For 44 Years, a Wannabe DJ Did a Show That Only His Wife Heard . . . Now He’s Getting His Own One-Hour Radio Special
I know we have a pretty cool job. And I know tomorrow’s the day we’re supposed to be thankful. But this made us feel like the luckiest people on Earth . . .
There’s a 73-year-old guy in England named Deke Duncan who’s always wanted to be a radio DJ. So way back in 1974, he set up his own studio in a shed in his backyard.
He was never affiliated with an actual radio station though. So for 44 years, he’s been doing his own show . . . and broadcasting to an audience of ONE.
He plays it through a set of speakers in his living room. And his wife Teresa is the only one who ever hears his show.
Back in the mid-70s, the BBC did a story on him. And someone recently tracked down some of the footage. Back then, they billed him as the radio host with the smallest audience in England.
Anyway, he’s been doing it as a hobby ever since, but still always dreamed of being on the actual radio.
And now it’s going to happen. A BBC affiliate that reaches over 125,000 people a week is giving him his own one-hour Christmas special next month. They surprised him with the news during a live interview on Sunday. (BBC)
(Here’s the interview, and here’s footage of Deke in 1974.)
Back in 1974, Deke Duncan ran a radio studio in his garden shed which broadcast to just one person – his wife. His lifelong ambition was to broadcast to the whole of Stevenage 📻
This morning he co-presented a show with @justindealey and there was a very special surprise… pic.twitter.com/PGVWLhuN2k
— BBC Three Counties (@BBC3CR) November 18, 2018
#OnThisDay 1974: “The station’s entire audience has decided to go down the shops” Radio 77 held the dubious distinction of broadcasting to the smallest audience in the country. pic.twitter.com/xkUZnfAPpR
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) October 9, 2018
