Tony Fenton

Last updated

Tony Fenton
Born
Anthony James Fagan

25 March 1961
Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland
Died12 March 2015 (aged 53)
Dublin, Ireland
Resting place Glasnevin Cemetery
Nationality Irish
OccupationRadio presenter
Known forWall of Sound

Tony Fenton (born Anthony James Fagan; 25 March 1961 – 12 March 2015) was an Irish radio presenter and DJ. For 18 years until he left in 2003, he worked with RTÉ 2fm; then joined Today FM in 2004, where he worked until his death 11 years later.

Contents

Fenton won Music Broadcaster of the Year at the 2008 PPI Radio Awards. He also appeared on television, including a 2007 guest appearance on The Panel , [1] plus a four stars from five meal cooked on The Restaurant . [2] [3]

Fenton was "one of Ireland's favourite pop DJs". [4] Louis Walsh described him as one of "the kings of Irish broadcasting". [5]

Early life

Fenton grew up in Glasnevin, wanting to become a radio presenter from a young age. Aged deep within his early teens he would listen to the pioneers of commercial radio on stations such as Radio Luxembourg, [6] Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1.[ citation needed ]

On completion of his education, Fenton began an apprenticeship as a carpenter in his father's building company. During this time he set up as a mobile DJ with friend Barry Lang doing birthday parties at weekends, their first gig being at the local scout hall. Later, Ian Dempsey joined the duo and they travelled all over Dublin spinning vinyl at various weddings and birthday parties. Fenton noticed an advertisement by his local pirate station Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) who were searching for some new "jocks". [7]

He was also involved in soccer in his early years, playing alongside Ronnie Whelan at Home Farm. [8]

Career

In 1979, ARD employed him in his first radio job after a number of approaches. His prominence in local radio led to attention from the more powerful pirate stations. Throughout the early 1980s, Fenton was pursued by Dublin's growing radio industry. During this time he moved from ARD to Sunshine Radio and onto Radio Nova.

In 1985 Fenton returned to Ireland. RTÉ 2fm (then known as Radio 2) had begun in 1979 and were attracted to the vast audience Fenton had amassed while working with the pirates. During his early days with Radio 2 he helped grow the station's audience as presenter of a multitude of different shows throughout the schedule, including The Hotline. [9]

Fenton left RTÉ 2fm in March 2003 to pursue other interests but, missing the buzz of radio, he joined national independent station Today FM in September 2004. There he was given a new lunchtime show to present. A revamp of the station which took place in November 2006 led to his show being moved to the 14:30 to 16:30 slot. [10]

During his time there he interviewed many famous musicians. He later presented award-winning afternoon show broadcasts from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday on Today FM, a music-driven show with features including "On This Day". Each day at 15:30, he played a downloadable tune as suggested by listeners. An archive of the chosen songs was then stored online. [11]

Personal life

Fenton was unmarried. He was a fan of Chelsea and owned an autographed football signed by the team. [12]

In the summer of 2011, Fenton revealed that he had been battling prostate cancer. Just one month after losing his mother to cancer in October 2010, Fenton discovered what turned out to be a malignant melanoma on his leg. Following treatment, the melanoma receded and he was given the all clear in March 2011. The cancer returned in May, however, and Fenton travelled to Germany for surgery. The surgery was a success and Fenton spent the remainder of his six-week break recuperating. [13]

Fenton died on 11 March 2015, a fortnight before his 54th birthday, after succumbing to prostate cancer. [14] [15] [16]

On 12 March 2015, the day after Fenton's death, Today FM's normal programming was subsequently suspended and all the DJs began playing various songs in tribute to Fenton with the National Lunchtime News on Today FM hosting a program where panelists spoke of their memories of Fenton while various nighttime DJs including Colm O'Sullivan and Paul McLoone carried on the tradition of playing the songs that Fenton had enjoyed listening to.

At 2.30 pm exactly on 16 March 2015, the day of his funeral, radio stations across the entire Republic of Ireland played the Aretha Franklin version of "I Say a Little Prayer" as a final mark of respect for Fenton. [17]

On Friday 27 November 2015, "Whole Lotta Live", a CD composed of various sessions where musicians and bands had recorded numerous songs for programs on Today FM with the CD also dedicated to the memory of Fenton with all funds also going to the Irish Cancer Society was launched.[ citation needed ] That same day, over 100 musicians including members of the Irish bands, Ham Sandwich, The Minutes, Hudson Taylor and Delorentos gathered at Today FM in Dublin and at exactly at 1pm, performed a live version of U2's One in front of staff and personnel associated with Today FM, Newstalk and TXFM that was also broadcast on Today FM. [18]

Awards and nominations

Fenton received the Music Broadcaster of the Year Award at the 2008 PPI Radio Awards. [19] He was nominated in the category of Best Radio DJ — National at the 2009 & 2010 Meteor Awards. [20] [21] He was inducted into the PPI Radio Hall of Fame. [22]

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2008Tony FentonMusic Broadcaster of the Year AwardWon
2009 ""Best Radio DJ — NationalNominated
2010 ""Best Radio DJ — NationalNominated
2011""PPI Music Broadcaster of the YearNominated

Related Research Articles

RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray D'Arcy</span> Irish radio and television presenter

Raymond Michael D'Arcy is an Irish television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at state broadcaster RTÉ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Dunne</span> Irish broadcaster and singer-songwriter

Thomas Dunne is an Irish radio broadcaster with Newstalk, and a singer/songwriter with the band Something Happens.

TXFM was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Whelan</span> Irish media presenter

Martin "Marty" Whelan is an Irish radio and television personality currently working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). His early television credits included the game shows Millionaire and Fame and Fortune, and the weekday afternoon show, Open House.

Ian Dempsey is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, which runs from 6-9 am each weekday. He has won several major awards for his programmes and was the Republic of Ireland's tenth most-listened-to broadcaster in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Fanning</span> Disk jockey and journalist from Ireland

David Fanning is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show The Dave Fanning Show on the Irish national radio station RTÉ 2fm and a number of RTÉ Radio 1 programmes. He regularly deputises on RTÉ Radio 1 across a range of primetime programmes and also presented his own Monday-Friday 9 am show Mornings With Dave Fanning in 2015.

Radio Nova was a pirate radio station broadcasting from Dublin, Ireland. Owned and operated by the UK pirate radio veteran Chris Cary, the station's first broadcasts were during the summer of 1981 on 88.5 MHz FM and 819 kHz AM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul McLoone</span> Musical artist

Paul Martin McLoone is an Irish musician, former radio producer, voice actor, voice-over artist and radio presenter from Derry, Northern Ireland. He is perhaps best known for being the co-creator and co-writer of the Irish comedy sketch series Gift Grub. He is also the lead vocalist/frontman of the Northern Irish pop-punk/new-wave band The Undertones, permanently replacing Feargal Sharkey when the band reunited for a series of live appearances in November 1999. From September 2008 to June 10, 2021, he hosted the weekday evening/night-time radio programme on the Irish national and independent radio station, Today FM titled The Paul McLoone Show which broadcast from Dublin every Monday to Thursday from 10:00pm to midnight. It focused on less-known Irish solo singers or bands, as well as those from other countries who are popular in the alternative and indie rock world, but who have yet to crack the mainstream line of the music industry.

Dan Hegarty is an Irish radio presenter employed by RTÉ. He presents his show The Alternative on RTÉ 2fm Monday to Thursday from 11pm–12am. He is regularly dispatched to important musical events such as the Eurosonic Festival in The Netherlands, Electric Picnic and Oxegen for live broadcasting purposes, as well as being sent around the country to present the 2fm 2moro 2our. In 2008 Hegarty featured on the panel of judges for the Choice Music Prize and was sent to The Music Show to distribute advice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick O'Shea</span> Irish radio personality (born 1973)

Paul Crossan is an Irish radio personality. He was born in Drimnagh, Dublin, grew up in Crumlin, and attended Drimnagh Castle Secondary School and University College Dublin. He has been a presenter on RTÉ 2fm since 2001. O'Shea also presented The Poetry Programme on RTÉ Radio 1 in 2015 and 2016. Since 2017 he has been presenting the morning show on RTÉ Gold. He has presented The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1 since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choice Music Prize</span> Award

The Choice Music Prize, known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. For bands, the majority of members must have been born on the island of Ireland or hold an Irish passport.

Jenny Huston is a Canadian presenter of radio and television in Ireland. She was disc jockey on RTÉ 2fm, an occasional presenter on RTÉ Radio 1 and a television presenter with channels operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann.; Huston presents an indie rock and pop music show on Friday nights and a rock anthems show which is broadcast on Sunday nights. A highlight of her television career was co-hosting RTÉ's Electric Picnic coverage with Tom Dunne in 2006.

Lorcan "Larry" Gogan was an Irish broadcaster working for RTÉ. He was a disc jockey on RTÉ Gold having previously worked on RTÉ 2fm. His show was The Golden Hour, during which he played old favourites and classic songs from yesteryear. Gogan spun the first disc on Radio 2, "Like Clockwork" by The Boomtown Rats. Louis Walsh described him as one of "the kings of Irish broadcasting".

The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show was an Irish breakfast radio show, broadcast weekdays on RTÉ 2fm. The show, hosted by Colm Hayes and Jim-Jim Nugent, began broadcasting in March 2007 when the duo moved from rival station FM104.

The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is an Irish breakfast radio show broadcast on weekday mornings from 06:00 – 09:00 on Today FM. Presented by Ian Dempsey, it is noted for its Gift Grub feature, performed by Mario Rosenstock. It is the tenth most popular radio programme in Ireland and was named best breakfast programme at the 2007 PPI Radio Awards.

The Ray D'Arcy Show is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Ray D'Arcy, originally broadcast on Irish commercial radio station Today FM from the late 1990s until 2014 before transferring in February 2015 to the country's national public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann-owned radio station RTÉ Radio 1. The show is broadcast each weekday afternoon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth O'Callaghan</span> Irish writer & former radio and TV presenter (b.1961)

Gareth O'Callaghan is an Irish writer and radio and television presenter. He was most recently heard on 4fm, having presented shows on RTÉ 2fm for much of his career until 2005, and then a show on Galway Bay FM. In January 2022, he returned to radio following a 4-year break, presenting a new Saturday morning with Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio. He is currently serving as interim presenter of the station's weekday Night Time Talk show, following the sudden departure of presenter Niall Boylan to contest in the 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Meteor Awards</span>

The 2009 Meteor Music Awards ceremony took place on 17 March 2009 in the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin. It was the ninth edition of Ireland's national music awards. The event was recorded and it aired on RTÉ Two on 18 March 2009. The awards show was hosted by television presenter Amanda Byram.

Raymond Foley is an Irish television host and radio presenter. Having worked at Dublin's 98FM and SPIN 1038 early in his career, Foley moved to Today FM in 2004. In 2006, he moved to midday and presented The Ray Foley Show, with sidekick JP Gilbourne and Adelle McDonnell. He hosted the breakfast slot on 98FM from October 2012 until December 2015. He also hosts TV dating show Take Me Out on TV3. On Friday 12 October 2012, Foley and JP announced on the show that both of them would be transferring to Today FM's sister station 98FM to present the breakfast show. They both have expressed how difficult the decision was for them, due to their fondness of their workmates and friends in Today FM. In 2022, Foley returned to Today FM with an afternoon show.

References

  1. ↑ "Monday, 10 December 2007 – Tony Fenton on The Panel". RTÉ Television. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  2. ↑ "Five things you might not know about Tony Fenton". JOE. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Tony Fenton on The Restaurant". RTÉ Television. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  4. ↑ Niamh Horan (6 November 2011). "DJ Fenton to file for bankruptcy with €750,000 debts". Sunday Independent . Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Joe Jackson (3 February 2002). "Six things about Louis". Sunday Independent . Retrieved 3 February 2002.
  6. ↑ "Fenton, Tony". Dictionary of Irish Biography . September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Legendary radio DJ Tony Fenton loses battle with cancer". Herald . 12 March 2015 – via Independent.ie.
  8. ↑ Tyaransen, Olaf (29 June 2011). "Hi. I'm Tony Fenton". Hot Press. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Hotline With Tony Fenton". RTÉ Archives .
  10. ↑ "Tony Fenton". TodayFM.com . 2007. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007.
  11. ↑ "Tony's Daily Download". TodayFM.com . Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  12. ↑ Udell, Phil (26 August 2004). "At Home With: Tony Fenton". Hot Press.
  13. ↑ "DJ Fenton in cancer battle, but colleagues in the dark". Irish Independent . 1 December 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  14. ↑ Kelly, Aoife (12 March 2015). "Today FM presenter Tony Fenton has died following cancer battle". Independent.ie . Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Tributes after DJ Tony Fenton dies aged 53". RTÉ News. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Tributes after top DJ Tony Fenton loses battle with cancer". Irish Examiner . 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Say a little prayer for Tony! Irish stations unite in nod of respect for the Dude". Evoke.ie . 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "100 Musicians Perform U2's 'One' | WATCH: 1 week on. 1pm. 'One' performance. We're thrilled to announce that #WholeLottaLive has hit NUMBER 1 in the compilation charts and it's all thanks..." Today FM – via Facebook.
  19. ↑ "GROUP E: PERSONALITIES". PPI Radio Awards.
  20. ↑ "Meteor Music Awards nominees revealed". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  21. ↑ "Meteor Ireland Awards Nominees". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  22. ↑ "Tony Fenton's last interview: Cancer 'doesn't define me, or stop me from wanting to broadcast'". Independent.ie . 15 November 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.