Caesar the Geezer

Chris Ryder also known as Caesar the Geezer, Caesar the Boogieman, and Deck Rider (born 9 November 1958) is a British radio personality of Greek descent. A friend of Kenny Everett, Caesar emulated Everett's use of imaginative and catchy jingles within his show. ("50 million listeners can't be wrong", "Get an aerial, screw it to me head, have a little radio implant-ed") However, unlike his hero, these jingles were not self-produced.

Early career

He began his career as the youngest radio presenter in the UK at the time, as the on air character "Deck Rider" on the Kenny Everett Radio Show on Capital Radio (London) in 1974. He then got his own show on SE London pirate radio station Skyline Radio in the early 1980s, qualified in Social Studies and Law in 1982, and went on to get his first "paid gig" on the Rod Lucas Show on BBC Radio Kent.

Shortly afterwards they both moved to the newly created Invicta Radio and, in a similar manner to BBC Radio 1 presenter Steve Wright, copied a style from American DJ Rick Dees that has subsequently become known worldwide as the 'Zoo Format'.

Invicta FM

Ryder later changed his radio name to Caesar the Boogieman when he landed his own show on Invicta Radio after Rod Lucas left the station. Caesar the Boogieman orchestrated some ambitious on-air practical jokes during his time at Invicta. One example; he built up the premise that an asteroid was about to hit the moon, creating a bright light. It would only be safe to look at the light by wearing sunglasses. The show had its serious side with legal advisors and social workers as constant guests helping listeners with problems.

The popular shows in his 9-1am slot featured characters including Barry Bethall as 'Basil the Butler', Ian Collins as 'The Yob', and Bobby Prior as 'Venus', Richard Knight as' Clarence, Number 5 and Grandad' and Steve Mallion as 'Spartacus'. In 1991, Invicta sacked him over fraud allegations.^[1]

Essex Radio

Ryder joined Essex Radio 96.3/102.6 FM where he presented a competing night time show to the one he had left at Invicta, before moving onto Kiss 100 hosting the early breakfast show.^[2]

Talk Radio UK

Ryder joined Talk Radio UK for its launch in February 1995 where he became known as a shock jock. He presented the weeknight (Mondays-Fridays) phone in between 22:00 and 01:00. He was joined on some Friday evenings by football agent Eric Hall and lawyer Gary Jacobs. He regularly combined his programme with a similar American show presented by Tom Leykis, alternating between UK and US callers.

He continued his ambitious practical jokes during his time at Talk Radio. Another such wind-up involved making listeners believe he was broadcasting his show from the street outside the Talk Radio building in protest at the station's anti-smoking policy. In reality, he was producing his show from inside the studio with a microphone hanging from the window to pick up the background noises of the street below.

During his tenure at TRUK, he was often accompanied by the show's Canadian Producer Colin Lloyd, assistants Dixie, Jane and Aphrodite, and the man on the phones, also called Tony (Caesar referred to him as Bogey – "Because he always gets up my nose").

He was fired from Talk Radio in September 1995, along with fellow controversial presenter Terry Christian,^[3] as part of a station shakeup to tackle sagging ratings.

Career After Talk Radio

After this he brought his phone-in show to Galaxy 101 in Bristol for a short time, as well as a brief stint, slightly toned down, on London's LBC. At around this time, he also started doing voice links for UK porn TV station, The Adult Channel; and presented a programme called Caesar's Rude Arena for Television X.^[4]

Chris Ryder joined Capital Gold in February 1994 and did his own weeknight show with an audience of over 2.4 million. In mid-1997, he resigned, and was sentenced for breaking the law regarding undischarged bankrupts.^[5]

He then retired from radio to pursue a career in marketing and promotions, returning to the air in 2012^[6] with Sittingbourne's SFM Radio, which started broadcasting on 26 July 2012.^[7]

Brass Eye

Caesar was duped into appearing on Channel 4 spoof show Brass Eye in the episode "Science", where he warned viewers about the dangers of "heavy electricity".

Current

Chris Ryder now owns his own radio station company. This provides radio stations to businesses around the UK, including Rileys & MFA, plus many small companies. He continues to DJ in various clubs around the country, specialising in party and disco anthems.

He currently runs an internet radio station called Caesar FM where he presents shows every Friday and Saturday night from 9pm-12 am. On his personal website, he now uses the name 'Chris Rogers'.

References

External links

• Aircheck biography
• Hall of Fame @ Wireless Waffle
• Excerpt from Caesar's first Talk Radio UK programme
• Thread on Caeser the Geezer
• SFM – 100% local radio for Sittingbourne