Foyle favourite Colum Arbuckle kicks off Jazz Festival with new book

Anyone who grew up in the whirl of 1960s Derry will uncover a treasure trove of well-known characters and memories within the pages of ‘Radio, Romance and Rock ‘n’ Roll’ which Colum has been working on since his ‘sort of’ retirement from BBC Radio Foyle after a busy 40-year career. It’s fitting that the launch takes place amidst the buzz of the Jazz Festival where many of his musician peers have proudly taken centre stage over the years, including the godfather of Jazz himself, Gay McIntyre.

Colum will join fellow jazz aficionados Jim Whiteside, Jim McDermott, John and Fiona Trotter, Joseph Leighton and the Paul McIntyre Quartet on stage at the Guildhall after the book launch for a show-stopping showcase of local talent to open Ireland’s biggest Jazz festival.

It’s an opportunity to revisit the music that paved the way for a lifetime of gigging, broadcasting and producing that has made Colum one of Derry’s best loved radio personalities.

“I never had any intention of publishing the book,” he insists as he flicks through some of the many photographs that beautifully illustrate the memories. “I had really just wanted to record some of these stories for my family. It was my wife Sharon who took it to her book club and then came back and said - you really need to publish this! I hope that the stories resonate with people and bring back a few memories.

“Other than the odd radio script I haven’t any writing experience, so that was a challenge,” he admits. “When I sat down to write the book I approached it like I would a job, I got up in the morning and I put in the hours every day. I didn’t make any notes. I often lay awake at night thinking and planning, and then I was ready to go the next day. “The first chapter was already there, as I had put together a piece for Waterside Voices a few years ago. I remember sitting down with my parents with a tape recorder to talk about memories of growing up in the Waterside, and after an hour and a half of arguing I eventually had the article. I’ve used that to set the scene for the book.”

Colum spent his early years initially in the White Horse Inn, where his father worked as resident barman, a time he remembers fondly in the book. Then after a time in Limavady Road he moved to Creggan where he immersed himself in city life.

“We weren’t a particularly musical family, I did a short stint playing the piano accordion which was soon taken off me,” Colum laughs. “But I moved on then to the piano. My real love for music stems from Rock and Roll and I remember so clearly hearing Apache by the Shadows on a transistor radio in Donegal – and it changed my life!”

And from that point Colum never looked back – starting off on a musical journey that would take him around the country, and eventually across the Atlantic where the local showbands were already making waves on the live music circuit. “The showbands were where it was at back then,” he recalls. “If you could play anything you could get into a showband, and the audiences loved them. When I was 16 I was asked to play with the Gay McIntyre Band, it was very professional and I remember my good friend Gerry Anderson played with them.

“Gay wanted to go in a more modern direction, so Gerry asked me to try out. I was still at the College at the time and we were playing locally with Gay. Then Gay got a residency in Manchester and he asked if we were interested in going. My parents told me that I could only go on the condition that I finished my O-levels, so once I got those out of the way I hopped on a boat and headed off. At 17 it was a big adventure and Gay promised he would look after us,” he laughs. “I learned more about music from Gay during that year than any other time before, or indeed since. I could quite happily have remained there for the rest of my career.

“I shared a flat in Manchester with Gerry and we had the best of craic. We were eventually turfed out for playing music late at night,” he recalls.

While Colum and Gerry were temporarily separated as they followed different opportunities, both heading off to the US, it wasn’t long before the pair were reunited – this time as the unforgettable Toejam. They were joined by Jim Whiteside and took to the road once again playing all over Ireland and having the time of it.

In a departure from the showband tunes, the band were feeding their real passion for rock and roll, and built up quite a following before disaster struck. Due to play a gig at Masons Bar one evening, they got the call that an incendiary device had destroyed the band’s equipment along with the building, and the gigging came to an abrupt end. Destined it seems to never be far apart, during their time back in Derry, Colum and Gerry both ended up behind the mic at the BBC. “I had a small recording studio at home and Ian Kennedy from the BBC asked if he could hear some of the local archive material I had stored. After five minutes I was offered a slot on BBC Radio Foyle and my first presenting job, which led to a 40 year career.

“I remember when we were waiting to move to the building at Northland Road we were based on the Rock Road. I had invited Richard Moore from Children in Crossfire in for an interview, but we discovered there was no equipment. We went up to the new building but there was no studio – they had to throw together the equipment. I always joke that they built Radio Foyle around me – literally.

“I have many happy memories over the years and I’ve worked with some fantastic people but I think my favourite moments have been the outside broadcasts. I always loved getting out into the local community and letting ordinary people tell their stories. Radio Foyle is very much a community station and that’s what makes it special. Covering local events like the Foyle Maritime Festival and Stendhal with my great friend Mark Patterson, out amongst people, those are the standout moments. Though I’ve been lucky enough to meet lots of big names over the years. I’ve played with the Drifters and met Donovan and Suzie Quatro, and I’ve had the opportunity to travel, playing the music I love. It’s been pretty amazing actually.”

Colum is still close with the Radio Foyle family, and while now retired, is never too far from the studio, still producing ‘bits and pieces’ when he can. The Radio is still going strong, and while there might be just a little bit less of the Romance and Rock ‘n’ Roll, it’s all captured for posterity in the book, which will be available to buy from Colmcille Press following the launch by the Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, at 5pm on May 1.

You can see Colum take to the stage afterwards with the local jazz legends for ‘The Live Launch’ at 6pm. Admission to the event is free but all donations to the Mayor’s chosen charity the Bud Club are very welcome.

The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival is delivered by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from Diageo and EY.

For more information on all the events at this year’s festival, go to cityofderryjazzfestival.com and for regular updates follow the City of Derry Jazz festival on Facebook Instagram and X @derryjazzfest.