Larry King of DJs with lifetime award
Gogan, who is in his 50th year on the airwaves, will receive the equivalent of an Irish radio Oscar when he is honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual PPI Radio Awards ceremony tomorrow night.
The veteran DJ started his career on Radio Éireann in 1961 and was the obvious choice to open the new station 2fm in 1979.
That was also the year he debuted his famous Just a Minute Quiz, currently being considered by the Guinness Book of Records as possibly the oldest running radio quiz show in the world.
“Wikipedia says I’m 72 so you can say that. It’s wrong but I’m not telling the truth,” he says.
He is probably a few years younger but either way, he is at an age where most people are well settled into retirement – a path he has no intention of following.
“I love what I’m doing,” he says of his lunchtime Golden Hour show on 2fm where he attracts about 250,000 listeners daily.
“Maybe if Florrie was still alive (his wife of 39 years died in 2002) I might have stopped by now. On the other hand she probably would have said ‘no you won’t, you’ll only be hanging around the house’.
“As long as the voice keeps up and people keep listening, I’ll keep going. The great thing about radio is the rest of the body can fall apart but nobody sees that.” Besides, he points out, BBC DJs Brian Matthew and David Jacobs are still going strong in their 80s. One of the reasons for his longevity is his openness to new music and his refusal to be trapped by nostalgia.
“People say the ’80s were terrible or the ’60s were great but every decade has had good and bad. A good tune is a good tune is a good tune. It’s timeless. I still look forward to new releases.”
Gogan, who has won numerous awards, said he was thrilled by this latest addition which is an acknowledgement by his peers and puts him in the company of previous recipients like Gay Byrne, Marian Finucane, Mícheál O Muircheartaigh and Jimmy Magee.
He’s also quite chuffed to be a rare DJ recipient.
“I suppose people do think there’s nothing to it – but then people always think they can do someone else’s job.”
He believes the key to his success is the personal touch. “We were always taught to present as if you’re talking to one person. I never think I’m talking to a quarter of a million people. I just think I’m chatting away to somebody – one person in their car, or in the bed, or in the kitchen – and I am as I am.”
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