Annie Nightingale passes away at 83: Here’s what we know

2024 is not starting in the best way for the entertainment industry. Between cancer diagnoses and death, we hope the year gets better as it moves forward.

Today on 12 January 2024, it was announced by her family that Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale had passed away. The woman was a trailblazer. In 1970 she joined the station as the first ever woman to do so and for 12 years she was the only woman on its line-up.

In their obituary, BBC pays tribute to the kind of DJ she was by writing:

She was known for her passion for a wide range of music, championing everything from prog rock and punk to acid house and grime.

Annie Nightingale announces her death

In a press release shared on Friday 12 January, Annie Nightingale’s family wrote:

Annie Nightingale MBE passed away yesterday at her home in London after a short illness.

A celebration of her life will take place in the Spring at a Memorial Service. The family request privacy at this time.

In July 2023 she had spoken to This is Money and expressed that she had no intention of retiring.

(...) as long as I feel I'm doing the job well and they will have me, I hope I will continue.

Every week, in my job, is a new adventure. I enjoy it. People don't understand. Most people get bored with pop music when they're a certain age. I go on being interested in where it's going, the twists and turns.

Annie Nightingale’s impressive life

Though most people know her as a voice on the radio, the woman means much more. BBC mentions that Nightingale had helped ‘launch the careers of numerous artists’ and was considered by many to be a ‘trailblazer’ for DJs such as Zoe Ball and Annie Mac.

The Guardian reports that in 2021 she ‘launched the Radio 1 scholarships to help discover female and non-binary DJs’. Throughout her career, her focus on the younger generations was apparent. She stayed at Radio 1 even though she could have moved to other stations where the listenship was older. Talking about the younger generation she once said:

We should trust young people, because when we have done in the past, like in the 1960s and the 1990s … well, we’ve all reaped the benefits. I experienced the attitude of those times, that feeling that young people could create this fabulous new world together. They still can, if we help them.

On top of breaking the glass ceiling, Nightingale was married twice and had two children, Alex and Lucy.

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Sources:

BBC News: Annie Nightingale: Legendary Radio 1 DJ dies at 83

This is Money: DJ Annie Nightingale is 83 and owns her own flat but has no pension: 'I hate the 'R' word. Retire... I've got no plans to do that yet'

The Guardian: Annie Nightingale: Radio 1’s first female DJ and champion of new music dies aged 83