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

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

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 a nightclub or music f ...

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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

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. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

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 ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") 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 Coas ...

where he studied

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

. 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 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

, 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 the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

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 a 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 word ...

'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), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

and

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that 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 sensibilitie ...

. 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 the BBC Radio 6 Music weekday mid-morning show, Monday to Friday, 10:30am1pm, and her ''6 Music Recommends'' show, Wednesday ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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. On his return to the United States, Davies joined the

Hawthorne Police Department The Hawthone Police Department of Hawthorne, California in Los Angeles County, was established in 1922. The Hawthone Police Department serves a community of 84,293 people and employs 100 officers and 60 support staff. History The Hawthone Polic ...

as a police officer, later becoming a paramedic and member of the departments

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

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

'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 Festiv ...

. 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 Daniel P. Carter'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 American firefighters American radio DJs American police officers British radio DJs BBC Radio 1 presenters Living people People from Los Angeles

Early life

Career

See also

Notes

External links