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dad, who listened to radio. I started listening to Alexis Korner and Mike Raven, and
then John Peel, of course.
BiTS: Well, there's a name from the past, Mike Raven. Blimey, nobody’s said his name
to me for years. He was a fabulous broadcaster, Mike Raven.
GG: I used to listen on a Sunday evening. My gran bought me, I wanted some kind of
stereo I think, but she bought me a piece of furniture, which was a stereogram, a
radiogram, and we had that in the dining room, and on a Sunday evening I would
try and finish my homework and would listen to Mike Raven on that.
BiTS: Oh, that's terrific. And when did you start performing then?
GG: Well, probably when I was about 16 or 17, I went to a few local folk clubs. Then
when I got a proper job, I went for an interview for the job and the guy who
interviewed me, the personnel guy, found out that I played guitar. He said, oh, I'm a
drummer in the band. We’re putting a band together. Do you want to join? So that's
when I was 19, I think it was.
BiTS: [Laughing] Yes, you had no choice but to answer, yes, [laughs], if you wanted
to get the job.
GG: Yeah, and so we were professional, such as it was, for a short while in the early
70s.
BiTS: Right! Now, tell me about getting
to be a DJ and actually, let me be candid,
one of the top DJs in the blues world in
the UK. How did you get into that in the
first place?
GG: Well, I've always been interested in
radio, as I said, and this sounds a little
big headed, or immodest, but I knew,
I've known for an awful long time that
at some point I would have a radio
show. I just knew that. And the second
thing that I knew about it is that the
theme tune to that radio show would be
the same opening track that John Peel
used to use, which was. And it still is.
So I was playing some music with a local guy who used to do a guest spot on Bishop
FM, on the folk show. He would go in every week, play a couple of songs and then
have another guest, a featured guest, who would do some songs. And he said to me
one week, do you want to come and be the featured guest? Do three songs. And at
that point, I wasn't doing any solo gigs or anything. So I went in, did a couple of songs,
and then the next week, he was away on holiday. He said, oh, do you want to go in