Team Thoughts

I'm 60 today, so I took myself and my bike up a steep hill, to prove I was still alive. I needed to do that this, of all weeks.

I'm out in Mallorca, where John and Linda were due to join us this weekend to celebrate my milestone. It'll be a quieter villa without them.

The tributes have been fantastic. I was so pleased to be invited onto The Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show yesterday, along with David Lloyd and Andy Peebles, to give him the send-off he would have wanted - on Europe's biggest radio stage. David has compiled a collection of radio tributes, including our R2 thoughts, here.

I thought, as I was riding up the hill, that I'd write a blog about John and share just a few thoughts on the type of man he was - and finish with three lessons I think we can all learn from how he lived his life.

We went back a long way. When I arrived at Radio Aire in 1990 he was at Red Rose. Those were pretty dysfunctional days inside the Transworld Group, so those of us charged with actually running the stations formed a close bond. John was the voice-over for Magic 828, the original magic station which we launched in 1991. I'm sure he over-charged me for the session - not the last time he'd best me in a negotiation:)

We then both got our big breaks at the same time. Me to go and launch Heart in the West Midlands, and him to launch Century in the North East. The established operators were out to get these new, upstart regional stations, so again we found ourselves making common cause. There was one moment, etched in my mind, when he and I, along with Tom Hunter (Scot FM) and Paul Chantler (Galaxy 101), four of the five regional MDs, met in london at the offices of Jazz FM in Castlereagh Street. Jazz only had a very small lift. When the lady who came to meet us saw the size of the four of us she must have bitten her tongue - talk about a cast of "heavies" squeezing into a confined space!!

The fifteen or so years from the early 90s to the late 2000s were our peak career years - and we ended up in lock step for most of the time - growing audiences and revenues together, trading licence wins and chasing the same acquisitions. Glory Days - as our shared hero Bruce would say.

As well as being rivals, we were also partners. We ended up owning about half of the MXR multiplex consortium between us, which meant in turn we both had multiple services on all of the regional muxes. People talk now about the dazzling digital future - but it sure didn't feel that bright back then, and both of us had to have strong nerves to keep going back to our respective boards to show them the mounting losses on our DAB P&L.

John's big coup happened before we'd even put our first bid in. "Do you fancy inviting Ford in" he said to me on the phone one day. "Ford who" I replied (Mr Ennals was elsewhere employed at the time). "Not Ford the person - Ford the worlds bloody largest car company" he shouted back! John had somehow made friends with Nick Scheele, Ford's Head of Europe, and had persuaded him over a round of golf he should be a partner in our bids. So we gifted them 5% and created a great story for our bids.

We were also sales partners for a long time, as the GMG Radio assets and Chrysalis Radio assets fitted together so well. Our monthly sales performance review meetings were always fun - unless we'd missed target of course! We even managed to employ John's son Scott - although he'd been 'home schooled' in the arts of radio production before he ever set foot inside Galaxy - that must be one of the reasons Hirsty's Daily Dose was so good.

Our biggest joint regret was not merging those two companies. They made a perfect fit, but despite repeated attempts by us both, we just couldn't get our two boards over the line on price and value. Agonisingly close. The big question of course was who would have run the business post-merger. We honestly never discussed it, because we knew the priority was to do the deal and not let ego's get in the way. Maybe it would have been a joint approach - him head of jingles, and me head of spreadsheets. Hat tip to Ashley Tabor of course for getting to that point himself, and much further - we were both huge admirers of how he took up the reins of the industry and reinvented it. The brands we helped create couldn't be in better hands.

The last 10 years saw our friendship deepen even further, as we kept trying to find new ways to amuse and involve ourselves in the industry we both loved so much. We kept trying to find a business we could both become involved in - and I was thrilled he agreed to come on board with Podcast Live - no pressure to make it a success now Matt!

John's was a life well lived, despite his illness, which he managed with the stoicism you'd expect of him. He tried manfully to lose weight, but we all know he was a giant of a man in every sense, and no matter how careful he was, he was always going to fill a room with his presence.

I could write a hundred more stories about John - but will save some for another time and place when I hope we can come together as an industry to celebrate his life. I want to finish this blog though with three thoughts for all of us (and particularly our kids as they start to find their way in the world), inspired by John's life:

1 - We can't all be networkers. It takes a special sort of person to be so well connected (Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point calls them Mavens). But - we can all get to know networkers - in fact they make it easy. And the great thing about them is - you can ask them for a favour and they'll gladly do it - nothing is too much trouble. Which is why they are the people they are. So find networkers like John in your own life, and ask them to help you - they'll be glad to do it - and they will know you'll pay them back.

2. John was like the brother I never had. My best friend (and there are a few others who will say exactly the same), and yet......I didn't meet him until I was 30. Young adults today think their school friends, mates from college, or childhood neighbourhood chums, are the people they will remain closest to during life. I'm not sure that's true - and my experience with John is that truly great people can come into your life at any moment - so always be on the look-out for new friends. Take this great article by Paul Blanchard in City AM  Paul admits he only met John 5 years ago, yet the article has the feel of someone eulogising a friend they'd known all their life. That's powerful juju - so keep an eye out for it in others, no matter how old you are.

3. John and I started telling each other we loved each other a few years ago, and have never stopped. When mental health issues, especially for men, are so in the news, I think it's important we allow ourselves to express emotions freely - and telling another bloke you love him shouldn't be off limits. So do tell your mates how much they mean to you, before you lose that chance forever.

I'm off now, to enjoy the rest of my birthday, and rest of my break. Team would not have wanted it any other way.