Steve Allen - News IRN 1981

Some presenters are one-offs. There is little doubt that Steve Allen is a fully signed-up member of that clan. A truly gifted performer who can simply ad-lib engagingly with beautiful bitchiness. He needs neither guests nor callers to showcase his wit.

There is no-one quite like Steve Allen; and I relished working with him at LBC. Sometimes he pushed the boundaries; yet we only ever had a single police visit: he is a clever guy. He also took the trouble to show me to my office the day I arrived, lounging on my leathern sofa and downloading his incisive wisdom with acerbic wit.

I recall too his stage shows. A huge theatre, and a paying audience united by simply their love of Steve. He could have talked about anything and they would have been happy. He did, actually.

Steve had been a club jock, as so many in the 70s were. He then joined UBN, the biscuits factory network which spawned so many first-generation ILR presenters. Then it was off to the fledgling LBC which has largely been his life for generations.

Steve has also read the news too. That's worth a listen. How proper he sounds, too.