John Lawrence
Background:
Presenter:
Having been involved with discos since the mid 70’s, John was introduced to Tarka Radio to help out with a sponsored marathon broadcast to raise funds in May 1985 and is still with us! Apart from a few years in the late 90’s when his work took him away from North Devon, John has been a regular presenter at Tarka Radio ever since. John has spent around 12 years as Chairman during his time with us and is currently our Outside Events Unit Manager.
John spent 3 years working at BBC Radio Devon with Paul Hopper (also a Tarka presenter at the time) on their “Out Of Order” programme as co-presenter, comedy scriptwriter, voice over man etc in the early 90’s. It was during his time on “Out Of Order” that his on-air nickname of “Big JL” evolved and it has stuck with him ever since!
John has also managed and promoted several local bands and singers over the years although nowadays he is content to share some of the best music of the past 60 years and his hilarious sense of humour (subject to debate!) with our listeners.
John first presented Tarka Radio Classic Gold in 1988 when he set out to find a programme format that would be most likely to provide something for listeners of all ages and it has developed into the model that he uses to this day. The programme features classic gold hits and headlines down the decades as John continues to strive to play tracks that give you that “ooh, I haven’t heard that for years” feeling! and includes quizzes and the “Where in North Devon Game” to provide a local link for listeners.
In 2019 John added another genre to his repertoire and now also presents a twice-weekly edition of The New Country Experience.