Brendan first met Gay Byrne on the 6th of July 1962 at the first Late Late Show, live from Studio One in Montrose. Brendan was 16 and was aware of Gay from his radio work. ‘He was the first radio voice that spoke to us teenagers’, says Brendan, ‘ so when I saw a slide on television looking for an audience for a new live TV show with Gay, me and two pals headed in’.
Three years after their first meeting, Brendan found himself in the odd position of ringing Gay and offering him a job as presenter of a new programme sponsored by Urney Chocolates. He later produced three other sponsored programmes with Gay. It was the start of a friendship that lasted 57 years.
The paths of the two broadcasters crossed many times. Brendan was Gay’s first radio producer and, almost half a century later, his second-last producer on RTÉ lyric fm. In GAYBO AND ME, Brendan shares memories, stories and audio clips of his old friend.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 29th December, 3pm-4pm