Tributes are being paid to radio broadcaster Chris Blount – the first voice to be heard on BBC Radio Cornwall. He was 81 years old.
A resident of Newquay, it was Chris’s dulcet tones that listeners first heard on 17th January 1983. At the time, he was already known to South West audiences from Radio 4’s regional breakfast show Morning Sou’West, which ended shortly before the launch of local radio in Cornwall and Devon.
He began his broadcasting career in the 1950s, producing programmes and playing loud rock and roll music from the open window of his attic in Newquay’s Bay View Terrace – on his own short-distance radio station.
Chris presented for the BBC for many years and later returned to radio as a regular voice and contributor on Radio Newquay when the station launched in 2018.
Over the years, he amassed a large archive of interviews with people from across Cornwall, especially here in Newquay. This archive material formed the very basis of his Flashback Newquay series on Radio Newquay. The weekly Sunday programme featured voices of local people – many of whom had been alive at the turn of the last century. The show returned each Christmas for a special broadcast on Christmas Day.
Chris was thrilled to join the Radio Newquay team. At the time, he said:
“I look forward to promoting the best of our wonderful town through its airwaves and to sharing some of the archived voices and memories I have had the privilege to record over many years.”
Radio Newquay presenter and co-founder Mark Chapple said:
"Chris was a guiding light and champion for us at the start. He supported our campaign to bring a full-time radio station to the town and recognised the importance of local radio. He was on hand to help us as we worked to embed ourselves in the community.
"He was a joy to work with – professional, and a font of knowledge when it came to Newquay's history. The stories he told so brilliantly were brought to life through his archive of incredible Newquay voices – the characters of the town through the years."
You can delve into a small section of Chris Blount’s Flashback Newquay archive here.
Chris was dedicated to community life in Newquay and the surrounding area, and worked with many organisations in the town – including Trenance Heritage Cottages. He was a key figure in the project to restore and open the cottages to the public, and this year marks the tenth anniversary.
In addition to radio, Chris had many passions, one of which was locomotives and railways. In 1974, as a reporter for the BBC, he covered the opening of Lappa Valley near St Newlyn East, an attraction featuring a fifteen-inch gauge railway along the route of the former Newquay to Chacewater branch line.
This forged a long-standing relationship with the attraction, where he also learned how to drive the steam locomotives and often took on driving duties alongside his on-air work.
He was also an author, penning a book about the Cosy Nook Theatre on the promenade at Towan Beach. Theatre by the Sea – The Story of Newquay’s Cosy Nook delved into the history of the theatre, which had a capacity of around 500 seats. It closed and was demolished in 1991.
PRESS PLAY to hear Chris Blount on day one of BBC Radio Cornwall (credit: the BBC)...
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