Matthew Bannister

The story of the British pop charts from their beginnings on the 50s through the heyday of the 70s and 80s to their re-emergence in a digital world.

When Matthew Bannister was appointed Controller of BBC Radio 1, his plans to make the station cool again began with the ousting of a number of long-serving DJs. But they would not go quietly, and millions of listeners were lost. Bannister thought he had found a savior in new DJ Chris Evans, but when he also departed he left the managers with only each other to fight.