Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bah, ba-ba-ba-baaah! "Greetings pop pickers. All right?" It is one of the few radio jingles guaranteed to raise a smile, even if you didn't listen to his show very much. Alas Alan "Fluff" Freeman has picked his last pop. It's the end of an era.
I first heard Alan Freeman while he was hosting Pick of the Pops on Capital in the early 1980s, a show he also presented at various times on Radio 1, Radio 2 and - get your history books out - the Light Programme.
Few DJs had such enduring appeal. In an age when TV stars are shoehorned into radio with little flair for the job, Freeman was the DJ's DJ - a brilliant broadcaster who knew exactly how to get the best out of the medium.
He was "unique and iconic," says Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas. "A naturally warm man who never quite understood the nature of his appeal," says his manager Tim Blackmore.
So what exactly was his appeal? He had a fantastic radio voice. He never took himself too seriously, unlike other certain former Radio 1 DJs. He had catchphrases that weren't too difficult to impersonate in the playground (well, maybe that was just my school). And his nickname was Fluff.
The Young Ones recognised his comic appeal, casting him as God behind a giant mixing desk in the BBC2 sitcom and introducing him to a whole new generation that didn't necessarily listen to his radio shows.
Although Freeman was part of the generation that inspired Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's Smashie and Nicey, I imagine their creators had rather more affection for Fluff than they did for, say, Simon Bates.
You can find a lot of Freeman clips at the Radio Academy website, including Radio 2, Radio Luxembourg, a very old Pick of the Pops and the moment David Jacobs handed him responsibility for the show after five years in charge. There is also a classical music show he did for Capidal and a clip of Freeman singing. No, really.
You can find a whole lot more Freeman clips at the Radio Rewind site - although you'll have to register - including Pop Quiz ("fingers on the squirters, all right?"), a New Year show with Mark Goodier ("A Goodier Good New Year to you!"), a Rock Show handover with Andy Peebles ("you know what, Peebs? Ta-ta!") There's even a tribute from Smashie and Nicey.
In case you're wondering, that Pick of the Pops theme tune was called At The Sign of the Swinging Cymbal. Ta-ra Fluff. Formidable 1FM might have moved on, but radio's not the same without you.
