Nigel Ogden | |
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Background information | |
Born | 1954 (age 69–70) Manchester, England |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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.
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]