She made some astute points about 1970s rock’s resemblance to the EDM scene of today (the pomp and theatricals of the live show), and also highlighted the importance of perseverance – a quality, she said, she learned from David Bowie. Nightingale’s voice can be slurry these days, which gives her a suitably louche rock’n’roll air but masks, I think, the sharpness of her brain. “It was six in the morning, I’d driven off site, and I remember hearing across the island, with moonlight on the sea, ‘See me, feel me, touch me.’” When the Who played the Isle of Wight festival in 1970, they came on so late, she’d already left. She was at many important pop moments, from the Beatles on, and was honest about the ones she didn’t quite make. This programme, the first of two, was essentially a long interview with Annie, an hour of her storytelling, illustrated by music. “I had a kind of reputation after that,” she laughed. They got through the palaver, but only just (her producer resorted to playing the track to random strangers to see if they noticed the offending words: they didn’t).

Great – except Annie’s executive producer went white and launched an immediate investigation. She didn’t notice at the time, but the Stones noticed she’d played it and thanked her at their album launch party (at Blenheim Palace, of all places). The track was called Star Star and featured a rude-worded chorus. In 1973, Annie played a track from Goats Head Soup, the new Stones LP, on her Radio 1 show. Big coup: it opens with the Rolling Stones’ Miss You, the first time the group have ever agreed to let one of their songs appear on a compilation. She has a compilation album out that features music from the 1960s through to the present day.

Grown Ups Read Things They Wrote as Kids | PodcastĪnnie Nightingale is celebrating 50 years in the broadcasting business this week and I hope she’s enjoying every minute.

Annie nightingale