It is unfortunate that the first news item in nearly seven years on Weekend Music Radio's fine website is to announce the death of former presenter Mike James, or 'Jamesie' as I remember him.
Now, that is not to say that my recollections of Mike, or Neil Carnegie to use his real-world name, are particularly strong. I do recall him presenting shows in the second half of the 1990s, perhaps nearer to the present millennium than the mid part of the decade. Whilst Weekend Music Radio was always synonymous with the main man Jack, and Acker Bilk's track 'Fancy Pants' which topped and tailed each broadcast, Mike James is certainly someone who I heard regularly on I would guess to be 6400 and 3945 KHz.
Weekend Music Radio (WMR) was of course an already well-established presence on shortwave by the time I started listening to free radio in 1990, at this point with a good ten years of broadcasting experience already under its belt. I think Mike became more of a regular presence in the late 1990's but the only other 'guest' presenters I can recall are Radio Stella's Jock Wilson, Bill Lewis of Live Wire Radio, and perhaps Andy Winter of Radio London. There will certainly have been others post 1990, but I've never suggested what I can bring to mind about any free radio station from the era equates to their definitive history.
The loss of any free radio personality from the 1990s is particularly sad as even those who began broadcasting in the years before will still only be relatively young. Indeed, Mike/Neil was only 66, no age at all, but joins the likes of Paul Johnson and Norman Nelson amongst others who've passed before their time.
At the start of his tribute to Mike Jack intimates that WMR may return to the air after what has been an especially hectic time for the station operator. That indeed would be a fillip for a UK shortwave free radio scene that has sadly tailed off in the last 15-20 years into a diet of canned or no announcements, negligible interaction with/from operators, and continuous music.
Jack's very detailed tribute to Mike James can be read below:
Weekend Music Radio - Obituary - Neil Carnegie aka Mike James (wmrscotland.com)
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