Mike Davies (born August 8, 1978) is an American

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

and former

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Davies was born in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

on August 8, 1978, to British parents, where he lived until he left high school, aged 19. As a boy he spent a lot of time in the UK, to which he attributed his love for music. In 1998, aged 19 years old, he moved to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

where he studied

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

. His love for music turned into a passion, and he decided to give up art school and pursue a career in radio. In 2001 he moved to London where he began working as a runner at Radio 1, later working with

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

and The Evening Session at The Deconstruction Tour, where he was invited to a more permanent role.

Career

In January 2002, Radio 1 gave Mike a slot on the station to build his own show from scratch: and with it he created the highly successful programme The Lock Up. This show aired originally on Wednesday mornings, as a successor to

Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is an English broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken ...

's show. He quickly achieved a big following- with celebrity fans including Rancid,

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...

and

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

. In July 2004, he was given the chance to come out of the darkness of Wednesday mornings and host the "Lock Up" on Tuesday nights. At the same time he took over Radio 1's Rock Show from

Mary Anne Hobbs Mary Anne Hobbs (born 16 May 1964) is an English DJ and music journalist from Lancashire, England. She currently hosts on BBC Radio 6 Music. She is also a performer and curator of live events. In 2024 she created a ground-breaking collaboration ...

. He continued to host both these shows until September 2006, when he announced his intention to move back to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. This meant the end of both The Lock Up and his stint as the Rock Show host- to be succeeded by former A bassist

Daniel P. Carter Daniel Philip Carter (born 16 November 1972) is a British musician and radio DJ. He is the former singer and guitarist for hardcore punk band Hexes, the former bassist for A, the former lead guitarist for alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang ...

. On his return to the United States, Davies joined the Hawthorne Police Department as a police officer, later becoming a paramedic and member of the departments

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

team. Through his medical training, he gained an interest in Fire and emergency medical response and retrained to become a fire fighter. He later hosted Radio 1's Punk Show, Wednesday nights in the UK which was broadcast on Sirius in America. He organizes the line-up for the Lock-Up stage at the

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

. In June 2014, it was announced that due to BBC budget cuts, Davies would no longer present a show on BBC Radio 1 starting September 1, 2014. As a result of the reshuffle

's Rock Show was extended an extra hour and move to the primetime slot following the Official Chart Show, of 7pm till 10pm.

Notes

External links

Mike Davies Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Mike 1978 births 21st-century American firefighters American radio DJs American police officers British radio DJs BBC Radio 1 presenters Law enforcement officials from California Living people Radio personalities from Los Angeles

Early life

Career

See also

Notes

External links