Mike Sweeney (DJ)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the British broadcaster. For the American musician, see Mike Sweeney (musician)

Michael Thomas Sweeney (born 15 September 1947, Rudman Street, Salford, Lancashire) is a broadcaster and radio DJ.

Education and early career

Sweeney attended Mount Carmel School, after which he worked at Associated Electrical Industries in Trafford Park. He was a platelayer at the docks, a labourer, a miner and a computer programmer. He performed in a local rock band known as the Salford Jets as singer and songwriter during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band had one hit single that reached #72 in the UK Singles Charts in 1980.[1]

Radio career

By age 33 he was regularly broadcasting on Manchester's Piccadilly radio station, and had begun to include short interviews in his show. He was offered a 12-show trial as one of the station's disc jockeys, where it was thought that his strong regional accent would go down well with local audiences. He worked prime time slots on the station from 1981 into the late 1990s, while branching out into interviewing, sports reportage, and documentaries. He has continued to play football, has boxed for Salford Lads' Club and swum for the city.

He then became a DJ on Capital Gold in London, the first presenter on that station with a northern accent, where he presented the morning show on Monday-Friday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, the Capital Gold Rock Show on Friday nights, and Mike Sweeney's 60s Classics & At the Hop on Saturday nights, until the station merged with Classic Gold, now named "Gold" (radio). He was the presenter of the weekday drivetime slot until the summer of 2009.

Sweeney is currently working for Real Radio XS Manchester, hosting the breakfast show from 6 am until 10 am. Sweeney still sings with The Salford Jets and with two other groups, The Mindbenders and The Swinging Blue Jeans. His latest project is a duo, Mike Sweeney and Paddy O'Hare.[2] They are working on an EP titled Walking Down the Line, which will be released in 2013.[3]

On the TV front, Sweeney's 15-year-old Elvis Has Just Left The Building is still showing on Sky's Men & Motors. He also presented The Manchester United Debate Show on Channel M from 2007 to 2009 and a classic car series for Sky in 2000.[citation needed]

Sweeney has won two New York Radio awards, a Sony in 2002 and Guardian Media Group's Presenter Of The Year in 2009.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Salford Jets". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 June 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mike Sweeney Still Walking Down The Line" (PDF). Cheers Magazine. Cheers Promotions Ltd. January 2013. p. 8. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Recording with Mike Sweeney". Manchester Midi School Blog. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.