J.A.M.

Posts Tagged ‘Link FM’

It was 5.30 on a cold morning in December 2004. I was heading off to Qunu in the Transkei to conduct an Interview for Link FM with former South African President Nelson Mandela and American Talk Show host Oprah Winfrey. The interview was to take place in his lounge in his home at Qunu. It had been arranged by the Mother of one of the presenters at Link FM who was well connected in political circles. I was rather excited about it. In secular terms they were arguably the most ‘powerful’ man and woman in the world at the time and I was looking forward to sitting down with them and finding out why they do what they do.

When we arrived security was understandably very tight and I really felt as though I was being smuggled through the gates in the back seat of the car. It was Nelson Mandela’s annual Christmas Party for the children of the area and Oprah was staying with him at the time to help with the distribution of the gifts. Around 5000 children were expected to flock to the surrounding areas to receive their gifts. I was armed with a camera, mini disc recorder and gifts for both of them. We had decided to give them each 2 drinking glasses with the Stations logo emblazoned on them along with a Journal. The interview was set for 11 am.

Sometime during the morning it was evident that things were getting out of hand as far as crowd control went as far more people were turning up than expected. At one point Oprah Winfrey, visibly trouble by the growing crowds, stepped out right in front of me, Steadman at her side, on the lawn of Madiba’s front garden. I walked up to her and said hello and asked if I could have a photograph. She ignored me. I (rather cheekily) told her it was only manners to ask and once again enquired. Once again she ignored me as though I wasn’t there – so I took the photo of her (and Steadman) anyway – not the most flattering photo I have seen of her.

The news was soon brought to me by one of the security officials that in light of the crowds which had now grown to about 15 000, the interview was cancelled. I was understandably very upset and decided that I would give them the gifts in any case. I went around the back to the security entrance and gave the parcels to the security officials at the gate. A few minutes later, Oprah’s gift was returned to me with the message that “Miss Winfrey does not accept gifts”. Now I can understand that she couldn’t possibly take everything back on the plane with her that people give her but surely it would only have been manners to accept it even if she gave it to someone else? Her arrogance when requesting the photo and the refusal of the gift resulted in me seeing her in a whole different light. As far as Madiba’s gift went though – it was accepted and a few weeks latter I received a letter from the Presidents Office thanking me naming the specific items in the gift. That was special.

It was a day I will remember for a long time. I took a photo of Madiba standing on his balcony along with his wife, Graca Machel. Sadly though the camera was not very good and he is ‘very small’ in the photo.

I did take a group photo though which includes my presenter friend (Thandy Kunene – kneeling in the middle) and her Mother (the tall woman in the right of the photo at the back – Faye Nqoloba).

Before returning home we assisted Madiba’s wife, Graca Machel and his Personal Assistant, Zelda Le Grange to hand out a few Christmas parcels to needy children in the area. Very special memories!

Happy 94th Madiba! Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many.

Radio is the ‘Theatre of the Mind’ and it is said that the pictures are always better on Radio! This is totally true! Radio is about the imagination. It’s about pictures being created by sound. I grew up in South Africa listening to a Station called Springbok Radio. My love for Radio and all things ‘Audio’ stems from the inspiration I received as a young boy from listening to presenters like David Gresham,  Martin Bailie, Clark McKay, Dennis Smith, Nigel Dawson, Evie Martin, Esme Evruard and Paul Beresford to mention but a few. I escaped into the ‘Theatre of the Mind’ by listening to programmes like Squad Cars, High Adventure, The Navy Lark, Father Dear Father, Test the Team, Jet Jungle, Chappie Chipmunk and many many more. My main inspiration on Springbok though was David Gresham. He presented a wide variety of programmes including Dial A Tune, The 4.30 Special and The Springbok Radio Top 20 – later the Top 30. It was his presentation style which inspired my dream of one day “being in Radio”. When everyone was out and I was alone I would become my favourite presenter and present my imaginary Radio programmes to my imaginary listeners from the comfort of my room – armed with adverts I had taped off of the Radio with my portable Tape Recorder, long lists of made up names of ‘prize winners’ for my imaginary competitions and piles of vinyl records from my Mom and Dad’s collection. The dream never died and although I could not get into the SABC despite many attempts I kept it alive for many years.

In 1996 I was afforded the opportunity by Kevin Potter of getting involved as a volunteer presenter on a Community Radio Station which was being planned for East London – Link FM 97.1. I grabbed that opportunity and began by doing the Weekend lunch time slots in February 1996. In September of that year I resigned from my full-time job at Standard Bank to join Link FM full-time as daytime presenter as well as Production Manager. Over the years that followed I got more and more involved in the life of the Station and eventually went on to head the Station up as Station Manager for a period of 2 years. I left the Station for a two year period in 2003 and rejoined again in 2005 before leaving permanently in 2007 (although I have been back as a relief Presenter). Over that period I was privileged to interview a large number of people from the ‘guy next door’ to those who had made a name for themselves. A few international interviews that come to mind from the CCM world are Steven Curtis Chapman, Avalon, Toby Mac, DC Talk, Nicole Nordeman, Jennifer Knapp, Eli, Tree63 and Carman. South African CCM artists were always popping into the Studio when in town and great fun was had by all. Well known politicians like Tony Leon, Dullah Omar and Evita Bezuidenhout (lol) were really interesting to chat to. My biggest letdown on the ‘Interview’ front was an Interview I had booked which sadly fell through at the last minute. It was to be with Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey – at the same time – in Nelson Mandela’s lounge at Qunu in the Transkei during his annual Christmas Party for children. Oprah was staying with him while in the area and I was to interview them both. I duly arrived, recorder in hand, and got as far as his front lawn when the interview was canceled due to the crowds surrounding the house becoming out of control. It was a huge disappointment. I did get to see them both and have an interesting story to tell about my communication with Oprah which I won’t commit to ‘print’ here ….. The day holds very special memories though.

During my time on air I presented a wide variety of programmes including Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Drive, Top 40, Request Programmes, Chat Shows and the Youth Program – The Gap! This program was definitely the highlight for me. The Station was a Christian Community Radio Station and as such the programming and music was very Christian focused. It was a privilege to be in a position to minister while on air through the music and spoken word – and in particular was a joy to be able to do so through ‘The Gap!’. This was a Youth Program broadcast each afternoon for the young people of East London. The program tackled real life issues that young people face and practically no subject was off limits. The Studio was always full of young people who popped in to watch or be part of the program and soon there were ‘Gappers’ all over East London. I will never forget those days and the impact that program had on so many young people – and their parents who also got involved. Many of them are adults today – some married – and I still get comments about what it meant to them back then. Blessed times! I have returned to the Station and currently present The LunchBox on Link from from 12-3pm Weekday’s.

From a Journalistic angle, two particular programmes will always stay etched in my memory. I was on the air, presenting ‘The Gap!’ one afternoon when a listener called to ask if I had seen what was happening on TV. Apparently a Jet Liner had smashed into a building in New York. That story went on to develop throughout the afternoon into what we now know as ‘911’. It was quite a ‘thing’ to be in the position to report on it while it was happening. Another program which was equally as dramatic and very moving in a way was while I was still a weekend presenter. It was a Sunday – 31 August 1997. The day Princess Diana died. I counted times like this as a privilege to have been afforded the opportunity of being on air. I will never forget those days.

I lectured Theory of Radio and Versatile Broadcasting under contract to The Radio Academy at Walter Sisulu University in East London until December 2010 and also do a lot of Production work (Radio Ad’s etc) for local and National Radio through TheGapMedia – my home based Production Studio.

Over my time at Link I  have collected a wide variety of Sound Files, newspaper clippings, photographs and general odds and ends from, in particular, the early days of the Station’s history – mainly from when we were still situated in the Orient Mall on the beachfront. I would now like to share these memories with you through this Web Page as a way of preserving those important days in the Station’s history and also as a record of my own personal scrapbook. Every now and then I will upload a few more sound files (I have literally hundreds of them).

OK – let’s get started then. Below is a slide show featuring some pictures highlighting those early days at Orient Mall with the soundtrack featuring a lot of the old Jingles and to the right a Media Player with  a collection of Sound Files. There are many more to follow ……….

Please bear in mind that  this is my own personal record from my own Scrapbook so I do not have photo’s and sound files of everyone that was involved. This is by no means a concise history of the Station! On that note – should you have been involved in any way with Link FM back in the early days and you have any sound files or photo’s you would like to see published here – please get in touch! If you would like to read the Newspaper Articles or have a closer look at the photographs in the slide show they are all available on my Facebook page in the following albums

ALBUM 1

ALBUM 2

ALBUM 3

ALBUM 4