Show Notes
From a small town in Western Australia - to commanding the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show in the early ‘90s, this is the life story of an enviably adaptable broadcaster, best known for his years on LBC where his fresh approach was to surprise Londoners who remember him with affection.
In this hour of #radiomoments Conversations, Brian Hayes tells of the ins and outs of his early days in 1950s Australian radio; his innocent arrival at London’s Victoria station with his wife and a suitcase; the early days at Michael Bukht’s Capital Radio; before finding his true home on LBC. Here, he quickly carved out a reputation for his judicious put-downs, not least by Private Eye, which dubbed him ‘Brian Bastard’.
He tells of his falling out of LBC - and the surprise at being offered the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, only to be displaced later by Terry Wogan. From GLR to 5 Live, Brian’s precise delivery and award-winning style have been heard on stations which attach importance to thinking speech for well over a generation.
In his own words - this the Brian Hayes story.
Brian died in November 2025.
Enjoy the whole Conversations series here. Theme music by Larry Bryant
More from Radio Moments - Conversations
John Peters was born in Middlesex. His radio career began at the factory station UBN before progressing to the new Radio Trent in Nottingham where he hosted the station's first ever breakfast show. He later transferred to launch its oldies spin-off GEM AM.
Graduating from a school radio station – to emerge as a familiar face on ITV in the Channel Islands via a successful spell in commercial radio programming, this is story of Gary Burgess.
The shy schoolboy whose commanding voice went on to dominate London’s news bulletins for a generation.
From helping out on a charity appeal to dominating late night music radio for generations.
The teenage tape reclaimer - whose DNA now remains across UK radio and whose influence is felt around the World.