‘You have to think twice!’ Radio icon blames woke madness for major change in his 65-year career
Radio legend David Hamilton has claimed he now has to “think twice” about what he says on the airwaves as he shed light on the “major changes” he has faced in his decades-long career.
Hamilton, 86, previously worked at the BBC for 25 years and has broadcast to millions of listeners on several commercial stations – but has now signed a new contract at his current station, Boom Radio.
Opening up on his extensive career, Hamilton revealed he has “no plans to retire” as he is able to broadcast to his listeners from his home in Sussex.
Hamilton told GB News: “If you’re 86 and you’re offered a two year contract, it’s quite remarkable, isn’t it? Obviously they think that I’m going to be here for a while yet.
“But it’s great, I love my work. Why would I retire? You don’t retire from something you love, you only retire from a job that’s boring. So I should just go on and on, I hope.”
When asked by host Bev Turner on whether he is better at hosting a radio show now at 86 than he was aged 26, Hamilton highlighted one “major change” that he has experienced in his career.
Hamilton explained: “One thing that has changed is you can’t say a lot of things that you used to say.
“I used to say very cheeky things on the radio, but almost anything you say that is cheeky now is going to offend somebody, so I have to think twice. I have to say the second thing that comes to my mind and not the first.”
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In criticism of the BBC, Hamilton noted that in his 25 years of working for the corporation, the company was considered “impartial” and “unbiased”, but “people cannot say that about them today”.
Hamilton stated: “I worked for the BBC for 25 years in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and in those days it was a wonderful organisation to work for, and its new service around the world was just regarded as the most impartial and unbiased.
“And I don’t think people would say that today, and there’s been such a change in the BBC that it saddens me.”
When asked for his verdict on the BBC’s decision to expand their Radio 2 service with an additional an online service, BBC Radio 2 Extra, Hamilton claimed the broadcaster is trying to “claw back” listeners that they had lost to other stations, including Boom Radio.
Hamilton concluded: “Radio 2 let their older presenters go and they were aiming for a younger audience, so Boom Radio came along four years ago and has been a great success. Now the BBC wants to do their own version of Boom Radio and claw those listeners back.
“They are saying that they will have a completely different station, they will be celebrating important musical anniversaries, and they’ll have the stories behind the song. But that’s what we do.
“We’re doing that anyway, so they’re just going to copy what we’re doing.”
BBC director of music Lorna Clarke said in a statement: “Our music extensions allow us to support new music, showcase British talent, resurface performances from our unrivalled archive, and to help audiences discover a greater range of music than what’s available on the market.”