John Cavanagh's involvement in radio has crossed many divides... he is one of very few people working in this medium to have broadcast for all 5 BBC U.K. networks, presenting everything from heavy rock on Radio 1, opera on Radio 3 and the BBC Radio Scotland Songlines programme, where he's interviewed the likes of Studs Terkel, Pete Seeger, John Kander and Judy Collins. Other recent programmes have included a two part documentary on Franz Ferdinand for the World Service and readings of poetry and other material for BBC Radio 3 & Radio 4.
He also has a weekly show broadcast in such spots as Latvia and New Zealand called the Soundwave. This is truly a piece of free radio.... session and interview guests range from Colleen, Nalle and Sharron Kraus to the Only Ones, John Leyton, Vic Singh and Ivor Cutler. Music on record is equally diverse, maybe even more so: from the 1990s and Miss Violeta Beauregarde to Mistislav Rostropovich and Alfred Schnittke!
"My inspirations in music radio were people with adventurous spirits" says Cavanagh. "John Peel and Alan Freeman are, rightly, well remembered for theirs, but another special favourite for me was a BBC Radio 1 show called The Sequence, produced by John F. Muir and presented by Pete Drummond for most of its all too short life. I say "most" as there was a stand-in presenter for 3 weeks... Vincent Price: what an inspired choice! The programme introduced me to Frank Zappa and Lee Perry, John Martyn and Jefferson Airplane, Jacqui McShee and Claire Hammil... even Led Zeppelin, but its lasting importance went much further than that. Links between the records were miniature free improv segments, blending one track to the next, hence The Sequence. Little did I know at the time I was listening to this as an 8 year old that I was taking in the work of Bob Downes, Lol Coxhill, Brian Eno, Stan Tracey and many others, processed by the Radiophonic Workshop's Paddy Kingsland. I am especially happy to have become friends with John Muir and Bill Aitken, who mixed so many of these programmes, recently, as The Sequence really had a huge impact on my tastes and the directions my life has taken".
John is also a voice over artist (reasonable session fees etc. etc:), he reads the news for BBC Scotland and he used to be the voice of the classified football scores an BBC Scotland's radio and T.V. sports programmes on a Saturday afternoon. He was - and remains - utterly disinterested in football, but he didn't mind people buying drinks for him as a reward for uttering their fantasy scorelines. He also provided the voice over for "Colour Match" by artist Simon Patterson at the Tate Modern.

John says: "I never intended to keep an album of photos and go around saying - 'Hey, look I've met so and so', but a few years down the line I rather wish I had more of this sort of stuff. I've dug out a few - and I'm looking for a few more - which I hope you'll find amusing. (Like the one herewith Kristin Hersh?!) They're also a lot more fun than those awful, posed d.j. publicity shots! One thing I've never been involved in is the kind of radio governed by a computerised playlist system and some of the photos shown on this page relate to my old BBC Radio Scotland show Original Masters.
This programme played a mix of new music and back catalogue material and is the source of one of my interviews with Delia Derbyshire, which is now circulating widely online. Delia was one of my favourite guests, alongside the likes ofDick Dale, Calvin Johnson, The Crickets, Edith Frost, Marc Almond, Simeon/Silver Apples, Scotty Moore, Jimmie Carl Black, Eugene Chadbourne, Belly, Ed Kuepper, Dave Davies and Momus".
To see more photos click on (the late & much missed) Link Wray!!!