Colin Noble

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I first became interested in radio when I heard the pirates in the 60‘s and I still think radio stations should be on boats!

I made radio shows in my bedroom on a reel to reel tape recorder and one record player, talking as I changed the records. The theme tune I used, was beware of the dog by Georgie Fame and I still carry a copy with me now, just in case I need it. The next thought was how can I get people to listen to my music… so I became a mobile DJ the usual things wedding’s, party’s, basically anywhere I could play music.

The next thought was radio, at the time there were very few radio stations around, so it was off to hospital radio. After a lot of letters, I had an interview at S.E.H.B. (South Essex Hospital Broadcasting) broadcasting, at the time, to Basildon, Orsett and Billericay hospital’s. Initially you start off collecting requests but I soon had my own show “The Wednesday Night Request Show”. I was in charge, driving the desk and a team of three/four, it must have been early days for that sort of programme one DJ and a team. At S.E.H.B. I met a guy Richard Earle who worked for BBC Radio and together, we formed a road show that could handle big events, we even used, with permission, equipment from the Radio One Road Show for special events. I also started doing programmes from the local cable station Radio Basildon and off air events for Essex Radio.

That was all great fun, but I could not play the music I loved i.e. ROCK . I originally came from Dagenham and it had a great rock music venue called The Village Roundhouse based at the Roundhouse pub. The bands I saw there are too numerous to mention but here are just a few… King Crimson, Queen, Mott the Hoople, Black Sabeth, Groundhogs, Stray etc. So you can see where my taste in music lies.

So, in the early 80’s I started to tune around the radio to find this kind of music but with no luck, then one weekend, I heard Steve Price on a station called Alice’s Restaurant, a land based pirate and he gave out a mailing address. I sent off a tape, got a reply and I was in! We met in a secret location, then it was off to the studio were I first met Paul Chamberlain. Thrown in at the deep end, I sat in on Steve’s show and he let me finish the last hour on my own. Later I moved on to the Sunday morning breakfast show and worked with Steve Price on the Alice’s Restaurant road show, mainly with live bands at the Wellington PH in Shepherd‘s Bush (sadly no longer there).

Anyway, all good things must come to an end and with so many expensive raids on our transmitter’s, Alice’s Restaurant stopped and so did I. Fast forward twenty years, well I have still been listening to, and buying, music and seeing new bands, wishing I could play their music on the radio.

Then, one day in 2011 by chance, I came across ARfm looked at the web site and there was Steve Price & Paul Chamberlain. I listened for quite a few months and then finally, and rather nervously, emailed Steve Price. I think he was shocked hearing from me after all those years. Thankfully he invited me to visit the studio and the radio bug is back! So… what can you expect to hear on my show, you will have to tune in to find out.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf1vZ3LK2ic

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Radio Presenter