Former LBC and Radio 2 presenter Brian Hayes dies aged 87

Brian Hayes, the broadcaster known for shaping early phone-in radio at LBC and later hosting shows on BBC Radio 2, has died.

His career in the UK spanned more than five decades and included some of the most influential speech radio output of its era. He became known for a direct interviewing style that helped define the sound of LBC’s formative years in the 1970s and 1980s.

Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1937, Hayes began working in newspapers and broadcasting before moving to Britain in the early 1970s.

He joined Capital Radio at launch in 1973 as a producer before moving on air, later being recruited by LBC to front its morning phone-in programme from 1976. The show became one of the station’s signature strands and made him one of the network’s most recognisable voices.

After leaving LBC in 1990, he moved to BBC Radio 2 where he presented the breakfast programme “Good Morning UK!” in 1992. Although his time on breakfast was short, he remained with the network and hosted the weekly phone-in Hayes over Britain, which won a Sony Radio Award for Best Phone-In.

His later work included presenting on BBC Radio 5 Live as well as returning to LBC in the 2000s.

Colleagues have often credited Hayes with helping establish the modern template for conversational and confrontational phone-in broadcasting.

Speaking previously about his approach, he once said he aimed to treat callers “as real people with something to say”, adding that the medium only worked “when it sounds like a conversation that matters”.

Hayes retired from full-time broadcasting after his final stints on LBC, though he remained a reference point for many in the industry who cited his influence on the development of UK talk radio.