In Priase of Bob
Story Highlight
Former Forth Presenter John Collins Priases Bob naming him his first radio hero
In Praise of Bob
A long time ago, I got what I consider to be my first break in radio.
It was 1978. I was a 15 year old wannabe DJ at Radio Royal in Larbert who had graduated from tech-opping pre recorded shows, through request collection and programme production to my first proper show. It was called “Country Clinic” and aired on Saturday nights for an hour at 7pm. Luckily, I loved country – still do. But with punk dominating the late 70s and disco taking soul in new directions it wasn’t the sexiest gig the world ever saw.
For me the prime slot wasn’t “Patients Choice” (Bob Blewitt on Saturday, Bill Gilchrist on Sunday). It was the Saturday lunchtime show that got the weekend under way. I coveted that show as it was the only one that played nothing more than current hits. It’s presenter, Nicky “Dee”, was fast and slick and the two producers were very hot.
The break came when Nicky took part in a ‘Be a DJ’ contest at Radio Forth. Weeks later he went back to his real name and Nicky Docherty started a short stint on weekend breakfast. He was a proper star. And I got his gig at Royal.
Until my mum forced me to quit so I could concentrate on passing my exams.
Studying gave me plenty of time to listen to Forth, which Nicky had by then left. The guy who won the competition was Bob Malcolm. He was everywhere – covering shows around the station, doing roadshows – and was clearly loving it. In many ways he was probably one of the last of the original breed of ‘famous’ local DJs.
He was constantly trying new things – some of them excellent, others best forgotten. There was an ill-judged attempt at the Steve Wright/ Rick Dees style with characters which sent me straight to Dougie on Radio Clyde. But he was alwys there.
Working with Bob in the mid 90s was a treat – and that’s where I learned some big lessons.
The key isn’t to be a ‘star’. It’s to work so hard at your act that it seems simple. Bob was one of the first to get off the music and let it take the lead. In his (fine) double header with Steve Jack he always gave Steve the chance to shine. A rare trait when two ‘main’ jocks feature on a show together.
The last 10 years have been hard ones for many in radio, especially for AM guys. Most of them saw it coming and developed careers outside of radio, as has Bob Malcolm. But somehow they keep coming back to him and putting him on air.
His Forth 2 Breakfast Show is a few years old now. There are lots of presenters out there who think they can do better but I think I re-learned the secret when I listened to him the other day. It’s simple and straightforward. On a dial full of boy-girl shows which sound like they’re trying too hard, it just works. And as an antedote to the depressing news of the day it hits the spot.
Nicky got a gig and went on to become a news legend in the west. I did a few things in wireless and settled into teaching. But around the time of the big break one of the great radio survivors was given his chance to shine. Constant reinvention, hard work and just being a nice bloke make Bob Malcolm my first radio hero of 2012.
Taken from Johnco.co.uk
