Dave Fanning

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Dave Fanning (born 1955) is an Irish television and radio personality. He currently hosts The Last Broadcast on RTÉ Two television, and The Dave Fanning Show on RTÉ Radio 1.

He has presented more than 20 different series on RTÉ television including Rock Sundown, 2TV, Jobsuss, Visual Eyes, The Arts Show, documentaries on Cambodia, Ethiopia etc, Number One (pop quiz) which ran for 6 years, The Movie Show (10 years, over 400 programmes) etc. and various specials from Live 8 in Hyde Park to Live Earth in Wembley Stadium.

Contents 1 Background 2 Radio 3 Friendship with U2 4 Television 5 Print 6 Interviewees 7 Fab Fifty

[edit] Background

Educated at Blackrock College and graduated University College Dublin with a degree in English and Philosophy and a Higher Diploma in Education. In that same year Dave took over as editor of Ireland's only Rock magazine (Scene) and began as a DJ on fledgling pirate radio station, Radio Dublin.

[edit] Radio

Ireland's first official national pop music station RTE 2fm (or Radio 2 as it was then called) was launched in the Summer of '79. Fanning took the midnight shift five days per week. By the early Eighties, he was seen by the industry and music fans everywhere as Ireland's answer to John Peel, the legendary BBC Radio 1 presenter.

In 1994 Richard Branson asked Fanning to join his new station Virgin Radio. Fanning presented his own show there every week for two years.

'When Billboard magazine referred to the introduction of RTE 2fm as one of the major factors behind the growth of Ireland as a major music centre, they really meant Dave Fanning'. That's how Hot Press magazine summed it up in their yearbook. Fanning has been described as 'the ultimate fan, who through broadcasting has been able to make a career out of his many passions in life - chiefly, music and movies. He currently presents a music-only programme every Sunday night on RTE 2fm and Monday to Friday he fronts a magazine-style programme on RTÉ Radio 1 at 7pm. It's called The Dave Fanning Show

Fanning's first major award was a prestigious Jacob's Award for "the depth and scope" of his radio show in 1980. He won numerous IRMA awards and Meteor Best DJ Award three times. He's nominated again for 2008.

[edit] Friendship with U2

Fanning has always supported young, new Irish talent; he played their demo tapes and gave them radio sessions. His very first session in RTE 2fm was with a new young 4-piece Dublin band called U2 and his friendship with, and support for, the band, led to Fanning's listeners deciding on the A and B sides of the band's first single release. (This was in the days of vinyl). The band came into Dave's show for five nights in one week and the listeners picked 'Out of Control' as the first single, with 'Stories For Boys' and 'Boy/Girl' on the B-side.

Fanning's friendship with the band continues to this day. At a surprise birthday party, held at Dublin's Mother Redcaps in 1989 all four members of U2 paid tribute to Fanning; the band's manager Paul McGuinness presented him with a special present referring to Fanning as 'the world's best DJ'. Besides being guaranteed the world exclusive on all U2 releases, the band recorded a specially-filmed musical tribute to Dave when he was presented recently (by Larry Mullen) with the Irish Music Industry's top award - The Meteor Industry Award.

[edit] Television

Over the past few decades Fanning has fronted over 20 television programmes for Ireland's national television station RTÉ. He's been the subject of various TV specials and besides presenting various music shows, both live and recorded, he presented political TV documentaries from Cambodia and Ethiopia. Throughout the Nineties he presented over four hundred editions of The Movie Show, crossing the globe for one-on-one interviews with movie stars. He also researched, wrote and presented over 150 rock star interview shows (Fanning Profiles,Music Express, Planet Rock Profiles).

In the early Nineties he presented live music shows on Britain's Channel 4 (Rocksteady, Friday at The Dome, Return to The Dome etc.) and, for its first three years, Fanning was a member of the panel for Britain's prestigious Mercury Music Prize.

On TV he's recently completed the sixth series of a one-hour music show called The Last Broadcast.

[edit] Print

Between '83 and '93 Fanning was music critic for The Irish Times and has written many articles for publication at home and abroad. He was movie critic for The Sunday World from '97 to '04.

[edit] Interviewees

Fanning has recorded interviews with most major (and many minor) music acts of the past few decades including legends like Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Eminem, Garth Brooks, Robert Plant, Madonna, Beyonce, J-Lo etc.

Fanning's 2-camera-shoot, one-on-one interviews with movie stars include Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Nicholas Cage, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Dan Aykroyd, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Anthony Hopkins, Richard Dreyfuss, Ralph Fiennes, Eddie Murphy, Val Kilmer, Uma Thurman, George Clooney, Jeff Goldblum, Kim Basinger, Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves, Robert De Niro, Antonio Banderas, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Julianne Moore, Robin Williams, Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, Holly Hunter, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Liam Neeson, Glen Close, Scarlett Johanssen (aged 10 and 18)...and many more including producers and directors e.g. Steven Spielberg at the Academy Awards in LA when Spielberg won Best Director for Schindler's List).

Fanning is co-owner of Rumble Films an independent film/TV production company. In that period Rumble has produced high-end rock and pop interview shows which have been screened in many countries aound the world. The series, called Music Express, includes interviews with U2, R.E.M., Blondie, Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, Oasis, The Verve, Sinéad O'Connor, New Order, Morrissey, Linkin Park, John Paul Jones, David Byrne, Robbie Williams, Alanis Morissette, Radiohead, The Cranberries, Simply Red, Metallica, Fun Lovin Criminals, Mavericks, Eels, Rod Stewart, Moby, Elvis Costello, The Waterboys, Kylie Minogue, Travis, Mick Jagger, Air, The Corrs, Jarvis Cocker, Willie Nelson, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Beyonce, Def Leppard, Texas, Geri Halliwell,and more.

One-hour specials include U2, Tori Amos, Lenny Kravitz, Neville Brothers, Alison Krauss etc..

Fanning is currently presenting a series of twenty-four half-hour interview programmes called "...talks with Dave Fanning" for Rave HD in New York. The programme also currently airs on Sky Arts in the UK. Rave HD is a high-definition music-only channel which is part of the largest collection to date of high-definition channels in the world. The collection is called Voom HD Networks. It's part of Rainbow Media, which is now being carried by cablevision to its interactive optimum digital customers. The series of twenty-four interviews with Fanning includes Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Peter Frampton, Lindsey Buckingham, REM, The Killers, PJ Harvey etc.

[edit] Fab Fifty

Every year since 1980 Fanning has featured a Fanning's Fab Fifty on his radio show. In '05 he released an Irish-only triple album, Fanning's Fab 50 Vol 1. The sales reached 1-and-a-half times platinum, as did Fanning's Fab 50 Vol 2 at Christmas '06. Fanning's Fab 50 Vol 3 is currently on release featuring artists like U2, The Killers, REM, Radiohead, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Massive Attack, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Coldplay, Sigur Ros, New Order, Blur, The Verve, The Stone Roses, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Oasis and thirty others.