BBC WM legend Paul Franks has left the station – after an incredible 44-year on-air career which began with a competition to find a new football commentator.
Known as ‘Franksy’ to listeners, one of his last interviewees this week was with Westside BID’s general manager Mike Olley, a regular guest on Franksy’s ‘drive time’ afternoon show.
After the interview, Mr Olley was quick to play tribute afterwards to the ‘giant’ of the airwaves for his contribution to business, sport and entertainment life in the West Midlands.
Mr Olley said: “What a remarkable career Franksy has had, with his dedication to current affairs and vast knowledge of sport informing and entertaining millions of people over more than four decades.
“Franksy was never an easy interviewer who would give anyone in authority an ‘easy’ ride. But he was also always so polite and decent, someone who would always get to the core of the subject. He’s a giant in broadcasting and, as such, a proper treasure.”
As a fan of 1970s music, Franksy was joined on his last show yesterday (Thursday, 3 August) by pop stars Steve Harley and Suzi Quatro. He also played an archive interview with his favourite guest, Robert Plant – leaving the listeners with the play out Ramble On from the album Led Zeppelin II.
Franksy said: “Nothing will ever top that gig for me and I chose Ramble On as my last song because that’s what I’ve been doing for 44 years.”
The 6ft 5in tall presenter first joined BBC WM in 1979 after winning a competition held in conjunction with the then Evening Mail to find a new sports commentator.
Wolverhampton-born World Cup referee Jack Taylor was a judge and Rob Hawthorne, who would go on to join Sky, won the under 18s competition.
Meanwhile Franksy won the seniors contest after commentating on a 90-second silent clip of the 1979 European Cup-winning goal for Nottingham Forest scored by former Birmingham City star Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1 million footballer who died last month aged 69.
Franksy said: “Blues won promotion with a 3-3 draw at home to Notts County and by 1982 I was hosting our coverage of Aston Villa’s European Cup win against Bayern Munich. I was covering football seven days a week, but also working in the corporate world for major motor manufactures Ford, Renault in London and then Peugeot in Coventry.
“In 1996, new BBC WM manager David Robey gave me the chance to host the breakfast show, telling me only: ‘Find an audience and I will back you’. You could be a lot more creative in those halcyon days.
“Some 22 years ago I switched to drive [time] and have hosted that ever since – even if a phone-in finished at 7pm there was still time to get to a local match or gigs.
“The story I’ve covered that has had the biggest impact on the world was 9/11. I’d gone home and would normally have two hours’ sleep, but something made me wake up after 20 minutes and put the TV on just in time to see the first plane hitting the Twin Towers – after that we were covering it for weeks and weeks.
“I was also on air during the Hillsborough disaster [1989, 97 lives ultimately lost] and the Bradford stadium fire [1985, 57 fatalities] and then there were the Birmingham Riots [2011].”
Commenting on his long relationship with and coverage of Westside BID, Franksy said: “With an organisation like Westside BID, it’s great that it represents business and the hospitality/leisure industries which still have so much catching up to do post Covid.
“I would say that the whole business rates structure needs to be completely overhauled. Westside BID has always been willing to come on air and to explain things like that – I don’t like it whenever other businesses issue ‘statements’ but won’t come on air to talk about what that statement is.
“It’s been fun and always entertaining talking to Mike Olley … never one to sit on the fence, and a proper champion of local enterprise. Long may he continue doing that.”
What advice would Franksy give his younger self today? “That’s a very good question ,” he replied. “Tony Butler invented the football phone-in, so you can’t do that again. You just have to be yourself because you can’t put on an act, listen to what people are saying and have fun – you always have to have fun. When interviewing someone, ask them about something little known so they know you have done some research.”
Franksy explained how his radio role gave him the chance to get to know many stars, including Tony Iommi and Robert Plant, “my ultimate hero”.
He said: “I used to talk to Neil Diamond whenever he was coming to play here. I’ve always found the top people to have no side and to be very nice. We even got Elton John on to the sports show one day by literally almost carrying him and his platform boots out of the boardroom when he was chairman of Watford.
“But I also like talking to real people who have done extraordinary things whether that’s through illness, a child’s death or whatever. They are a reminder that there are a lot more decent people than not.”
As for Franksy’s own future, the cat-loving father of two and doting grandad says: “I am not retiring. If something comes up, I will do it, otherwise I will be relaxing – but not retiring! I won’t be going to football matches either – I preferred the game before the Premier League, even though the game went downhill across the West Midlands after Villa’s European Cup win.
“Today, Saudi Arabia wants to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for players. But Walsall [Mike Olley’s team] would beat most of their teams. I’ll be going to cricket and rugby instead.”
● Westside BID reporter and videographer Graham Young, who covered the TV, radio and films patch for the Birmingham Mail for more than three decades, paid his own tribute to Franksy.
Mr Young said: “Franksy deserves to be ranked alongside BBC WM’s other greats who I got to know so well – Les Ross, the late Ed Doolan, and Tony Butler who died last month. They all made their names at BRMB, the city’s first commercial station launched almost 50 years ago, but even they couldn’t say they’d served one station for 44 years like Franksy!”
Mr Young, who once won the UK Regional Film Critic of the Year trophy, added: “It was one of the great privileges of my own career to have been Franksy’s resident film critic since 2014. Just working with him every week was not just a great pleasure, but also an education.
“You could but marvel at how quick he was to pick things up – even in the middle of a stamina-testing four-hour show. Despite our busy schedules in different media spheres, we never missed linking up.”
Main picture: Franksy with Rod Stewart – and cut out
