Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> Notices, obituaries and tributes >> Michael Colley http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1383725766 Message started by HelenPP on Nov 6^th, 2013, 8:17am

Title: Michael Colley
Post by HelenPP on Nov 6^th, 2013, 8:17am

Michael Colley, formerly Chief Publicity Officer, Radio, has died.

Michael joined the BBC as a Radio SM, working on some of the early sessions with the Beatles. He moved to TV News Production, where he worked on In Town Tonight, and from there to Television Publicity, where he was Publicity Officer for News & Current Affairs. He was then appointed Chief Publicity Officer, Radio, and later Head of Information, Radio.

Funeral details will be posted later.

Title: Re: Michael Colley
Post by HelenPP on Nov 15^th, 2013, 11:54am

Michael Colley's funeral will be held at

Woodlands Crematorium, Brumby Wood Lane, Scunthorpe, South Humberside, DN17 1SP
on Thursday November 21 at 2.00pm.

All are welcome.

Title: Re: Michael Colley
Post by HelenPP on Nov 17^th, 2013, 12:26pm

Peter Rosier writes:

I was saddened and surprised to hear that Mike Colley had died. My wife and I enjoyed two joyous lunches with him last Christmas and New Year, remembering great times at the BBC.

I met him on October 26 1968 - the day I joined the BBC. After that our paths crossed frequently as he became a friend and mentor.

I took over his job as Publicity Officer for TV News and Current Affairs. The BBC now has a huge team to do that!

Later I followed him as Head of Radio Publicity and we worked together promoting radio. It was a formidable task filling his shoes. He had overseen the massive information job of promoting the changes of radio wavelengths, using Boy Scouts to deliver stickers for radio dials to households across the country. BBC Radio also had to cut the numbers of orchestras to fit in with budgetary constraints. Mike led the effort working alongside Radio MD Aubrey Singer to explain the needs to a doubting Musicians Union and arts lobbies. He was a consummate BBC politician and fixer.

At a time when there were calls in the Peacock Report for the BBC to be more transparent, Mike took radio shows to the public and opened the doors to licence payers.

He could conjure money from nowhere, so we had a huge white Ford estate with one of the first in-car telephones, which we used for the various public shows that Mike organised, like the Ideal Home Exhibition and local radio events. We also had some of the first mobile phones that were like the size of two bricks. None of these things ever appeared on a budget sheet! Nothing illegal though.

Mike started his career as a studio manager, and became an innovator in true public relations, a marketing pioneer thirty years before the BBC established a marketing department.

After retiring he gave more time to his passion for painting, and spent time in the South of France, and took to boating.

Title: Re: Michael Colley
Post by Rodney_C on Apr 1^st, 2021, 8:01am

I worked for Michael Colley from the Autumn of 1971 until early 1974. He was a decent boss who knew his way around the BBC system, something I could never get to grips with.