Gary Jackson

Gary presents 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' Fridays 8-10pm.

Brief Background Summary
Like many radio presenters, I started as a mobile DJ. From there I went on to hospital radio, and when the FM frequency beckoned I jumped at the chance to join Skyline Gold in Southampton. It soon became apparent that other stations were sometimes short of presenters, and the norm in those days was to play automated music. In 2011 I offered a show to Forest FM – Sounds Of The 70s – which I still present there to date, and I soon realised that there was a gap that needed filling elsewhere. Other stations followed including the legendary 1260KYA in San Francisco, Castledown Radio in Wiltshire, and the Bigl, today’s equivalent of 60s pirate station Radio London. (I have been broadcasting live on the BigL from my south coast studio six days a week since 2013). Soon stations all over the world started airing the shows. Some have used the shows for a while then replaced them with live presenters when available, others have given them their own permanent slots.

Many people have asked who was my favourite interviewee, and the answer has to be Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Not only did Stu give me around twenty minutes, but he was also happy to talk about the days when things weren’t good, and after all, Creedence was my all-time favourite band in the 70s. For the 60s, it has to be The Searchers who are friends, and I have published their official website since 1997. As I have often said “On the rare occasions when things were hard going I went to see The Searchers. Their sheer hard work and professionalism put me to shame and gave me the kick up the backside I needed”.    
My shows often feature guests, and interviews have included chats with Frank Allen of The Searchers – always a delight, Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Paul Carrack (Mike and The Mechanics, Squeeze), Justin Hayward, Alan Clark (Dire Straits), Tom McGuiness of Manfred Mann, Deborah Bonham, Simon Townsend, Stu Cook (Creedence) Dave Clark (Dave Clark Five) and just about every other 60s band still working! Not only that but household names like Jenny Eclair and Toyah Willcox have also joined me!

My live radio work has taken me to California, and my shows now air from Tenerife to Tasmania!
Very much a fan of personality radio, I try to remember that the listener comes first, I try to give my shows a live feel and keep listeners interested with features like the “A side B side”, “follow that” and the “back to front” song.

Contact Gary

 

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Community

  • Community Hero’s

    This Weekend we are celebrating our local hero’s, here on Calder Valley Radio. Tune in all weekend and be inspired by what is happening in your community.

  • Welcome to Calder Valley Radio.

    Welcome to Calder Valley Radio. Established in 2020 with Dave, Guy, Fiona, Tony and Val and the help of Hebden Royd Town Council and comedian, Jon Richardson, we launched in the middle of a pandemic. All our Planning in 2019, could never have prepared us for what happened in 2020, but this was our best training. We didn't miss a broadcast and even through our own health issues and sad times, we carried on. Radio became our support too, in our times of need. We know, from your messages to us, that Calder Valley Radio helped you through too and music truly is a great healer.

    As we venture forth, with Tim Morsley as our Programme Manger and a great team behind the scenes, we are so excited to be supported by Calderdale Council. We are looking forward to delivering a wonderful programme of events and shows in the coming seasons ahead.

  • We will Miss you Tony!!

    All our thoughts and love to Tony’s Family and Friends in this time. We will miss you very much Tony, we are forever grateful for helping to set us up & being such a core member of our team. Being behind the mic is what you loved doing and it’s how we will remember you. 💗💗💗

  • Trevor Simpson was born and raised in Kebroyd, Triangle and spent most of his working life in Halifax. After joining the legal firm of Bearder and Son, solicitors from school, he spent thirty-two years working for them as the agency manager for Abbey National Building Society. When the Abbey decided to open a full branch office in 1990, they offered Trevor the job of Branch Manager, where he worked for several years, before taking early retirement in 1995. 

    A keen sportsman, Trevor played as a goalkeeper in local football and was an avid Halifax Town supporter from the age of seven. An injury in 1966 enforced his change of direction and he became a football referee after learning his craft locally. He progressed through to the Football League where he spent seven seasons (1984-1991) officiating at the highest domestic level (all top clubs except West Ham Utd!). He also had two appearances in Wembley F.A. finals, various European and International matches and as a linesman at a World Cup qualifier. He retained his activity in football working for The Professional Game Match Official Ltd. as a referee coach and later a referee assessor on the F.A. Premier League. Trevor also completed 30 consecutive years as a referee and ambassador at the Dallas Cup International Youth Tournament in Texas. 

    His greatest interest outside sport has always been popular music. An avid record collector since his teenage years, Trevor possessed every No.1 record since the British charts began in 1952. He was viewed by many as a worldwide authority on Elvis, wrote numerous articles about him in various worldwide magazines and visited Graceland several times. Trevor published five comprehensive volumes charting Elvis’s early career which have now sold-out. He researched and wrote two local volumes of ‘Small Town, Saturday Night’ chronicling the 1960s music scene around Halifax. He was also part of the Halifax Music Heritage Trails.

    Trevor was the founder of Radio Calderdale in 1981, the hospital radio service in Halifax. During his time there he did regular shows and helped raise funds for the station. Each year until 2020, Trevor broadcast on Christmas Day morning and took great delight in announcing the babies that had been born that day. He also assisted with live commentary of FC Halifax Town’s matches from the Shay for several years. For the past two years, he volunteered as a presenter at the online community radio station, Calder Valley Radio, where his weekly music show was adored by many listeners all over the world. He cared passionately about the station, helping out with grants and fund-raising initiatives, such as the hugely successful Elvis night in September 2023.

    Following the sad news of Trevor's passing in January, his family have decided that any donations made in Trevor's memory should go to Calder Valley Radio as Trevor really enjoyed the two years he spent with the station and did so much to raise our profile.

    If you would like to donate, here is the link:

    https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/in-memory-of-trevor-simpson

     

     

     

                      

     

     

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