Trevor Dann

Trevor is Creative Director of TDC Ltd and a Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln.

From 2006 to 2010 he was Chief Executive of the Radio Academy, a UK registered charity dedicated to the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in broadcasting and audio production. He chaired the Radio Festival in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and appears regularly on panels commentating on media issues. He continues to present the Academy’s weekly RadioTalk podcast as well as a weekly music review show for the digital station Amazing Radio. His biography of Nick Drake, “Darker Than The Deepest Sea” was published in 2006. His company also produces programmes for BBC Radio 2 and will launch a major landmark series in April 2011.

He was previously Head of BBC Music Entertainment (1996-2000) responsible for all the corporation’s in-house pop music production including Radio 1, Radio 2, Top of the Pops, Glastonbury, Later with Jools Holland, World Service pop output and international distribution. He is best known in the music industry as the man who overhauled Radio 1‘s music policy during the repositioning of the station in the mid-nineties. Later, as MD of Pop for Emap (2000-2), he was responsible for the Smash Hits brand on all media platforms and oversaw the launch of both the Smash Hits TV channel and the Smash Hits Radio Show, which won a Sony Radio Academy Award in 2001. He was executive producer of the Smash Hits Pollwinners Party (2000 and 2001) and the Q Awards and Kerrang Awards (2001) for Channel 4. Between 2002 and 2004 he presented BBC Radio Cambridgeshire‘s breakfast show. He previously worked as a local radio reporter and producer (Radio Nottingham 1974-79), a Radio 1 producer (1979-83), producer of Whistle Test and Live Aid for BBC TV (1983-88) and as Managing Editor of the BBC’s London radio station GLR (1988-93) where he helped launch the radio careers of Chris Evans, Chris Morris and Danny Baker among many others. He has also run his own independent radio production company, Confederate Broadcasting (1993-96), and acted as a commercial radio consultant.

Trevor was educated at Nottingham High School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University . He also graduated from the Executive Program at the University of Michigan. He has been a weekly columnist for The Times and The Sunday Telegraph and contributed to The Guardian, The Independent, The Evening Standard, Q, Music Week and Mojo. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Radio Academy and a winner of several Sony Radio Academy Awards for radio presentation and production and a BAFTA for Live Aid.  In 1999 he was awarded the Country Music Association‘s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement & Promotion of Country Music Internationally. He was the founding Chairman of Ashwell Academicals FC from 1999 to 2006 and is a vice president of Ashwell Cricket Club.

Trevor lives near Cambridge, is married (to Maureen) and has two children, Celia (18) and Henry (17).  He is a member of Notts County Cricket Club and a fervent supporter of Notts County FC.

Heather Davies

Heather is a Producer for Trevor Dann’s Company, currently working on Sounds of the 20th Century.   She also produces the radio industry podcast RadioTalk.   Her recent work includes the BBC Radio 2 two-part documentary Some Sunny Day: The Vera Lynn Story.

Heather was the Events and Communications Officer for The Radio Academy between 2008 and 2010, running their Masterclasses, managing their website, co-ordinating their regional events, and producing their e-marketing, brochures, and audio.   Prior to that she worked at Global Radio in Business Solutions (2008), and was on the executive of the Student Radio Association, running the BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Awards and conference (2007-8).   Heather graduated from Edinburgh University with first class honours in English Literature in 2007, where she was heavily involved with student radio station, Fresh Air.

Heather is a founder member of networking organisation, Young Women in Media, likes “making things” and is accidentally very involved with amateur cheese-making.

Heather is currently producing a documentary about Petula Clark for BBC Radio 2.

Jamie Tayler