Jon Curle

Jon Curle was a BBC announcer and presenter who joined the Corporation in 1959 after training as an actor. He worked on various BBC networks, frequently on the Light Programme, and became a presenter of Night Ride after the birth of Radios One and Two in 1967.

He became presenter of the second half of the Wednesday Night Ride in 1968, immediately following Peel's midnight to 1 a.m. programme, and showed himself to be more sympathetic than any of his Radio Two colleagues to what was a radical departure from the regular BBC late-night easy-listening format. He allowed Peel's show to influence his own choice of material and also playes session tracks which Peel had not had time to play during the first hour of the Wednesday Nighr Ride.

He also enthused over Nick Drake's album Five Leaves Left, playing tracks from it on his portion of Night Ride. He continued to present Night Ride after Peel was taken off the programme and featured sessions from artists such as Bridget St. John, who had appeared on Peel's shows. He may also have presented the second and "lost" BBC session by Nick Drake, broadcast in 1970 after Drake's debut session on Peel's "son of Night Ride" in the previous year.

Later, Curle moved to Radio Three, where he became one of the station's team of announcers. He also contributed "newsreader voice" to The Who's album Quadrophenia.