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Who is Rob Chandler? There on day one. Still there today. Speak to anyone in Norfolk and Suffolk and you can pretty much guarantee that they will have heard of Rob Chandler. Today Rob is one half of the ever popular Rob and Chrissie breakfast duo on Heart East Anglia. Rob can also be found on BBC Radio Suffolk every weekend with a sports-based discussion show which airs from 12pm till 2pm.
The Interview Describe your radio career so far... I joined Radio Broadland from day one in September 1984. I started a day after everybody else as I'd been to Sweden for a speedway world final and so felt a bit left out the next day as everyone else had met and bonded! Also, Anglia TV had been in filming and I knew I wasn't going to feature in the documentary about Broadland!
For a month, none of us really knew what to do until we went on air so we made lots of coffee and drove around the area getting used to the place! It was while I was driving up by the coast that I knew I'd made the right decision to move to Norfolk. The test transmissions got a hell of a response from the audience and we hit the ground running! To be honest, we haven't looked back from those days and the station has always done well. The other important factor I feel, was the quality of dj's. We had a great team from day one. From starting on drive, I moved to breakfast after 2 years and have just stayed there! Various on air partners have come and gone, Chrissie being the longest standing.
It all seems a long way back to August 28th 1979 when I made my radio debut on Radio Orwell in Ipswich, even the name sounds old! I worked there as a swing jock for three years whilst also holding down a full-time job with the Ipswich Co-op. Finally, I got taken on full time as the late show presenter between 9 and midnight. The first hour was all rock music. From there I moved to breakfast and then to drive before coming up here.
Talk me through a
typical morning for you... My alarm goes off at 4.50 am. I crawl out of bed, have a quick freshen up trying not to wake wifey and kids. Get dressed, feed the cat (no really), go out and drive in to work! It's then 3 Weetabix, cup of milky coffee, check e-mails, grunt at Chrissie when she arrives (I'm always first in) and on air for 6. All very routine!
You were given a
mention on the Classic Gold Amber website for helping David Hoffman
into radio… how did it all happen? David Hoffman called to take part in a Sunday morning competition when I was filling in for Nick Risby and I was impressed by his voice. I invited him to come in for an audition and Nick took him under his wing. Eventually we let him loose on the air and have been suffering ever since!! Only kidding!
Have you ever had to
deal with any strange callers? The strangest caller was a lady called Sheila who rang for the mystery laugh. She responded when I said hello to her but then went quiet every time I asked her for her answer. Every time I asked if she could hear me she said yes but then went dumb when I asked who the laugh was. To this day we have no idea what happened!
Have there been many
major technical problems while you've been on air? How did you sort
them out? The strangest experience was when lightening knocked the station off the air. We didn't know whether to just sit there with our feet up or carry on broadcasting even though no-one would hear us.
Have you ever said
anything embarrassing on air? God loads. Most famous though was when I went to say "We're shining and bright" (which is pretty rubbish anyway) and ended up saying "We're here and we're shite"!
If
you weren't in radio, what do you think you'd be doing now? I really don't know what I'd be doing now if it wasn't radio! I wanted to be a footballer when I was very small but the radio bug bit me when I was about 10 and totally consumed my life!
Have
you ever made any appearances on TV? I used to do football reports for Sky on Saturday afternoons but that was only my voice. TV appearances have been few and far between and mostly football related, like Anglia's Soccer Sunday as the token Ipswich fan looking ahead to the local derby.
Who is the person behind the voice? I'm just a typical family man who loves being with his wife and kids. My disco or clubbing days are well behind me! I'm happiest either sitting in watching TV or going out for meals with the family. I love my football and enjoy working at Ipswich on match days. I love getting into a good film or book and spending the day at the beach. As for my job, I went into radio because I loved music and the whole concept of talking to people via the airwaves. The fame and fortune stuff doesn't float my boat at all and to honest, being recognised when I'm out can be a pain in the you know what. To be paid for doing what I enjoy doing is fantastic and to have spent so many years doing it on Broadland, a brilliant place to work and in a beautiful part of the world makes me one of the luckiest people on the planet!
Where is Rob now? Rob Chandler is still on air every weekday morning from 6am till 10am on Heart East Anglia.
Audio and Video
Check out
Rob and Chrissie with
a live on-stage version of "Sleeps to Santa" in Great Yarmouth.
Plus classic
Rob and Chrissie audio.
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