It came as a real shock to hear that Jimmy Savile had departed this mortal coil, because I always thought that he was anything but mortal and would outlive us all. He seemed to be an omniscient presence in our Earthly lives, but fundamentally not of this world. And in that respect he came amongst us, but seemed to operate in another dimension of time and space, a bit like Doctor Who!!

Like Doctor Who, Jimmy Savile was an eccentric, tinged with brilliance, operating in his own vacuum and sphere of influence, destined to do great altruistic work for the good of mankind, but not meant to walk amongst us. Jimmy Savile’s clown like appearance, antics and inane ramblings belied a high level of intelligence, endorsed by his membership of MENSA. You knew that there was an innate kindness and compassion there, supported by his insatiable thirst for charity work and yet in Louis Theroux’s documentary in 2000, “When Louis Met Jimmy”, he came across as prickly, cantankerous, hostile, cold and aloof. Essentially he chose to portray himself as someone who had little time for his fellow man on a day to day basis!! In the end, we have to conclude that Jimmy Savile, like many complex people, was full of contradictions and leave it at that.

Like most of you, I will remember Sir Jimmy Savile for putting a smile on my face, whether it be through his regular appearances on a Thursday evening on BBC1 in the 1970s, as one of the hosts of “Top of the Pops”, or the fixer of childrens’ dreams on a Saturday evening on the BBC 1 institution that was “Jim’ll Fix It”. Like many, I sent him a letter, supported by a demo tape, to enquire as to whether he could “fix it” for me to do a guest spot as a DJ on Radio 1. In the event Jim couldn’t fix it – now whether this was beyond his powers I don’t know. More likely he wanted to spare Radio 1 listeners my amateurish broadcasting skills, but what impressed me was that the legendary Jimmy Savile sent me a personal handwritten letter acknowledging my request and apologising for not being able to fulfil my dreams!! It is safe to assume that every potential participant of “Jim’ll Fix It” also received a personal epistle and that was the stature of the man – nothing was too much trouble for him, when it came to helping others. Whatever his slightly odd foibles and idiosyncrasies, Sir Jimmy Savile richly deserved his knighthood and OBE for his unstinting, tireless work for charity that generated millions of pounds for good and great causes.

However my favourite and abiding memories of Jimmy Savile was as a DJ on Radio 1, as the presenter of the Sunday lunchtime show “Jimmy Savile’s Old Record Club”, where he played top tens from years gone by. It was the first radio show to feature old charts, something later adopted by Alan Freeman and Radio 2 in the 1980s, when Pick of the Pops was resurrected as a retro chart show. However the retro chart genre began with Jimmy Savile in 1973 as “The Double Top Ten Show”.

If you were a fan of “Jimmy Savile’s Old Record Club” and retro chart radio shows in general, you can possess your favourite vinyl record, single or album, framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

MyFirstRecord.co.uk will donate 25% of the proceeds to one of Jimmy Savile’s favourite charities between now and Christmas. 

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!