There are so many interesting people involved at Radio Blue Mountains both behind the mic and behind the scenes, that we thought we’d share their stories here on the RBM website. Meet Trevor Day, host of The Hear & Now on Wednesday afternoons.
Q: Hi Trevor, thanks very much for taking the time to speak with us.
A: No problems
Q: Like a few other RBM presenters, you grew up in the UK. Where did you grow up and what radio stations did you and your family listen to?
A: I grew up in a rural area in the Midlands and we always had the radio on. We liked the classic comedy shows of the 1960s but I was glued to Radio 1 when the Top 40 came on and listened out for The Beatles, Stones, Who, Animals, Manfred Mann, Kinks etc. I also had a small green transistor radio which I used to take to bed and listen to under my pillow.
Q: Growing up in England, did you have a favourite football team?
A: Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur) – I started supporting them in 1960 when they did the double – won the Title and the FA Cup.
Q: A great Spurs era, with the late, great Jimmy Greaves playing for them. Did you get to see them much at White Hart Lane?
A: Only a few times in the 1970s but the atmosphere was incredible and on both occasions they won – woohoo!
Q: Did you catch them on their most recent Australian tour in 2015, I think it was?
A: No I haven’t seen them in Australia
Q: Moving on to music – Can you remember the first record you bought?
A: The first single I bought was “All Day and All of the Night” by The Kinks and when I could afford an LP, I bought “Are You Experienced” by Jimi Hendrix.
Q: That’s fantastic! Have you still got them somewhere?
A: No – I lost the vinyl records but I have all the music on remastered CDs.
Q: What did you do when you left school?
A: I worked on an RAF base for a while and then went to London in 1967. It was the summer of love, flower power etc with psychedelic fashion and music everywhere. A few years later I started my career in IT.
Q: You told me you went to lots of outdoor music festivals in the 1970s. Which ones did you go to?
A: The biggest was 3 days at the Isle of Wight in 1970 with 600,000 people which was crazy. When we arrived we pitched our tent and raced off to the music. When we returned at midnight we couldn’t find our tent in the pitch black and ended up sleeping in a doorway of one of the concert tents.
However, the music was amazing, especially The Who, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After and Free.
Q: You worked for the BBC in London for a while. What did you do there and did you meet any of the famous radio DJs of that time?
A: I was a computer programmer working on Studio Projects so I had lots of opportunities to go into the studios and meet DJs. I met Dave Lee Travis (DLT), Noel Edmonds and Tony Blackburn but my favourite was John Peel because he played such interesting music.
Q: You also played in a band – tell us about that.
A: For a short time I played guitar in a band called Storm where we played covers by Free, Deep Purple, Humble Pie and Black Sabbath. Nothing came of the band and we never made any money – in fact one time we lost money because the bass player stood on a chair and it broke so we had to pay 20 quid more than they paid us. Still it was great fun while it lasted.
Q: What made you come to Australia?
A: I had an Australian partner and knew lots of Aussies and they were all good fun. I also liked the look of the blue skies, beaches and surf so I thought why not go for a few years and enjoy it. I had no intention of staying and assumed I’d return to the UK.
Q: What did you do when you first arrived?
A: I got a job as a computer analyst and for fun I ran a mobile disco with a mate. We used to play at pubs and parties and for a short time we had a residency at the Big Brass bar in the Menzies hotel in Sydney.
Q: Coming from England with your knowledge of UK music, did you introduce Aussies to any new music?
A: Maybe – when I arrived, Double J had just started and really broadened what was played on the radio. I did play a lot of ska and reggae that most people hadn’t heard, including The Beat, Specials, UB40 and early Madness. One of the favourite singles I played was “Uptown Top Ranking” by Althea and Donna.
Q: So you stayed in Australia and have lived in the Blue Mountains for many years – how did that happen?
A: Well, I met a wonderful lady in the late 1970s and we’ve been together ever since. We both liked visiting the Blue Mountains and bushwalking, so we moved here in the early 1980s. We got married in Leura and have 2 sons who grew up in the Blue Mountains and went to a local school.
Q: How did you end up volunteering and being a presenter on RBM?
A: I knew there were opportunities for presenters and thought I could have a go but didn’t act on it until I got talking to our very own DJ Ponderous. He told me he was a presenter and invited me to the studio to show me the console and how it worked. I then met Ron who gave me some training and here I am.
Q: You present the Hear and Now show on Wednesdays. How did the show come about?
A: Music from the 60s/70s/80s/90s/00s seems to be covered on RBM but not much newer music. I like discovering new music and play tracks recorded within the last few years including albums from old geezers like Sting and Elvis Costello as well as younger musicians – as long as it’s music in the Hear and Now. I also enjoy promoting local gigs, shows, exhibitions and events, in support of the arts and our local community.
Okay – like all of our interviews Trevor, it’s time for some rapid fire questions and answers. Ready?
A: Sure
Favourite Band? The Smiths
Favourite Song? In My Life by The Beatles
Favourite Album? Snow Borne Sorrow by David Sylvian/Nine Horses
Favourite Club back in the London Days? The Marquee Club
Favourite Club back in the Sydney Days? The Basement
Favourite Actor? Tom Hardy
Favourite Sport? Football (Soccer)
Favourite Food? Seafood
Favourite Drink? Wine
Favourite Holiday Destination? Italy
And finally Trevor, complete this sentence: “If I won a million bucks tomorrow I would …..
quickly wake up and realise I’d been dreaming!
RL.