The life of a ‘Rock Jock’ – his big break

Adelaide radio legend David ‘Daisy’ Day has written a terrific autobiography called ‘Rock Jock’.

Daisy has given Radio Today exclusive rights to publish excerpts from ‘Rock Jock’. Read part 1 and Greg Smith's chat with him here, read part 2, Friday drinks, here.

Below is part 3…..

Well, I had those choices. But what I really wanted to do was be in radio. It had been my dream since I was twelve years old. Another fork in the flow of my life was to appear, and a boy’s dream was to be fulfilled. I ended up in radio via the weirdest of circumstances.

A new jock had recently joined 2VM. It was his first radio gig. He was pretty famous even before he arrived. He came from Sydney. Just prior to his arrival in Moree, he’d been the bass player in an Australian pop group who’d recently had two consecutive top ten hits.

Phil Brice, he and I gelled. We got on well together and became good mates. Being an ex-pop star, he had a slush fund of females panting over him. About six months after his arrival, he failed to turn up for work one day. Phil filled in for him and I filled in with the night shift. I was still part-time.

Our new-found friend didn't turn up for a week, and Phil and I filled in for him each day. Finally, we were informed by station management that the absent jock wouldn’t be coming back. No explanation as to why he wasn’t coming back, just, ‘He won't be coming back.’

This was my big break, I thought. I put an audition tape together for the General Manager, Steve O’Shea. I’d been part-time at the station for so long (while still at school) that I had a lot of staff who knew me, were rooting for me (L actually did), and put their oomph behind me getting a full-time gig.

I got it.

Crikey, the audition tape was shocking. Not everybody at the station was happy with me being employed there. The sales manager, Barry Goodman, went out of his way to tell me how bad I was. ‘You’ll never make it in radio,’ were his exact words. Sorry to disappoint you buddy, but I reckon I did in the end.

Phil moved on from 2VM to 3NE Wangaratta. Radio is like a swinging door of mateship. DJs come and go and travel around the country like gypsies, seeking their fortunes to be read by the listeners and the almighty radio surveys to maintain their success. One day they’re kings of the radio and next day they’re selling cars. It’s a fleeting business, and jocks were very young then (just like the pop stars they pushed on their shifts). Twenty years on, FM radio would give jocks a longer and more respectable life. My radio life would last for forty-two years.

Daisy’s book is available from www.youviewaustralia.com.au for $25.00 plus postage and handling. It’s a must read.

We'll have more excerpts soon on Radio Today.