19 Years.

It's a figure that's been going through my head all day today for one reason.... I did my first radio show on this date the 4th of august 1987 - 19 years ago! To say that's scary is to put it mildly! It's no eggageration to say that my life changed completely on that fateful day and my future career was sealed.

I was 13 years of age, naieve, curious, never been kissed and most definitely shouldn't have been let anywhere near a radio station! But, somehow, I managed to convince the station manager of a lost dog radio station called Radio Diamond that I was up to the challenge of presenting their breakfast show. Maybe a career in the legal or sales trade would have been a more suitable career for this teenage waffler?:-)

When I visited Radio Dublin in 1986 I decided there and then that I wanted to be a radio dj, how though could I make this happen? I had to wait a year for my dream to come through and I can still remember the moment my dad told me some very exciting news. My dad got chatting to a barman in his local one evening and he happened to mention my interest in radio to him. As it happened the barman, David Morrisey, was a part time dj on Radio Diamond and said that I was welcome to come along with him one evening to have a look around the station. I can remember my heart skipping a beat when my dad told me and I immediately ran upstairs to gather my extensive record collection together to plan what I would play. How foolish was I thinking that they would let me on air on my first evening visiting!? Read on.....:-)

So the evening arrived and David called for me. He lived just across the road from me on Carrow Road in Drimnagh so we walked from my house on Galtymore Road to the stations headquarters above the Star snooker hall in Crumlin, just across from Our Lady's Hospital. We entered the reception area cum doss quarters for the staff which was filled with junk, disco decks and disco lights and on the window ledge the transmitter tuned to 106.1FM. The mast was up quite high on the building so even though the transmitter power was quite low, Radio Diamond was putting out a half decent signal all over the west of Dublin. I can't remember the name of the guy on air at the time but he couldn't have been nicer and explained how everything worked. Not that I was taking any notice of him, I was just completely in awe and was just so excited to be there!

It was just 8PM and David took over but didn't seem particularly interested in what he was doing - he was far more interested in the collective of girls outside the studio answering the phone (that never rang) and discussing make up and where they were going that night. The station manager was a guy called Keith Doyle and he asked me what age I was, I replied straight away telling him that I was 16. David told me to tell anyone that asked that I was 16 and although I looked slightly older than my 13 years, everyone knew that I was lying through my teeth. Before I knew it Keith sat me down at the console and began showing me how it all worked.

The studio was equipped with a 4 channel mixing console, 2 turntables, a twin tape deck and a microphone. Primitive even by standards back then but it might as well have been the cockpit of concorde to me, I was lost!!! So I cued up Whitney Houston "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" on one of the turntables and Keith told me to put the headphones and "do a link" Without thinking I pushed up the microphone slider and said "That was A-ha The Living Daylights and now here's Whitney Houston" My parents and my sister Elaine (lord rest her) were listening at home and almost jumped out of their skin when they heard me on the radio! I, by this time was ready to pass out but I continued for a few minutes more before David decided to come back in and finish off his show. Nobody said anything to me when I went back outside to the reception area but I could tell that they had been rolling around the floor laughing at my pathetic attempt at being a dj and I couldn't blame them to be honest:-) I went home later that night and told my parents that I would "never ever go on the radio again" Not so......

I temporarily forgot my friends and began hanging around Radio Diamond at any given opportunity pestering Keith to give me my own show, which was met each time with "no, you're shite!" One day I caught him off guard when he was stuck for someone to do the breakfast show the folloing morning so me being the chancer that I was, I offered to do it. He grumbled for a few seconds eventually agreeing. I can remember running all the way home to tell my dad and not being able to sleep that night, I was so excited!

The morning of august the 4th came and I jumped up out of bed at 6.15, gathered up my collection of Now albums and my favourite album at the time which was "Clutching At Straws" by Marillion, and walked to the Radio Diamond studio. When I got there the gates to the Star Snooker Hall car park were locked and a rather old alsatian dog was bleating out what sounded like a mixture of an old man coughing and a bark. I had been told that the security man would let me in but he was nowhere to be seen. I rattled the gates, much to the annoyance of the alsatian thinking that the noise would disturb the security guard but still there was no sigh of him. I was due to start on air at 7 and it wasn't until 7.15 that the security guard decided to rise and open the gates for me. I walked through the snooker hall, upstairs through the arcade and into the radio station - my first radio show was about to begin!

I sat down at the console, powered up the equipment and cued up Los Lobos "La Bamba" on one of the turntables, cued up the 'Top Of The Hour' jingle on the tape deck and sat in silence for a few seconds to compose myself.

So I pressed the pause release on the tape deck - nothing happened. The tape was playing but nothing was coming out on air! I realised then that whoever was on air the night before had switched off the transmitter so after powering it up I returned to the studio, re cued the tape and sat for a few seconds while I tried to contain my nerves. Something inside me just said "to hell with it, just go for it" so I fired the jingle and said "And a very good morning to you, this is Andy Preston starting off the show, right now here's Los Lobos and a great number one from them called La Bamba" The record started, I was off! I can't remember very much else from that first morning but I do remember compaining on air about the squeaky studio chair and playing my sisters favourite record "Respectable" by Mel & Kim. After I finished I ran home to be greeted by my dad who gave me a hug and told me that I had done brilliantly. I guess we both knew in our hearts that I was awful but for a relatively shy 13 year old clueless kid, I hadn't done too bad at all:-)

The funny thing is that almost as quickly as my radio career had started, it looked like it was about to end as quick! I ended up going up to the station later that evening to see Keith the station manager and was disappointed when he told me that he hadn't heard me that morning. A few minutes passed by and two heavies appeared at the studio door and told Keith to close the station down. No reason was given but Keith wasn't going to argue with them and announced to the audience that Radio Diamond was going off air owing to "technical difficulties". It later transpired that the stations phone bill was somewhere in the region of £900 and the station owner was refusing to pay. So the two large gentlemen made off with the transmitter in a jeep and that was it.... I was devastated!

2 weeks later the bill was paid and the station went back on air. I spent 4 hours on air that day announcing test transmissions for "The New Diamond 106FM" and a few weeks later I joined Smile FM in Ballyfermot after I failed to secure a regular slot on Diamond. I wouldn't have said it at the time but it was a wise move on their part:-)

Every year that passes I mark this anniversary and rembember fondly the events of that day and remind myself how lucky I am to be still working in the business and for what is the number 1 station in Dublin. If someone had told me back then that I would be in the position I am in now, I would not have believed them. It can be a cruel and heartless business at times but the good elements certainly outweigh the bad.

To those with whom I have worked with and befriended in this business both past and present, it has been both and honour and a privilege to have worked with you all. A special mention to my Dad Tony who believed in me right from the start and still supports me in everything I do. I love you very much Dad.

And one more thing..... If there's another 19 years to come in this business well I'm up for it!!!:-)

Have a great bank holiday weekend!

Andy