Remembering Tony Fenton

The sense of collective grief was tangible on March 12, 2015 when the news broke around lunchtime that King of the Jocks, Tony Fenton, had died age 53 from prostate cancer.
A good friend down through the years to Hot Press, he enjoyed a special connection with his listeners who'd followed him from the pirates onto RTE Radio 2 and then finally to Today FM where he was renowned for going the extra mile in support of Irish artists.
As we raise a glass tonight to Tony, here's the tribute that appeared to him in Hot Press...

The initial reaction came, as is inevitable these days, on social media with The Dude instantly trending on Twitter.
It was telling that some of the most heartfelt tributes were from the Irish acts that Tony had gone the extra yard to champion down through the years.
“The voice of our childhood,” said Kodaline; “Sad to hear about the passing of the legend and true music lover – and that voice!” added Boyzone man, Keith Duffy; “Safe travels Tony Fenton, you were a champion of many Irish artists, myself included and a genuinely lovely person. Thank you,” noted artist and producer Joe Chester; meanwhile 2fm’s Louise McSharry spoke for all of his radio colleagues when she proffered: “What an incredible career, and a very kind man on the occasion I met him.”
The sad news quickly crossed the Irish Sea with Guy Garvey of Elbow messaging: “Irish radio legend Tony Fenton has died. A funny man and a total gent. Love from Elbow to his friends, colleagues and family.”
Tony Fenton was indeed a radio legend. From his pirate days with the likes of ARD and Big D to his wildly successful 2fm and Today FM tenures, Tony was the consummate professional, who in October last year was inducted into the PPI Radio Awards Hall of Fame.
“Those who have worked with Tony over the years know only too well the positivity that he exudes – it’s a trait that not only inspires those who work with him, but also is something he manages to convey to his listeners,” reflected Today FM CEO Peter McPartlin at the bestowal. “Tony Fenton does music radio like no-one else. He’ll happily tell you it’s not work. It’s a love affair.”
For Tony, in the end, it was all about the music. He was rare among national daytime broadcasters in that he picked virtually all of his own records, and would spend hours at his Today FM desk going through the latest batch of CDs to be dropped in, to the station, hoping to unearth some new gem on behalf of his 100,000-plus listeners. He was always equally curious to know what you were listening to, in case hearing about your new fave raves might give him a head start on the rest of the radio pack.
As a result, he became a kind of ‘holy grail’ for many a young Irish hopeful, looking to gain invaluable airplay. You knew that with Tony, you stood a genuine chance. He loved getting acts into Today FM to play live, with Bell X1, Little Green Cars, Josh Ritter, Wallis Bird and Bombay Bicycle Club just a handful of his session guests.
“He fought a brave fight against cancer and remained really positive throughout when a lesser man might have crumbled,” says Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes. “But in the end, sadly, the illness proved impossible to beat.
“Tony was an immensely likeable character,” Niall reflects. “His on-air persona was big and brash and full of broadcasting beans. He loved his work, and that showed in the enthusiasm, which was always so palpable when he was on air. He was also a great champion of records and artists that he loved – including lots of Irish music. For him it was always about getting his audience excited about what he was playing, and as a result he really had the ability to break records and to give an artist’s career a major boost. He dispensed this gift wisely and well – and many artists are grateful to him for it.
“Off air, when you spoke to Tony, his irrepressible, positive spirit was still very much in evidence, but he was a genuine character, who it was always a pleasure to call or to talk to. He had a fantastic sense of fun. In addition to radio, and to music, he loved food and so you’d often see him out on the town, in Dublin, enjoying the best in fine dining that the city has to offer. He was great company, always curious about what was happening in your world and full of praise and compliments if you made a bit of a splash or did something good. He didn’t have a cynical bone in his body.”
Whilst always very much ‘on’ in public, Tony had his fair share of personal problems, as Niall explains.
“There was a vulnerability about Tony too, that fans might not have been aware of. He went through a very tough time financially and made the incredibly difficult decision to seek bankruptcy, which he was granted back in 2011. I know that he felt that a huge weight had been lifted when that went through – but it was an experience which couldn’t but have scarred him deeply. The stress levels involved were immense. There was another side to him that the on-air ebullience often masked. In a sense, there was a boyish innocence about Tony when he started out that he never really lost.
“He will be missed hugely by his friends in the media and in the music business,” Niall concludes. “And, of course, he will be missed by his legion of fans, built up from his days first with the pirates, and then with 2fm, right through to his work in recent years with Today FM. Hot Press extends its condolences to Tony’s family and close friends and to everyone who worked with him along the way – and to the team at Today FM, who meant so much to him.”
The Today FM family certainly did Tony proud, with an especially poignant breakfast show tribute from Ian Dempsey and Mario Rosenstock, who were laughing one moment, and fighting back the tears the next as they recalled all the good radio times they’d had with Tony.
The man described by Louis Walsh as “one of the kings of Irish radio” and by the Minister for Communications Alex White as “the voice of a generation” was a good friend to Hot Press, frequently bigging us up on-air for quality interviews of ours that had caught his eye; treating us to the occasional exclusive news story; and, going back in time, spearheading the DJ For A Day competitions we ran back in the day in conjunction with his then employers, 2fm.
Together, we brought through some of the brightest stars of Irish radio. It is something that he, and we, were and are very proud of.
“When I was 15-years-old the phone rang and it was Tony Fenton saying, ‘You’re in the final for DJ For A Day, dude’. Best day of my life,” recalls Red FM’s Keith ‘KC’ Cunningham who, along with the likes of Enda Caldwell, Ruth Scott, Ray Foley, Damien McCaul and Jenny Greene, got his broadcasting break courtesy of the Hot Press and 2fm competition, which Tony helmed with his trademark gusto.
“I did DJ For A Day twice with Tony,” says Ruth. “A gentleman. He was a real support when I started my career in 2fm too.”
That generosity of spirit was characteristic of the man.
“He was an inspiration to us all and never matched,” Jenny Greene adds.
He may have said his final, real-time goodbye, but we haven’t heard the last of Tony Fenton, with word emerging that he recently spent the afternoon out in Killiney interviewing Bono, another old pal who apparently was in very talkative mood. The resulting set-piece will air shortly on Today FM, in advance of the opening of U2’s world tour – and will undoubtedly serve as a further reminder of what a unique talent and true Irish original Tony Fenton was. Thanks, dude, for all the wonderful memories...