Career History

Radio Caroline
In 1978, Bob joined this legendary offshore radio station under the name Richard Thompson, staying until the ship sank in March of 1980. He had already started the pioneering cable community radio station in South-East London, Greenwich Sound. Here he presented the mid-morning show, was Head of Music and made the commercials.

He also "put his toe into the water" of television for the first time and for three months during 1980 he produced and presented a weekly rock music show  on Greenwich Television on the South East London cable system.

In November of 1981 he headed to BRMB Radio in Birmingham where he ditched "Richard Thompson". He took a year out in 1984 to tour the country as a commercial voice artist before going back to head up the newly organised Commercial Production department and provide relief presentation. By the start of 1987 though he headed up the M6 motorway to Wolverhampton and Beacon Radio  managing the company's production arm with a staff of six, and weekend mid-morning presentation.

December of 1989 brought the opportunity to become Programme Manager of the company's easy listening station, W.A.B.C Radio. He left the station with a 15% reach in February of 1991 and headed back to Birmingham to Buzz Fm the ill-fated Black Music station and presented the Sunday to Friday Mid-Morning Show. He also picked up his career as a voice over artist, a career which has continued to the present day. The lure of playing Tom Petty and Steely Dan records on the radio again and spending his week voicing proved too strong, and in April of 1992 he was poached back to BRMB Radio to present the stations newly created "adult album shows" on Friday and Saturday and the Sunday Rock Show.

Signal Radio in Stoke on Trent provided a temporary home for his presentation work during 1993 following BRMB's takeover and his show being changed into a love songs show! Between the summer of 1994 and the summer of 1997, it was back to BRMB again, by now owned by Capital Radio, this time to the am service 1152 XTRA am.

In the winter of 1998 a brand new radio station was starting in Leicestershire, just 15 minutes from where he was living. He accepted a 12 month contract to help launch Fosseway Radio. Weekdays were taken up with his successful voice over career, so he chose to wake up at 4.30 every Saturday morning to present the breakfast show and then the Sunday afternoon Oldies Show.

In 1999 he received an e-mail from Radio Caroline asking if he'd be interested in coming back to present a weekly show broadcasting to Europe via satellite but his programme was also broadcast on the French and Italian Riveras in FM stereo.

Following his move away from the midlands to Kent, he received a call out of the blue from another ex-collegue; Roger Day was programming Millennium Radio, a station based a quarter of a mile from the estate in South-east London where he grew up. Knowing the transmission area like the back of his hand the offer of regular swing presentation work on breakfast and three months on Afternoon Drivetime was very tempting but, being a lifelong supporter and season ticket holder at Charlton Athletic Football Club, the offer of taking over the weekly football phone-in show "Charlton Live, The Charlton Fan's Phone-In", made it impossible to turn down. He stayed from February 2002 until May 2003 when the station's new owner arrived.

In September 2003 he  accepted a short term contract to present afternoon drive at KM-fm in Canterbury and set up a programme production unit, training up a producer who now runs the facility making programme elements and trails for the whole group of Kent stations.

In 2007 he accepted an invitation to be a judge at the prestigious PPI Radio Awards in Ireland. He judged the categories "Station Imaging" and "On Air Competition/Promotion".

Outside of voicing Bob is a consultant to Radio Caroline, where he also presents a weekend album show