Bob Snyder - Medley

In the days when commercial music radio had few on-air models in the UK, Bob Snyder had a vision which one could hear on-air at Radio Trent from Day One.

He’d cut his broadcasting teeth on-air at the pirate Radio 270, bobbing up and down in the North Sea waters, in April 1967. As the foundations for legitimate commercial radio were laid in the early 70s, he and former Radio London boss, Philip Birch, bid for franchises, as part of Associated Newspaper's applicant group. His first stop, alongside Birch, was at Piccadilly in 1974 as Presentation Manager. He left Manchester to join Dennis Maitland, also from Radio London, at Nottingham’s Trent, in time for a July 1975 launch.

His time as Programme Controller at 301, as at 261, was not without incident; but, frankly, in the 70s, when industrial action and tough regulatory 'guidance' coincided with the newness of the medium, the BBC challenge and the general fight of factions associated with any launch of the nascent network, life was hardly simple for anyone. Circumstances made it tough for anyone to do music radio as well as they could. Bob was, by today’s standards, though, a programme controller with a grasp of formatics; his vision at Trent was a “28 year old housewife from West Bridgford”. He also observed that to suggest "music radio is like wallpaper" was a compliment: “people take a great deal of time and care choosing their wallpaper”.

Bob then proceeded down the road to Beacon, where he hosted mornings, given Bob was an on-air natural. He left there in what the local press trumpeted as on on-air incident involving a suggestion that the Labour Party should move its Brighton conference to a nudist beach. Again, these were complex times, and Beacon was one of the, well, livelier companies which provided the cautious regulator with a few self-imposed headaches. The parting, though, was said to be “amicable”. In 1980, Bob left for Canada, working with CKLG and CJDC. He retired in 1999, concentrating on his successful show prep service.

Hear here a promo for his Trent breakfast show and some of his own production; before commenting on his Trent programming philosophy. After a spurt of Beacon, Bob then relates tales of his early days on board Radio 270 in an interview aired on Saga 106.6FM in 2007, serving the East Midlands, including his home town of Newark. Hear too how his accent changes so brilliantly for the second leg of his career.

For more on Trent history, check http://davidlloyd-radio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/trent-301.html