- George Webley
George Webley, also known as "Big George", born
May 29 ,1957 , is a Britishmusician ,composer ,bandleader , and broadcaster.Early life
Big George Webley was born in
Clapham, London on 29th May 1957. His Aunt, Vera, was thefan club secretary forFrankie Laine , who attended Webley'sbaptism at Macaulay, in theChurch of England , onJune 1 as hisGodfather . His first introduction to the wonders of music was whenDonald Swann attended his primary school.Webley left school at the age of 14 to go on the road with a
showband . He becameHerbie Flowers ' apprentice in his late teens and was a session bass player until the age of 30.Music career
He became
musical director forEMI at 30 and produced dozens of chart records. In 1989, Webley becamebandleader on "Jameson Tonight" withDerek Jameson andShane Ritchie . He composed thetheme music to "Have I Got News For You ", and was also responsible for themes to "The Office", "Room 101", and "Graham Norton ".Composed numerous other themes for the National Theatre, Arts Theatre, Ballet, and radio including Ian McMillan’s East Coast Girls, Emma Clarke's Share and Share Alike, and
Neil Mossey ’s Stockport So Good They Named It OnceBroadcasting career
In 1999, he presented the
BBC2 educational series "MUSIC FILE" which won the Prix La Basle award for educational excellence. He also won the 2002 Sony Gold for Music Broadcaster whilst on BBC Three Counties, where he launched the now-legendary 'Cabbie Chat' feature. "Cabbie Chat - The Rank Opinion", ran every morning on his Milton Keynes Breakfast programme. The idea was to ask the cab drivers of Milton Keynes their opinions on the day's news. It lasted until George managed to offended some of the drivers over a news item about taxi drivers.Webley currently presents
BBC London 94.9 overnight radio show (Monday-Friday 2-6am).Used has been as a
Musicologist expert on various programmes, including "The Big Breakfast ", "Esther", "Kilroy", "5Live breakfast withNicky Campbell ", Radio 4’s "Today programme ", "John Peels Home Truths", "Moral Notes", and "Landmark Places" with Laurie TaylorHe has written, presented and/or produced
documentaries for Radio 4, including "Playing Second Fiddle" and "Sense of Place".Over three dozen parodies songs and live performances for the Radio 1 Roadshow with
Chris Moyles (who mentions him in his book The Gospel According To Chris Moyles “Composer and genius man. Honestly”)Also mentioned in Angie Bowies biography: Backstage Passes (Life on the Wildside with David Bowie) and Bruce Thomas: The Big Wheel
Personal life
He is currently in a relationship with fellow BBC London presenter,
JoAnne Good , whose 6am show follows George's show, since a Christmas party in December 2006. JoAnne used to have George's 2-6am slot.External links
* [http://www.biggeorge.co.uk Big George's website] .
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/02/09/overnight_2to6am_feature.shtml BBC London page]
* [http://chrismoyles.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=10 Chris Moyles site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2006/04/03/business_sound_big_george_profile_feature.shtml BBC interview with Big George]
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