Graham Dene is remembered fondly in London for his lengthy spell on the breakfast programme on Capital Radio.

It’s now fifty years since, as a twenty something, he drove south from Liverpool in his Lotus Elan to begin that stint, following his time at Radio City.

Graham recalls feeling both ‘excited and terrified’ as he climbed the famous staircase at the station’s Euston tower premises to take over from Kenny Everett on that key programme.

A Londoner by birth, it was a return home as he moved back into his parents’ house in Mill Hill.

May 19^th 1975 saw his first early programme, spinning Beach Baby by First Class as his opening record, although it wasn’t his debut on the station.  He’d been 'tried-out' on a few shows - including deputising for Kerry Juby on a programme 'for younger listeners' where he recalls interviewing the New Seekers.

In challenging economic times for the new commercial radio industry, Graham suggests humbly that his appointment at the network’s then largest commercial radio station owed as much to his low cost as his broadcasting skills.

The arrival of the nineteen early commercial radio stations across the UK was big news as they launched in their cities – from LBC and Capital in London to Radio Clyde in Glasgow and Swansea Sound - and Manchester’s Piccadilly, where our Roger Day would host the opening breakfast show.

Radio Tees followed almost exactly 50 years ago – with our Les Ross at the helm, as did Nottingham’s Radio Trent – with the voice of the late John Peters, who would also become a much-loved Boom Radio presenter.  Peter Quinn, who joins Boom this week as presenter of the Vintage Charts, also appeared as a broadcaster on that first summer day on-air.

As you’d imagine, many get-togethers have been planned of the teams who launched  these pioneering commercial radio stations – and we’re delighted that so many of those individuals are still having fun on the radio here at Boom.