Simon Hirst
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Simon Hirst (born Simon Neil Hirst in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, 31st July 1975, known often as Hirsty) is a British radio presenter best known for hosting hit40uk, the commercial chart show which rivals the UK Top 40 on the BBC. He currently hosts the weekday breakfast show on Galaxy 105 in Yorkshire.
Hirst was a radio enthusiast from childhood and has managed to spend his entire career working for radio stations in Yorkshire, beginning while still at school at Barnsley Hospital Broadcasting. He had his first taste of commercial radio by answering phones for Radio Aire in Leeds, who then gave him some work on the nightshift. His headmaster heard him and promptly expelled him from school, but this strengthened Hirst's determination. He moved to Minster FM in York at the age of 18 before earning his first high-profile gig with the much-praised Evening Bit on the Pulse, based in Bradford.
In 1997 he moved to Hallam FM in Sheffield, his local station, where he hosted the drivetime programme for three years. He then returned to the Pulse to co-host the breakfast show, but quickly left to take over the breakfast show at Viking FM in Hull - the one area of Yorkshire which had yet to hear him - after the departure of JK and Joel. He and his breakfast team won a bronze Sony Award for the show.
Hirst left Viking FM to take his current job on the breakfast show (entitled Hirsty's Daily Dose) at Galaxy 105, a station covering all areas of Yorkshire. Galaxy had therefore shrewdly hired for their biggest show a presenter who did not necessarily have to "introduce" himself to the audience, as much of them would have heard him previously on the many local stations against whom Galaxy, a regional station, were pitching for audiences. The Daily Dose team, led by Hirst, won the title of Commercial Radio Presenter(s) Of The Year at the CRCA Awards, and was nominated in the breakfast category of the 2005 Sony Awards. Hirst continues to host the show, which can also be heard nationally via DAB Digital Radio and Sky Digital.
After Neil Fox quit as the long running host of the networked hit40uk in 2004, Hirst - one of his stand-ins previously - was recruited, initially with Katy Hill to host the programme each Sunday from the studios of Capital Radio in London and went on to host the programme alone. Ironically, he was up against JK and Joel on BBC Radio 1 for the chart audience on a Sunday afternoon - the presenters whom he succeeded at Viking FM and with whom he remains close friends.
Hirst presented his last hit40UK chart on 15th October 2006, due to objections from Galaxy's rival Yorkshire radio stations Viking FM, Radio Aire and Hallam FM who were due to start broadcasting the chart on 22nd October 2006. They were unhappy that a Galaxy 105 presenter would be heard on their station, since they could possibly lose a proportion their breakfast audience to Hirst's weekday breakfast show. The last number one he announced was My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade. Hirst was succeeded by Capital Radio drivetime presenter Lucio.
Hirst, whose radio hero is Kenny Everett, is a self-confessed radio "anorak" with a home studio and a colossal collection of old radio equipment, programmes and jingles. He still lives in Barnsley.
