Ian Damon
Encyclopedia
Ian Damon is a British
radio
personality.
Born in Sydney
, Australia
and after 8 years as a broadcaster on New South Wales
stations 2RG
and 2LF
, Ian decided to tour Europe and Canada settling in Bishop's Stortford
, Hertfordshire
in the UK.
He joined the offshore Radio London/Big L
on the MV Galaxy replacing Tony Blackburn
in 1967; and was given the name of 'Wombat' by Tony Brandon
. On its demise, Ian freelanced and was engaged as a continuity announcer by ATV London
and ABC Manchester
. He also contributed to BBC Radio 2
's 'Roundabout' programme. He returned to Australia for 5 years awaiting the start of independent radio, during which time Ian announced for both radio and television stations including being a member of the "Snob Mob" at 2CH
in Sydney.
Ian came back to the UK, worked for Southern Television
and was part of the original team at Capital Radio
for over 5 years using his real name of Ian Davidson. He was the face of the “Fun Bus” - broadcasting live and promoting the station all around London and the Home Counties. On his London Link programme, Ian broadcast to radio stations around the Commonwealth from Australia to Canada, Hong Kong to Barbados.
In the 80s and 90s, after a stint at Blue Danube Radio
in Austria, Ian worked for provincial stations in England including Pennine Radio
, LBC
, Essex Radio, Radio Mercury, Radio 210 and Delta/Wey Valley. Before moving to Norfolk in 2002, Ian was at County Sound radio in Guildford.
From May 2005 to September 2008 Ian presented Sunday programmes on Big L 1395
. These were available to be listened to again here. Originally Ian presented the Solid Gold Sunday 1400 - 1800 when the station was called Radio London International (named after the original offshore station). A change of management meant Ian's show was moved to a later slot and the programme changed format. However in the summer of 2008 Ian's programme returned to its original slot and format but this was only to be for a short time as when the station faced financial difficulties Ian left due to the agreed promised payment not being forthcoming for his services.
In August 2009 Ian joined community station Wayland Radio to host a weekly Sunday afternoon show for the station.
Ian also was part of Pirate BBC Essex broadcasting from the LV18 lightship in Harwich in 200and again in 2007 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the closure of the offshore stations.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personality.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and after 8 years as a broadcaster on New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
stations 2RG
2RG
2RG is an Australian radio station on 963 kHz serving the Griffith, NSW region. It was opened in September 1936....
and 2LF
2LF
2LF is an Australian radio station serving the Young region. It was opened in February 1938....
, Ian decided to tour Europe and Canada settling in Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
in the UK.
He joined the offshore Radio London/Big L
Wonderful Radio London
Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
on the MV Galaxy replacing Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
in 1967; and was given the name of 'Wombat' by Tony Brandon
Tony Brandon
Tony Brandon is a British radio presenter and comedian.-Early career:Brandon originally worked on television and abroad as a comedian...
. On its demise, Ian freelanced and was engaged as a continuity announcer by ATV London
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
and ABC Manchester
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
. He also contributed to BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's 'Roundabout' programme. He returned to Australia for 5 years awaiting the start of independent radio, during which time Ian announced for both radio and television stations including being a member of the "Snob Mob" at 2CH
2CH
2CH is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia, at 1170 kHz AM. It broadcasts an oldies format, and is aimed to an older age demographic...
in Sydney.
Ian came back to the UK, worked for Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
and was part of the original team at Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
for over 5 years using his real name of Ian Davidson. He was the face of the “Fun Bus” - broadcasting live and promoting the station all around London and the Home Counties. On his London Link programme, Ian broadcast to radio stations around the Commonwealth from Australia to Canada, Hong Kong to Barbados.
In the 80s and 90s, after a stint at Blue Danube Radio
Blue Danube Radio
-History of Blue Danube Radio:Blue Danube Radio went live on 23 August 1979, created principally for the United Nations community at UNO-City in Vienna. It was popular with many Austrian people too. From 1995, it shared airtime with FM4, which eventually completely took over on February 1, 2000...
in Austria, Ian worked for provincial stations in England including Pennine Radio
Pennine Radio
Pennine Radio may refer to:* Pennine Radio Limited an electronics company in Huddersfield.* Pennine Radio - Former radio station in West Yorkshire, based in Bradford ....
, LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
, Essex Radio, Radio Mercury, Radio 210 and Delta/Wey Valley. Before moving to Norfolk in 2002, Ian was at County Sound radio in Guildford.
From May 2005 to September 2008 Ian presented Sunday programmes on Big L 1395
Big L 1395
Big L is the name of a broadcasting company registered by the British licensing authority Ofcom from for a satellite radio service known as Big L. The license states that the station "… will provide an eclectic mix of rock and pop, both modern and classic. News and weather will be broadcast hourly...
. These were available to be listened to again here. Originally Ian presented the Solid Gold Sunday 1400 - 1800 when the station was called Radio London International (named after the original offshore station). A change of management meant Ian's show was moved to a later slot and the programme changed format. However in the summer of 2008 Ian's programme returned to its original slot and format but this was only to be for a short time as when the station faced financial difficulties Ian left due to the agreed promised payment not being forthcoming for his services.
In August 2009 Ian joined community station Wayland Radio to host a weekly Sunday afternoon show for the station.
Ian also was part of Pirate BBC Essex broadcasting from the LV18 lightship in Harwich in 200and again in 2007 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the closure of the offshore stations.