Simply through sheer determination she forged herself a career in the media being the voice of Sheffield music. Aged 15 as a school age punk rocker I used to tune into a show on Radio Sheffield on Saturday afternoon called ROTT they played all the punk stuff in the indie charts. It was a youth access show. You could hear things that you didn't hear on Radio One, I did not recall John Peel playing stuff by the likes of Conflict or the Mob or Chesterfield's Septic Psychos. I used to record these shows on my then state of the art cassette player and listen to them over and over.
The show moved to Friday nights, I won the debut Toy Dolls album in a competition, the show never sent me my prize. So I rang up again, and again, til they asked me to pop up to Sheffield, from Chesterfield and get it. I went into the Norfolk St studios on a Thursday to be met by the then presenter, Chris Andrews, who met me with the words "Ah Toy Dolls album!" he then prduced a five pound note out of his pocket and said " here you go pop to the shops and buy it"
"Oh so it's like that is it?" I thought, " I buy my own prize, well this is different..."
I dutifully went to the HMV shop and returned with my own prize. I could have taken the fiver and never returned, but I wanted more, I came back to the studios and was interviewed by Sara Smith who appeared on the show, and I ended up on the Friday show. This was great.
I started going to Radio Sheffield every Friday night making radio interviewing bands, reviewing records, editing tapes it was great, this was what I wanted. About a year later three girls Jane Kitson, Michelle Malone and Jane (Stanton, I think) showed up.
We hung around went to gigs became great friends and generally had a great time on the Sheffield music scene, which was pretty much the Leadmill the University and the Hallamshire pub. this was the 80s I recall that Phil Oakey from the Human League had appeared on local TV a few years earlier bemoaning the fact there was nowhere to play in his home town.
We wrote our own fanzines Jane and Michelle's was "Wagging Tongues" mine was called "Kamikaze Chip Shop" Later, Michelle and the other Jane seemed to drift away from ROTT, I did not know why. I stuck with it so did Jane Kitson. She ended up driving the desks I'd do features and comedy sketches every week.We used to hang around together I quite fancied Jane, but I never summoned up the courage to ask her out. Jane had quite the gob on her and I was mega sarcastic.
We ended up in one or two"heated debates" Being wrong wasn't in Jane vocabulary. Picking someone else's argument to bits isn't one of my nicest traits, but I am rather good at it..
We certainly loved our music though, Jane had quite the most eclectic tastes, Japan, the Smiths, Violent Femmes, Matt Bianco and the Cult were her favourites as well as Ella Fitzgerald and Elvis. One week Jane went to interview American disco drag artiste Divine at the Fiesta or whatever it was called then. Could have been Barry Noble's Roxy, the doorstaff could not find Jane's name on the guestlist. her review of the show on Friday night was essentially 2 minutes of verbal flamethrower treatment directed at the club bouncers
The review didn't exactly uphold the BBCs core values of impartiality, but it was funny as hell.
A guy called Mick Lunney showed up he could do brilliant impressions, this was the time of Spitting Image being number one show on telly, Mick was so good he should have done the voices on the box. It was the mid 80s the Miners Strike was on, everything seemed political, within ROTT things could also be rather political, people came and went, perhaps due to personalities or opinions.
One week it was announced that we would be in the Radio Times, a photographer turned up and the very next week I could show my 6th form tech chums, my secret radio gang, in the nation's favourite telly listings magazine
Mick Smith our number one punk fan came along and we became good mates, he recalled that the first week in the studios he went for a pee and was frightened to hear that out of the toilet cubilcle came the voice of Zippy from Rainbow arguing with Neil Kinnock. Mick Lunney liked to warm up his voice in the toilet, well that's his story.
Jane was quite the fan of "You've Got Foetus on your Breath" the moniker of Jim Thirlwell a recording artiste. One night after the show in the taxi home, Jane announce "Oh I've left me Foetus in the studio. I'll have to get it back tomorrow" Apparantly the taxi driver's face was a picture.
Jane stuck at it and I started to drift away from ROTT to go to teenage parties, which weren't very PC, and had girls who indulged in sexual politics of the horizontal variety . I went back a few times and then went to college in Manchester. If you like the music scene and clubbing Manchester looked like Las Vegas compared to Sheffield.
Sheffield gig flyer, Peter Jones of the FCS was a contributor to ROTTI still listened to ROTT there was a brilliant Soap Opera called The Neighbours of East Emmerdale Side Street.
I'd go back whenever I could and was always given a warm welcome by Jane Kitson who now seemed to be the mother hen of the operation. I'd still go in and write a few comedy sketches and have a load of fun at Radio Sheffield.
People drift apart, I went to London for a year and found a new gang of friends, but I'd always listen to Radio Sheffield and was pleased to hear Jane on the sports show. my dear old dad used to laugh at the way she read the football results, She wasn't James Alexander-Gordon when it came to intonation.
I should have kept in touch but I didn't. The last time I saw Jane was at the V festival in Warrington 1996. Pulp were headliners, we met in the VIP area where I'd got in as I was at a show on Radio Manchester which was similar to ROTT, Jane was doing the new music show on Radio Sheffield by this time. We had a right laugh reminiscing over old times. Jane was telling me that Mick Smith had a tattoo of a bottle of Henderson's relish on his leg and she was considering getting a tattoo. Don't know if she ever did.
Mick Smith and chums Sheffield 80sI phoned Jane and Mick Lunney, when working at a marketing firm some time later- they were working full time in radio I wasn't. I was doing a proper job. I wished I'd stayed in radio, I was jealous
Can you remember a time before computers? How long has facebook been around? I can't remember and I dont care, facebook is a great way of keeping in touch with friends.
I got back in touch with Mick Smith and one day saw Jane Kitson's facebook page!
Jane!
A few other mutual friends were on facebook, anyone heard from Jane? Then weirdly some "conspiracy theory" nonsense started to turn up on Jane's facebook. I rang Radio Sheffield. There was a job going in the news room, though I could chat with Jane see if she could put a word in for me and also what was this nonsense on her facebook page?
I rang up I was told that Jane did not work there anymore. What? I rang up Radio Sheffield again and again, that's not good enough, I wanted to find her. Something was up.
I got theough to the news room, "Jane Kitson?" said the person in the news room "oh no she's died"......what? ....
voices shouted across the news room "Oh no sorry that's a mistake she didn't die"
said the 'finger on the pulse' voice of Radio Sheffield news. "She had an accident and does not work here any more"
I was shocked, I demanded to find out where Jane was. They wouldn't tell me. I did my " you're a public servant and I pay your wages, " speech. Which doubtless they've heard a million times before. Later in the day I was rung by a nice lady from the Radio station. who told me that Jane had a fall a few years ago, and had been taken ill and now had to live in a care home. She'd tried to go back to work but suffered memory loss. I asked to get in touch but was told that I could not be given her number or address. I wasn't given the full details of what had really happened
I tried to get in touch on facebook again, other people were trying to contact her also, eventually I let it go. Her facebook page had been hacked.
Last week I got the awful news that Jane had died, via facebook.
Good to see some of the old ROTT gang, but given the tragic circumstances what can I say?
Richard Hawley and Nick Banks from Pulp turned up at the funeral. Jane gave them a big break and a big chance to so many others.
The funeral was the best and most emotional I've ever been to, half the congregation were in tears, everyone broke out into spontaeous applause. I spent all afternoon reminiscing and making jokes to stop myself from crying.
I spent the rest of the week shocked bewildered and contacting old friends and mutual acquaintances.
Jane you deserved better, but you made your mark -and that's the best anyone can do.
miss you
love you.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1380786415515493/
http://www.freewebs.com/radiorott
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