[David]

A name that might mean something to some of the longer listeners to radio 1 on this forum, but I was reading today that former DJ Vicky Marsden (probably around about 1999/2000) died a few weeks back after a long battle with cancer.

[Munki Bhoy]

http://chrismoyles.net/mw/teamchris.shtml#5

2001. I don't remember her, but that doesn't make it any less sad.

[MK Chris]

* me, I remember her. That is actually quite shocking, she can't have been old at all.

[Yudster]

I remember her too - I don't think I even knew she was ill. You're right Topher, she must have been no age at all. Yikes.

[David]

32 I believe.

[MK Chris]

Blimey, that's dreadful.

She was really good as well, they should never have got rid of her. From the Sarah HB era (though Sarah HB was rubbish.)

[Yudster]

Wasn't she around at about the same time as Nemone? I used to quite like Nemone on early breakfast.......

[MK Chris]

Yeah, Nemone was around about then as well I think, she was OK as well. I think Nemone is still at the BBC (6Music possibly, not sure though.)

[Munki Bhoy]

I kept reading the Moyles biog for a bit last night and saw that she was still on when Chris moved to breakfast. I know, that's five years ago, but it doesn't seem all that long.

[john-leybourne]

Yeah, Nemone was around about then as well I think, she was OK as well. I think Nemone is still at the BBC (6Music possibly, not sure though.)

1pm - 4pm Monday to Friday on 6Music

[Enda Caldwell]

Very shocking and saddening news to read of Vicky's passing. I agree with many who say that she was great on the air and they should have kept her on. Rest in peace Vicky.

[wireman2004]

it is a sad loss too radio.

Wasn't vicky the person who filled in for greg and j.k and joel when they were off on holiday.
If so it makes sense of her illness as max has filled in the last 3 times greg has been off

[MK Chris]

...no. She hasn't been on Radio 1 for quite some time - certainly she left before Greg James started, I would argue probably before JK and Joel started too, but that may not be correct.

[Johnny 1989]

The name does sound familiar but I cannot place her unfortunately, either way it's still tragic 32 is too young an age to die. Terrible news.

[MC]

Oh My God.

Where did you read this David?

I still have a recording of Vicky's last show from 2004. She was a fantastic DJ - I had no idea she was ill. Why hasn't this been more widely reported?

[MK Chris]

MC... any chance of an upload for those who didn't hear her (and also I would be interested in listening again)? She really was great.

[Johnny 1989]

MC... any chance of an upload for those who didn't hear her (and also I would be interested in listening again)? She really was great.

I second that as well, if anything hearing it may jog my memory of who she was, as I say the name is familiar but I can't fully place her.

[MC]

I have the audio from her final link/handover to Wes here:

Right click and save as link here [2.3mb]

Will post the full show in the next couple of days.

[MK Chris]

You're a star MC, thanks very much!

I still can't find any report of it.

[MC]

On the MediaUK forums this message has been left by Vic McGlynn, ex BBC 6 Music DJ (I presume it's okay to re-post as the MediaUK forums are free to register for)

Vicky Marsden 1976-2008
I just wanted to inform others of the passing of Vicky, former Radio 1 presenter, who was a huge inspiration upon myself. She was an excellent presenter, with a distinct care free nature and a huge passion for the music she played. Her career began in the States, where she worked on an alternative station, and she returned to stints on Chiltern FM, Leicester Sound, and Napa FM. But of course, she’s mostly known for her stint on Radio 1 - where I felt she was massively undervalued for such a talent.

Vicky had returned from Dubai to be with her family after a very long battle with cancer which finally took her prior to Christmas.

A great, talented, warm jock who will be sadly missed by many I’m sure.

[David]

Yeah that's where I read it. I couldn't find any thing else about it, in fact searching Vicky Marsden in Google brings up this very thread as the top result.

[Johnny 1989]

I have the audio from her final link/handover to Wes here:

Right click and save as link here [2.3mb]

Will post the full show in the next couple of days.

Thanks for that link MC. Listening to the clip, I sort of recognise the voice, did she voice a lot of trailers back then for other shows/promotions on Radio 1?

[MC]

Full details from here below - http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081 ... 99617/1308

Really tragic.

Victoria Marsden, one of Dubai’s premier radio broadcasters, her voice recognised by thousands across the emirate, lost a lengthy battle with cancer on Monday.

Ms Marsden was born to present. Her easy manner belied formidable technical skills, while her talent for simplifying complex issues in a humorous and witty way endeared her to her audience. Respected for her professional approach and experience, she stood out from the crowd of presenters filling the airwaves.

On the recommendation of a radio scout who heard her broadcasting in Leicester, where she had settled after a couple years in America, Marsden joined BBC Radio 1, initially as a late-night music presenter. Though her passion was alternative rock, she could talk knowledgeably on a broad spectrum of music, and was known by her friends as a walking encyclopaedia on the subject. Her producer remembers her as a completely natural disc jockey, similar in style to the ubiquitous BBC presenter Jo Wylie.

The year she joined the BBC the intake of raw talent was considerable: her contemporaries there, Nemone and Emma B, have gone on to forge successful careers on BBC Radio 6 and Heart FM respectively.

For Ms Marsden, her producer’s decision to move to Dubai in 2004 promised new opportunities and she joined him in June of that year to present a specialist music show in the mornings on Dubai 92, one of the stations in the Arabian Radio Network (ARN) stable. Later that year, she and Nanette Midwood, who became a close friend, started a late-night music and chat show on Dubai 92. The two had an unaffected, entertaining on-air chemistry.

In September 2005, they began working for another ARN station, Dubai Eye 103.8FM as presenters of Speak Easy, a chatty radio show that ran every weekday morning. It quickly secured a wide and loyal audience, with the two becoming household names, applauded for their witty and occasionally irreverent look at life in Dubai. Ms Marsden blossomed on the show, and it became a flagship radio programme.

Last summer, both presenters were suddenly and unexpectedly suspended without comment, and rumours abounded on Dubai’s blogs and newspapers. It was assumed by many that their lighthearted approach must have caused offence in some quarter, but the radio station never issued a statement to silence the speculation. The presenters were told that their dismissal was temporary, but when the programme returned, their spots had been filled and their disappearance from the airwaves was lamented.

Many assumed that it was Marsden’s ill health that led to her absence from Speak Easy, as it had temporarily in the past. She was first treated for skin cancer on her ear in 2002 but was advised that moving to Dubai, with its harsh sunny climate, would not increase the risk of the cancer returning. In 2006, however, it did.

After successful brain surgery at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, Ms Marsden returned to Dubai, where she and Ms Midwood planned to co-present an afternoon show on Dubai 92. But when Ms Midwood suffered a bad car crash in April their plans were shelved.

Ms Marsden did some solo broadcasting, but her experience at Dubai Eye, combined with her uncertain health, persuaded her and her partner Nick to return to Britain where her family was based. Routine tests earlier this year, coinciding with stomach pains, revealed that she had liver cancer, which metastasised swiftly. She died two months later.

Those who knew her personally remember a good and generous friend, who could not abide lateness and could, at times, appear a little daunting. She was witty and optimistic, and dealt with the fact of her cancer practically and realistically. When undergoing treatment in Britain, she whiled away the time watching the US television shows Grey’s Anatomy and House, much to the shock of the hospital nurses who thought the subject matter too visceral for a cancer patient to enjoy.

Though she was happy to share her thoughts and refer to her illness on air, Marsden was fiercely protective of her privacy and loathed the celebrity culture in which she was sometimes forced to assume a reluctant role due to the nature of her profession. In her free time she enjoyed simple pleasures, such as walking her dog, going to the cinema and travelling around the Emirates and beyond.

In 2007, Ahlan magazine named her one of their “Up and Coming” personalities in the Hot 100 list. In the text accompanying her smiling photograph, despite the trials she had faced, she said that Dubai had restored her sense of opportunity and optimism.

Ms Marsden was born on Dec 18, 1974, and died on Nov 24.

[Munki Bhoy]

Just a thought... she mentions what would be the last song you'd play on Radio 1. Anyone remember what Chris' last song on afternoons was? I seem to remember it was absolutely garbage. Some dance pish. I really hope if the day comes that it's time to leave breakfast (and probably Radio 1) he gets to play something a bit better.

Oh, by last song I mean last actual song, and not him singing My Way before it cut in with the punk version. Which I suppose was technically the last song.

[Johnny 1989]

Just a thought... she mentions what would be the last song you'd play on Radio 1. Anyone remember what Chris' last song on afternoons was? I seem to remember it was absolutely garbage. Some dance pish. I really hope if the day comes that it's time to leave breakfast (and probably Radio 1) he gets to play something a bit better.

Oh, by last song I mean last actual song, and not him singing My Way before it cut in with the punk version. Which I suppose was technically the last song.

Plays the last show on iTunes (it's not available there, it's one I've manage to copy over & not edit yet) and Shazam tells me its....

G Tom Mac & The Lost Brothers - Cry Little Sister

A kind of "Oih, oih, Saveloy" generic Ibiza track, it peaked at number 21 in December 2003 & only last 2:45, which may explain why they shoe-horned it in at the end of the show.

I like that Vicky's last song is The Littlest Hobo, something different at least & it's a nice cheesy song to go out on.

That article above BTW makes sad reading, such a shame she wasn't appreciated more here in the UK seeing as she was hugely successful in Dubai.