Image copyright Columbia Image caption Miss You was one of many Top 20 hits His parents divorced in 1939 and Young moved to South Wales. He signed up with the RAF on the outbreak of war after falsely giving his age as 18. He was, in fact, three weeks short of his 18th birthday. Shortly after he was demobbed in 1949, he was spotted singing in a club by a BBC producer and went on to make a number of broadcast appearances as well as touring across the UK. His first release, a cover of the Nat King Cole song, Too Young, was a huge hit just a year before the UK Singles Chart was born. He signed to Decca in 1952 and enjoyed a number of Top 10 hits. He was also asked to perform some of the songs in Gene Kelly's film, Invitation to the Dance.
Easy listening But, by the end of the 1950s rock and roll was the new craze and crooners like Young suddenly found themselves out of fashion. His income plummeted, he sank into depression and turned to drink to ease the pain. He later confessed that he had contemplated suicide. In desperation he visited a fortune teller who informed him he was going to be a great success. He picked himself up and went back into radio. After hosting a show called A Young Man's Fancy on Radio Luxembourg he moved to the BBC Light Programme.
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Image caption Radio 1 DJ line-up from 1967 with Young 2nd from left in back row Over the next 30 years, the format remained much the same with experts, such as Tony di Angeli from the Grocer magazine and "Legal Beagle" Bill Thomas dealing with listeners' queries. His shows were peppered with catchphrases such as "BFN" and "Orf we jolly well go", as well as the squeaky voice of Raymondo with his, "What's the recipe today Jim?" During his tenure he interviewed every prime minister as well as members of royalty and other celebrities. Margaret Thatcher appeared on the show 14 times and declared Young was her favourite presenter.
Ousted His interviewing style was probing but gentle, something the Labour politician Roy Hattersley described as "courtesy with a cutting edge". His detractors claimed he was too soft with politicians, something that Young always strongly denied. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar," he once said. "I hold conversations. I am a listener."
Image caption His final lunchtime show
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"Just so that we're all singing from the same hymn book, it was not my idea to go - I didn't want to leave you at all and I know from your messages that you don't want me to go either." Young was asked to present a weekly show on Sundays but he turned the offer down venting his ire at the BBC's decision in a newspaper article. The hatchet was eventually buried and in 2011, Young was back behind a microphone in a special programme to mark his 90th birthday. While Radio 2 went through many changes during Young's tenure, his show remained much as it had begun and one of the station's flagship programmes. Jeremy Vine, the man who took over Jimmy Young's show, once summed up his appeal. "Jimmy was just a totally ordinary, honest bloke, the least pretentious person you could ever imagine. And his audience adored him for it." Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20582848
Obituary: Jimmy Young - BBC News
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