Alan Freeman

Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006) was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting Pick of the Pops from 1961 to 2000.

Born and educated in New South Wales, Australia, Freeman worked as an assistant paymaster/accountant for one of Australia's largest timber companies after leaving school.

Freeman originally wanted to be an opera singer but decided his voice was not strong enough. He was invited to audition as a radio announcer in 1952 and commenced working for 7LA in Tasmania, known as the teenager's station. Freeman's duties included continuity announcer, presenter of musical programmes incorporating opera, ballet and classical music, DJ for the top 100, news reader, quiz master and commercials reader.

After moving to radio station 3KZ in Melbourne, in 1957 he took a nine-month trip around the world, with the promise to return to Melbourne by January 1958. He arrived in London and on deciding to stay wrote numerous letters of delay and later apology, to his former employer.

Freeman began his British career as a summer relief disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg and continued to present late-evening programmes on the station until the early 1970s. He gained his nickname "Fluff" as a result of a fluffy jumper that he was fond of wearing.

In 1960 he moved to the BBC Light Programme as presenter of the Records Around Five show, which was introduced by his signature tune, "At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal", written by Brian Fahey. The more upbeat version performed by 'Brass Incorporated' was introduced in April 1970. In September 1961 he introduced Pick of the Pops as part of a Saturday evening show Trad Tavern. Pick Of The Pops became a permanent show in its own right in 1962, with Freeman presenting it until 24 September 1972 continuing with his 'Swingin' Cymbal' signature tune. At the same time, he was one of the original team of presenters of BBC TV's Top of the Pops, a regular member of the Juke Box Jury panel and had a brief stint as compere of the lunchtime pop music show Go Man Go on the BBC Light Programme in 1963. In 1968 he presented a music magazine-style television show for the BBC, 'All Systems Freeman', which aired for several weeks on Friday evening, but despite good reviews never returned for a second series.

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