Meet The Show Presenters

Our Current Lineup of Regular Show Hosts

Quick Links: Ben Wilkes - Dave Dawes - Harley Labeau - Marcel Maurer - Mike Hazell - Sammie J - Nikki Salt -  Dave Adams - Jim Williams

Ben Wilkes - Victory Broadcasts

I've always loved music, and in the days of CD collection, mine was truly varied. It depended on the day's mood, from heavy metal to light opera, from Hawaiian steel bands to Motown. In the early 1990s, my wife, Sue and I stumbled across a 1940s weekend on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and so began a real increased interest in all things 1940, especially the music.

My selection of 1920s to 1940s music, which had been confined to the well-known Vera Lynn, Glenn Miller, etc, now started to include The Ink Spots, Charles Trenet, and much more.

Around 1999, I found 1940sradio.com on social media and would often listen, especially at 1940s events. In February 2000, I was delighted to see that Lord Dawes himself (when he was just Mr Dawes 😁) was going to be providing some of the music at the Western Approaches Museum 1940s event in Liverpool. An ideal opportunity to say hello, I thought. Little did I know what that meeting would lead to, and indeed nobody realised how our lives would be affected just a few weeks later, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

I said hello to Mr Dawes, and before you could say, "When I'm Cleaning Windows", he'd sown a seed about becoming a presenter on 1940sRadio.com. And what better way to pass the time when restrictions kept us at home than learning the mystery behind presenting a radio show? On 20th May 2020, my first show aired, initially just once a month, and as my skill and speed developed fortnightly with occasional specials and lots of Limelight Sessions.

Here we are, all these years later, thoroughly enjoying the research behind each show, as well as presenting and listening to 1940sradio.com every day. A big thank you to Dave and Rory for allowing me to join this excellent band of presenters, who bring unique shows every week and great music 24 hours a day. It is indeed, in the words of Charles Trenet, "Formidable"

From me, Ben Wilkes, "Tara a bit"

Dave Dawes - Lord Dawes Special

I have been a DJ since 1982 and was lucky to have a regular booking at Newbury and Crookham Golf Club in Berkshire. Why do I say lucky? The golf club was directly across from RAF Greenham Common, home to the USAF.

One Friday evening, I was DJing, and one of the regular visitors from the airbase asked if I had any Glenn Miller. That was it for me, this stuff is superb, I thought, so I gradually changed to just music from the 1930s to the 1950s.

I can't remember where and when it was, but Rory contacted me and asked if I fancied helping with 1940sradio.com. Well, 12 years later, some big changes, and I think we have put a superb station together with a stellar lineup of presenters.

Running the Station costs money, and we are not for profit, so if you can spare a few pounds, dollars, etc, that would be appreciated. TTFN

Marcel Maurer - Marcel's Mixed Picks

 I have been a lifelong enthusiastic fan of big band music, swing, boogie, jump jive, and early rock'n'roll.

In the run-up to Christmas 2019, my dear wife Elspeth sought a radio station that played wonderful old Christmas songs and found 1940sradio.com. Since then, the radio station has been playing in our home. In time, Elspeth and I started sending in requests, and we were thrilled when Dave Dawes announced and played them. Encouraged, I submitted some ideas for Limelight Sessions and was even more delighted when Dave and Sammie J produced them.

Sometimes, when listening to 1940sradio, I mentioned that I knew this or that about a song or artist without thinking about it further. At Christmas 2021, there was a microphone for me under the Christmas tree. Without my knowing it, Elspeth had asked Dave and Rory, the station's éminence grise and the tech genius behind the scenes, what was needed to record radio shows. All I can say now is thank you, Elspeth, and thank you, 1940s Radio. I have found a hobby that gives me pleasure.

My particular interest is in contemporary artists playing the music we all love. Thanks to 1940s Radio, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of them in person, interviewing them, and featuring them on my shows.

Producing shows for 1940sradio is a real boost to my life, and I hope you, our listeners, enjoy them too.

Whatever you do, wherever you go – keep swingin’!

Mike Hazell - The Blues Hour

I first heard the blues, like many of my contemporaries, in the early 1960s, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I cannot remember precisely, but probably in the Concorde club in Southampton, where I first started going for the jazz.

In 1963, the house band was Manfred Mann with Paul Jones on vocals and Blues Harp. If you wanted to see the band, you stood in front of the stage. If you wanted a drink, you stood by the bar. You couldn’t do both!

My first Blues albums were Leadbelly, and Sonny Boy Williamson 2 (Rice Miller), and the latter led me to my liking for Blues Harp.

I moved around a bit from 1965 to 1999, but kept up my interest, firstly in south west London, seeing touring American stars and local blues singers at Bunjies Coffee house just off the Charing Cross Road and then started playing harp myself in the early 70’s in Newcastle. After that, I carried on listening and playing a bit where and when I could. Not so much recently.

About 5 years ago, I visited a friend who was playing 1940sradio.com, so I said, “What’s that?” I looked up the website about 3 months ago and saw that it mentioned Blues. Then I heard a shout-out one day on the radio (I still think ‘wireless’ is better) for anyone interested in joining the team to get in contact.

So here we are.

Sammie J - Lipstick and Pearls

My love for the music and stars of the 1940s began in childhood. I spent countless hours dreaming of being part of classic movie musicals, singing and dancing along with Doris Day, Danny Kaye, and Gene Kelly. Even imagining myself as the object of Bing Crosby's affection in "I Love You Samantha" – roll over, Grace Kelly!

When Dave teamed up with Rory on 1940sRadio.Com and a “recording studio” became a feature on the back porch of our old home in Reading, I became fascinated by the history of the music, especially the female vocalists of the Big Band era.

In the early days, I noticed a distinct lack of women who contributed so much to the music from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Not only were they underrepresented in the music played, but the station's DJs were all men. One day, I casually mentioned to Dave that the station needed more airtime dedicated to the era's female bandleaders, musicians, singers, and writers. That conversation sparked the creation of Lipstick & Pearls.

While I work as an HR and training professional during the week, my weekends are dedicated to researching, scripting, and recording shows celebrating the pioneering women who helped shape a generation of music and still influence artists today. I love discovering new music and ladies from around the world, and more than half a decade later, I am amazed that there is still so much left to unearth.

1940sradio.com has become my “happy place” in what can often be a “discombobulated” world. Through it, I have met and made friends with listeners from all over the world, and it wouldn’t mean a thing without all of them. So, stay safe, stay well, and keep listening to 1940sradio.com.

Nikki Salt - Sentimental Stylings

You can often see me out and about at events in my old 1938 Morris 12 4 called Connie Elsie, and I will always have 1940sradio.com on the speakers.

I live and breathe vintage. I watched old black-and-white movies, MGM Hollywood epics, and silent films from an early age. I can pinpoint the person responsible for my love of old Hollywood, movies, and music: my wonderful uncle Brian.

My day-to-day life is always with the accompanying music from the 1900s to the late 1940s. I can't remember the exact year I came to listen to 1940sradio.com, but to me, it's always been played in my office or at home. I had the pleasure of getting to know Lord Dawes and his wonderful wife, Sammie J and in 2021 joined the radio station as a presenter.

It's my pleasure to research and bring my musical style to our listening audience and entertain with my show, Sentimental Stylings. We are all volunteers and do this for the love of the music, so if you would like to help keep this wonderful station running and advert-free, please donate.

Dave Adams - Bill's Gramophone

I have always had a deep connection with music. I was born in the early 1960s and came into the world singing "Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs Worthington" by Noel Coward.

My early years were coloured by the melodies of the 1930s, which were often played on my grandad's wind-up gramophone. Grandad Bill, as he was known, was a chap from the Black Country named William Aloysius Homer.

My mother, a mezzo-soprano, would sing along, filling our home with music. As soon as I could, I found myself opening up radios to discover how they worked, but after many electric shocks, I decided it was safer to make my radio shows in my bedroom.

These early experiences with music shaped my lifelong love for it. From my early days with my grandad's gramophone to making my radio shows, music has always been my passion, which has continued throughout my life. Here I am on 1940s Radio, and thoroughly enjoying it.

Sizzling Jim Williams - The Radium Hot Club

Jim Williams hosts the weekly Radium Hot Club, which features jazz & swing music from 1918 to 1954. Each episode is packed with familiar & not so familiar recordings, playing, where possible, both sides of a particular 78 and giving some interesting asides relating to the artist or circumstances surrounding the track.

Jim’s radio career began in 2013 on East London Radio and later on Hoxton Radio. After moving to Kent in 2018, he started on Cabin. FM and 1940s Radio.

Jim also DJs at various events around the country and is a regular at Military Odyssey and Newbury’s Retro Festival, hosted on Sunday in the Spitfire Pavilion.

Harley Labeau - The Shim Sham Club with Harley 

Hailing from parts unknown and weighing in at an optimistic 160 pounds. Born from a stone egg atop a mountain and raised by wolves, introducing the inimitable Harley Labeau.

With a history much less interesting than the previous paragraph would suggest, beginning in darkest Herefordshire, then proceeding to meander through various nightclubs in Bristol before retiring to the coast in the west county.

Harley now broadcasts from beside the sea, and some say, if you know where to look, you may even find him playing jazz records at a venue near you, if you happen to reside in Somerset.

Alternatively, you can listen right here to The Shim Sham Club with Harley for dance band hits, Latin jazz, and novelty records; dancing and a good time are guaranteed

(black tie optional).