Geoff Speed was one of earliest voices to broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside when it launched in 1967. Geoff, who shared presentation and production duties with Stan Ambrose, was born in Widnes in 1942 and had been involved in folk music for many years.
One of the stalwarts of the BBC Radio Merseyside on-air team Geoff retired in 2014 after almost 47 years behind the microphone. It’s thought that Folkscene is the UK’s longest-running radio programme dedicated to folk music.
Geoff ran a highly successful folk club in his home town of Widnes in the 1960’s. In the early days of BBC Radio Merseyside he recorded live folk music in and around the clubs at a time when recordings of local folk musicians and singers were virtually non-existent.
“My interest in folk music began back at Wade Deacon High School in Widnes. I had a friend at school called Robin, we decided to open a folk club in Widnes. We expected about 40 people and 200 turned up. We ended up meeting in the rooms above the Queen’s Hall.”
Indeed, Geoff was recognised for booking a young Paul Simon to appear at his club: “In the early days of the folk club, we had a guy from London play for us. His name was Terry Gould. He wrote to me and said that he had heard a young American singer named Paul Simon and was trying with Paul to organise a tour in the North of England. So I said yes straight away. We were only asked to pay £12. To think that this guy was only 18 or 19 and was writing such wonderful songs. He stayed with me for a week.”
A plaque at Widnes station records that a young Paul Simon wrote the song Homeward Bound while waiting for a train back to London, although it is possible that he was actually at nearby Ditton Station when he penned the bestseller.
BBC Radio Merseyside Editor Sue Owen said: “Geoff’s knowledge of folk music, and understanding of what a specialist music audience wants, was second to none. He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word.”