Born Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, in 1940, he was expelled from school at 15 for truancy and got his first job as a trainee manager at the Hyde Park Hotel in London. He joined the merchant navy in 1956, aged 16, as a cabin boy.
In 1964, he moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he was hired by KOL Seattle as its prime drive-time jock. The show was originally intended for another presenter who pulled out of the deal at the last moment.
The station had invested heavily in the jingle package and pre-launch publicity that it had developed for the original “Tommy Vance”. And so Richard Hope-Weston became Tommy Vance.
Moving to Los Angeles, he worked at KHJ radio (aka Boss Radio) until he received draft papers for the US Army and decided it was time to return to the UK.
When the pirates were closed down in 1967, Vance joined the BBC where – apart from a stint with the newly launched London-based Capital Radio – he served for 15-years, hosting The Friday Rock Show.
Vance left Radio 1 in March 1993 and was a key player in the launch of Virgin Radio, presenting the Drivetime show.
He also co-founded the internet radio station Rock Radio Network with his former Radio 1 producer Tony Wilson, music promoter Andy King and journalist Malcolm Dome in 1997, rebranding as TotalRock in 2000.
Vance died in Dartford, Kent, on 6 March 2005, three days after suffering a stroke at his home. He was 64.
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In 1964, he moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he was hired by KOL Seattle as its prime drive-time jock. The show was originally intended for another presenter who pulled out of the deal at the last moment.
Vance left Radio 1 in March 1993 and was a key player in the launch of Virgin Radio, presenting the Drivetime show.
