Behind The Mic: Broadcasting Legends @ Redditch Palace Theatre

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a broadcaster, to travel the world, bagging one of the best seats in the house and getting to interview the great and the good?

You can hear from three major reporters/presenters who have joined forces to share the highs and lows from their illustrious careers: Nick Owen, Jim Rosenthal and Pat Murphy.

Nick, Jim and Pat first worked together on BBC Radio Birmingham fifty years ago, and throughout their stellar careers they have kept in touch, nudging each other to recall brilliant anecdotes, over their regular lunches.

On stage, there will be just 3 chairs, and 3 microphones. No frills. No need. The spoken word, with humour, will be enough. The USP for the evening will be ‘Stories you’ve never heard before’. From jousting with Alex Ferguson, Ian Botham, Muhammad Ali, Michael Schumacher, Brian Clough – Jim, Pat and Nick have been there. And Nick’s long career in news, current affairs and entertainment as a presenter has seen him interview 7 Prime Ministers, and giants such as Paul McCartney, George Michael, Elton John and Eric Morecambe.

Jim worked on 153 Grand Prix for ITV Sport, even playing football with Michael Schumacher on the eve of one race! He reported on 8 football World Cups for ITV, presented many boxing nights during a Golden Age for British champions, such as Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Amir Khan, when TV audiences soared past 10 million. Muhammad Ali even invited Jim to his home for dinner when Jim covered one of his title fights!

Pat has covered 18 England cricket tours around the world for BBC Radio. He was there in the England dressing-room when England retained the Ashes at Melbourne in 1987 and when they regained them in 2005. He also accompanied Ian Botham on many of his charity walks for Leukaemia Research and jousted regularly on air with the legendary Brian Clough. He has written acclaimed biographies of Clough and Botham.

Pat’s written more than forty sports books, with characters such as Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Andrew Flintoff, Basil D’Oliveira and Bob Willis. His latest tome is the Official History of Sports Report, having clocked up over forty years as a contributor to the longest-running sports radio programme in the world. He is still a regular football reporter for the programme from Midlands grounds.

The audience is welcome to join in. There’ll be roving mics around the auditorium, so just stick your hand up and fire away. The simplest formula is often the best. On this evening, there’ll be humour, insights and trenchant opinions from the 3 Amigos…