Nigel Ogden obit

BBC Radio 2 star Nigel Ogden dies 'suddenly' aged 71 after 39 years hosting popular show

 

 He was not on the list.

Nigel Ogden, who has died aged 71, presented The Organist Entertains for 38 of the show’s 49-year run, offering Radio 2 listeners a wide variety of popular and light classical music whether from a mighty Wurlitzer, a grand cathedral instrument or a tiny chapel organ; he was also the hands and feet of Roy Hudd’s cinema organist Harold Atterbow in Dennis Potter’s 1993 Channel 4 spy series Lipstick on Your Collar.

The Organist Entertains, a weekly show demonstrating the instrument in all its guises, had been around since 1969. Within a couple of years the teenage Ogden had become a regular guest, often demonstrating the theatre organs of his native Manchester. He took over presenting duties in March 1980 on the retirement of Robin Richmond, the programme’s founder and first host, at which point production moved north.

Ogden, a knowledgeable and passionate presenter, had a clear and jolly voice, mirroring the lively music he often played. He spoke to listeners in a confidential tone, as if they were alone with him, and with no sense of urgency. Guests were also given the kid-glove treatment, including a small, attentive laugh whenever any of them tried a joke. “Do you waffle,” he asked one. “I extemporise,” came the reply in organist-speak. “Sometimes I rummage in my briefcase to see if there is a Bach fugue lying around.”

Writing in The New Statesman, Antonia Quirke described an edition of the programme in 2011 in which Ogden discussed wedding music. One listener recalled her mother’s dismissive remark: “I’d always liked The Queen of Sheba, but my cousin had that.” Others spoke fondly of Widor’s Toccata, while another told how she requested Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen because “I tried to learn it on the piano at school and never got it right, so wanted to hear it played well.” Cue an excuse to hear our host perform the work on the organ.

Nigel Timothy Ogden was born in Manchester on November 21 1954, the son of Geoffrey Ogden, an accountant and organist at the family’s local Methodist church, and his wife Eleanor, née Swales; he had a sister, Valerie. He played the piano from a young age and at 12 started learning the organ, claiming to have been influenced more by hearing Reginald Dixon on the Wurlitzer in the Tower Ballroom during a family trip to the Blackpool Illuminations, than by his father’s musicianship.

For a guinea (£1.05) an hour he could practise on the Wurlitzer organs of Manchester’s Gaumont or Odeon cinemas. When the Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust was formed in 1968 to preserve both instruments he became a regular at the trust’s monthly concerts, even playing along for screenings of silent films.

Ogden trained as a teacher, but the reality of the classroom was an uncomfortable experience. Instead, he became a salesman and demonstrator for an electronic organ company based in Hyde, Cheshire. He went on the road as a sales rep for Boosey & Hawkes, but the travelling took its toll and he joined forces with a friend to start their own organ retail business in nearby Sale.

Ogden was also a composer and arranger, publishing collections such as Fifteen Practical Voluntaries for Church Organist that includes interludes on Crimond and Rockingham, a minuet and a fanfare, all of which could be played with or without pedals. “Flexibility is the watchword of this collection,” he wrote.

Saints on a Spree is a delightfully irreverent piece based on O When the Saints Go Marching In and other tunes associated with the word “saint”, while Afternoon Tea with the Duchess was composed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the impressive five-manual Compton organ at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square.

In a more serious vein there were several stirring marches, including a vivid portrayal of pageantry, pomp and circumstance in England’s Glory; New Era, which was composed to inaugurate a series of lunchtime concerts at Manchester Town Hall; and the lively ceremonial march Our Squadron Leader. He also composed Born for Us on Christmas Day, a delightful Christmas carol premiered and recorded by the Altrincham Choral Society.

Ogden, who was as enthusiastic about his Morris Minor cars as he was about organ music, lived in Lytham St Anne’s for more than 25 years. He played the 1894 Walcker instrument at The Drive Methodist Church, volunteered at Starr Hills care home and was awarded the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors’ gold badge of merit in 2012.

The Organist Entertains was “rested” by the BBC in 2018. Its final episode ended with the show’s theme tune, Cole Porter’s From this Moment On, performed by Ogden on the same Blackpool Wurlitzer that first inspired his playing and on which he made many popular recordings

Nigel Ogden, born November 21 1954, died January 27 2026