Early and Private Life
Born in Dublin, Fanning was educated at Blackrock College, graduating from University College, Dublin (U.C.D.), with a degree in English and Philosophy and a Higher Diploma in Education. That same year Dave took over as editor of Ireland's only rock magazine (Scene) and began working as a DJ on the fledgling pirate radio station, Radio Dublin in 1977. Dave then moved to Big D when it was formed by Radio Dublin deejays in 1978. On both pirates, he presented rock shows. He continued with that format when he made the move to legal radio in 1979.
Fanning has always supported young, new Irish talent; he played their demo tapes and gave them radio sessions. His very first session in RTE Radio 2 (RTÉ 2fm) was with a young four-piece Dublin band called U2 and his friendship with, and support for, the band, led to Fanning's listeners deciding on the A-side and B-sides of the band's first single release. (This was in the pre-CD days, when singles were only released on vinyl). The band came into Fanning's show for five nights in one week and the listeners picked "Out of Control" as the first single, with "Stories for Boys" and "Boy/Girl" on the B-side.
Fanning's friendship with the band continues to this day. At a surprise birthday party, held at Dublin's Mother Redcaps in 1989 all four members of U2 paid tribute to Fanning; the band's manager Paul McGuinness presented him with a special present referring to Fanning as "the world's best DJ". Besides being guaranteed the world exclusive on all U2 releases, the band recorded a specially-filmed musical tribute to Fanning when he was presented recently (by Larry Mullen) with the Irish Music Industry's top award - The Meteor Industry Award.
Ursula was a researcher for Gay Byrne on The Late Late Show. Musically he is a fan of Bob Dylan, whom he describes as his God, although he dislikes his live performances.
He met Gerry Ryan around 1978 while both were working in Dublin pirate radio station "Big D", sharing the common bond of both having attended college, though at separate colleges. Fanning claims they met at work daily between 1980 and 1999. Their friendship led them to socialise and holiday together, while the Fannings even moved in with the Ryans for a time in September 1995 when the Fanning house was under construction.
Read more about this topic: Dave Fanning
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