Born in
Ealing, London, Swern was a record producer and songwriter, and also wrote for television. He earned the nickname "The Collector" from working on
Sounds of the 60s with
Brian Matthew. He produced
Pick of the Pops for
BBC Radio 1 in the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced the show for
BBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2023. He also produced
Sounds of the 60s for Radio 2 from 2007 until his death and formerly produced the Saturday night
Bob Harris Show for the same station, also producing Harris's Radio 1 shows in the early 1990s. He also devised the questions for the
PopMaster quiz on Radio 2's
Ken Bruce Show until this role was assumed by Neil Myners and Simon Bray. Swern co-wrote the quiz show
Pop the Question with
Jeremy Beadle and co-created another quiz show, ''
That's Showbusiness'', with screenwriter
Jeremy Pascall. His first record production work was
Horace Faith's recording of "
Black Pearl" for
Trojan Records in 1970. He went on to produce for many other musicians, including
the Pearls,
Polly Brown and
R&J Stone, whose "
We Do It", released in 1976, reached number 5 on the
UK Singles Chart. In 1972, he formed the studio group Blue Haze with
Johnny Arthey; their reggae
cover version of "
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" reached number 27 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. Swern had the world's only complete collection of every
UK Top 40 chart hit since records began in 1952. His extensive work within the music industry led to him being awarded a
BASCA Gold Badge Award in October 2010. On 26 August 2024, Swern presented his Bank Holiday special
Phil Swern’s Hidden Gems on
Boom Radio. This was his last radio show, as he died on 31 August 2024 following a long illness with cancer, at the age of 76. ==References==