'Diddy' David Hamilton and His Private Number Plates

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“It was what the troops wanted,” said David, “during the 45 minute show every Sunday afternoon, I played Elvis, Little Richard - everything that was current. My show was followed by a talk from the Padre, as if everyone had to be cleansed after listening to such music! Much later, when I saw the film Good Morning Vietnam, I thought, wow, that's my story, and it really was like that. Of all the jobs I've done, I still love radio the most. I'm from the radio generation. After us came the television generation and now it's the computer generation.

"When I was a boy I listened to Pete Murray. He was my hero. I remember seeing a copy of FAB 208 magazine. It showed photos of Pete in glamorous settings. I thought, that's the kind of life I'd like. I wanted to be like him, he was my inspiration for coming into radio.

I'd never have dreamed that all these years later, Pete and I would be the best of friends."
After National Service, David returned to his script-writing job. But he'd enjoyed his introduction to broadcasting so much that he wanted to go back to it, so later that year he became an ABC TV announcer, with the first of many TV appearances following soon after. A year later, he took the role of announcer, newsreader and programme presenter for Tyne-Tees Television, in Newcastle. It was his chance to break the mould in what he saw as the usual 'stuffy style'. He decided to add a bit of fun, so when introducing the hospital series Emergency - Ward 10, David dressed up in a doctor's white coat and stethoscope. When linking to a western film, he'd appear with a gun and a Stetson. It wasn't long before Tyne-Tees viewers took him to their hearts. In 1962, they voted him 'Tyne Tees Television Personality of the Year.'

David's career flourished. He regularly appeared as an announcer for Anglia TV, Westward TV, Southern TV and Border TV. He hosted shows such as Cue for Sport (1962), Rehearsal Room (1964), It's a Geordie Beat (1964), The Bright Sparks (1966-67), Singalong (1967) and Pop the Question (1968).

"In March 1963, I was one of the first to interview The Beatles,” said David,“they sang their hit She Loves You at a concert in Urmston, Manchester. Girls in the audience were screaming so much, we thought the marquee would come down. "I was also lucky enough to interview their manager Brian Epstein, on the ABC At Large television show. Brian introduced another sensational group of the day, Gerry and the Pacemakers, whose first three songs went to number one.”

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