Bruno Brookes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Trevor Neil Brookes (1959-04-24)24 April 1959 (age 66) Stoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Seabridge Secondary School,Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| Occupation | Disc jockey |
| Years active | 1984-Present |
| Known for | BBC Radio 1'sUK Top 40 (1986–1990, 1992-95) Immedia chief executive (2000–2020) |
| Spouse | |
Trevor Neil "Bruno" Brookes (born 1959 inStoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire)[1] is an English former radio presenter who became prominent on British radio in the 1980s. He was CEO of in-store radio company Immedia from 2000 to 2020.
Brookes attended Bradwell andSeabridge secondary schools inNewcastle-under-Lyme.[1] He became a disc jockey throughyouth club discos in his home town before he sent a successful audition tape created for him by George Wood (Judder) to his local station,BBC Radio Stoke. He spent three years there.[citation needed]
He was recruited byBBC Radio 1, the national pop network, where he worked as a stand-in presenter before taking over the teatime show fromPeter Powell in September 1984.[2]
In addition to this show, Brookes presented a rundown of the UKTop 40 singles chart on Sunday evenings between March 1986 and September 1990, and again between March 1992 and April 1995.
In April 1989, Brookes moved to the weekend breakfast show, co-hosting withLiz Kershaw, taking over fromMark Goodier[3] and also regularly deputised forSimon Mayo on the weekday breakfast show. Three years later, he moved to the weekday early breakfast slot, where he remained until he was dismissed in 1995 byTrevor Dann.[4][page needed]
Brookes, along with another former chart show presenterMark Goodier, returned to the station for a one-off Top 40 countdown show on Sunday 30 September 2007, providing new pre-recorded inserts into the show, which was hosted by the then-current (but outgoing) presentersJK and Joel. This special show formed part of the station's celebrations of the 40th birthday of BBC Radio 1.[5]
Brookes was also an early supporter of the fledglingacid house scene by championingStakker Humanoid, a November 1988 hit forHumanoid (AKABrian Dougans). In a 2013 interview withThe Guardian, Brookes said that he was given a white label of the record and immediately fell under its spell. "It just got to me. I remember listening to it and thinking it was one step ahead of everything techno that was coming out. It wasn't copying anything else; it was just fabulous." As a result, he played the record twice in one show – a very unusual step for a prime-time radio DJ.[6]
While presenting the Top 40, Brookes accidentally played the full uncensored version of "Killing in the Name" byRage Against the Machine on 21 February 1993.[7] The song contains 15 instances of the word "Fuck".[7] Brookes was not made aware of the language in the track and, as a new entry, included it in the broadcast. Brookes and his producer, Simon Sadler, were preparing a trailer for the following week's show whilst the song played, so they were unaware of what was going out on air. The station immediately received 138 phone calls of complaint.[citation needed]
During his period at Radio 1, Brookes was on theTop of the Pops host roster and also presentedBeat the Teacher on BBC television, a children's quiz where pupils took on teachers in ageneral knowledge game based onnoughts and crosses. He was the last of the show's three presenters, followingHoward Stableford and ex-Manfred Mann singerPaul Jones. He also hosted the dating showLove at First Sight and the angling showTight Lines onSky.
He also appeared in theBrass Eye series, in which he read an appeal against the fictitious drug "cake".[8]
Brookes founded the corporate communications companyImmedia in 2000, a provider of in-store radio stations, including to HSBC, Ikea, and Topshop.[9] The company was founded as Storm Radio, initially providinginternet radio services, and was floated on theAlternative Investment Market in 2003.[10] After May 2001, the stations removed human DJs and were automated[11] and they closed in 2002 in favour of in-store stations.[10] He resigned as CEO in May 2020.[12]
Brookes was in a relationship for eight years with TV presenterAnthea Turner until the early 1990s, when she left him for fellow DJPeter Powell. She later said he was abusive, which he said was an exaggeration.[13][14] He married model Debbie Brooker in 1994, they resided inNewbury, but they separated in January 2002 and were divorced.[15]
He received a 12-month driving ban in 1999 for drink driving.[16] In May 2006, Brookes suffered a heart attack and was treated atSt Thomas' Hospital, London where he was interviewed byNadia Sawalha as a patient onBBC One'sCity Hospital. In the interview, he said he would try to give up smoking, which he acknowledged as the main reason for his illness.[17]
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | BBC Radio 1 chart show presenter 30 March 1986 – 23 September 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | BBC Radio 1 chart show presenter 15 March 1992 – 16 April 1995 | Succeeded by |