Boom time for radio legend Diddy David Hamilton ... from a shed at his home near Horsham

Radio legend Diddy David Hamilton spent much of his childhood living on a farm near Horsham - but little did he realise that one day that same farm would become his own broadcasting studio.
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In fact, it’s a shed on the farm where David broadcasts a music and chat show six days a week for Boom Radio - a newly-launched station aimed at golden oldie Baby Boomers.

And it’s already become a huge success.”We have been welcomed with open arms,” said David. “The response has been just fantastic. We are aimed at Baby Boomers but even young people seem to like it.”

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David, who has been broadcasting since 1959, now thinks that - at 82 - he is “probably the oldest person to do a daily radio programme.”

Diddy David Hamilton in his 'shed' studio at his farmhouse near HorshamDiddy David Hamilton in his 'shed' studio at his farmhouse near Horsham
Diddy David Hamilton in his 'shed' studio at his farmhouse near Horsham

“Last year, like an awful lot of people, I had a dreadful year. Everything was cancelled,” he said.

He admits to feeling ‘very down’ and thought that the pandemic had finally put an end to his long career.

But he then got a phone call from old friend and programme controller David Lloyd asking him to join the Boom station - aimed at those born between 1946 and 1964.

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“These are the best people and the nicest people I have ever worked for.” he said.

David is one of several veteran DJ regulars on the station including David Symonds, 77, Roger Day, 76, Nicky Horne, 70, Anna Raeburn, 76 and Graham Dene, 72.

David broadcasts from his farmhouse studio on the edge of Horsham between 12 noon and 2pm, Monday to Friday, as well as a Saturday slot. He has three special weekday spots: The Best of British at 12.30pm when he plays music from artists who hail from different parts of the UK.

At 1pm he airs his One O’Clock Rock and Roll spot - wife Dreena’s favourite. She tunes in from the house and “dances round the Aga in the kitchen.” says David.

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His 1.30pm slot is reserved for The Story Behind The Scene, telling, for example, the story behind Mike and the Mechanics’ ‘The Living Years.’

David’s love of radio first started when he was a boy, evacuated to his grandfather’s Horsham farmhouse with his mother. ”Radio was my window on the world,” he said. ”We had no television set. The radio was just magical.”

Years later, he was amazed to discover that Junior Campbell from the band Marmalade was living at the property. David bought it from him and has lived there ever since - only now it is not only his home but also his broadcasting studio.

“If it’s cold, I can now move my equipment from the shed to my office upstairs and broadcast from there.

“I can really just broadcast from anywhere.”

You can hear Boom Radio on DAB across the UK or online by phone, laptop, PC, tablet, or smart speaker.

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