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Mark Radcliffe (born 29 June 1958) is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s.

Contents 1 Background 2 Career 2.1 Radio 2.2 Television 2.3 Writing 3 External links

Radcliffe was born in Bolton, Lancashire, educated at the independently run-fee paying Bolton School and took an interest in music from a young age, playing the drums in a number of bands (including Skrewdriver - albeit briefly, and before their infamous incarnation as a racist band - and currently The Family Mahone). He is, in some respects, a very traditional British DJ, with a wide knowledge of rock and pop, and his Northern English style sense of humour and quick wit bear comparison to both John Peel and Peter Kay. He now lives in Whitley, Cheshire and is married with three daughters.

His career in radio began firstly at local UK station Piccadilly Radio where he hosted a Friday night show called 'Cures For Insomnia' in late 1982/early 1983, but he came to prominence as a DJ on BBC Radio 5's Hit The North programme in 1990.

Radcliffe also joined BBC Radio 1 in 1991, presenting a 1 hour Monday evening show called Out on Blue Six, and then in early 1993, presented an arts programme entitled The Guest List, which went out on Thursdays.

His most famous work is as one half of the double act known as Mark and Lard (with Marc The Boy Lard Riley), presenters on BBC Radio 1.

The duo began on a late-night weekday slot in October 1993, Monday - Thursday from 10pm-Midnight. This was a relatively esoteric show for Radio 1, being based around non-playlist music and featuring live sessions, poetry readings and comedy. Following Chris Evans' departure in early 1997 they were moved to a brief and unsuccessful stint on the breakfast show. Their style of music and broadcasting was not a success in this slot and soon they were moved to the early afternoon slot from 2-4pm. They occupied that slot for the rest of their time at the station, winning a Sony Gold award in the process.

Radcliffe left Radio 1 in March 2004. He moved to an evening slot on BBC Radio 2 in June of the same year, presenting a show reminiscent of the 'graveyard shift' he had previously occupied on Radio 1 - the show includes live music and studio guests. Riley can now be found on BBC 6Music.

From April 16th 2007, Radcliffe will be joining forces with Stuart Maconie to present a new show on BBC Radio 2 every Monday - Thursday from 8-10pm.

Radcliffe managed some brief success in the music business with the now defunct Shirehorses, a parody band spawned from his Mark And Lard antics, and is currently a member of the more folk-oriented The Family Mahone.

Although he has worked less extensively in television than in radio, Radcliffe did present a live music programme, The White Room, for Channel 4 in 1995, and regularly appears on the BBC's coverage of the Glastonbury Festival and the Cambridge Folk Festival. Along with Marc Riley, he presented a music-based quiz programme, Pop Upstairs Downstairs, for the BBC/Flextech digital TV channel UK Play between 1999 and 2000, and also the BBC 1 football retrospective show Match Of The Nineties broadcast in the summer of 1999.

In 2006 he won the ITV1 singing competition Stars in Their Eyes with an appearance portraying Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan singing "The Irish Rover".

He is also a published author, having written the autobiographical book 'Showbusiness: The Diary Of A Rock 'N' Roll Nobody', a witty and critically acclaimed look back at his failed attempts at gaining a career in music as well as his exploits with The Shirehorses. In 2005 he released 'Northern Sky', a novel about a folk club and its members in an imaginary Northern city.

• Biography on BBC.co.uk

Preceded by Chris Evans

BBC Radio One Breakfast Show Presenter 1997

Succeeded by Kevin Greening and Zoe Ball