Radio in the blood: Bob Lawrence on moving to the Black Country, career in radio and the future
When Bob Lawrence moved to the Black Country, people told him he was mad. The DJ had been broadcasting in Birmingham on the larger BRMB station before jumping ship and switching to Beacon.
He enjoyed the happiest four years of his life; following the incomparable Wolves legend Steve Bull and making it onto the news pages of the Express & Star when his car was crushed during the 1989 hurricane.
He moved on some years ago, of course. But the Black Country remains close to Bob’s heart and he continues to broadcast, communicating with listeners from www.Uniteddj.com
Radio is in his blood and Uniteddj.com has provided a platform to broadcast to mature listeners in recent years.
“The radio station has been on for two years. We don’t carry any news at all. That was decided when we started, that’s what newspapers do. Now there’s news 24/7 to your phone so we don’t do that. When the coronavirus happened we decided to maintain that stance. If you are after that news why listen to a music radio station? So we have a nice USP there, it’s a nice diversion from the challenges in the world.”
The station features such broadcasters as Mike Read, the one-time BBC Radio One Breakfast show host, as well as other memorable names. And because the station is broadcast digitally, it has been unaffected by Covid-19. DJs can broadcast from home studios, rather than travelling to a place of work.
“We’re a radio station for grown-ups, for adults, but from the comments we have that’s what people love. I do a show from 9am to 11am. They see it as refreshing to get away from it. They have the option to check the news when it suits them. When they’ve had enough they can come back.”
Bob’s memories of the Midlands run deep. He worked at BRMB before moving to Beacon, where he was a DJ and programme controller. “It was like leaving Tottenham to go and play for Brentford. They didn’t understand why. I loved Beacon and I loved Wolverhampton. I used to wander into the town centre and if you look above the shop fronts there was beautiful architecture. I lived down the road inbetween Tettenhall and Whitmore Reans. I lived 1,000 yards away from the station. The last time I was in the Express & Star was when we had the big hurricane in 1989. The Express & Star had a picture of my car flattened under a tree on Tettenhall Road. I spent 20 years in the West Midlands. As soon as I came up I realised how great the people are. Wolverhampton and the Black Country in general was an eye-opener for me. I remember people saying things like the Black Country was very insular but I absolutely loved it. Beacon really got into the Black Country psyche and people loved it. There was this over-riding feeling that it was a great place to be. I was there from 1987 to 1991. There was Steve Bull at Wolves; the whole Steve Bull thing was incredible. It was a great time to be in the Black Country.”
He hopes people will continue to listen to UnitedDJ.com, where they can also hear Tony Prince, formerly of Radio Luxembourg.
“When we started the station, it was a whole bunch of seasoned professionals who thought the time was right to broadcast. Radio can be a bit samey and we took the view that there was a whole bunch of people who grew up with Radio One and Radio Luxembourg who wanted personalities on their radio stations. That’s what we do. People loved the personalities and so we set it up with that in mind.”
