That's it – thank you so much for all your questions
UtilityForward asks:
What’s your favourite biscuit?
Guardian contributor Let me stress they are not good for you, but a McVitie's chocolate digestive now and then...
Thomas Kohut asks:
Your set at Glastonbury was incredible. Did you produce a set list anywhere?
Guardian contributor Ooh thank you so much! I should really produce a setlist. I'll try to put it on my Facebook fan page - I hate that word 'fan' but hope you will forgive. I was playing a lot of trap and bass, and was really worried whether it would go well, but thank you Thomas for being there. I'd never played this music at Glastonbury before - but they seemed to love it.
"The battle is to keep the BBC going"
mmbacon asks:
How about you start a new TV show with live music? There is so little on terrestrial ...
Guardian contributor Let's keep the BBC going shall we? The battle is to keep the BBC going. Of course I would love to, but there are greater issues right now I think, to ensure the future of the BBC. People often ask me why such a small country as ours has such a worldwide influence in terms of how our music is perceived. Surely the fact that we have radio stations such as Radio 1, 1Xtra, 6Music, to nurture new music, has had helped this process ever since the Beatles gave us worldwide recognition. Without stations nurturing and playing new music, that culture could disappear very quickly. That really worries me.
"Everyone remembers the Damned on the Old Grey Whistle Test...they really did smash the studio up"
PadCam asks:
What do you remember most about The Damned’s appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1979? Classic TV in my opinion.
Guardian contributor Everyone remembers the Damned on the Old Grey Whistle Test. They were pulling faces behind me as I introduced them and I was aware of this. Then they really did smash the studio up. But there was something very darkly comic about all of that - the camera came to me at one point and I made some comment about the ghost of Keith Moon because the Who owned that part of Shepperton Studios where that edition of the Old Grey Whistle Test was being broadcast from.
Motivepower asks:
In this climate of mediocrity broadcasters of your calibre seem as rare as rocking horse crap. However, I do apologise for my facile question but is it true you had a massive crush on Ry Cooder after first meeting him? Sorry again Annie to be so shallow. You can answer about his music and the Buena Vista Social Club if I’ve annoyed you.
Guardian contributor
NZUK22NL asks:
I’ve never heard of you before – why should I remember who you are tomorrow?
Guardian contributor
Snarlygog asks:
How many times did you play She sells Sanctuary by the Cult (thanks BTW ) on a Sunday Night?
Guardian contributor
ID5696255 asks:
What do you think of the resurgence of Progressive Rock? And how far are the worst excesses of the 70s retrospectively excusable?
Guardian contributor I've got one answer for you: on Power by Kanye West he sampled King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man, which to me was the best progressive rock tracks ever.
ID6654445 asks:
Is there anything you wouldn’t play?
Guardian contributor To me there's only two kinds of music: good and bad. And I hope I wouldn't play anything bad. I know that's subjective, but I do try to bring the best I can to the listener. You can't define it... lazy, unoriginal, crass, banal.
"When I started at Radio 1, the other DJs were too busy squabbling among themselves to notice me"
ID6654445 asks:
I read that you had to fight to get onto the radio because Radio 1 DJs were supposed to be ‘husband substitutes’. How did the other DJs treat you when you started out? And were you ever a ‘wife substitute’?
Guardian contributor What a great question! I've never thought of myself like a 'wife substitute', ever. The answer would probably be no. I do remember early on, having thanked a female listener for sending me a jar of homemade jam or something, the engineer said back through the talkback, "oh, we'll be having knitting patterns next." So not very wifey!
The other DJs, they were too busy squabbling among themselves to notice me. Johnnie Walker was always very supportive of me though.
unclearleo asks:
Could you describe the creative process behind putting your name on a CD of other people’s music?
Guardian contributor Yes! I absolutely take your point. I've actually spent seven months, seven days a week, working on this to refine and define the tracks that I think will work best. It's a labour of love really. But I'd like to feel that you could put this triple CD on perhaps at the beginning of a car journey, a train journey, and that you'll end up somewhere that might be a pleasant surprise. I've added tracks in that are not greatest hits, but sometimes more interesting tunes, some that have been completely forgotten about - Footsteps Following Me by Frances Nero. The Moonflowers - Get Higher (Get Dubber mix). The Mitchell Brothers with Sway - Harvey Nicks, which is something signed to The Streets' label, and I hope will put a smile on everyone's faces at the end of the album. There was a lot more to this compilation than either of the two I've done before.
jenny_stevens asks:
Is Apple Radio the future?
Guardian contributor We have no idea at the moment. Obviously everyone at Radio 1 is very interested in it. It's too soon to say.
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Mark Gregory asks:
I remember listening and watching you and the team on Radio 1 and BBC TV back in the day, it must have been a wonderful time of discovery and passion for music and for the broadcast mediums. Do you lament at all, the way that music, and to a certain extent radio too, are consumed today? Is the digital age the ruination of bands and broadcasters. Or is it, in fact - the exact opposite?
Guardian contributor I don't lament the way music is consumed today. Why should the digital age be ruination? It seems that the more platforms there are to listen to the huge volumes of music being made, the more people seem to need curators, maybe on radio shows where a lot of time has been put into finding great stuff. The deal with me and the listener is that I will spend all my time finding the best music I can, and putting it together so that if you haven't got all that time to do so, my show might be somewhere you can visit. Sometimes it's what you don't play that I think people appreciate - I try to never play anything that I don't feel 100% deserves airtime, and I do try and help the up and coming artists. That to me is the whole point of this job.
"We don't see much social commentary in music anymore in the UK - except in grime"
Andy Eakins asks:
Through all the decades that you have been working Has the world changed for the better because of music?
Guardian contributor I would love to think so. We don't see so much social comment or protest coming through in any obvious way, but in the UK, listen to grime - that's for sure where the social comment is coming from. Not to be underestimated. Wiley, Meridian Dan especially. Stormzy too.
My favourite tune at the moment is by Grace, who's 17, from Brisbane - it's a rap version of You Don't Own Me.
viennesewaltzer asks:
What did you think of Pamela Stephenson’s impression of you on ‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’ (interviewing Rowan Atkinson as Marc Almond)?
Guardian contributor I don't know if I should admit this but I was complicit in Pamela's impression of me. She phoned me from where she and Rowan Atkinson were rehearsing and said, Rowan is going to do Marc Almond, what's his accent like? So with not much time to elaborate and I hope Marc will forgive me this, I said well sort of northern, posh, camp. It was a very clever sketch, and Pamela borrowed my own jumper to be me in it. She was a tiny figure then, and somewhat embarrassingly she had to wear padding inside it to look more like me. The sketch is on YouTube - do find it, because it's funny about me and Marc, and a very clever sketch, I love it.
clareyesno asks:
You’ve championed trap and bass music - why don’t more people of your generation like that sort of thing? Is it hard to keep pace with dance culture at your age?
Also who’s making the best dance music today? Any tips appreciated!
Guardian contributor I think many people don't get to hear some of the music that I play unless they really seek it out. It's on late at night, but I do believe this kind of music will feed into and influence the mainstream - that's kind of what I do, search for those new elements in music. That's why I remain interested in doing this. And I think if more people heard it, of all ages, they would respond. I played a bass and trap set at Glastonbury this year, and the crowd was of all ages, so I see no reason to make any barriers of age.
I can recommend Flosstradamus, Keys'n'Krates, and Troyboy - the latter two appear on this new compilation Masterpiece that I've just done. What I like about trap is that it comes from hip-hop and metal, which makes for an interesting combination.
Jamie Robinson asks:
Did you ever present Top of the Pops?
Guardian contributor No I never did. I think I appeared with all the other Radio 1 DJs on a special anniversary edition. While I was presenting the Old Grey Whistle Test, it probably wouldn't have been quite the thing anyway.
2sheds asks:
I loved your Sunday night request show in the early 80s, I still remember certain records such as Macho City by Steve Miller and Is That all there is ? by Cristina as being different and interesting. Do you have any favourites that were regularly played from that time?
Guardian contributor I am so pleased you remembered Macho City by Steve Miller - it was something like 13 minutes long and had a brilliant recording of a thunderstorm in it. The fact that one was allowed to play this track in full was and would be quite something. It was for this reason, and tracks like the nihilistic Is That All That There Is? that made it so special for me, but I was afraid its very quirkiness would get it taken off air. But still it lasted for 12 years, and I thank everyone who listened and took part and suggested tracks I didn't know, and made that show what it was. I'm In Love With A German Film Star by the Passions was another great favourite on that show.
Gareth_GoApe asks:
The late great Frank Sidebottom released a cover of The Smiths ‘Panic’, changing the lyric “hang the DJ” to “Anne The DJ”. The whole song was about you. What was your reaction to it when you heard it? And do you think it’s better than Mozza?
Guardian contributor I was deeply moved by Frank Sidebottom making this cover version about me. There was a line in it about I waited for your roadshow, but your roadshow never came... I feel awful about this now, that I never got to meet him properly! But I support all the films being made in his honour.
"When I interviewed Jim Morrison, he pulled out a $100 bill and set fire to it"
johnnyfingers asks:
What do you remember about interviewing Jim Morrison?
Guardian contributor What I remember is that sorry to say, he seemed very pretentious. I asked him what he thought about money, and he pulled a $100 bill from his breast pocket, took my lighter, and set fire to it. Draw your own conclusions.
moggieboy asks:
Do you ever hear from ‘Night owl from Shoreditch’ these days?
Guardian contributor If he's moved to Shoreditch, that would be very interesting! He was Night Owl of Croydon when he first emanated, and was someone who used to play lots of practical jokes on me. He'd send me prayer mats, Wiccan calendars, and his most spectacular moment was putting a box tied up with string outside my door in Brighton so he knew where I lived. I had not been out all that day, no postman or courier had rang the doorbell... I found this box. What to do? It was a time of heightened security, and you were supposed to report everything. I stepped over it and went round to a friend's house to ask what I should do - so I called the police. He said if you call the police, the following will happen: the area will be evacuated, everyone will have to leave their homes, there will then be a controlled explosion to blow up the box and its contents. He said I am going to go and open it, I went oh no! He did... inside was a swede or a turnip, with a handmade card saying Happy Halloween. I've never discovered who Night Owl of Croydon was - if you're around, please make yourself known!
Annie is in the building!
Here’s Annie getting ready to answer your questions in The Guardian offices
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Post your questions for Annie Nightingale
Prog, punk, new wave, acid house, techno, jungle, breakbeat, grime, dubstep and trap – Annie Nightingale, the first female DJ on Radio 1, has championed the daring and invariably noisy for 50 years of broadcasting. At the age of 75, when her peers are reaching for crooners or a hearing aid, Nightingale is playing cacophonous bass bombs to thousands of listeners worldwide.
Now Radio 1’s longest serving broadcaster, she began on the station in 1970, and succeeded Bob Harris on BBC2’s The Old Grey Whistle Test; other shows have included Eternal Jukebox for Radio 2, and she has written two autobiographies. Next up is Masterpiece, a compilation for Ministry of Sound that takes in the entire span of her taste, from The Rolling Stones to Tinie Tempah, from Ian Dury to Shamir.
Annie is joining us to answer your questions about her incredible career, in a live webchat from 12.45pm BST onwards on Monday 13 July. Post them in the comments below, and she’ll answer as many as possible.
Thank you so much for this opportunity - it was brilliant fun!