Steve Allen has left LBC

Shelagh Fogarty is my favourite female presenter on LBC. I like Ian Payne, Ian Dale, Nick Ferrari and dislike with a vengeance James O’Brien. I’ve been listening to LBC for well over 30 years. They started broadcasting in 1973. Quite often if a presenter ‘disappeared’ there was no mention of why.

Shelagh is pretty much the only woman presenter.
I used to love her when she was on 5 with Nicky Campbell.

I know that there are several women on at the weekend, but they just don’t make an impact on me.
In fact, Nick Abbot and Clive aside, I don’t enjoy the weekend schedule - especially Andrew Castle and David Lammy.
There have been some annoying women in the past Beverly Turnet and the ghastly JHB.

And there was that really eccentric woman in the afternoon. She used to be an actress and was a bit of an old hippy. Her name will come to me…

Jackie Smith is brilliant with Iain Dale on the For the Many Podcast.
It’s very funny, but I’m really shocked when Iain swears, which he frequently does.

Do you remember when Steve used to have his mates on?
Allan Dudgeon; Paul Savoury; the travel agent bloke; the chap in Cyprus with his dog Mr Chas, who had to wear shoes to protect his paws from the hot pavements; Spike Milligan’s daughter Jane…
Those were the days

A big change for me, I am shocked tbh. I have a set button on my radio and when I wake at 3.30ish, I do put lbc on, it is very low, not really enough to hear what is actually said but I did look forward to SA babbling from 4, just loud enough to strain to listen and I always went back to sleep because it did focus my whizzy mind. I will miss him and will be deleting lbc

I usually listen to Nick Ferrari shouting at the radio, then James O B , who is my favourite. A couple more women would be good. I think they used to have Jane Moore years ago.

I won’t miss the poisonous man at all but I did used to listen exactly like you karmalady because I was usually awake by 3.30 and his rambling on would often send me back to sleep because I didn’t really have to pay too much attention
Nick Farrari is another arrogant man who I don’t much like
With you Vegan about James O Brian and agree with a lot he says only thing is he does like his own voice a bit but I can forgive him that
There’s a nice Asian lady in the afternoons who s name totally escapes me

It’s Sangita Myska BlueBelle
Yes, she is nice. I enjoyed her shows when she was in for JO’B

I’ve got a huge soft spot for James. I remember the Beat the Sweet and The Love in Lewisham days.
He also used to do a swap shop type slot. It seems an age ago!
I think of him as my radio ‘twin’ - we were born a week apart and grew up near each other.
I’d wouldn’t be surprised if I had actually met him in The Mitre in Stourbridge 30 odd years ago.

But yes, he is rather fond of himself!

We’ll have to disagree about Ferrari though.
I’m with Nick Abbot. He recently said what an absolutely brilliant broadcaster Ferrari is.
He said, ‘he can do tabloid, he can do broadsheet; he can do inquisitorial, he can do empathetic; but most of all he can do funny’

I ve never heard nick Farrari seem to show genuine empathy unless it completely fits his thinking though Fanny he’s very single minded but at least hes intelligent

oh dear, I shall have to find a different channel to allocate to number 1 pre-set, for when I wake at 3,30 tomorrow. Maybe world news. I don`t want loud adverts or music

radio 4 carries the world service at that time.
and no adverts, except for itself.
it's sometimes quite interesting.

World radio is a good choice unless they are talking about war or politics

You’re spot on there BlueBelle.
You can be half asleep, happily listening to some benign burbling on the World Service, and then suddenly be plunged into something really quite horrifying

I set preset to world service, it was just right. I never heard a word that was said, just the speaking hum. Tbh I slept better than with lbc as the sound was constant and lbc had the adverts that were always louder

Clive Bull who is on overnight at the weekend (and Thursday I think too) is a lovely calming listen. He is a consummate professional.
I also paid particular attention to Ali Miraj who now follows Clive.
He is also very professional, balanced, knowledgeable and good with the callers. Very BBC sounding actually.
I totally agree regarding the ads Karmalady, they can be quite alarming, not to mention extra annoying, in the night.

I keep thinking about Steve. He must be so upset, and angry, I imagine.
I’d love to know exactly what prompted it.
I’m sure that Digital Spy will get to the bottom of it

Steve Allen will be in total shock I imagine. In recent weeks he was speaking about how he would never retire and said he doesn’t even take holidays. Why would I he said. He went on to say ‘and as for retirement ,what would I do all day ?’ I feel sure his non woke comments and no doubt refusal to use them have cost him his job in the end. Personally I am tired of the way it is now where it’s all about freedom in being what or who you want to be. Laughingly the hypocrisy of it all is demonstrated when you disagree with any of it! So I surmise that we are all entitled to our opinions but they must fit in with all the current attitudes. Where’s the freedom there or have I missed something.

It’s not to do with ‘Non woke’ comments TerriT how I hate that sneering term, woke is just an invisible modern term for being kind, considerate, caring.

Steve allen held himself up as extremely generous but that generosity always had to be pointed out, had to be discussed ‘ I bring the boys in sweets/ cakes/ biscuits every day I ll give this I ll give that, always discussed ….a truly generous person will do it without discussion
He was cruel about anyone he took a dislike too with nasty little comments not just a simple remark sneaked in, but a full blown rant about someone being too fat, ugly, a dreadful singer, weak, poor at their job, looking dreadful etc etc and it went on and on like he was on a mission. Unkind in extreme

He was a braggart always talking about how his car was better than everyone’s else, he d got more money, his everything was bigger, better or more, he had more friends went to more meals out, more shows etc
He went on about his health problems and literally saying things that would put people off going for help if they thought they had something ‘oh I ve had 8 stents fitted it’s nothing I don’t bother about it’ ‘I take 20 tablets a day but who cares’ ‘Haha I eat and drink all sorts and I have diabetes hahaha’

I am just amazed he had not been picked up on his rants before but it’s come back to bite him in the bum I wonder what the catalyst was

I totally agree he will be distraught I can’t imagine what the sad
little man will do with himself
He should not have been allowed to go on as he did with his rants which got more and more extreme I m amazed no one ever sued him

He was all those things and I’m also amazed no one sued him. Like politicians I suppose, they have a love affai with themselves but aren’t aware of it. Your comment about using the non woke term and accuse those who use it as sneering is exactly why I said what I did.

Like you BlueBelle, I think that he should have been reined in much sooner.

I do think that he has been ‘nicer’ recently, which is why my attitude to him as mellowed, which you rightly picked up on.

A couple of years ago they made him have two producers, one to solely operate the dump button.

As I said, I remember when he referred to some immigrants as ‘rapists’ and his comment to Cristo was beyond belief.

(I have recently discovered that Steve got Cristo removed from LBC. I used to really enjoy Cristo’s shows. A really nice bloke. Steve was probably jealous.)

In fact, I think that most of Steve’s issues come down to jealousy.
It’s quite a tragic end really.
But, as BB has said, he bought it all on himself, and he had a bloody long run.

I think that the old saying about ‘being kind to people on the way up, as you’ll meet them again coming down’ is crucial to his current predicament.

He was always boasting about what a fabulous relationship he had with the boss James Rae, but there’s no evidence of that on how he’s been treated.
I can only think that he was on ‘a warning’ and has blown it.
It could well be his comments about Sam Smith on his (what was to be, unknown to Steve) final show.

Another thing that springs to mind is what an incredibly lazy broadband he was, simply repeating the same old guff every single day.

For someone who reckoned his job was to read the papers and be knowledgeable about popular culture (‘I’m light ent’ as he constantly reminded us) he knew pretty much naff all.

And his lack of research for ‘In Conversation’ was blindingly obvious, and those interviews were an embarrassment to LBC.
And don’t get me started on when he pretended to write that book, ‘So you want to be a celebrity’…

Broadcaster, not broadband of course

Being incredibly sad (as in no life, not as in distraught), I’ve just listened to his final show (again) and what he said above Sam Smith.

He repeatedly ‘misgendered’ Smith and said; ‘my advice is to not book him for anything. Don’t book him for shows, don’t book him for interviews. Don’t let him publicise anything. That way he cannot make himself look stupid’

If it’s true that this was the final straw, it’s shocking that it was this, after all the thousands of insults, poison and vile he has poured onto women and ethnic groups in particular over the years.
In fact, poured over pretty much everyone.
His official tagline on the website was ‘no one is safe from this man’s tongue’

I didn’t hear the rant about Sam Smith Fanny but it sounds exactly what he would say Such a vitriolic, bitter man who passed it all off as being jolly and funny and generous and anyone who didn’t like it was, ‘woke and stupid’ and no one could disagree as he would never do a ring in and if anyone texted in any criticism he banned their number.

The problem is he was/ is such a dangerous man, as like Trump he has a huge following of people that thought he was the ‘cats whiskers’ and this is the way the bitter hatred is passed on and on, person to person generation to generation
He was also quite unintelligent and often gave out completely false information
He s lasted 40 years too long in my opinion

I will miss Steve.When I was ill with cancer,he got me through some very long nights. He was funny and he lived to work. He hated holidays. I know not everybody liked him but he had a huge following.

wlu7 in spite of everything I have said against Steve, I will miss him too.
I suppose that I got angry with him as he let himself down so much.
He should have fought the ‘bitter ild Queen’ stuff and just been himself.
I think that he was ultimately uncomfortable with his sexuality and his relationships with his family, and tried to overcome it in a way that wasn’t healthy.
The more I think about it, the more I think about how he has been treated by Global.
They encouraged his schtick until it didn’t suit them.
They should have allowed him to bow out with some sort of grace.

I have listened to Steve since the beginning. I take most of what he says as tongue in cheek. Anything to shock and make you laugh. I will miss him.

I remember when he used to ridicule Posh, Gemma Collins, Kerry Katona, etc.

Can anyone remember any other presenters that have vanished? One was called something Wolf an American. Another was a recovering gambler. A Greek man.

I enjoy Clive Bull, Nick Abbott, Shelagh and think James O'Brian likes the sound of his own voice and won't let anyone else speak.