Post updated 26th December 2021
Janice Long was one of a kind.
Having just heard the very sad news that she’s no longer with us, let’s never forget that she was not only the first woman to be given a regular weekday slot on national Radio 1, but also went on to champion many of the bands we fell in love with, that may have never stood a chance at national radio play via the old guard.
Janice left school in the early 1970s after which she spent two years working for Laker Airways as cabin crew, she told pennyblackmusic.com,
“ I got a job with Laker Airways to be a stewardess. I went off and did that for a few years before jacking it in to go off and hitch around Europe. I wound up in Amsterdam where I lived for almost a year in a tent and worked in a Wimpy Bar, and then eventually came back to Liverpool, where I did a variety of jobs before a letter caught up with me from Radio Merseyside asking what I was up to”
So Long’s next stop was as a station assistant at BBC Radio Merseyside where she soon started presenting, and after interviewing DJ Paul Gambaccini he recommended her to Radio One.
Janice slotted right in, playing tracks by the slightly more underground end of chart music, like the Bunnymen, or by the early 1980s The Smiths. Janice was also able to offer bands sessions, and dovetailed so well with Peel that for a short while in the early to mid eighties it was like we had two sympathetic presenters that we could rely on.
So what went wrong? Why DID Janice leave her great evening slot, and Radio 1 altogether? Was she involved in a drugs scandal? Had she lost all her listeners? Was she drunk and sweary on air? No! of course not!!! For all the BBC’s early attempts at inclusivity and equality, Janice was “let go” for the terrible crime of being pregnant without being married. Imagine. Pathetic.
Unstoppable, Janice continued to broadcast, play music and provide lively commentary, most recently for BBC Radio Wales. Always a cheery and down to earth presence, she was as important to the bands as she was to the fans of their music. And for those of us growing up in the early 1980s she will forever be an important fixture in our musical taste and development.
Janice Long 1955 – 2021 BBC News 26.12.21.
I saw last night that Janice Long had died. She was such a good advocate for so many great bands, and I have Janice Long sessions of many of my favorites. So she was cut for being pregnant? I had no idea. That’s scandalous. Naturally, the sexual practices of the BBC’s male DJs were, of course, beyond reproach!