In October we celebrated iconic artists for Black History Month

October was Black History Month

Author: Laura Thornton

From Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross to Prince, many of the Greatest Hits we all love are from Black music artists.

In October, we celebrated Black History Month remembering some iconic artists, telling their stories and playing their Greatest Hits.

Beverley Knight's A to Z of Black Music

Beverley Knight joined us as she played her A to Z of Black music.

Greatest Hits Superstars

We also told the stories of some legendary Black artists, we started with Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco who sadly passed away in 2012. However, her songs such as 'I Feel Love' and 'This Time I Know It's for Real' are still popular to this day.

Simon Mayo

Simon also charted the top selling Billboard R&B Albums of all time on the Album Show.

Meet the Greatest Hits Radio presenters

Ken Bruce

Greatest Hits Radio is the home of the legend that is Ken Bruce, weekdays 10am-1pm - including PopMaster, the UK's biggest music quiz for 25 years and counting.
Find out more about Ken and PopMaster.

Simon Mayo

Simon Mayo hosts Drivetime every weekday at 4pm and The Album Show on Sundays from 1pm.


Simon said of his Drivetime show: "I think the thing about Drivetime is that it is like the flip side of breakfast. You kind of know what an awful lot of people are doing, it's the end of most people's day, they're doing some final bits of work, they're shutting the laptop, they're doing a bit of food preparation, they're driving home. I think it is that sense of camaraderie, it's the end of the day, people want to be cheered up and they want to spend some time with some decent folk on the radio!"


Find out more about Simon Mayo here.

Paul Gambaccini

Paul brings us his famous America's Greatest Hits programme every Saturday between 5pm-7pm, featuring two hours of the Greatest Hits that made it big in America.


Sharing some of the things he loves about his show, Paul said: "Radio is the perfect form of one-to-one communication. TV can be direct, too, but the camera operator is always in your line of vision! I enjoy sharing my favourite music, and my admittedly freakish knowledge of it, with people who care about that music. I love the opportunity for challenging talk overs, too!"


Find out more about Paul Gambaccini here.

Alex Lester

The Dark Lord keeps you company in the small hours. Join him for the Music Marathon from 1am and the Best Time Of The Day Show 4-6am weekdays.


Alex brings: "Your favourite songs. Bizarre insights and unusual thoughts," to his show and told us that he loves that during his show: "It's just the two of us. You and me. (Against the world)."


Find out more about Alex Lester here.

Jenny Powell

Jenny plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio to kickstart your weekend, every Saturday and Sunday from 6am.


On Jenny's show, listeners can look forward to The Breakfast Club, which she says is: "A warm-up for the weekend, full of positive vibes and feel-good factor when you wake up on Saturdays and Sundays. I insist you have a dance with me on the Kitchen Disco, I share some fun news stories from the previous week on The Headliners and get you smiling no matter what, sharing some of my favourite tracks from the 70s, 80, and 90s."


Find out more about Jenny Powell here.

Andy Crane

Join Andy's late-night community of music and company, Sunday-Thursday at 10pm.


Andy has three hours of the biggest songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon. His show is full of: "Great music and plenty of laughing."


Find out more about Andy Crane here.

Martin Kemp

Join our resident pop star Martin Kemp as he kicks off your Friday night with his Mixtape – three hours of handpicked essential weekend songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to get you in the mood and dancing round the kitchen.


Then on Saturdays, it's side-two as he brings you nothing but the greatest decade of all time on The 80s Mixtape.


Get your teenage kicks in the company of THE 80s poster boy on Greatest Hits Radio!


Find out more about Martin Kemp here.

Jackie Brambles

Jackie Brambles hosts The Evening Show every Monday to Thursday from 7pm - 10pm.


Jackie promises to deliver: "Great music and great conversations! Every night we're joined by one of your favourite artists of the 70s, 80s and 90s for an in-depth chat about the highs and lows of their careers and their musical influences over the years."


Find out more about Jackie Brambles here.

Kate Thornton

Join Kate every weekday from 1pm, just after Ken!
Find out more about Kate Thornton here.

Richard Allinson

Weekend Good Times never sounded so good!


He's a broadcasting legend with a voice like silk that, alongside the Biggest Songs of the 70s, 80s & 90s, make the perfect weekend soundtrack – Saturday and Sundays at 9am.


Saturdays kick off with your chance to guess the year on The Top 10 Til 10, while Sundays are reserved for an hour of your special songs and dedications.


Speaking about his show, Richard said: "The idea is to recreate all those great memories I have of weekends growing up, a bunch of us meeting up to buy clothes, records, maybe sort a date…everything happened on a weekend and we remember the records we played at that time."


Find out more about Richard Allinson here.

Des Paul

Join Des for Rhythm Of The Night every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm, where he plays all the greatest soul, funk, disco and Motown hits to start your weekend.


Des explained what he loves the most about his show: "The favourite bit of presenting Rhythm of the Night is when listeners contact me to say how much they've loved hearing a particular track and then tell us all about when and where they used to hear it."


Find out more about Des Paul here.

Listen to Greatest Hits Radio on the free Rayo app, online or on your DAB digital radio. You can also listen on your smart speaker by saying “Play Greatest Hits Radio”.