Radio

At 9am, on Friday 2nd April 2004 after hosting an incredible 4425 shows over 17 years on Capital and giving away prizes to the value of £3.5 million, Chris Tarrant said his farewell to London.

It was an emotionally charged morning in the studio as Chris opened the show with Europe's 'The Final Countdown' - for the very last time.

Chris was joined by his family, good friend and Flying Eye colleague Russ Kane, who kept his feet on the floor for the morning, Annie, Becky, Andy, SJ, Lou and Bodders. Even Courtney the security guard was in the studio for a show that was packed with Chris's top tunes from the last 17 years, lots of classic jingles and old show highlights. Then, in what felt like no time at all it was 8.55am and Chris was saying his 'Thank yous' to his team and colleagues over the years, before dedicating his final song, Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York', to the whole of London.

There were cheers and applause when CT left the studio, champagne was drunk and many tears were shed when Capital's Managing Director, Keith Pringle, read out a selection of wonderful emails from Chris's fans and dedicated listeners.

With the last words 'Let's get out of this hell hole.' and a 'Good luck' message to his replacement Johnny Vaughan, the radio legend that is Chris Tarrant marked the end of an era.

The songs Chris chose to play on his last show :-

The Final Countdown - Europe No Son of Mine - Genesis Sacrifice - Elton John November Rain - Guns n Roses You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate Going Underground - The Jam Lucky You - The Lightening Seeds Woman - John Lennon Design For Life - Manic Street Preachers Different Corner - George Michael Why - Annie Lennox The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics Alive & Kicking - Simple Minds Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis If You Don't Know Me By Now - Simply Red Have a Nice Day - Stereophonics Staying Alive - Bee Gees Miracle - Bon Jovi Heroes - Bowie I Wish It Would Rain Down - Phil Collins In The Army Now - Status Quo Tequila Sunrise - The Eagles Lose Yourself - Eminem Heaven - Bryan Adams Simply the Best - Tina Turner Grease Megamix - John Travolta Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

CT's last day on air at Capital Radio, 2 April 2004

The Last Word

Capital Radio asked listeners to mail in the question you've always wanted ask legend Chis Tarrant, and he was more than happy to answer them on everything from fishing in trees and his 17 years as a presenter at 95. 8 Capital. Read the full interview here....

Q: As I'm pretty sure fish don't grow on trees, how on God's green earth did you manage to fall out of a tree while fishing? - BeeJay Bennett from New Cross

A: Everybody seems to think this is a very funny story and I suppose if it's not your own limbs that you managed to snap it probably is! But I wasn't actually fishing, I was looking down at fish through my polaroid glasses from the top of a tree by the River Avon in Hampshire. It sounds very strange behaviour but it's actually a very good way of watching fish unobserved. They really don't know that you're there. However, they do of couse know that you're there, if a branch breaks and you coming flying down out of the tree like a sack of spuds, banging yourself on just about every branch on the way down and landing with a huge splash in the river !

Q: After you shout 'get me out of this hell hole' for the last time what do you plan to do with your day? - Helen Carr from Twickenham

A: I'm going straight across to America and then flying early on the Saturday morning to Barbados where, with any luck, I shall be watching England destroy the West Indies cricket team in the afternoon Caribbean sunshine !

Q: In all your time at Capital, what part have you enjoyed the most? - Mark Occomore from Crawley

A: If I'm honest, I've loved all of it. I've had a terrific time, I've met and interviewed all sorts of people, some of them real heroes of mine like McCartney, Bowie and co. I've done the show live from all around the world, from New York to Hobart, Tasmania, but my first ever visit to South Africa was probably the most memorable.

Q: Do you plan to return to radio or work for another radio station in the future? - Paul Gaskell from Cambridge

A: I really don't know. Obviously I have a great love of radio, I just can't go on getting out of bed at 5 o'clock in the morning. I have had all sorts of offers from other stations, as well as Capital, and all I'm saying at the moment to people is that I need time to get away from it all and have a serious unpressured think about what to do next.

Q: Can you remember what the first record was that you played on the Capital Breakfast Show? - Sharon Colley from Edgware

A: Yes it was 'I Want to Know What Love Is' by Foreigner. It was a great tune then and still is. You might be interested to know that the first record I ever played on Capital was in the days of vinyl records when I did a Sunday Lunchtime show - rather wackily called Lunday Sunchtime - and I played Stevie Wonder's 'I Just Called To Say I Love You' but unfortunately I managed to play the instrumental 'b' side and couldn't understand why Stevie wasn't singing. I should have know then my radio career was going to be a shambles !

Q: How have you managed to maintain your popularity as both TV presenter, DJ and all round entertainer in a world where people are fickle and want one person one minute and another the next? - Carol Dalrymple from Woking

A: I genuinely have no idea. I've never, ever tried to analyse that sort of thing. I think with me what you see and hear is what you get, and probably that naturalness has worked. But truthfully, I've genuinely never taken time out to analyse what I do, I've just done it and surprisingly it seems to have worked.

Q: What is going to happen to all the fab jingles you have used over the years. I would love to get hold of a copy of them? - Paul Icklow from Borehamwood

A: Sadly an awful lot of them have disappeared over the years but quite a few of them are still around in all sorts of formats. They will remain Capital's property but maybe, if there is enough interest from people like yourself, I'm sure Capital could get them all together on one CD and let people have them.

Q: What will you miss the most about being at Capital? - Denise Collins from Acton

A: The live, immediacy of the mornings; making people laugh at a time when a lot of them really don't feel like laughing; the listeners who continue to amuse and entertain me - most of my audience over the years have clearly been as raving mad as I am ! And above all I've made a load of really good friends here - the guys who work with me on the show, the engineering crews and just a lot of really good mates. I'm sure we will keep in touch and meet up but it will be at a civilised hour like lunchtime or in the evening - rather than the ungodly hour that we've all been together for so many years.

Q: What do you think of your replacement Johnny and do you think he'll last as long as you on the Breakfast Show? - John Dunn from Cricklewood

A : I think he'll be fine. I think he's aware of what a tough gig he's walking into, but he seems very up for it. He was splendid on Big Breakfast with Denise and if he can recreate that sort of ingenuity, energy and fun, I'm sure it will work. Whether or not he'll be here 17 years from now, is probably unlikely, as I suspect nobody else will ever be that daft again, but I think he can help the station move on and develop.

Q: What tips would you give to aspiring DJs if they want to follow in your footsteps? - Michelle Cumberland from Tooting

A: Just be yourself, be natural, don't let anybody try and mould you and don't try and mimick anybody else. Stick to what you're best at and that'll be being you! Ignore all other advice - I always have - and so did Terry Wogan, Kenny Everett, Roger Scott … etc etc.

Dangly Bits!

The ' Dangly Bits' feature on Capital was extremely popular. Every day Chris used to pose brain-teasing, mind-boggling questions that used to drive the millions of listeners utterly crazy as they are left 'dangling' for what feels like eternity, before hearing the answers.

Here are just a few of those 'Dangly Bits' that used to drive his listeners mad!!!

I did think about not including the answers but that would be just too mean..............................so you can find them at the bottom of one of the other pages on the site!!!!! Have fun!!

1. You have two coins that add up to 55p. One of them can't be a 5p piece. What are the two coins?

2. I make two cups of tea. I put a dead fly at the bottom of one of the cups. If I was lying I would tell you that the fly is not in the cup on the left. Which cup would you choose?

3. I picked up a newspaper this morning and found that page 13 was missing. The last page was page 20, so what other pages were missing?

4. A taxi driver was going the wrong way up a one-way street. He passed a policeman who did not stop him, or even take much notice of him. Why?

5. On a very cold night you reach a survival hut with only one match. There is a gas oven, a coal-burning fire and an oil lamp. To be sure of survival, which of these must you light first?

6. What is it that occurs four times in every week, twice in every month and only once in a year?

7. Which one is the odd one out? Dead, North, Black, West, Red.

8. Clare has an unusual pricing system for her clothes store. She charges £25 for a skirt, £30 for a jacket and £40 for trousers. How much would she charge for a bra?

Capital Fun Facts!!!!

1. Chris Tarrant is notorious for his love of fishing. On many occasions at Capital, Chris's male colleagues have found live fishing bait in the basins of the gents toilets keeping fresh while Chris is in the studio.

2. Howard Hughes, the 95.8 Capital FM Breakfast Show newsreader, walked into the studio one morning wearing a new shirt. Chris loked up and noticed that the shirtwas, in fact, one of his own. Chris had given some of his old clothes to a charity shop near his home where, it turned out Howard frequently shopped. He paid the princley sum of £2 for it and, far from being embarrassed, Howard actually wore it again the next day!

3. In October 1993 the 95.8 Capital FM Breakfast team took part in the 'All Day Breakfast Show'. Having done the show as usual in London, Chris was whisked off to New York on Concorde to present another show three hours later to coincide with breakfast in America.

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Chris and Fia Tarrant’s Christmas Show was broadcast on Christmas Day 2006

Touch FM brought you Christmas with the Tarrants hosted by Fia Tarrant and her father, the broadcasting legend, Chris Tarrant.

The show was broadcast at 11am Christmas Day morning, featuring your stories, comments and requests.

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