Chris Maitland

As a child, I was around for the birth of rock ‘n' roll and embraced it, initially as a listener and then playing the music as a radio disc-jockey. My musical taste is eclectic, embracing jazz, big bands, show music, but my roots are still with the likes of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Bill Haley, JOK, Col Joye, Ricky Nelson, Cliff Richard, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney and so many more.

I am loving the opportunity I get at Coast FM to pay homage to the pioneering greats of early rock ‘n' roll. My early radio days were at 2WL Wollongong in the 1960's, then in management at 2UE and 2GB while dabbling in sports commentary. I was the baseball and softball commentator for the Seven Network at 3 Olympics – Atlanta, Sydney and Athens.

As a hobby, I dabble in writing short stories and have had my stories included 4 times in the annual book, Seniors Stories, which features the best 100 selected from around 280 entries in a competition sponsored by Seniors Card. My latest effort, titled Living the Dream, describes my journey through the media up to now, and is included in the 2023 book, recently released through all NSW libraries.

Lived in Sydney most of my life but in retirement, my wife and I recently moved to Point Clare on the beautiful Central Coast to be closer to our 2 kids and 4 grandchildren.