Tim first met Alan "Fluff" Freeman when he joined Radio One in 1967 but they didn't get to work together until Tim chose him to narrate his 'Story of Pop' series of programmes six years later. After that they worked on his early evening Radio One Show but then Tim left the BBC.
It wasn't long after, that Alan also resigned from the BBC - his hugely acclaimed Saturday Rock Show was axed because the Controller thought it wrong that a peak time slot should be devoted to what he saw as a minority music. Tim invited Alan to lunch, and with his colleague Aidan Day, persuaded Alan to join them at Capital Radio.
Tim hadn't been long gone from his post at Capital when Alan rang to say he was missing their conversations - Fluff explained that he hadn't felt he could take any of Tim's time when he wasn't being paid but that Fluff had a solution - Tim should become his personal manager. Tim explained that he had very limited experience of what might be involved whilst Fluff said that there'd be nothing to it "just tell me what jobs I should accept and which I should turn down - and oh yes, you'll have to tell me when it's time to retire". They worked together from then until Fluff's death in 2006.
They never had a contract, just a huge amount of mutual trust, a love of all kinds of music and a shared sense of humour. On one of his less optimistic days Alan observed "If one of us had your brains and my voice, one of us could have done very well indeed". Tim didn't think Fluff ever really understood or appreciated just what an important and truly distinctive contribution he made to British radio .
You can visit Fluff's memorial website here.