Born in Timperley, Cheshire, in 1939, Skues’ broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany, in 1959. He returned to Britain in 1964 and joined Radio Atlanta, which then merged with Radio Caroline.
He later moved to Radio Luxembourg and Radio London, and when the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act became law on 14 August 1967, he became one of the original presenters on the newly launched BBC Radio 1.
Skues – whose nickname was ‘Cardboard Shoes’ – was chosen to succeed Brian Matthew as the groovy new host of Saturday Club, which he presented on the very first day of the new station.
Leaving Radio 1 in 1974, he was appointed programme director of Radio Hallam (later Hallam FM) in Sheffield.
In 1987, Hallam merged with two other Yorkshire stations to form The Yorkshire Radio Network, with Skues as Group Programme Consultant.
An RAF reservist, Skues was part of the Ministry of Defence press team during the Falklands War in 1982 and was also sent to Dhahran for two stints during the Gulf War.
He moved to Norfolk in 1995, where he broadcast on weeknights for 10 years on BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Essex, BBC Radio Northampton, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, and BBC Three Counties.
He was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and charity in 2004.
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Skues – whose nickname was ‘Cardboard Shoes’ – was chosen to succeed Brian Matthew as the groovy new host of Saturday Club, which he presented on the very first day of the new station.
