Profile of Bob Le-Roi
From Offshore, Private, Independant, BBC to the ILR Network.
Specialist in Presentation, Interviewing, Commercial Production,
Voice Over, Music Programming, Documentaries, Consultancy & Radio
Support Services:
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1965 Radio City (1965 - 1966) |
When I joined Radio City a listener told me in those long gone days I'd one day have my own radio station. I have to say that at times it was doubtful I'd ever realise that ambition. Winning a license is an amazingly difficult time consuming and expensive process, but after all the hard work oh so satisfying Hailing from a nautical family and having a flair for music there was a natural draw to the sea and with Offshore Radio. Short of DJ's I found myself a young lad aboard an abandoned WW2 Sea Fort on Shivering Sands off the coast of Southern England. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have made it to Radio City, perhaps I was unlucky as that experience was to map out my whole life |
1993 Medway FM 1993 (1992 - 2000) |
I was part of the winning team successful in securing the North Kent licence in face of fierce competition. In its first 3 years Medway FM became a credible, respected and highly successful radio station
In my role as Programme Director (PD) and mid-day presenter at Medway FM I was instrumental in growing the audience to 20% throughout Medway & 15% in the rest of North Kent. Bought by DMG Radio (Daily Mail Group) I remained as PD and continued for a while with GWR after they aquired the station |
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1993 - Thanet
Local Radio - |
In addition to Medway I was involved most of the Kent ILR applications. I worked on five of TLR (Thanet Local Radio) seven broadcasts, & wrote part of its application. I worked on the Dover/Folkestone, Gateway Radio, The Sound, White Cliffs Radio, and Coastline. In Canterbury I was an integral part of Kent Coast Radio and EKR (East Kent Radio) all as a prelude to licenses being awarded in those respective areas. I was also responsible for three Maidstone RSL's run under the Medway FM banner 1973 BBC Radio
Medway BBC Kent Kent - Born and bred in Kent it was natural progression for me to become involved with one of the first BBC local stations. BBC Radio Medway launched on 18th December 1970 @18.00 hours. I was to be a freelance from 1973 and again work for the station through the 1980's after it became Radio Kent |
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Other stations where I've been heard include KFJZ/Z97 in Dallas/Fort Worth USA. I worked on Juke Box Memories the ILR sustaining service. And on the powerful innovative short wave station Radio Fax in Ireland where I programmed & presented a weekly programme under the name "Red Sands", I worked for David Lucas at Radio Services on his Channel Travel Radio and with a colleague ran the mega powerful Europa Radio International sevice out of Latvia The gaps in between saw me work for SERED and Sovereign Recording Studios, as well as running the PA and recording the Diocesen Confences at Canterbury Cathedral, we repaired TV's, radios and installed arials. From there I joined R.E Cranfield, Sound and Vision Department also training as a photographer. To enable me to keep active in radio I briefly worked as a milk boy, bought, refurbished and sold cars, before going to GEC Avionics (Elliott Brothers, Marconi Avionics now BEA Systems) firstly as a commissioning engineer on the A7 Corsair for the USAF then as Senior Reliability Engineer for General Dynamics on the F16 aircraft taking the Head Up Display system (HUD) through reliability trials. The final non-radio job was at EPS where I devised, and project managed an integrated Royal Naval Submarine containment system |
KFJZ Breakfast Show - Dallas, Fort Worth Freeway USA (1980) |
I was after time at BBC Radio Kent to join the Invicta Radio Group, where I spent several years presenting most time slots settling on drive-time. This provided the ideal foundation for taking on the challenge for the last full UK ILR Medway FM Supported by a team of enthusiastic amateurs we staged two RSL broadcasts and in parallel, campaigned the Government to clear use of 105 - 108khz for the new ILR (Independent Local Radio) Ultimately, through these efforts, Medway made the Radio Authority working list. We continued working, solidly gaining support, financial backing, and potential advertisers from the business community until the license was advertised. After 4 years we were justly rewarded by winning the bid in the face of fierce and serious competition |
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Invicta Radio - Crazy Bob Cartoon (1988) |
Medway FM - Presenter Photo Card (1997) |
Red Sands Radio (2007 - 2014) |
1985 Radio Caroline
Overdrive - |
I was to join Radio Caroline, and would have done so before had the ships not been seized at sea. Indeed it was not until the 1970's I was first heard on Caroline, when at the invitation of Rob Eden I recorded "filler" tape programmes many produced by Andy Oldfield Blame the salt in my blood, but I maintained my association with the Caroline organization tendering the Ross Revenge with essentials through the 1980's, and appeared again whilst I was actually with the BBC. Amazingly I wasn't to be heard regularly "live" on Radio Caroline until the late 1990's and into the new millennium |
Other ventures in radio include European Klassic Rock, The Breakfast programme on 1540 The Voice of Peace in Israel and the UK Plus a weekly rock and new music show for Radio Seagull in the Netherlands |
1999 Radio Caroline - Maidstone Studio (1999 - 2000) |
At the invitation of the owners I worked at a privately owned radio station in Malta I returned to re-brand and image Calypso 102 which under went a major change to be re-launched as 102.3 Calypso FM I once again presented a daily programme and turned the station around to became the second most popular in the islands I can still be heard across the
Mediterranean on various commercials |
2002 Calypso 102 - Victoria Gozo Malta 2000 (1999 - 2002) |
You'll hear Bob on the radio as the voice behind a number of Commercials made at Red Sands Radio Productions |
Commercial Production |
Independent radio programming, creative production & presentation, inclusive of copy writing and voice over |
Consultancy, Radio Support, Independant Programme Production |
1999 Radio Northsea International - Light Vessel 18 (1999) |
Having begun my career on Offshore Radio, I was asked to join the commemorative broadcasts of Radio London and Radio Northsea International from ships moored of the Essex coast
Other notable broadcasts include participation in a special broadcast on the Merlin Network along with Johnny Walker and Chris Evans "live" from Medway FM broadcast across the World |
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Founder Director, Senior Producer, Presenter |
Maritime Radio (London) 2015 To date |
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Introduced
initially on Invicta Radio 'Bob's
60's Splash' can now be heard on UK stations, and a growing list of
overseas stations including those in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia,
Norway, Sweden, Irael and more. The Red Sands Radio Production of 'Bob's
60's Splash' is Presented from our Thames Estuary Studios |