[5][8] Nightingale presented the pop culture show, booked guest musicians who had not previously been seen on television such as the Yardbirds, and introduced the Who's first promotion film.
At this time, she also hosted other specials for Associated-Rediffusion, including The Glad Rag Ball at Wembley, starring the Rolling Stones, and the British Song Festival in Brighton.
In the mid-1960s, inspired by her friend Pauline Boty, a pop art painter, she launched a chain of fashion boutiques, as a 'front' person and publicist.
[8] During her tenure on the show, Nightingale introduced and championed artists including The Ramones, The Adverts, Talking Heads, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four, Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Au Pairs, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Robert Fripp, John Cooper Clarke, U2, The Clash, Wreckless Eric, Nina Hagen, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, X-Ray Spex, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Adam and The Ants, The Teardrop Explodes, The Damned, Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Undertones.
In December 1980 Nightingale presented a special edition immediately after the murder of John Lennon (who had appeared on the show in 1975).
[12] She worked further with the BBC team, presenting long-running shows such as Late Night In Concert in addition to her weekly The Old Grey Whistle Test slot and Christmas specials.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson decreed that the BBC would run a new pop music station on land from London to replace them.
However, after a trial run on Sunday nights, her first shows were daytime afternoon slots, handed over from Terry Wogan.
By then, Nightingale was granted her request to broadcast her show in the evenings, which gave her more scope to play emerging underground and experimental music.
When Nightingale was away, guest star 'deps' including Annie Lennox and Paula Yates were brought in to present and feature on the show.
Nightingale's live studio guests included the government minister for Nuclear Procurement, and the budding comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
[20] This electronic and dance music involved the production and release of extended tracks and 12-inch singles that broke away from the traditional three-minute pop song.
Live guests included Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, comedian Jack Dee and actor Dirk Bogarde.
In 1994, Nightingale moved to a weekend overnight dance music show, initially called The Chill Out Zone,[5][8] which she was still presenting at the time of her death in 2024.
As a DJ, Nightingale travelled and performed all over the world from Ibiza to Paris, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, Barcelona, Warsaw and at major European festivals such as Sziget in Budapest, Roskilde in Denmark as well as at all the major British festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Wickerman, Rockness, Lovebox, Kendal Calling and numerous others.
She also broadcast TV and Radio documentaries during visits to Russia, Romania, Iraq, Chile, Philippines, United States, France, Ibiza, Japan, China, India and Cuba.
While in Havana in 1996, she was injured during a mugging, resulting in multiple injuries requiring an air-lift to a London hospital, after which she wore the distinctive shades that became part of her image.
On 30 September 2007, the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1 was celebrated, Nightingale co-hosted a special return of the Request Show with Annie Mac featuring contributions from musicians such as Paul McCartney and Chemical Ed, excerpts from the original show and Nightingale's recollections of regular contributors such as "Night Owl of Croydon".
The show featured many classic tracks which had been requested over the years and closed with one of Nightingale's favourites, Cristina's version of "Is That All There Is?".
A version of The Smiths song "Panic" interpreted by Mancunian cult comedian Frank Sidebottom dedicates its choruses to "Anne the DJ" (in place of the original song's "Hang the DJ") and asks "Anne Nightingale what's your blinking game; I waited for your roadshow, but your roadshow never came".
In 2013, Nightingale was featured in the BBC Radio 4 programme Getting on Air: the Female Pioneers, presented by Jane Garvey.
[22] In 2015, it was revealed that Nightingale had been approached by the BBC to sign a letter warning Prime Minister David Cameron that his plans to reform the corporation would damage it.
[23] In 2015, Nightingale was commissioned by Paul McCartney to write the accompanying fully illustrated book as part of the deluxe re-release of his classic albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.
It was described on the Radio 2 website as "30 years on from the Falklands conflict, Annie Nightingale considers the impact of the war through the song Shipbuilding.
[27] Nightingale's 50th anniversary at Radio 1 was marked by two documentaries on BBC TV and the release of her new memoir on 3 September 2020, published by White Rabbit Books, an imprint of Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
The book looks at pop culture and social history over five decades, covering never-before-seen interviews with artists ranging from the Beatles to Billie Eilish, and includes Bob Marley, Marc Bolan, Primal Scream, the Streets, Dusty Springfield, Keith Moon, Elvis Costello, Little Simz and more.
The memoir covers Nightingales's 50 years at BBC Radio 1 and book contains recollections of Paris in the 1950s, early raves in London, the Falklands War and the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The text featured descriptions of The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, the Who, and her experience touring with the BBC TV documentary, Police In The East.
This consisted of two back-to-back documentaries focussing on the punk and new wave eras that Nightingale championed during her five-year residency as anchor of The Old Grey Whistle Test.
This film was shot in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Egypt and Greece, and gave Nightingale a lifelong desire for long-distance travel and documentary-making exploration adventures.