You know the good thing about radio? No, because there isn't just one good thing about radio. Sounds like I'm mad, well bear with me for a second. You see, TV, DVD, cinema etc are all great forms of entertainment, but the pictures are done for you. Radio is the most advanced form of communication, it interacts with your brain and you provide all of the pictures. Now some of you are lazy sods, and from what I've seen, you don't deserve wireless.

You must remember as a kid, you were told to go to bed? But you crept under the covers and either read a book or listened to the radio. Either way, you made the pictures.

I started in radio when I was still at school. At the tender age of 14 or so, I set up a studio in my bedroom with a couple of Citronic turntables, a really bad mixer from Maplin and a pair of Kef speakers that I got cheap from Richer Sounds. I persevered, paractising presentation skills and began bugging people in radio to let me have a go.

I left school eventually and got my first break presenting programs on a certain boat in a certain lump of water. Which was nice. But it didn't last long. I came back to shore and was taken on by an Oldies station that was starting up in Essex called Supergold. I had a few great months working there, along with a DJ from the west country called Nic Tuff.

That station didn't last too long. The management left a lot to be desired and it seems that the idea of a satellite station providing overnight content for stations accross europe was actually a little bit before it's time.

I moved on to another station which had been up and running for a short time, Mellow 1557. Based in Frinton at the same studios as Supergold, it was an easy listening station aimed at the population of the Tendring area of North east Essex. The bit between Colchester, Harwich, Clacton and Brightlingsea. I presented shows on a Saturday evening under my real name, which was something I didn't do very often back then. Andy Archer was in charge at the time and we frankly didn't see eye to eye. I was not asked back, and I did what all frustrated presenters do. I cleared off and did something completely different.

So in September 1991, just after the first Gulf War, I joined the Royal Air Force and worked in communications. The grand plan was to get myself abroad and do some stuff for BFBS, but it never happened.

The unexpected upshot of working in the forces though is that I seemed to be in the right place at the right time to do work for some up and coming stations all over the UK. To this day, I still do work for one or two stations and thoroughly enjoy it.

Stations I have been heard on, in no particular order:
Caroline
LFM - Pirate
KCWY - Pirate
Lightning - Pirate
Supergold - Satellite
Contact 94 - Channel Islands
Sky Radio - Athens
Gibraltar Broadcasting Company
Mellow 1557 - Essex
Huntingdon Community Radio - Cambridgeshire
Weston FM - Avon
WSM FM - Avon
Radio Hinchingbrook - Cambridgeshire

Anyway finally, a little bit of publicity for the main people I still do radio for...

HCRFM - Huntingdon Community Radio

Based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, it broadcasts on a Restricted Service Licence twice a year for several weeks at a time. I normally do something for a few hours on Saturday mornings. I won't bore you with the details but the website is available at www.hcrfm.co.uk