Norman B.
Norman Batley is a radio personality who has hosted and programmed award-winning shows for stations in the United Kingdom, Seattle, Washington, and Tampa, Florida.
A client based in Seattle, Washington, led to an extensive stay in America, which in turn resulted in an opportunity to be a guest on a local radio show, talking about the new music coming out of the UK.
"[3] Norman B.’s first foray into commercial radio was in 1984 for top-rated album-oriented rock station KXRX, where he produced and hosted Seattle Blues, a Sunday night show that drew a large and devoted following.
[4] Bart Becker of The Seattle Weekly wrote that Norman B. was "stirring up the Sunday night radio waves" and "breaking the sound barrier.
Prompted by the success of Seattle Blues, KXRX unveiled a new weekly new music show hosted by Norman B. called, The Xtra Hour.
[6] In August 1991, at the peak of Seattle's globally renowned "grunge" music wave, Norman B. was hired away from KXRX to become drive-time personality on the newly launched alternative radio station 107.7 KNDD The End.
[7] Within six weeks of The End's first broadcast, three albums by local artists — "Ten" by Pearl Jam, "Nevermind" by Nirvana, and "Badmotorfinger" by Soundgarden — were released, reaching the top of the Billboard charts, and KNDD was riding the wave.
[8] "This spring's Arbitron ratings show KNDD in the top three stations among listeners aged 18–34," writes Times reporter Ken Hunt.
"[9] The Seattle Weekly wrote that "In the past six months 'The End' has become one of the hottest stations in the city... leonine Brit and gentleman rocker Norman B makes an amiable afternoon companion.
"[11] By the first part of the 1990s, grunge had made Seattle the center of the universe for popular music, The End its chief purveyor in the market, and Norman B. that station's highest-profile on-air personality.
He partnered in a French-Vietnamese bistro, which became one of the most popular establishments in the Tampa area, earning a rating by Conde Nast as one of the “Top 60 Restaurants in the World.
"[15] Norman B. opened three more new eateries, including The Yellow Door, described as a "paradox" by food writer Natalie Capisi of Clique in "that is as visionary as it is rooted in custom, making it an enjoyable puzzle to ponder as you show off your chopsticking skills.
"[17] On August 16, 2002, staff writer Michael Canning of the St. Petersburg Times reported that "one of Tampa's most consistently stylish restaurateurs... plans to open a third restaurant.
"[18] "The photos hang in two long rows over the bar, creating a focal point for all who come to relax, celebrate or forget," writes Susan Thurston, Tampa Bay Times.
)"[20] In February 2013, Norman B. was back on the air, relaunching "Life Elsewhere" as a weekly music, arts and culture program on Tampa Bay public radio station WMNF.
The Orca Freedom Concert," [22] a historic Earth Day 2014 benefit show at Seattle's Sky Church at EMP Museum featuring Graham Nash, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Country Joe McDonald, Arielle, and the Andrew Morse Band with Faces and Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian McLagan.
It would spark a unique oral history collaboration between the two musicologists that lasted until McLagan's passing in the fall of 2014.Norman B. remains one of the most recognized radio personalities in the Pacific Northwest.
In a Seattle Post-Intelligencer column,[23] reporter Bill Virgin surveyed readers on "what local hosts or personalities do you miss that you'd like to have back on the air?"
KCMU Seattle (now KEXP) World-wide acclaimed independent non-commercial station, Norman B hosted Positive Vibrations, a weekly reggae show with highest-rated Arbitron 12+ for the time slot; and produced and also hosted Life Elsewhere an acclaimed weekly alternative show, distributed and heard on over 25 American college stations.
This was at the start and height of Seattle's "grunge" music phenomena, in which Norman B was actively involved, plus his interviews with the latest talent, celebrities and newsmakers resulted in Arbitron ranking KNDD the leading 12+ station in the country.
