Ray Moore

Born in Liverpool, England, in 1942, the broadcaster who improbably scored 1980s chart success died in January 1989. After finishing school in summer 1960 he took a solid position in the city’s busy docks, yet soon sought a change of direction that led him to Oldham Repertory Theatre as assistant stage manager. There he gained acting experience, including a role in the Billy Graham organisation’s low-budget film A Touch Of Brass. Following further repertory work he joined Granada Television in 1962 as an announcer, sharing shifts with Bernard Youens, who later became a Coronation Street regular. A move to ATV in 1964 preceded his employment at BBC Manchester, where he worked in both television and radio, presenting Pop North and other shows. In summer 1967 he travelled to London as a holiday stand-in on the BBC’s Saturday Club; that autumn he was asked to join the newly launched Radio 2. Eight years later, in 1986, he collaborated with the eccentric West Country musician Shag Connors on the novelty single “My Father Had A Rabbit,” an unexpected hit whose proceeds went to charity. When the pair recorded the follow-up “Bog Eyed Jog” the next year, Moore had already been diagnosed with mouth cancer. He continued working until his death in 1989. A posthumous biography drawn from journals he kept during his final months became a bestseller.