Radio’s ‘pinch yourself’ moments

‘Pinch yourself’ moments. They’re par for the course in radio.

Surreal little life snippets, where people you’ve only ever seen on stage or screen – the famous and the infamous – are suddenly right there, in your orbit.

Talk about perks of the job.

I’ll never forget Alice Cooper making a Triple M colleague’s day by remarking how much he liked her hairstyle, or my very own Ghostbusters moment when Dan Aykroyd smiled and thanked me – even though I’d done absolutely nothing to warrant any thanks.

Gold 104.3 Melbourne drive announcer Dave ‘Higgo’ Higgins can certainly attest.

Higgo recently told the Food Bytes podcast of his experience side of stage at Soundwave many years ago, watching Chris Cornell and Soundgarden perform.

“I was standing there with (Triple M’s) Dangerous Dave. We were watching the band and then we kind of looked at each other and went ‘Can you believe we are standing here in this privileged position? Watching one of the greatest vocalists and the greatest bands that we know?’”

“That was just real moment when you go ‘How amazing is what we do?’ It’s not lost on us. To be lucky enough to stand there and watch our idols play, be close to them and talk to them. It’s such a gift, and something you never, ever take for granted.”

‘Pinch yourself’ moments often coincide with being thrust into the deep end when you least expect it.

Former Nova and SAFM host Cale Porter recalled being 22 years old and filling in on National Nights for the first time.

He told Radio Today “There I was in the Sydney studio, 7pm traffic report played out, then straight into my LIVE top of the hour and we were away right across the country. It was something I never thought I’d get the opportunity to do.”

For Nat Penfold, it was the ACRAs.

“Walking into the ACRAs for the first time was surreal! It was an awesome experience to be surrounded by so many talented people in the one room.”

What’s your ‘pinch yourself’ radio moment?