peter young - tributes
tribute to dave cash
b. David Charles Wish, 18th July 1942, Bushey, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. d. 21st October 2016, Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom.
I first heard Dave Cash in early 1965, soon after he joined the pirate Radio London. He immediately stuck out as someone who was in touch with the current music scene. Not all the original Big L DJs were, as some were much older than Dave and tended to favour the Bachelors, Frank Ifield and Val Doonican end of pop music. This was bang in the middle of the Beatle inspired, UK music explosion and the start of Motown’s enormous success. Dave had his finger well and truly on the pulse.
He also sounded more like an experienced radio professional, whereas some of his colleagues had either been actors, or TV announcers.
Dave’s teaming with Kenny Everett for the Kenny & Cash show had a profound effect on me. Two fairly anarchic and rebellious characters having fun on the radio, as nobody had ever done before. They made me determined to try and do the same, and it took me 10 years to realise that ambition. In 1975 I joined Capital and found Dave to be a very warm and generous man who was a pleasure to work with.
I spent five happy years co-hosting the start of Capital’s annual Help A London Child appeal with Dave. Initially, I was quite daunted at the prospect of working with one of my radio heroes, but he put me at my ease within seconds and we had a lot of fun. It helped that I’d been listening to him for years and knew his timing.
One thing I admired about the Cashman was the effort he put into the Radio One afternoon show, which he hosted for two years. Most of the music was non needletime and consisted of some pretty dreadful live sessions. This was down to a musicians union ruling at the time of how much music could be played from commercial records. The rest had to be specially recorded. Imagine the Northern Dance Orchestra and their version of ‘Purple Haze’! Dave overcame this with highly entertaining links, so you were listening for him, rather than the music. The mark of a great DJ.
Dave Cash was taken away from us far too soon. He was still at the top of his game at the age of 74. He will always be one of my greatest inspirations and broadcasting idols. I feel privileged to have known him.
Peter Young October 25th 2016
l to r: pete drummond, mike raven, tony blackburn, dave cash, chris denning, duncan johnson, ed stewart, john peel, mike ahern, emporer rosko, mike lennox, and kenny everett (crouching)
tribute to keith fordyce
l to r: john lennon, keith fordyce, paul mccartney, helen shapiro, ringo starr, dusty springfield, george harrison and eden kane
b. Keith Fordyce Marriott, 15th October 1927, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, d. 15th March 2011, Devon, United Kingdom
'I was saddened to hear of the death of legendary DJ and broadcaster Keith Fordyce. I was brought up on ‘Ready Steady Go’ and for me, the show has never been bettered. He was an urbane character in the midst of utter bedlam. The show was always live and chaotic. Couldn’t wait for 8 minutes past 6 on a Friday night. The thing that strikes you in retrospect, is that he was completely free of gimmicks, catch-phrases, or any kind of hype. He kept his cool in every situation, including one memorable occasion when John Lennon turned his back on him in the middle of a live interview. Keith in my view was there for the music and not himself. He was never a superstar DJ, just a solid, reliable professional.
I was lucky enough to see his BBC radio show ‘Pop Inn’ broadcast live from The Paris in Lower Regent Street. This was in 1962, and from that day on, I was hooked. My one memory of the show is that Keith chain-smoked his way through the entire broadcast.
RSG was the programme where I first saw James Brown, Otis Redding, Ike and Tina Turner, John Lee Hooker, Sugar Pie DeSanto and most of the Motown stars of the day. It was also where George Harrison interviewed by Cathy McGowan said his favourite artists were Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles and Impressions. Not bad considering it was 1964 and hardly anyone in Britain had heard of any of those names.
Peter Young - 24th March 2011
keith with the rolling stones / keith with gene pitney
