Dave Christian (born David Crockford in 1948) began his career in the mid-1960s, working as a ballroom and club warm-up DJ for major pirate radio stars – like Radio London‘s Tony Windsor – when they made personal appearances in the UK.
It was Windsor who offered Christian his first radio gig – reading the news from the London desk for Radio Luxembourg. He quickly moved from the news desk to the music microphone, relocating to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to become a full-time resident DJ.
A massive champion of contemporary music, Christian achieved a major milestone on 3 April 1973 when he launched Radio Luxembourg’s first regular weekly soul show.
Broadcasting in the early hours of Tuesday mornings, the show became a must-listen for UK fans because Christian used industry contacts to preview brand-new US soul releases months before they were officially available in British record shops.
He left the station in 1975 to join Radio Victory in Portsmouth, where he became one of the station’s marquee daytime DJs.
After leaving Portsmouth, he moved to Berkshire to host a popular Sunday show for Radio 210 in Reading.
In his later years, Christian returned to live in Luxembourg and remained fiercely loyal to the “Luxy” brand, continuing to record music shows for the modern digital and online revivals of Radio Luxembourg well into the 2000s.
Dave retired from radio in 2007 and passed away on 10 July 2010 at St Gabriel’s Hospital in Luxembourg, aged 61.
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Broadcasting in the early hours of Tuesday mornings, the show became a must-listen for UK fans because Christian used industry contacts to preview brand-new US soul releases months before they were officially available in British record shops.
