Pete Price

Peter Lloyd "Peter" Price (born 25 January 1946)^[2][3] is a British media personality and radio presenter, based in Liverpool, England. He is best known for the Sunday night talk radio show Pete Price: Unzipped, broadcast across sister stations City Talk 105.9 and Radio City 96.7. The show is aired live from 10pm to 2am and follows an open forum format.^[4] Price's weeknight phone in, Late Night City airs live between 10pm and 2am, from Monday to Thursday and is simulcast on City Talk 105.9 and Radio City 96.7.

As a comedian he was a winner on the ITV talent show, New Faces.^[5] He is also an author, patron and artist for Claire House Children's Hospice and columnist for the Liverpool Echo. He is openly gay, which is often the subject of prank calls to his radio show.^[6] He is dyslexic and can have trouble reading texts or emails on air. To complement his radio show Price also gives out a personal phone number for listeners to talk to him in confidence.^[7]

Early life

Price was born in Wrexham, Wales, and adopted at approximately three months old in April 1946 by Hilda Sandra Price and David William Lloyd. He was raised in West Kirby, Cheshire, England. He was notably closer to his mother than his father, who repeatedly was violent towards Hilda Price.^[8] When he was twelve and a half he came to terms with his homosexuality, but when consulting his doctor he was told he'd "grow out of it". Two years later Price went back to the same doctor, only be to prescribed some Valium. A combination of his homosexuality, problems with school and problems socially put him into a state of despair. At the age of fourteen he attempted to overdose on child-strength aspirin, only to wake up the next morning.^[8]

At fifteen Price was working as a hairdresser at the weekend whilst studying cookery at Birkenhead Technical College (now Wirral Metropolitan College). He began working for the wealthy Ward family, catering for their dinner parties, as well as being a close family friend. He soon got a professional catering job, a summer at the Cavendish Hotel in Eastbourne and went on to manage a Fullers Tea Shop in Worthing.^[8]

Price was sent to an institution in Chester to receive aversion therapy when he came out to his mother at age eighteen. He left after one day after being exposed to people being "treated" using electrodes. A few days later he recognised one of the psychiatrists from the institution in a gay bar. In 1993, after stories had emerged of others being treated this way in hospitals, he decided to go public with his story, to encourage more people to come forward.^[8][9]

Radio career

Pete Price's Superlambanana

After several years as the cook on a cruise ship, he became a disc jockey for BBC Radio Merseyside at the age of twenty-one. Shortly after, Price made his first appearance on the comedy scene at Liverpool's 'The Shakespeare', working at various venues which include The Palladium and the QE2.^[10] In the 1980s, he became a presenter on his former station's rival, 194 Radio City, and has remained so in its various incarnations since. He continues to star in pantomimes in Liverpool and Merseyside, as well as working for national newspapers including The Independent and The Times.^[10] As a broadcaster he has worked with national BBC Radio One and Radio City for over 20 years, and continues to host his late night talk show on Radio CIty 96.7 – the programme is also carried by sister station City Talk.

In April 2009, Price was made an 'Honorary Scouser' by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.^[11]

Autobiography

In September 2007, Price released an autobiography (co-written by Adrian Butler), Pete Price: Namedropper topped Liverpool best seller charts within its first few days of sale,^[12] and was serialised in the Liverpool Echo.

He often jokes about releasing a second autobiography entitled The Bitch is Back. This autobiography, to be published on the day of his death, he says, would contain a list of all the men he has slept with.^[13]

His Show

Price's current show was originally broadcast on Magic Radio, until it garnered mass attention following controversies with callers on air. The show was broadcast over Radio City 96.7 and City Talk 105.9 on Sun-Thurs nights. This was until July 2014 when City started to join up with the rest of the Bauer Media stations late night show with Kate Lawler.

Price presents a live phone-in programme which is broadcast on City Talk 105.9. Guests have included Dennis the Chemist, and Pheobe, an alleged psychic and Angel Card reader. The programme is one of the most popular night-time talk shows in the UK, with one show recently attracting 19,000 attempted calls.

Controversy

Pete was praised for abandoning his midweek show on one occasion in February 2004 to go to the aid of a 13-year-old caller who was threatening to kill himself.^[14]

In January 2006, Pete's show on sister station Magic 1548 hit the headlines in Liverpool when a regular caller known as "Terry" stopped responding live on air during a debate. After Merseyside Police refused to check on the man's safety, Pete again abandoned the show (music was played after he left the St. John's Beacon studios) to travel to the man's home. Unfortunately, as he arrived, Pete saw an ambulance outside the house. Concerned listeners had already gained entry into the man's home and found that he had died from a suspected heart attack.^[15] Soon after this, the Monday-Thursday show left Magic 1548 and was moved to Radio City 96.7's late night phone-in.

Also in September 2007, an extract from his autobiography was published in the Liverpool Echo, which revealed that Price had abused cocaine, although he "handed himself in" to the police shortly after through shame.^[12]

In November 2007 it is rumoured that Pete made an attempt on his own life however he was reconciled by friends and family and has since made a full recovery and devotes himself to his work.

In October 2007, it was reported by the Liverpool Echo that Price had received a "homophobic" death threat via text live on air. The sender was arrested shortly afterwards when police were contacted immediately after the receipt of the threatening text. They also reported that "on another occasion, a man tried to break into Radio City's headquarters, because he had become convinced Price had tried to kill John Lennon"^[16]

In January 2008 Pete tried to find his natural father by using the networking skills of an imprisoned Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano in the hope that "The Don" can help him trace his dad. His biological mother, upon restoring contact with him, gave him a photograph of his biological father: a Sicilian prisoner of war held near Warrington. Pete himself said that the Mafia "must have the best information network in the world".^[17]

References

External links

• Presenter profile
• Autobiography
• Pete Price at the Internet Movie Database