supply.dj@bbc.co.uk (his main address being kevin.greening@bbc.co.uk)
On Sunday 16 January 2000, Greening presented his final Radio 1 show. In the last half hour he played some of the sketches from his time with the station.
Radio 5 Live
Not long after he left Radio 1, in 2000 Greening moved to BBC Radio 5 Live, where he was a stand-in presenter for various daytime slots.
In March 2001, whilst undertaking supply work at Five Live, he began co-presenting a Saturday Morning show on GLR's replacement, BBC London Live, alongside Amanda Hussain, the show went out from 8-11am on Saturday mornings and lasted until September the same year when the show was taken over by
Danny BakerDanny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio...
.
Commercial radio
Throughout late 2001 into 2002,
102.2 Jazz FM102.2 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...
employed Greening for various stints, then in May 2002, he briefly joined London's
Heart 106.2Heart 106.2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in London that specializes in "variety" and is owned by Global Radio as part of the Heart Network....
presenting their 2-6pm Weekend afternoon show.
In June 2002, Greening joined London's Rock station
XFMXfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom. The station is owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media....
, sitting in for
Christian O'ConnellChristian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...
on the Breakfast Show. One Month later, he took over the station's mid-morning slot from 10am-1pm, where he remained until December 2003.
In January 2004, Greening was then shunted off to the Station's
Best of X show on Saturday evenings from 6-9pm.
After a stand-in stint on the
BBC 6 MusicBBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
Night Train Programme, and in addition to his Saturday evening show on
XFMXfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom. The station is owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media....
, in April 2004, Greening re-joined 102.2 Jazz FM where this time he presented a Sunday morning show from 10am-2pm. Not long after, he also took over from
Clive WarrenClive Warren is a British radio DJ.-Early career:His first experience of radio broadcasting came at Radio Moorfields, the hospital station at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, which broadcast from 1974 until 2006. From there he joined the first in-store radio station, Radio Top Shop, at Oxford...
on the Saturday Morning show, which also went out from 10am-2pm.
On 7 June 2005, Greening took over the 10am-3pm slot on 102.2 Jazz FM's replacement,
102.2 Smooth FM102.2 Smooth FM was an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7 June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg...
. From 26 March 2007, he moved to a 1pm-4pm weekday afternoon slot on the relaunched
102.2 Smooth Radio102.2 Smooth Radio is an Independent Local Radio station for the Greater London area, which replaced 102.2 Smooth FM on 26 March 2007, launched by Gavin McCoy and Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born...
where he built up a cult following. His "game with no name" quiz show was particularly funny, where listeners had to suggest the most suitable song to play against a particular news item.
He also presented Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm on the station.
Personal life
Greening was awarded a Fellowship by The
Radio AcademyThe Radio Academy is a registered charity that is dedicated to 'the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production'.The Radio Academy was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees...
in 2001 , he was the only non-executive ever to be so honoured in the academy's 25 years.
Greening was openly
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
and had a previous long-term relationship with Andy Lowe, whom he often referred to on air as his "
lesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
life-partner" or "live-in chum". When their relationship came to an end in 2005, after a brief separation they continued to share their house in
North LondonNorth London is the northern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes.-Boundary Commission:At its widest extent, North London is the part of Greater London that is north of the River Thames...
.
At the time of his death Greening had been in a relationship with Sean Griffin for some time.
Death
On 30 December 2007, it was announced by Chris North, Greening's agent, that Greening had "died peacefully in his sleep", aged 44, one day before his 45th birthday. His boyfriend, Sean Griffin, was arrested the following day in connection with his death, and for possession of a Class A drug, but charges in relation to Greening's death were not pursued by police.
On 3 January 2008, it was revealed following the
post-mortemAn autopsy–also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction–is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
that Greening died of a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die...
after taking large quantities of
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant...
,
ecstasyMDMA is a psychoactive amphetamine drug with entactogenic, psychedelic, and stimulant effects....
and
GHBγ-Hydroxybutyric acid , also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid and sodium oxybate, is a naturally-occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts. It is also a neuroprotective therapeutic nutrient that is...
. He had spent part of the night prior to his death at the Recon event held at The Arches nightclub in
SouthwarkSouthwark, or the Borough, is an area of south-east London in the London Borough of Southwark, situated 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross.-Naming:Southwark is the area of London immediately south of London Bridge...
, London.
Greening was buried on 18 January 2008 in a woodland burial ground after a
secular humanistSecular humanism is a humanist philosophy that espouses reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making...
farewell ceremony in accordance with his wishes.
At the inquest into his death, a verdict of death by misadventure was recorded as a result of a self-induced drug overdose.
After his death an award was named after him at the Student Radio Association Awards, The Kevin Greening Award. It is dedicated to recognising unique on-air creativity, for which Greening was known.
External links