Ian Dempsey - DJ to Man Friday!
Friday, 22 February 2008
Ian Dempsey presents The Breakfast Show on Today FM from 7am to 9am every weekday morning...and this afternoon he is our MAN FRIDAY!
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show remains the number 1 breakfast show amongst 20-44 year olds with 243,000 listeners choosing to wake up to Ian and the Gift Grub gang every morning - an increase of 7,000 listeners on last years book (based on JNLR figures released 14.2.08)
At the age of six, he made his foray into broadcasting, when he made his first 'radio show' at a friend's house (luckily or unluckily, this was never broadcast!). This was to prove vital for Ian choosing a career path in broadcasting.
In 1978 he made his first transmission for Dublin pirate station Capitol Radio; this was followed by shows on A.R.D. and Radio 257.
It was in March 1980 that Ian joined RTE, presenting 'The Weekend Breakfast Show' and then shows such as 'Poparama', 'The Hotline', 'Night Train' and 'The Great Givaway Show'. 1986 was a big year for Ian, not only did he get married, he also dabbled in TV for the first time, with the now infamous children's show 'Dempsey's Den', which also gave the alien twins Zig and Zag their big break. He presented 'The Den' until the summer of 1990, as well as asking all the questions on the music quiz show'Number One' and word quiz 'Talkabout'. In the nineties, Ian presented three successful seasons of 'The Beatbox', a two-hour music video show simulcast on Network 2 and 2FM.
He is a huge fan of David Bowie, after meeting him for the first time in 2003, David didn't disappoint. His favourite song is 'Heroes' by David Bowie.
His biggest thrill was interviewing Bruce Springsteen in Berlin, while his tour manager looked on, horrified that anyone could get close that close to him without her authorization!
He is quite happy to stay in radio at this point but who knows, maybe another TV Show will beckon in the future!
He wasn't too disappointed on not winning Best National DJ at this year's awards and was happy for his colleague Ray Foley to win it. He is very happy that his audience figures have gone up by 7,000.
He is a big fan of fellow DJs Jonathan Ross and Larry Gogan and TV shows such as QI and Have I got News for you.
He is a big fan of gadgets and as his show ends at 9am, he has plenty of time to indulge in his hobby! He is attending the Consumer Electronics Convention in Las Vegas next January, he may even bring a film crew along as he thinks it would make good TV.
Ian is also involved with a website called The Craic, which is the online radio show for the Irish abroad, wherever you live or whatever your generation. Ian's familiar voice makes it all very homely with a lively show full of stories you won't get online, including music, tv, sport, entertainment and hidden headlines that's a lot more fun than reading a website! The show is updated every single Friday and totally free to download or just listen to online. www.getthecraic.com