Dangerous Dave Williams: “I still feel like the best is yet to come”

Picture it. You’re not long out of your teens and you’re moving out of home, from the bone chillingly cold climes of Victoria’s Central Highlands to a new life in the humid sub-tropics nearly 1,700 kilometres away.

That’s exactly the situation a young Dave Williams found himself in when, in January 1992, he packed up his brown Nissan Bluebird and drove all the way from his home city of Ballarat to his first radio job at 2LM in Lismore.

Remembering those early days up north, Dave tells Radio Today “It was a complete lifestyle change. Going from one of the coldest places in the world to Lismore, where it was so hot in the middle of January. It was insane!”

But Dave says leaving home and spreading his wings was the best thing he ever did.

33 years on, he’s known and loved by a legion of listeners as Dangerous Dave.

November last year marked 25 years since Dave – aka ‘Dange’ – landed his first metro radio gig at 101.9 The Fox, and 18 years since he started at Triple M Melbourne.

Dave grew up in the Ballarat suburb of Wendouree. His introduction to radio came via his dad, a junior footy coach who also happened to be the publicity officer for the Ballarat Football League.

“Dad used to do a community radio show on 3BBB (now Voice FM) once a week,” Dave smiles. “I’d go in and sit and watch and get dazzled by the whole excitement of radio.”

“One time, I even got to read the Tattslotto numbers!”

The station’s General Manager suggested Dave start doing some on-air shifts. By his mid-teens, he was hosting the breakfast show.

“I used to do it in my suit and tie, because I worked part time at Myer in Ballarat,” he laughs.

Bitten by the radio bug, Dave was keen to make a career out of it.

As soon as he got his drivers’ licence at the age of eighteen, Dave would drive his dad’s Mitsubishi Magna down to Melbourne and back once a week to do the radio course run by the late, great Bob Taylor.

From there, Dave put together a demo and sent out around 20 cassette tapes to radio stations around the country.

It led to the job offer at Lismore, where he quickly built a strong circle of friends, including Liz, the copywriter at 2LM, who would go on to become Dave’s wife and the mother of his two children.

One day, Dave spotted an ad in Jock’s Journal for a Breakfast announcer at Shepparton’s Sun FM.

Dave landed the job and, after four years in Lismore, he and Liz took their first major step as a couple and moved to Victoria’s Goulburn Valley together.

Dave remembers it well.

“I thought, this will test the relationship. If she’s keen to come down, then we’re on. And she did.”

Liz picked up a job at Sun FM as well.

“I was the brekky DJ. She was the copywriter. We got a dog. We loved our life,” says Dave.

Within six months of winning his first ACRA (then known as RAWARDs) for Best Music Personality: Provincial, Dave received a letter from former Austereo programming boss Jeff Allis.

“He said to me ‘If you’re keen to send us a tape of your work, we’d love to hear it.’”

Dave says it all felt completely surreal.

“I just couldn’t believe these people from Austereo would be interested in someone like me, from Shepparton.”

Dave sent the tape. He was promptly invited down to Melbourne for a chat with then-Program Director Brian Ford and Assistant PD Jamie Angel.

Paying his very first visit to Austereo headquarters at 180 St Kilda Road, it was one of the most overwhelming and nerve-wracking experiences of Dave’s life.

Anyone who worked there in those days will remember that Austereo HQ was something of a magical rabbit warren.

“You know what the building’s like,” says Dave. “It’s like Hollywood. You go in this glass lift. You pass all the racks with all the broadcasting equipment. It’s like, holy shit!”

Dave landed a job as the station floater and Assistant Music Director at Fox FM.

It was late 1999. Tracy Bartram and Matt Tilley were on Breakfast. Barry Bissell was doing Mornings. And Dave was  pinching himself.

When he moved to Afternoons and then in Drive on The Fox, Dave was like the proverbial kid let loose in a lolly shop.

Over the journey, there was a brief stint at Nova and a move to Sydney’s 2Day FM, where Dave witnessed Kyle and Jackie O go to #1.

When the opportunity to join Triple M Melbourne presented itself, Dave jumped at the chance.

Working alongside two of his comedy heroes in Mick Molloy and Jane Kennedy, anchoring Kennedy Molloy, remains one of the highlights of his radio career.

Working at the Ms has also taken Dave overseas, interviewing some of music’s biggest names.

From junkets in Nashville with Bon Jovi to chewing the fat with Pearl Jam in Boston, Dave says it never gets old.

The Sound Relief concert during the devastating Black Saturday bushfires is another standout memory.

“We had a joint Fox and Triple M radiothon,” Dave remembers. “It was an all-day simulcast between the two stations. I think we raised over a million dollars in a day.”

Dave regards Brian Ford, Jamie Angel and former SCA Content boss Craig Bruce as being central to his radio journey.

“They’ve always left an impression on me just with their work ethic and their creativity.”

Of Angel’s on-air style, he says “That’s somebody I wanted to be like when I was coming through the ranks.”

Bruce tells Radio Today he was lucky enough to watch Dave operate a studio at the Fox in 2001.

“The thing that stuck me was how hard he worked in between the songs – looking for callers, editing audio, finding exactly the right element that would make his next talk break perfect.”

“I’d never seen anything like it.”

“At the end of that 3 hour shift he had left absolutely nothing on the field. And the thing is, he’s brought that same level of energy and commitment to every shift for the last 25 years.”

Mike Fitzpatrick and Jay Mueller have also left a lasting impression on Dave.

“Fitzy was a real champion of being a creative and having a go and taking risks on air, and he really let me spread my wings. Jay’s exactly the same – happy for you to be who you are and show your personality.”

“There are some programmers who would rather you keep it bright, tight and ten seconds.”

Dave remains close with his former Triple M colleague Dave ‘Higgo’ Higgins. It’s a friendship he treasures.

“Higgo was so much fun to work with,” says Dave.

“I’ve worked with many announcers over the years, but for me, Higgo is a standout. He is passionate about music. He is one of the greats.”

As Higgo tells Radio Today, Dange has been a mentor, colleague, a confidant … but most importantly, a friend.

“In early 1999, I walked into Fox FM to play a very small part in their ‘Jock Free Weekend’ so they could all go to the snow.”

“I sat a little nervously in the studio opposite him, and through the intercom I hear, ‘don’t forget to smile’.”

“Since then, I’ve always looked up to Dange (when I’m sitting down).”

“I have no doubt that every single person you talk to about him will say how lovely he is, and it’s true. He’s always an inspiration for me as an announcer, and, although he may not know it, I consider him to be the best.”

“His creativity and passion for music is what it’s about, and he truly cares about the craft of making radio interesting. It’s not easy, but Dave makes it look effortless.”

Dave is only too aware that time marches on quickly.

“I look back it’s hard to believe I’ve been at Triple M for eighteen years, because I’m still kind of hungry for success and doing good radio.”

“I still feel like the best is yet to come.”

Dave’s radio colleagues certainly hope so.

“I love the bloke,” says Higgo. “Everyone does, and everyone should. He’s a bloody legend.”

But the last word goes to Craig Bruce, who describes Dave as total pro on the air, and a brilliant team-mate off the air.

“There’s simply no-one like Dangerous Dave.”