About this Host
Like many English radio presenters, Gary started as a mobile DJ. From there he went on to hospital radio, and when the FM frequency beckoned he jumped at the chance to join Skyline Gold in Southampton.
It soon became apparent that other stations were sometimes short of presenters, and the norm in those days was to play automated music. He offered a show to Forest FM – Sounds Of The 70s – which he still presents there to date, and soon realised that here was a gap that needed filling elsewhere.
Other stations followed including the legendary 1260KYA in San Francisco, Castledown Radio in Wiltshire, and the Bigl, today’s equivalent of 60s pirate station Radio London. He is now broadcasting live on the BigL from his south coast studio. Soon stations all over the world started airing the shows.
Many people have asked who was his favourite interviewee, and the answer has to be Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Not only did Stu give him around twenty minutes, he was happy to talk about the days when things weren’t good, and after all, Creedence was his all time favourite band in the 70s. For the 60s, it has to be The Searchers who are now friends, and he has published their official website since 1997. As he has often said “On the rare occasions when things are hard going I go see The Searchers. Their sheer hard work and professionalism put me to shame and give me the kick up the backside I need”.
His shows often feature guests, and his interviews have included chats with Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Paul Carrack (Mike and The Mechanics, Squeeze), Alan Clark (Dire Straits), Tom McGuiness of Manfred Mann, Deborah Bonham, Simon Townsend, Stu Cook (Creedence) Dave Clark (Dave Clark Five) and just about every other 60s band still working!
Not only that but household names like Jenny Eclair and Toyah Willcox have also joined him!
Gary’s live radio work has taken him to California, and his shows now air from Tenerife to Tasmania!
Very much a fan of personality radio, Gary always remembers that the listener comes first, tries to give his shows a live feel and keep listeners interested with features like the “A side B side”, “follow that” and the “back to front” song.
