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George Webley (29 May 1957 – 7 May 2011), better known by the stage name Big George, was a British musician, composer, bandleader and broadcaster who has been described as one of Britain's most successful theme music writers.
Webley left school at the age of 14 to go on the road with a showband. He became friends with and regularly accompanied Herbie Flowers in his late teens after writing to the bassist for advice and was a session musician until the age of 30.
Webley composed numerous other themes for the National Theatre, Arts Theatre, ballet, and radio including Ian McMillan's East Coast Girls, Emma Clarke's Share and Share Alike, and Neil Mossey's Stockport So Good They Named It Once.
Upon his return in 1999, Webley presented the BBC Two educational series Music File, which won the Prix La Basle award for educational excellence. In 2002, he won the Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Best Music Presenter whilst on BBC Three Counties, where he launched "Cabbie Chat – The Rank Opinion", which ran every morning on his Milton Keynes Breakfast programme. The idea was to ask the cab drivers of Milton Keynes their opinions on the day's news. It lasted until Webley offended some of the drivers over a news item about taxi drivers.
He appeared as an expert musicologist on various TV and radio programmes, including The Big Breakfast, Esther, Kilroy, 5Live Breakfast with Nicky Campbell, Radio 4's Today programme, John Peel's Home Truths, Moral Notes, and Landmark Places with Laurie Taylor. He wrote, presented and/or produced documentaries for Radio 4, including Playing Second Fiddle and Sense of Place.
He produced over three dozen parodies, songs and live performances for the Radio 1 Roadshow with Chris Moyles, who described him in his book The Gospel According to Chris Moyles as a genius. He was also mentioned in Angie Bowie's biography Backstage Passes (Life on the Wildside with David Bowie) and in Bruce Thomas: The Big Wheel.
He was also a regular contributor on Network BBC radio programmes including those of Simon Mayo and Paul Gambaccini, the Today programme, and 5Live Breakfast with Nicky Campbell.
He presented the BBC London 94.9 overnight show from August 2006, at the time of his death occupying the 2 am until 6 am slot Monday to Saturday. One of the features of the show was the 'moan in', where listeners were given the opportunity to vent their frustrations about various issues. Topics of discussion were generally those dealt with by tabloid newspapers. The format was very much akin to American talk radio.
Webley died on 7 May 2011 at the age of 53 after collapsing at his family home in Milton Keynes from a heart attack. An inquest at Milton Keynes Coroner's Court resulted in a verdict of death by misadventure after the coroner heard that Webley, who had a history of heart disease, had taken the Class B drug mephedrone prior to the heart attack.
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