KFM’s Liam Kett on beginnings in pirate radio, meeting Charley Pride and his passion for country music

4 weeks ago 6

How did you get into radio?

Back in 1968, I got my hands on an old Canadian Marconi military receiver. A friend of mine’s colleague was in the Irish army and the eceiver came from a tank. A friend of mine had an electric shop in Newbridge and we set it up one Saturday. We blocked out the Raidió Éireann [signal] at lunchtime right across the town. I went on to do a few shows on cassette tapes for Radio Dublin under the name “Billy the Kid”. What a stupid name [laughs]. Some friends and I decided that Naas needed a station so we got an engineer who worked on Radio Free Derry to help us. We transmitted from the lads’ bedrooms, the bottle store at the rear of a pub and at a local accountant’s office. We were also in a crèche at one point too!

Read more: Nathan Carter talks new beginnings at home in Fermanagh: 'I wanted to make some changes'

Read more: Lisa McHugh says Nathan is a great dad and they're looking forward to growing their family

Where did you go from there?
I got involved with some guys from Clane and we set up KLB Community Radio in 1985 and we had permanent premises, we were on air seven days a week. Ray D’Arcy and Pat O’Mahony, who also worked in RTÉ, were involved with us. Another RTÉ figure, Ronan Collins, used to come down on Sunday afternoons to do a show when I worked for Radio Cill Dara, he was drumming in Dickie Rock’s band at the time. I was still doing a day job as well as working in radio, I worked in Bord Na Mona’s clerical office in Dublin. During the winter months the Gardaí used to ring us up and tell us if there was an accident or any news so we could let listeners know. It was very much the start of local radio.

Were you always passionate about country music?
No, I was more into the rock scene in the early stages. I was a big fan of Rory Gallagher and that style of music. It was only when I joined KFM in about 2004 that I received a phone call from the boss and he offered me a country music show. I was always on the fringes of country music and I liked Jim Reeves and Buck Owens. We’ve been running the show now for 20 years.

What’s your most requested song?
Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell or Johnny Cash’s One Piece at a Time. We get a lot of texts, emails and phone calls from our listeners. A lot of our listeners are elderly people who live on their own and there’s a certain level of loneliness there. People call in because they want somebody to talk to. You get to know the listeners quite personally and I’ve built up a loyal following over the years. My favourite song is a difficult one to nail down.

You’ve met some big names over the years, what were they like?
I got to know Charley Pride pretty welland I got to work with John Prine. John’s wife’s sister lives in Newbridge. I got to go backstage at the Kris Kristofferson concert in Killarney when he was doing support. Anytime John Prine was in Ireland I got the inside look. I got to know him on a personal level and he was a very affable guy. Apparently I look like Tony Allen from Foster & Allen. Tony takes the mick out of it when I MC for them. He’d say “What do you think of my twin brother” when they’d come back on for the second half. People always come up to me and say it. I wish I could sing like him!

What was Charley Pride like?
I got to do an interview with him in a hotel in Dublin when he was here doing a series of shows. In the lift I met a young girl and she asked if I was from Kildare. She said her mother was from Newbridge and it turned out that she was a next door neighbour of mine when I was growing up. I was assigned 15 minutes to speak with Charley, but I ended up with about 40 minutes and I
got a photograph with him. I met him and his late wife Rozene on a cruise as well, and they put on a fabulous show. He was very down to earth, he used to sit with everyone in the dining room and he didn’t look for VIP treatment.

Have you ever suffered any mishaps on air?
I remember dropping a microphone on stage once. It just fell out of my hand. My wife told me that I once went on
stage with the fly on my trousers down. That story still provides her with a lot of entertainment [laughs].

Local radio is so important, isn’t it?
We encourage local singers and musicians to send in material to us. I’ve always been a supporter of local artists and we’ve some great ones here in Kildare such as Michael English and Bernie Heaney. They’re topping the bill across the country.

Who are your radio icons?
Tony Prince who used to be on Radio Luxembourg and Rosko made a big impression on me. In Ireland, Gay Byrne was a great presenter on radio.

Tune into K-Country Monday to Thursday from 8-10pm on KFM.