Born David Charles Wish on 18 July 1942, Londoner Dave Cash acquired his distinctive mid-Atlantic drawl after moving to Canada at 16. While in the Great White North, he participated in rodeos, indulged in motor racing and studied acting – though not all at the same time.
Soon after, he took to the microphone and visited Los Angeles and New York before returning to England, where Radio London took him on in 1965.
He was only there for six months, but during that time, his “Kenny & Cash Show” with Kenny Everett became a radio legend and one of the most popular pirate radio programmes of the era.
Known for his warm personality and celebrated as one of the definitive voices of the “Swinging Sixties” pop explosion, Cash was one of the founding, first-day DJs on BBC Radio 1 – alongside Tony Blackburn and John Peel – when the station launched in 1967.
In 1969, he scored a Top 30 UK novelty hit with Groovy Baby (based on one of Cash’s popular on-air catchphrases). The song featured the voice of a three-year-old studio character nicknamed “Microbe”.
In 1973, Cash left the BBC to help launch Capital Radio, London’s very first licensed commercial music station.
He served a 21-year tenure at Capital, acting both as the station’s Production Manager (hiring DJs and creating their iconic jingle packages) and as a daytime presenter, famously reviving his ‘Kenny & Cash’ partnership with Everett.
In his later years, Cash returned to the BBC network, spending 17 years presenting vintage chart and country music programmes for BBC Radio Kent and other southern stations.
Dave Cash died at his home in Kent on 21 October 2016, aged 74.
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He was only there for six months, but during that time, his “Kenny & Cash Show” with Kenny Everett became a radio legend and one of the most popular pirate radio programmes of the era.
He served a 21-year tenure at Capital, acting both as the station’s Production Manager (hiring DJs and creating their iconic jingle packages) and as a daytime presenter, famously reviving his ‘Kenny & Cash’ partnership with Everett.
