Confessions Of A Pirate DJ

The Pirate And The Princess

Dublin has always held a special place in my heart, since my first visit there as a child, to stay with my aunt Kathleen who lived somewhere on the outskirts of the city.

It was the summer of 1957 during school holidays and my memories consist mainly of playing on the banks of the canal behind my aunt's house and being taken on a green public transport bus, (in stark contrast to the red buses in Belfast) to the cinema in or near O'Connell Street, to see a Doris Day movie, By The Light Of The Silvery Moon.

Ten years later, aged 17, I moved to Dublin, where I stayed for about 6 months, working first as a chef in a hamburger cafe on Burgh Quay and then as a barman in Neary's pub, Chatham Street, commuting daily from my lodgings in Walkinstown.

It was in the summer of 1967, the so called "summer of love" and my interest in music took me to a few nightclubs, one of which was in a basement on Burgh Quay and I believe the DJ was Danny Hughes, whom I didn't know and never spoke to at that time, but would meet 16 years later when I myself was a DJ.

I moved to Dublin for the second time i

n 1981 after Eddie West played Radio Nova for me on his car radio outside Downtown Radio, Belfast, where I was working as a DJ.

Eddie himself had only recently left Downtown to join Radio NOVA and after hearing it, I said "that's the place for me".

I was initially turned down for a job on the station, but was delighted when in early 1983 Nova boss Chris Cary hired me to present All Night Nova from midnight to 6am.

At that time I was hosting the breakfast show from 7-11am on Radio Leinster and living on the station premises.

I asked Chris if I could give Leinster two weeks notice and he agreed, so for two weeks I did both shows, which unfortunately cost me the relationship with my then girlfriend Debbie, who had just moved from Belfast to join me and to work as a model.

I had arranged for Debbie to join Dublin's leading model agency, but during my two weeks working double shifts she met a guy and fell for him. Maybe that was for the best in the long run, although it didn't feel like it at the time. I was truly heartbroken as I thought sure we would eventually marry, so it was a very difficult time to be on the radio.

It must've come across on air too as I got a call one night from the Samaritans.

I kid you not, some guy phoned in to the show and said he had a feeling I was in some kind of trouble or distress.

A few of the songs at that time were killers for sure: Spandau Ballet - True and Elton John - I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues had me in tears every time, but they were big hits at the time and had to be played.

I must've been bad as I even agreed to meet the Samaritans' guy for a chat the following day outside the GPO in O'Connell Street, only to change my mind in the clear light of day.

He never called again, but I struggled with my emotions for a long time during All Night Nova, while my friends tried to coax me to go out on the town ... plenty more fish in the sea they said.

However, I didn't want another fish I still wanted the one I used to have.

That said, after 3 or 4 weeks of coaxing, I did eventually go out for a drink with a couple of friends and ended up chatting to a rather attractive blonde called Mary, who had slapped my bottom while passing me as I stood at the bar.

A couple of nights later Mary rang me while I was on-air and we chatted between records.

She said she lived close by the Nova studios in Herbert Street, within walking distance and asked if she could come round to see me in the studio, joking that she could give me a haircut or a blow dry...lol!

I said no that night, but after another couple of nights talking to her during the show, I said she could come round.

After that we dated for a few weeks but I wasn't ready for another relationship yet, so I broke up with her.

Quite soon after that I got a call from Rashika an Indian girl, originally from Bombay, but living at the time with her family in Dublin. We chatted for a few nights during my radio show and she said she'd love to meet me, however I was a bit dubious as she was 18 and I was 33. (Bobby Goldsboro - Summer The First Time in reverse)

Then one night, I arrived at the studios in Herbert Street and found her waiting at the front door, a stunning natural beauty and I wasn't going to usher her away.

Suffice to say we dated for several weeks until she told me one night that she was in love with me, but while I really liked her at that point I still wasn't ready for a relationship and rather than lead her on I broke up with her.

Several nights after this I got a call from Chandra, who told me she was 28 and a Saudi Arabian princess living in Dublin. She said she loved the show and would like to meet me.

She did sound rather nice on the phone, full of "Eastern promise"...lol, but not knowing what she looked like I declined for several nights until curiosity got the better of me.

When I agreed to meet up with her she said she would send a car to collect me when my show finished at 6am.

And sure enough went I left the studio at six, there was indeed a chauffeur driven limo waiting for me at the front door.

On arrival at her gated residence near Stillorgan, a security guard escorted me to her apartment.

I remember as I followed him I was quite apprehensive as this was literally a blind date, but when I met Chandra (the name means beautiful like the moon) at her front door, she was indeed a beauty.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship, where I was quite simply "lifted and laid" for about 6 weeks.

I would be picked up in the limo every morning after the show and spend the day with her, eating at expensive restaurants and shopping in places like Brown Thomas where I'd help her decide what clothes she looked best in.

All top designer labels with money no object ... she was a girl with expensive tastes, nothing but the best for Chandra and she wouldn't hear of me paying for anything, although with her taste I don't think I could have afforded anything she liked.

When we were together she always insisted on paying for everything and appeared to have accounts everywhere we went. Often she would by me a gift, a shirt or shoes and one day surprised me with a Rolex watch.

I remember there was a bit of joking at the radio station about me going out with a princess, then one day my friend Garret Scully said "have you heard the news LJ", I said "about what?", he said "about your girlfriend Chandra", I said "no, what is it?". He said "she's been arrested for fraud after running up half a million pounds of debt while masquerading as a princess from Saudi Arabia, she's all over the news".

And that was the end of our beautiful friendship...