Peter Powell

Peter Powell
Background information
Born	24 March 1951, Birmingham
Occupation	Management, former DJ
Years active	1970s-present
Associated acts	Spandau Ballet Duran Duran
Management / former DJ

Peter Powell (born Peter James Barnard-Powell in Birmingham, 24 March 1951) is a former disc jockey who was popular on Radio 1 in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

Powell was educated at Uppingham School in Rutland, UK, and began his broadcasting career as the first voice on BBC Radio Birmingham when it was launched in 1970. This was followed by a brief spell on BBC Radio 1 in 1972, followed by Radio Luxembourg and then rejoining Radio 1 in 1977. Almost immediately after his arrival at the station he made his debut as a Top of the Pops presenter, joining his Radio 1 colleagues on the roster.

His radio shows included features such as 5 45s at 5.45 in which he would play 5 new singles at 5:45pm, and the Record Race in which listeners had to identify songs purely from their intros. Every Tuesday he also ran through the new singles chart which was revealed at lunchtime, and present the album chart on Wednesday evenings.

Powell was an early champion and supporter of a number of successful mainstream 1980s acts, including Spandau Ballet, Culture Club and Duran Duran. His Duran Duran involvement includes a Peter Powell Down Under special recorded in Sydney during The Sing Blue Silver Tour, live sessions later released on the Duran Duran: Special Editions (2 CD/DVD) in 2010, hosting the MENCAP concert at Villa Park and having the band on his Oxford Road Show in 1983 (bootlegged on Looking For Passion).

Since leaving Radio 1 on 25 September 1988, Powell has concentrated on building a management company (James Grant Media Group) with business partner Russ Lindsay and other financial activities.