Dave Ward joined Piccadilly Radio in 1979, became the late-night voice of Under the Bedclothes, and later formed one of Manchester’s best-loved radio double acts with Umberto on Piccadilly 1152. In 2008 he was still on air. We have not found a public record of what he has done since, and we say so rather than guess.
Who was Dave Ward on Piccadilly Radio?
Dave Ward was a Piccadilly Radio presenter from 1979. According to one fan history of the station, he had been a hairdresser on Moorside Road in Urmston before joining, and the nickname “Curly Shirley” is said to come from that. He became best known for the late-night show Under the Bedclothes and, in the 1990s, for his double act with Umberto on Piccadilly 1152.
In the mid-1980s, the same fan history says, he teamed up with James H Reeve to co-present the weekday breakfast show.
What was Under the Bedclothes?
Under the Bedclothes was Dave Ward’s late-night show on Piccadilly Radio, remembered by one listener as running from 11pm to 2am, Sunday to Thursday, in the early 1980s. A recording in the Manchester District Music Archive is described by a contributor as his final Under the Bedclothes show, with excerpts from 30 November and 21 December 1983.
It is the kind of programme people remember by where they were when they heard it. When the station’s 50th-anniversary book was published in 2023, co-author Tony Ingham said that mention Piccadilly to anyone of a certain age and they are straight back “under the bedclothes with Dave Ward”.
Dave Ward and Umberto
The pairing Manchester remembers best is Dave Ward and Umberto on Piccadilly 1152. They first broadcast together in 1995 and hosted weekend breakfast for more than four years. Wikipedia’s article on Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West credits the Dave Ward and Umberto breakfast show with helping the station become one of the biggest AM stations.
In June 2008 RadioToday reported that the two were reuniting on Century Radio’s weekend breakfast show. Umberto said they “just laugh when we’re together”. Umberto died in December 2020; you can read what happened to Umberto.
What happened to Dave Ward?
The sources we can find show Dave Ward still broadcasting in 2008, when he was hosting weekend breakfast on Magic 1152 and was announced as reuniting with Umberto on Century Radio. We have not found a public account of what he has done since, and we would rather say so than guess.
If you know, or you worked with him, tell us. We will only add what can be stood behind, and we will take it down if he or his family would prefer.
Where to hear the old shows
Manchester Central Library holds over 1,800 tapes of Piccadilly Radio’s output. We cannot say which of Dave Ward’s shows are among them, but the archive team is the place to ask. Our guide to where to listen to the archive explains how.
Tell us what you remember
We are a heritage project, not a newsroom. If Dave Ward kept you company late at night, or got you up on a weekend morning, send us your memory and we will add it here with your name, or without it if you prefer.
Piccadilly Radio 261 is on air now, with six free live channels from Manchester. You can listen to our live channels, or read what happened to Piccadilly Radio and who presented on it.
Sources
This page draws on RadioToday (June 2008), RadioToday (September 2023), a fan history of Piccadilly Radio, the Manchester District Music Archive and Wikipedia. Some details, including the hairdressing background and the show times, come from a single source or from listener memory, and we have said so where that is the case. We have no connection to Dave Ward or his family. If anything here is wrong, please contact us and we will act on it.