Former radio presenter Philip Satchell has been remembered as a gentle star among ABC broadcasters after dying at the age of 83 due to illness.
Key points:
- Philip Satchell worked for the ABC for 40 years and became a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988
- Former colleagues, listeners and politicians have paid tribute at news of his passing
- Satchell has been remembered as a gentle and calm presenter with a knack for getting his guests to talk at length
Satchell presented his last show with ABC Radio in Adelaide on September 18, 2003, after 40 years with the national broadcaster.
ABC Radio Adelaide local content manager Graeme Bennett said the former presenter died peacefully at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Sunday night while surrounded by family.
“Our sincere condolences to all of the Satchell family, and I know from just talking to my colleagues here today how affected everyone has been,” he said.
“I know that many people will remember Philip’s work, the wonderful warmth that he brought to every single minute of his work with us.”
Known for his calm, steady voice and the respect with which he treated all his guests, Satchell also grew notoriety for his deliberate and sometimes deadly, on-air pauses.
“Philip’s broadcasting style was very much about not saying anything,” Mr Bennett recalled.
“Philip knew full well if you left the gap long enough, somebody else would fill it.”
Satchell won several awards during his time as a broadcaster and journalist and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988.
Already a father of three adult sons, Satchell had his first daughter in retirement at the age of 70 with his second wife, Cecily.
Colleagues recall stories
Former ABC Radio Adelaide Afternoons presenter Carole Whitelock remembered being “in awe” of Satchell when she started working with him in the 1980s after having listened to him for years.
“I was a young broadcaster and very eager to please and very tentative, and he took me aside one day and said, ‘Look, you really have to stop reading the news like the Avon lady’,” she laughed.
“He was a wonderful broadcaster with the gift of listening.”
Another former presenter, John Kenneally, said he held “nothing but fond memories of Philip”.
He added that producing Satchell must have been like “herding cats sometimes”, recalling a day when, with just 10 minutes before his show begun, Philip was leaning back on his chair with feet on the desk, thumbs hooked inside his braces.
“I happened to be walking past, and he said, ‘John, what do you think the meaning of life is?’,” Kenneally said.
“Poor old Gail Bartel [former producer] was tearing her hair out, trying to get his program together.”
ABC Radio Adelaide presenter and roving reporter Spence Denny said that was the “magic of Philip as a broadcaster”.
“He didn’t go in with preconceived ideas,” he said.
“He let the guests do the talking and would respond to what they had to say.
“He was multiple award-winner for the work that he did and, more importantly, he was just a big part of living in Adelaide via ABC radio for 40 years. It’s incredible.”
The ‘master’ passes
Current Mornings presenter David Bevan, who was paired with Satchell on-air for about 18 months in 2000, said he considered himself privileged to have been “apprenticed with the master”.
“To me, broadcasting is to journalism what jazz is to music,” he said.
“You go and learn your scales, your time signatures, your riffs, but then you’ve got to do it spontaneously when you’re broadcasting.
“You make it up on the moment, and that’s why it can be so very special when you get a live radio moment.
“That’s what Philip was great at.”
Bevan added that there “was a boyish charm about Philip that made him all the more endearing”.
Listener tributes
Tributes poured from ABC Radio Adelaide listeners with countless calls and text messages, including from former Redgum frontman John Schumann, who said he was very saddened to hear of Satchell’s passing.
“He was so, so special, with a deep and abiding interest in South Australian culture.”
Other listeners wrote:
“My most lasting memory of Philip was waking on the morning of September 11 to his soft solemn voice when he was not normally on at that time. I immediately knew that something very bad had happened. He was the most appropriate person to cover that tragedy and he did it so well.” — Sue
“Philip, a wonderful broadcaster among the best. His one intolerance that I remember (similar to one of your current presenters) was to the “how are you” question put by the majority of listeners when they come on the radio. He never answered that rhetorical question.” — Roger
“So sad to hear about the death of Philip Satchell. He was the quintessential interviewer, always respectful but managed to get so much out of people.” — Kathie
Leaders pay respects
Premier Steven Marshall described Satchell as an “absolute legend of Adelaide’s airwaves for more than four decades”.
“I send my deepest sympathies to his entire family,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said Satchell’s was the first voice he became familiar with on Adelaide radio.
“I always remember mum actively pointing out when she heard Philip go into one of those iconic pauses, and it became a bit of a running joke in the Malinauskas family, to be the first to identify a Philip Satchell pause in the car.”
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