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Janice Long

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Janice Long

Janice Long (born Janice Chegwin 5 April 1955 - 25 December 2021) was an English radio broadcaster hailing from Liverpool. During her career she had presented shows on BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Wales. On Radio 2 she presented a weekday night time show from 2000 to 2017, which aired at midnight. The After Midnight show was axed in 2017 following a decision by station bosses to end live overnight programming. Long presented her final show on the station on 26th January 2017 with many of her favourite songs, and peppering the playlist with titles such as It's The End Of The World As We Know It, (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love, Don't You (Forget About Me), There Is A Light That Never Goes Out and ending with Echo & The Bunnymen's Nothing Lasts Forever [1]. She re-emerged on BBC Radio Wales with an early evening weekday show in May 2017, presenting her customary mix of new music, sessions and studio guest interviews. She continued at the station until her untimely death in December 2021.

She was the elder sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 - 11 December 2017). Janice also had presented TV programmes including Top Of The Pops, the Oxford Road Show and Rock Around The Clock.

Links To Peel[]

Janice Long was a colleague of John Peel at Radio One from 1982 to 1987. From 1984 onwards she presented the weekday mid-evening show which served as an effective bridge between the daytime output and Peel's show. During this time the two formed a friendly rapport sharing tastes in music fuelled also by their common Liverpudlian origins. This was also reflected in their joint-hosting of Top of the Pops where their cheeky presenting style and empathy can be compared to that of the Peel-Jensen 'Rhythm Pals' duo.

Long: “I’ll have you know that I had him (David Cassidy) on my bedroom wall.” Peel: “That seems to indicate a degree of agility I didn’t believe you were capable of, Janice, I must say.” - 07 March 1985 (TOTP)

Peel and Long were co-hosts live from the Ritz in Manchester as part of the 'Radiothon 85' marathon charity event, broadcast on Radio 1 on 11 October 1985.[2] They also presented 'Janice and John's New Year's Eve Party' on Radio 1 on 31 December 1985 which featured highlights from Live Aid (which Long had co-hosted) plus "some night-time favourites".

Long's acrimonious departure from Radio 1 came after she became an unmarried mother, which seemingly offended the management of the day (one of whom had earlier said that her dress sense made her "look like a lesbian"). She later worked for the BBC station GLR in London, before presenting an overnight show for Radio 2 from 2000 (where she was a colleague of Peel again, as he presented occasional documentaries on the station). She also presented archive live performance and sessions programmes on BBC 6 Music during Peel's lifetime. In 2017 she presented a John Peel's Welsh Sessions special for BBC Radio Wales, for whom she became a regular presenter.

After her death in 2021, Long's relationship and affinities with Peel was often mentioned in obituaries and tributes.[3]


Janice Long Session Tracks Played By Peel[]

Top Of The Pops[]

TOTP-07-03-1985

Janice Long appeared as a co-host with Peel for sixteen episodes of Top of the Pops between 1981 and 1987. She and David Jensen were the only radio one DJs to regularly co-host the show with Peel in the 1980s. The duo made six appearances together in both 1985 and 1986 and one in 1987. Long reminisces over their relationship and TOTP shows during the Top of the Pops - The Story Of 1985 documentary (2018).

Co-hosted Shows[]

See also[]

Links[]

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