Pete Price is an instantly recognisable figure to many Scousers.
The radio host, who grew up in West Kirby, has been in the industry for five decades but it's not just his voice the people of Liverpool are familiar with. At one stage, the broadcaster became famous for his responses to prank callers of his talk show, who often bombarded him with the bizarre taunt that he is a “lizard”.
The jeer gained momentum, and as a result, was then shouted at him whilst he was out and about in public. The internet was even sent into overdrive after wrestling legend, Hulk Hogan, posed with a "Pete Price is a lizard" sign.
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However before the 76-year-old was in the public eye, he lived a very different life.
As a teenager, Pete had “sleepless nights” worrying about being called up for National Service. However, he claims he “just missed it” as it was 1963 when it stopped. Pete previously wrote for the ECHO explaining that his problem was with “the uniforms and socks” as he “couldn’t stand” wool next to his skin.
Pete used to live with his mum but after paying “housekeeping, and most of the telephone bill”, he decided it was time to get a place of his own - a place he could call home. He said this was for two reasons, the first being he wanted his own independence and the second being his mum was not well and he didn’t want to live there if he lost her as “the memories would be too painful”.
Pete soon realised one of the things he missed most - “apart from being woken up with a smile and a cup of tea” - was the shop he lived above. The corner shop in West Kirby, which is no longer there, was next to a chip shop and Frank Biggerstaff’s paper shop. Across the street was a bakery, butchers and a pet shop.
When Pete's mum died, he kept the shop on for a while before selling it to be converted into a house. He added: “We lost a wonderful focal point for all the residents in the area to gather and shop. Then people discovered supermarkets, which sold everything under one roof. That was the death knell for the small shops in this country.”
Fast forward some time and Pete had other career aspirations in mind. He wanted to be the next Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside. His interest was initially sparked by his involvement with Crimestoppers - a service which he said “is vital to help police forces around the country”.
However, his dream was “completely shattered” when he remembered he was convicted of drink-driving over 30 years ago. Individuals are disqualified from being elected as PPC if they have been convicted in the UK of any imprisonable offence - regardless of whether they were actually sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the offence.
This didn’t hold back Pete as he made his name known elsewhere - in the media industry. The author has hosted several shows including Pete Price's Sunday Best where his weekly phone-in guest was Paul McCartney's stepmother Angie, who provided Hollywood gossip from her home in Los Angeles.
After broadcasting to the people of Merseyside for almost 50 years with his range of talk shows on Radio City, Pete earned himself a "phenomenal 29 awards" and his "biggest accolade" was that he was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame. A few years ago Pete was made an Honorary Scouser by the City of Liverpool and he was given the City’s highest accolade when he was recognised as a Citizen of Honour by the Lord Mayor.
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