Jeremy Vine's BBC Radio 2 show attracts millions of listeners, he is well known for his television appearances on programmes such as Eggheads and even for his moves around the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing. He seems to thrive on interaction with people and this has made him the household name he has become today. After 14 years of radio he has now calculated that he has taken more than 25,000 calls on a never ending variety of topics. Vine is certainly a big personality, bringing out the best and worst in his listeners but with this memoir he honours them and all the others who have touched his life (for good or bad or the just plain ridiculous). Over the years his listeners have discussed everything from politics to cellophane (???) and this memoir feels like a tribute to them and a nod towards the numerous platforms available today that allows voices of all backgrounds and opinions to be heard. Fans of Vine and his Radio show will enjoy his easy, engaging writing style but even those who are not familiar will find this a fascinating, funny and at times compassionate read. ~Shelley Fallows - You can also find Shelley here.
What I Learnt What My Listeners Say - and Why We Should Take Notice Synopsis
Jeremy Vine has been presenting a BBC Radio 2 show since 2003 that attracts more than seven million listeners. In that time he calculates he has taken more than 25,000 calls on topical subjects - big issues and small ones: on life, love, lollipop ladies and poisonous plants. But what have the callers told him? In the age of Brexit and Donald Trump, is the world now being run by Radio 2 listeners? If you listen to Radio 4, Brexit was a shock. If you are a Radio 2 listener it wouldn't have surprised you at all. Where Jeremy's callers once expressed a kind of resignation ('But what can you do?' or the gloomy rejoinder: 'You have to laugh'), now they tend to give him their views expecting to be heeded. They have not called in to entertain the audience. They expect to take the wheel of the car and drive.Listener wisdom is far more valuable than most of what we hear from appointed spokespeople. What was the response when Jeremy asked: 'Have you ever been pecked in the eye by a gannet?' Which subjects are most likely to start pitched warfare between different sections of the audience? (Answer: old people using buses, old people NOT using buses, cellophane, or Tony Blair saying anything.)In a book punctuated by vivid anecdotes and laugh-out-loud moments, Jeremy Vine explains what it's like to hit a button and hear - totally unvarnished and unspun - the voices of so-called ordinary people. And why they are not so ordinary after all.
Jeremy Vine presents the award-winning Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2, weekdays at noon. He presents one of the BBC's longest-running quiz shows, Eggheads, as well as Crimewatch and Points of View. He also does the BBC election graphics.After starting his training at the Coventry Evening Telegraph, Jeremy became a BBC news trainee in 1987. He worked for many years as a reporter - in Westminster, Africa, and on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. He was a presenter of Newsnight too. He lives with his wife Rachel and daughters Anna and Martha in west London.
