Explore More Issue 18

TUNE IN
As one of Classic FM’s longest-serving presenters, John Brunning
is a firm favourite with listeners around the world
Above: A Viking
Longship sails
along the River
Main; Classic FM
presenter John
Brunning
How did your career in radio
start and develop?
Well my career in radio had rather
dodgy beginnings because I ran a
pirate station from the bedroom
of my mother’s bungalow where I
grew up in Colchester. Eventually
we got busted by the authorities.
I was about 15 at the time, which
was just as well because had I been
16, they would have prosecuted
me. I still have the letter somewhere
from Chris Chatterway, the then
Secretary of State, saying how
naughty I had been and not to
do it again. My legitimate career
started at Capital (Radio). I had
a programme called The Way It Is,
in the early 1980s. From there,
I moved to Glasgow and then
down to Invicta Radio in Kent and
worked in news. I started at Classic
FM in 1992, a couple of weeks
before the station’s first on-air
date in September. The controller
heard about my love of music and
suggested a change of direction.
I was reluctant at first, but I have
no regrets now because I love the
music and it is the ideal job for me.
Where did your passion for
classical music stem from?
When I was a lad, my father used
to work for Co-op Insurance
and I used to go with him on his
rounds. I must have been five years
old and we stopped at an elderly
lady’s house. Well she seemed
elderly, but looking back, she was
probably about 30! She had an
old gramophone and three 78rpm
records. One was Bach’s Toccata
and Fugue in D minor. I loved the
sound of the organ, so I used to
play it ad nauseam. My poor father!
And that was it really. The truth
is, I love all sorts of music, but
classical music has always been
very close to my heart.
Who are you favourite
composers and why?
There really are too many favourites
to list! The three B’s, obviously:
Beethoven, Bach and Brahms, I
love all of them. I am very fond of
Haydn, but if I had to choose one,
it would have to be Tchaikovsky.
His music is so melodic and so
beautifully put together.
What’s your favourite piece?
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5
and the No. 6, the Pathetique,
are particular favourites, but ask
me again tomorrow and I will
42 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK | WINTER 2019
042-043_EM18_JohnBrunning.indd 42 05/11/2019 10:21