It was inside a bowling alley in Sydney that Burgess first met iconic radio broadcaster John Legal guidelines in 1959. The radio legend overheard Burgess’ voice and knew immediately he had a future in radio.
“It was St Leonard’s Bowl in Sydney, which I do not assume is there now,” Burgess informed 9Honey Celeb in 2019.
“I used to be speaking to the younger lady behind the counter, as you do, and after I walked away the man that was standing behind me walked up and stated, ‘Who was that?’ and she or he stated, ‘It is John Burgess, he is an expert bowler.’ This specific individual stated, ‘Properly, he is acquired a very good voice, he needs to be in radio.’ She could not wait to hurry down and inform me, ‘John Legal guidelines thinks you have acquired a very good voice for radio.’ I stated, ‘Properly, who’s John Legal guidelines?'”
The pair grew to become good mates and Burgess would go into radio station 2GB to observe John Legal guidelines do his radio present. The budding broadcaster then went on to rub shoulders with extra radio heavyweights, together with Tony McLaren.
In 1965, it was McLaren who reportedly informed Burgess there was a job emptiness as a fill-in announcer at 2UW in Sydney.
Regardless of having no earlier expertise, Burgess acquired the job: “I used to be the primary disc jockey to get a job in a serious market with no expertise in any respect,” he recalled to 9Honey Celeb.
Burgess later stated it was “Lawsie” who helped him with “presentation, studying commercials, and researching music” to assist him safe the gig at 2UW, the place he was ultimately given the nickname “Child John Burgess” — the identify has caught ever since.
In 1968, Burgess landed his first TV gig on a Channel 7 present referred to as Turning On which showcased Aussie music and bands.
