Raglan Community Radio’s longest running musical presenter Clint Baddeley has been on the airwaves for nearly 20 years and says it’s the music that keeps him going.
“I love it when I’m sitting at Raglan Roast having a coffee and someone will walk past and come back again and say ‘I loved your show’.”
And it’s this love of music that keeps him going year in year out despite what life may throw at him.
“I love the music and the radio. I enjoy it and I know there are people out there listening and enjoying the show.”
A teenager in the 1960s, Clint was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Animals, Small Faces and Amen Corner; it was a time in music, he says, like no other.
His show is far from being a golden oldies type of show, Clint gets a real kick out of introducing music lovers to new and unreleased sounds.
“The music I play people aren’t going to hear on commercial radio,” he says.
Americana is what he loves to listen to now, but don’t classify it as country music he says, the sounds of Americana are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, bluegrass and gospel; an altogether different sound.
Raglan Community Radio celebrates 25 years in November this year and Clint remembers the days when he lugged a suitcase full of his own CDs to the studio.
His home is still bursting at the seams with CDs and books, Clint and wife Jackie’s great passions.
These days Clint has embraced modern technology and gone from carting CDs to compiling his shows on an iPod and now using an iPad; it makes radio life far less cumbersome, he says.
He still buys all his own music and is a huge fan of the music magazine Uncut which comes every month with a free CD, music reviews section and showcases the best new releases and reissues.
Gone are the days of purchasing CD for that one track that you love; Clint says online music stores like iTunes allow him to source and purchase that one particular track he wants for his show and to add to his own personal collection.
Clint, alongside Lyn Wilkins from Bizworx, helped the radio establish a structure that involved paying royalties, applying for funding and hiring a paid station manager.
“When wanted to make sure it was run properly.”
The former Waikato District Councillor from 2004-2016, is known for shaking things up and he’s not afraid to make his opinions known on the radio – especially with the local body elections looming.
As a councillor he was used to being confronted about his work on council and doesn’t shy away from good honest debate.
He’s proud of the work he achieved on council for Raglan and counts the new Raglan Museum and information centre, the Papahua playground upgrades and helping Xtreme Zero Waste become the council’s preferred contractors as personal highs.
“When I was on council, I always had Raglan in mind,” he says.
A fitter and welder by trade, Clint worked in the gas and freezing industries in Hamilton and in the cement industry in Raglan before embarking on a long career as industrial relations advocate for the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.
He spent 18 years on the Wintec Council and was awarded an honorary fellowship in 2016 for his contribution to the New Zealand manufacturing industry, to Wintec and to local community organisations.
And he was chair of Waikato’s largest philanthropic trust, Trust Waikato, Community Waikato board member, has undertaken many volunteer roles in Whaingaroa and was appointed to the WorldSkills New Zealand board.
“I always had three jobs on the go.”
Although things have quietened down for Clint of late, he’s not about to give up on his music gig at the radio.
“Eddy Cross – Captain Pugwash reckons he’ll make 20 years but he won’t catch up to me,” he laughs.
Janine Jackson
Clint’s Music Show is on every Sunday, 10am-12:30pm. Celebrating 25 years of Raglan Community Radio
