Mike Brown

I have been volunteering for CHBN since the early 2010s, but have been interested in radio and sound generally since I was a schoolboy which, as I recently turned 70, was a great many years ago. Professionally I have worked as a sound engineer since leaving university so it's no surprise that I am interested not just in making programmes but also in how the station works and what it sounds like, which I guess qualifies me as a proper radio nerd!

The truth is there's always been a radio station in my head for as long as I can remember. I go back to a time when the only pop music radio we could tune into was Radio Luxembourg and AFN, then in 1964 my dad got me out of bed at 6am one memorable Easter morning to hear the start of Radio Caroline, the first of the offshore pirate radio stations, so I grew up with the pirates. My favourite was Radio London ('Big L') and Kenny Everett.

Volunteering for CHBN is a wonderful thing for me. I have made many friends and even met my partner Carole through the station. Since COVID, however, my breathing and mobility have been affected but the COVID lockdowns forced us all to broadcast from home so that is what I now continue to do, and it's such a privilege. My professional background as a sound engineer has allowed me to build a home studio which offers me the same quality and production values as if I were in the station's main studios in the hospital, and I'm very proud of that.