Nigel Ogden (born 1954) is an English theatre organist, known for presenting and performing on the BBC Radio 2 programme The Organist Entertains between 1980 and the end of the show's run in 2018.

Nigel Ogden
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Manchester, England
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • Radio presenter
Instrument(s)

Ogden was born in Manchester, England,[1] the son of a church organist, and had several years of piano lessons, before taking up the organ at the age of twelve.[2] As a child, his family took him to Blackpool Tower Ballroom to hear performances on the Wurlitzer organ there, by Reginald Dixon.[2]

He studied to be a teacher, then worked as a sales demonstrator for an organ retail business in Hyde, Cheshire, where he later started his own business selling organs.[2] From 1972, he started appearing on The Organist Entertains, eventually taking over from Robin Richmond as presenter in March 1980.[2]

Ogden is also a composer[1] and a touring musician, playing both theatre and church organs,[2] and was the organist for the Channel 4 production of Dennis Potter's Lipstick on Your Collar.[3]

Ogden was awarded with a British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Gold Badge of merit on 17 October 2012.[4]

He has released a number of CDs.[1]

After the final episode of The Organist Entertains was broadcast in 2018, Ogden began to present regularly on The Organist Encores podcast.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Nigel Ogden". Stainer & Bell. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Nigel Ogden - Biography". BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Episode 4". Lipstick on Your Collar. 1993. Channel 4.
  4. ^ "Sir George Martin receives Gold Badge Award today". PRS. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Organ ace Nigel delighted to be back on the air". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2019.

External links edit