Stuart St Paul started as a radio DJ and joined Radio 1 in 1973 as an apprentice.
Stuart St Paul appeared in the legendary Woolworth Christmas adverts as the father. The other stars and DJs popped in and out. Margo Hardyman played his wife, she was Ronnie Corbett’s sister in SORRY. The girls must be grown up by now.
Video Killed the Radio Star
A term often used by colleagues when referring to him is the line from the Buggles hit, Video Killed the Radio Star. It looked like Stuart was heading for a top radio show. Let’s go back before we get there.
The very first Radio 1 roadshows were at the Radio 1 cricket days. Long before car racing and beaches. This was a Radio 1 show at a cricket club in Guildford. Then the BBC had no mobile equipment so they used a set-up that Stuart owned and travelled.
Here Stuart is on stage with Brian Connelly of The Sweet. It must be about 1974.
Stuart’s first Radio Show UBN – METRO – ORWELL
Too young to join the pirate ships, Stuart first went on air on BBC Radio London and then started to moonlight at UBN doing the nighttime show whilst still at the BBC during the day. (at UBN back then names included Dale Winton who went to Nottingham).
Stuart never got a show at the BBC and although Head of Radio 1 Doreen Davis said to him, “Wait, just be patient.” He wasn’t, and frustrated, he decided to move away from the BBC when commercial radio began and he was discussing going to Newcastle. While the contract was ironed out Stuart left Radio 1 and joined EMI’s Capitol Records. Whilst waiting to take over the breakfast show at Metro Radio, Stuart toured with Bob Seger, Dr Hook and Mink Deville as Capitol’s promotion liaison. During that time he saw the funeral of Marc Bolan leave from the offices at Manchester Square.
While at Metro, doing the breakfast show, he starred in the panto at Sunderland Empire where he met his wife of 43 years Jean Heard and made lifelong friends with DJ James Whale. He was also wined and dined as a new TV show was discussed that he might present. The Tube. Jules Holland got that show and it was the right choice for that show, Stuart was more mainstream.
Stuart was then transferred to take over from Steve Wright at Radio Orwell in Ipswich when Steve went to Radio 1.
Stuart started to be cast in a number of adverts.
How did Stuart become a stuntman?
It is one of the most common questions he is asked. The answer is simple. Whilst he was waiting to move back to Radio 1 if the opening arose, he was offered a very strange job. The television DJ Dave Farrell in the TV children’s soap Radio Phoenix, made at ITV’s Southampton Studios. Stuart became a DJ on TV. The show starred Radio Phoenix with Sherrie Hewson (Coronation Street and Loose Woman) and Simon Rouse (The Bill)
When the show was canned Stuart was offered many acting roles at the BBC and played in shows Like By The Sword Divided and Driving Ambition. His dream was to play in major movies and two casting directors both suggested to him the quickest way would be through stunts. They are the ones that work continuously in those movies.
they were right and he went into Superman 1 and 2, and then joined the James Bond 007 team under Bob Simmons and got known as his assistant. His career progressed with Bob in films like Who Dares Wins, until a strange thing happened.
Mega Budget Pop Videos
Uniquely placed with both pop music and film as his credentials, he was uniquely placed to work in pop videos. He joined Jim Beach at his company Fugitive at their offices above the QUEEN equipment warehouse and made many iconic videos from Duran Duran’s Wild Boys, to Elton John’s South of France videos like Passenger.
His work on Wild Boys got him noticed by James Cameron who was in London to make Aliens, and he auditioned to be the Queen Alien. The rest as they say is history.
His fast-moving career working closely with masters in the industry saw him become a stunt coordinator. He instantly returned to the BBC doing their light entertainment comedy shows then started to get his own movies. Still working at Fugitive he produced The Krays and wrote and sold Smith and Patel into BBC development (Peter Creegen).
Stuart went on to direct his own movies and eventually worked with Status Quo as he had done with the Kemp brothers in The Krays. He won Best Director for Freight, and now writes novels. Stuart has had an amazing career that has taken him all over the world, into jungles and through deserts, and has left him is full of stories. It has hit many highs and he has been awarded a huge list of honours and awards. He has worked with and got to know so many industry greats. It is a unique career.
