Born in Melbourne, Australia, former accountant Freeman landed himself a job as a summer relief disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg.
He made enough of an impression to get himself recruited to the BBC Light Programme as presenter of the Records Around Five show in 1960, where he first introduced his familiar signature tune, At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal.
In 1961, Freeman took over Pick of the Pops from David Jacobs on the Light Programme and successfully relegated the musical content to second place with his ebullient presenting manner.
It was on this show that he first uttered the line that would become his trademark: “Greetings, pop pickers!”
He became a daily presenter on Radio 1 in 1972, taking over an afternoon slot from Terry Wogan and spotlighting the activities of youth clubs (he was vice-president of the London Union of Youth Clubs).
He presented the first Radio 1 Roadshow in 1973 and later one of the network’s longest series, The Story of Pop. “Not ‘Arf!”
Freeman left the BBC in 1979 and spent the next decade at Capital Radio, but returned in early 1989 to present two shows: Pick of the Pops, now rather different from before, and Night Rockin’.
He also established himself as a regular fixture on TV’s Top of the Pops, having been appointed as one of the original four presenters in 1964.
In 1961, Freeman took over Pick of the Pops from David Jacobs on the Light Programme and successfully relegated the musical content to second place with his ebullient presenting manner.
Freeman left the BBC in 1979 and spent the next decade at Capital Radio, but returned in early 1989 to present two shows: Pick of the Pops, now rather different from before, and Night Rockin’.
