Black Cat Radio

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Brian Dobson / Presenter, Director, Advertising account manager


Brian Dobson shows

I suppose I’ve been a DJ of sorts for more years than I can count.

It all started when, as a teenager, I cannibalised the family record player along with another to make twin decks – much to the annoyance of my parents. Fortunately this was after we got a new Bush Hi-Fi system.

I volunteered to be part of Hairmyres Hospital Radio in East Kilbride near where I lived outside Glasgow. That was back in the late 1970s when it was supported by the new Radio Clyde radio station and a well-known Scottish entertainer, Sydney Devine.

The natural progression, I suppose, was starting a mobile disco business, which I did with a friend, Robert. I remember the day we travelled to Manchester to pick up our new FAL and Squire equipment without thinking if it would all fit in the car. Fortunately it did – only just – but Robert had a sore neck when he got back to Glasgow.

I always wanted to get into ‘proper’ radio but my career told me otherwise. When the chance came up in early 2017 to get involved with Black Cat 107, I jumped at it. I joined just before our FM launch in April of that year and became Operations Director in October 2018.

It has been a roller-coaster of activity and learning and I’ve seen the station grow from just a few volunteers to its current scale producing over 130 hours of local programming every week. Being there through the re-branding to Black Cat Radio, the change of frequency and power increase on 102.5fm and studio moves has been exciting and rewarding. Just being part of such a great team and knowing that we give so much back to our community is so rewarding. It’s like a full-time job, but I love it!

I host This Week In Music on a Tuesday evening at 7pm looking at the stories behind the songs across 7 decades, and on Wednesday afternoons I present a mix of music, news and business. On Friday nights I don my alter ego of DJ Dobbo and play a two-hour mix of dance, trance, club and disco.

It takes me back full-circle to my love of dance music and my gigs, entertaining back in the late 70s.

Get in touch via – This Week In Music Facebook and Twitter pages or via email – brian@blackcatradio.org

Volunteer of the year 2023