The man who started Radio 1.

On the day of Tony Benn’s death, this seems a kinder way to describe him than “The man who shut down the pirates”. But in 1967, that’s exactly what he did. Before he was regarded as a wise and grandfatherly figure, Benn was seen as a wild-eyed bully who wanted practically everything under state control. And since he was a very senior state official, you can draw your own conclusions. I was on a radio show with him once and he came over as an archetypal Lord of the Manor with a “How dare you disagree with me, you uppity little serf!” attitude to debate. That said, he was passionate and eloquent about his beliefs. He had a clear political vision and stood up for his principles right to the end. Sadly, politicians with that sort of courage and integrity are now almost extinct. So let’s remember him with the first record ever played on the radio station he helped to create.