BBC broadcaster Mark Radcliffe talks meeting Bowie and other famous faces ahead of Shrewsbury Theatre Severn show

BBC broadcaster Mark Radcliffe has rubbed shoulders with David Bowie, Madonna, Kate Bush and Mick Jagger. But, strangely, he's never met his childhood hero – Rupert The Bear.

Radcliffe will tell tales from his extraordinary life at Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn on Monday.

He had originally been due to appear on October 25 but the performance was re-arranged.

He will feature in a show called …Should You Be Interested, which will feature songs and stories of middle aged angst and ennui along with tales of ineptitude and encounters with some of music's most famous names.

Radcliffe shares a fascination for Rupert the Bear with Sir Paul McCartney.

[figure caption="Radio presenter Mark Radcliffe will be talking about his

life and showbiz encounters including those with Mick Jagger, David Bowie and his great pal Noddy Holder" title="pg4DJ" align="left" url="/?attachment_id=1092493" id="1092493"]

"I've loved Rupert since childhood. Me or my sister would get the annual every Christmas and while we gradually lose the toys we grow up with, I kept them without ever questioning why.

"Later I filled the gaps in my collection from charity shops and once asked my mother-in-law for a Rupert annual for Christmas, which became a tradition. Since she passed away, my daughter took over. I now have them all going back to 1950.

"It shows a simpler age of politeness and ideas of civic and municipal pride. I grew up in Bolton, and in summer we'd ride our bikes to the moors. The idyllic landscape in Rupert brings that back to me. I guard against nostalgia but it shows a simpler age of politeness and ideas of civic and municipal pride.

"Like lots of great children's literature, it is about kids having adventures away from the watchful eyes of parents. It is magic realism – sprites in the woods, underground kingdoms, meeting Father Christmas and home for your tea.

"The art is wonderful. Stuart Trotter draws it now and I have one of his drawings in my study. I also have a picture of Rupert looking over a fence, signed by Paul McCartney, who is a fellow big fan. Whenever I meet him, we discuss our shared love."

Radcliffe has written about some of his encounters with his heroes in his books and will discuss them with fans in Shrewsbury.

One of his most prized celebrity encounters was with David Bowie. "I first saw David Bowie on Top Of The Pops in 1972 doing Starman. To an adolescent grammar school boy, he appeared to have arrived from another planet

"I bought his album, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, the next day. Putting it on in my bedroom, it became clear from the opening bars of the first track, Five Years, that the future I had been waiting for had arrived.

"And then there was the whole image thing. The Bowie look was intoxicatingly daring but presented problems for the pubescent imitator. Even if you were lucky enough to stumble across a Japanese-print jumpsuit in Bolton, you ran the risk of getting a good kicking if you wore it in Yates's Wine Lodge.

"I got to meet Bowie years later and found him incredibly friendly – though heaven knows what he thought of our behaviour when Marc (Riley) and I compered his gig at Old Trafford cricket ground in 2002.

"As 25,000 people waited in the rain for Bowie to appear, Marc and I – much the worse for wear and hardly able to string a sentence together – rambled about on stage for eight minutes.

"Fortunately, Bowie forgave us because later that year he asked us to introduce him at a gig in London.

"However, before we got to our billet, one of the greatest moments in my life occurred.

"As we sauntered down a gloomy corridor at the Apollo, we saw before us a figure in a cream-coloured jean jacket. David Bowie.

"He greeted us as proper friends and invited us into his private dressing room.

"In a room containing fresh flowers, lots of fruit and some mid-priced hotel furniture was Marc Riley, me and the biggest rock star in our world.

"After a few moments, he pulled a handwritten list from the pocket of his caramel-coloured trousers. 'I was thinking of doing this tonight. What do you reckon?'

"Stunned, Marc and I cast our eyes down the list, which included Life On Mars, China Girl, Rebel Rebel and Heroes. Then Bowie started to ask us about the running order: should Changes come before Starman or vice versa? It was one of the moments where life just seemed unreal."

He has also spent time with Kate Bush, who bought him a cheese flan, and Mick Jagger, who made him look small in a photograph.

"People have asked me what sort of nick Mick Jagger is in close up, and the truth is, he looks simultaneously about 40 and about 100. While he's lithe and fit with thick hair and clear skin, he's also got deep ravines on his face.

"He is pretty small too, but then everyone knows The Stones are tiny. Or at least they are tiny by today's standards where everyone over the age of 17 is 6ft 2in. How did that happen?

"Mick agreed to have a photo taken with me. Usually, I look quite small in photos with bands but on this occasion, I knew I was going to be the tallest one in the picture.

"But as the camera shutter was pressed, Mick went up on the balls of his feet and stole an extra couple of inches on me.

"It was exquisitely timed, a trick he perfected years ago."

One of Radcliffe's biggest friends is West Midlands rocker Noddy Holder. The broadcaster regularly meets the former Slade singer for beers and pizzas. Radcliffe also gets on with other Brummie/Black Country/Shropshire stars, like The Wonder Stuff's Miles Hunt, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Roy Wood and others.

"They are the nicest people you could meet.

"In fact, there's something about the Midlands, the people I've met from the big bands – Tony Iommi, Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Robert Plant – they are as normal and as down to Earth as the day they started the band."

By Andy Richardson