RONNIE'S RADIO AIRWAVES COLUMN

Nov 9 2012 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

Music lover Ronnie McGhie is our newest columnist at the IrvineHerald.

Once a month he will be sharing his musical adventures and tales of being a DJ at 3TFM and Irvine Beat FM.

I was very fortunate to be able to retire at 51 years old. If anyone thought I was going to take it easy, there was no chance of that happening.

When I returned, I enrolled in James Watt College in Kilwinning to study media. I have to say the HNC Media course reactivated my interest in the newspaper industry, but more important, my keen interest in radio. I finished the course with my HNC in my back pocket, so my thoughts turned to radio.

My interest in radio goes way back to the early days of Radio One but when Radio Clyde started in 1973, things started to get interesting. I was fortunate that through my then job, I was able to spend lots of time at the Radio Clyde studios. Mixing with presenters like Richard Park, Tim Stevens, Bill Smith and Brian Ford.

I learned presenting skills but I learned so much about radio production from various producers. A career in radio would have been great, but it was not to be.

I continued to be involved in radio, both as a presenter and producer at Hospital Radio, both in Glasgow and in Irvine. I was with HBSA in Irvine for nearly 20 years, it’s great to see that it is still alive and kicking up at Crosshouse Hospital.

After college, I knew I wanted to get back into radio, so I approached 3TFM Community Radio based in Saltcoats to see they were looking for any presenter. Luckily for me, they were on the lookout for new talent. The station manager asked me what type of show I’d like to do. I decided there and then that I would combine my love of music and cooking. At that moment Food & Music was born. So for the past few years, I have been preaching healthy eating to the listeners. The show has grown to such an extent that once a month I have Food and Fitness Friday, featuring Irvine Herald columnists Sarah Jennings and Louie Fecou. They dispense invaluable diet and fitness advice. The feedback I receive from that show is amazing.

My other show at 3TFM is called Community Sounds, it features local community groups, young entrepreneurs and local musicians. I have had many local artists on the show. Irvine singer Sean Kennedy was in last week performing a live session, it was one of the best sets ever.

Last week I had a great singer songwriter called Sean Guidera on the show and he just blew me away. Live radio is amazing! I soon hope to have Scott Nicol on the show for an exclusive session. This show has been a success thanks to the support of everyone at 3TFM, I cannot thank them enough for the opportunities they have given me. Community Sounds is on 3TFM every Monday from 3-5pm.

Last year, I took on the role of Managing Director at Irvine Beat FM, which completed a very successful 28 day broadcast during August. I hope you managed to tune into 105.7fm to hear how vibrant Irvine Beat FM sounded. We are waiting patiently to see if we have been successful in securing our five year license from Ofcom. This will enable Irvine to have it’s own full time Community Radio station.

Irvine Beat FM is still broadcasting on the internet at www.irvinebeatfm.com, tune in Monday and Wednesday night from 10pm to midnight when I will be presenting my rock and album shows.

The big love of my life is music and I do try and take in as many gigs as I can. 2012 has been a great year for gigs. I was fortunate to see Simple Minds, both at Barrowlands & Dublin. Both gigs were amazing! Roddy Frame and Kevin McDermott at the O2 ABC were both great gigs. On the rock front, FM at the Cathouse, Nazareth at the Classic Grand and one of my favourite bands Mostly Autumn played the Cathouse on my birthday. All these gigs have been special, but the gig that will stick in my head as one of the best is Sean Kennedy’s gig at Oran Mor because I believe that this is the start of something big from this talented singer songwriter from Irvine.

Wherever I am, in the car or at home, there is always music playing. In the car at the moment, I am listening to Scott Nicol’s new album “The Burning Days” and in the house I am slowly working my way through the new Roxy Music box set. All great music!

My life since retiring has been so busy, but in a great way. So when someone tells you that they don’t know how they managed to fit work in their life, they are telling the truth.

Until next time, keep listening to the the radio.