Brian Redhead
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Brian Redhead (28 December 1929 - 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was probably best known as a co-presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 which he worked on from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great lover and promoter of the city of Manchester and the North West in general, where he lived and worked for many years.
[edit] Biography
Brian Redhead was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and Downing College, Cambridge.
His career in journalism started in 1954 as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian newspaper. Later in his career he worked as editor of the Manchester Evening News. For many years he chaired the Saturday night Radio 4 topical conversation programme A Word In Edgeways. He joined Today after being passed over for the editorship of The Guardian in favour of Peter Preston.
During his time on the Today programme, Redhead was famously accused of political bias by Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson, and in reply enquired "Do you think we should have a one minute silence now in this interview, one for you to apologise for daring to suggest that you know how I vote and secondly perhaps in memory of monetarism which you have now discarded." He later had a similar set-to with Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Lilley.
The death of Redhead's son in a car crash in 1982 led him to rediscover religious faith, and he became a confirmed member of the Church of England. In the last years of his life there was some speculation after his retirement from Today he would train for ordination as an Anglican priest. In the Radio 4 series The Good Book he charted the history of the Bible.
During the 1991 Gulf War he was a volunteer presenter on the BBC Scud FM service[1]. In 1993 his health started to fail and he was in pain on his left side and leg. He was thought to need hip surgery, but in fact had a ruptured appendix which was leaking toxins, causing liver and kidney failure and other problems. He took leave from Today in early December, expecting to return after Christmas, but never returned, dying in January 1994.
[edit] Books by Brian Redhead
- Brian Redhead Manchester - a Celebration. André Deutsch Limited, London. ISBN 0-233-98816-5
- Brian Redhead Personal Perspectives. Harper Collins Publishers January, 1996 Hardcover ISBN 0-00-638685-7
- Brian Redhead Plato to NATO: Studies on political thought. Penguin Books 23 February, 1995 ISBN 0-14-024677-0
