smoothfm adds Sir Richard Branson to all-star weekend line-up

Entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson is the latest high profile personality to join the smoothfm all-star weekend line-up from this weekend.

One of the most significant and influential figures in British music, Branson has touched every cornerstone of the industry – from a record-store chain right through to an impressive music label.

Branson’s love of music makes him the perfect complement to smoothfm’s all-star weekend line-up from July 15, and provides the opportunity to share his experiences about the bands his label signed and broke worldwide.

Branson described the new gig as a great trip down memory lane, and hinted that he’d be including songs from many a years ago.

“Each song conjured up many happy memories from the days when we were signing (these) bands and trying to break them around the world,” he said.

“I was addicted to music from a very young age and then stumbled into it in a big way when I heard an artist called Mike Oldfield. I loved his music so I thought I’ll start a record label and put it out myself. That album was ‘Tubular Bells’ and its success kick started the Virgin story.”

smoothfm Program Director Georgie Page explained that station listeners may not be aware of the significant contribution Branson has made to music, and relationships he has formed with some of the greatest artists in the business.

“Sir Richard Branson has had a huge impact on the music industry – he was responsible for signing many iconic bands and artists that appear on smoothfm’s playlist including Culture Club, UB40, OMD and Simple Minds,” she said.

“We can’t wait for him to share his experiences, rich understanding of the music industry and the behind the scenes stories about working with some of the biggest names in music with our listeners.”

Branson joins a star-studded line-up of smoothfm guest hosts that includes James Blunt, Dolly Parton, Barry Gibb, Neil Diamond, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John.

Richard Branson can be heard on smoothfm 95.3 Sydney, smoothfm 91.5 Melbourne and on smoothfm DAB+ from Saturday 15 July from 4pm.