KING OF THE AIRWAVES MAY BE GONE BUT LOYAL TOGS* KEEP SPIRIT ALIVE
*that’s Terry’s old geezers and gals!
TERRY WOGAN’S death stunned even his closest friends, most of whom had no idea he was seriously ill. It comes as another surprise – albeit a less nasty one – to realise that next Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of his death.
The public outpouring of shock and sadness that followed illustrated the depths of affection in which listeners and colleagues alike held the man. He was described by his Radio 2 colleague Jeremy Vine as “the greatest broadcaster since the invention of the microphone”.
The most devoted fans who tuned in to his weekday breakfast show (and his later showweekendwogan) called themselves TOGS – Terry’s Old Geezers and Gals.
It was a reflection of his largely middle-aged, middle Britain audience – a demographic for which any rival would have killed, not least considering who it included: “I’m a TOG,” the Queen told Wogan when he was chosen to welcome her on a visit to Broadcasting House.
Five years on from his death from cancer, aged 77, what has become of those who shared the sense of fun created by Sir Terry, as he became – from the TOGS to the people who worked alongside him? And what do they regard as his legacy?
Among the most memorable and frequently name-checked TOGS from Wogan’s heyday was Hellen Bach (as with most of their punning pseudonyms, it works best if you run the names together when saying them).
Along with her husband Norman Macintosh, Hellen (real name Lesley) today runs the Facebook group TOGS Forever.
With more than 1,200 members they are the keepers of the flame who embody the spirit and humour that infused the radio show.
“We try to run it a little like Terry did his show,” says Lesley. “It’s full of kind people, it’s full of laughter, but it’s grown into this group that is hugely supportive of each other.”
Though the past year has made such gatherings more difficult, members get together during the year.
A favourite is TBW (Terry’s Birthday Weekend, in August) and since his death they have visited his birthplace of Limerick twice, trips that included the obligatory picture taken with the statue that the broadcaster’s hometown in Ireland erected in his memory.
“We still have the silent fireworks display on November 5, just like Terry did on his show, and Eurovision night in our Facebook group which is crazy – taking the mickey out of it and raising a glass at song number nine to Terry.” Wogan presented the BBC’S coverage of the song contest for 35 years. And as any devotee will tell you, he waited until that point in the contest to pour himself a drink, usually a glass of Bailey’s, in the commentary box – a tradition since continued by his successor Graham Norton.
For millions the radio show’s high point came with the latest Janet And John story – innuendo-riddled satires of the children’s books of the same name, during which Wogan and newsreader John Marsh (the supposed subject of the tales along with his wife of that name) convulsed with schoolboy giggles on air. Similarly afflicted commuters reported having to pull over until the story was over.
They were written by a City IT specialist called Kevin Joslin, better known by his TOG name Mick Sturbs (again, say it quickly).
HE RECALLS: “Other newsreaders on the show got lots of attention. Fran Godfrey, for instance, had salacious poems sent in by listeners, and Alan Dedicoat – or Deadly Alancoat as he became known – received lots of general banter, so I thought we needed something for John.
“The stories were very innocent to start out with. But, according to Terry’s then producer, the late Paul Walters, the first one I sent in provoked among the biggest listener responses they’d ever had, so he asked if I’d write more.
“After about six months, Paul had the idea of bringing out a CD of the stories for Children In Need.”
Further CDS and two books of the stories have since raised around £5million for what was Wogan’s favourite charity. “I think it’s still the biggest single contributor – either corporate or private – to Children In Need,” says Kevin.
And the Janet And John stories are still raising money for the charity, despite the TOGS having to gain permission of the original books’ copyright holders each time.
Not long after Wogan’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey in September 2016, download recordings had raised another £130,000.
However, when a further set were released last year during lockdown, only £9,000 was raised.
Asked why she thinks that was, Hellen Bach says: “I think the change has been vast in the last few years of what people regard as funny and acceptable. I talked to Children In Need at the time, and they said, ‘It’s really lovely, but we can’t play it on the radio even though we will support you’.
“There were complaints in the past that the stories were rude.
“They weren’t.you can read those words perfectly innocently, though every one has a double meaning. Terry’s genius was the way he did it.
“His attitude was, ‘There’s people doing proper jobs, I don’t need to worry about this. If I can make you
laugh and keep you company, we’re doing well’,” recalls Lynn Bowles, the traffic reporter on Wogan’s show labelled the “Totty from Splotty” as she came from Splott in Cardiff.
“Of course, that requires true talent – and if I had as much as Terry Wogan had in his little finger, I’d be very happy – but he knew it’s a fundamentally silly job, sitting in a room, mostly on your own, talking to yourself. Except you’re not: you’re talking to your listener – and nobody did that better.”
Lynn recalls Wogan taking time to greet her on her first day: “I was the most unimportant person on the floor – he was just a very nice man.”
Another of the show’s newsreaders, Charles Nove, concurs: “The first thing that struck me about him was his politeness. I remember popping in to introduce myself as the new boy and him springing up out of his chair with outstretched hand, saying, ‘Hello, I’m Terry Wogan.’
“I thought, ‘There’s no way in a month of Sundays I don’t know who you are’. He was a huge star but with good, old-fashioned manners.”
Charles now presents the breakfast show on the new classical station Scala Radio, Lynn has her own Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio Wales, Alan Dedicoat remains best known as the announcer on Strictly Come Dancing while Fran Godfrey can be found on the digital station Mellow Magic.
ALL ACKNOWLEDGE their debt to Wogan, but are swift to emphasise that he can never be emulated. “There’s an old maxim in radio that, before you start a spoken link, you should always know where it’s going and how it will end,” says Charles.
“Terry’s briefing in the seconds before we went on air consisted of the words, ‘Right lads, we’ll throw it up in the air and see where it lands!’
“He hated rehearsing. Terry was a great communicator, at his best on his feet.there’s no one like him.
“His legacy is kindness and friendship,” says Hellen Bach. “But as all of us TOGS will tell you, it’s also about bringing shared laughter into people’s lives, especially when they’re having a bad time.
“And that’s never been more important than over the past year.”