Aircheck Tracker
Profile: Colin Bower: A Brit by birth, he made his first application for a job in the broadcasting industry at the tender age of 7 when he applied to the BBC for a job as a cricket commentator. He was obviously rejected, but very kindly so by Auntie. In 1949, he went to Canada - London, Ontario to be precise, where he spent seven years. It was here he began his early broadcasting work, when he started as a transmitter operator for CFPL - however, he wasn't an engineer, but he did have to read a series of meters every hour and if he spotted a certain amount of variation, he had to call a chief engineer. The Chief then told Colin which dials to turn to compensate. Apart from nearly electrocuting himself once when trying to climb the transmitter mast, there were no great moments of excitement.
Admitting himself that he gets homesick, he returned to the UK in 1955, only to find he then longed for travelling again. So he packed his bags and went to South Africa where he freelanced in radio for a year. Whilst there, he became known for voicing 'Royco' soup commercials on the commercial station Springbok Radio. Also, whilst in South Africa, he was offered a job with Lourenco Marques Radio in Mozambique - located on the country's East coast, world famous for marvellous prawns caught in the Indian Ocean. He was the early man on LM, working early in the morning, experience that would pave the way for the future. One morning, he was watching the native cook prepare some tea by pouring cold water on tea leaves in a tin pot and then stand the pot on an electric ring. Colin remembered that the tea was atrocious. At LM, he played to his largest audience. The station broadcast on short-wave, and the signal beamed right across Africa and could be picked up by ships leaving New York Harbour. It was once estimated that around 30 million people listened to Lourenco Marques Radio.
In 1957, he returned home once more. He took on several radio and television roles, his broadcasting career continued upon his move to the UK where he began reading news and conducting interviews with Television Wales & West in Cardiff. Later, in 1959, he moved to Anglia Television in the same role and additionally as a quizmaster for a station TV quiz show and as continuity announcer. He then moved across to Australia in 1964 where he spent a short time with state broadcaster ABC TV before returning back home to work as a freelance actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. He commented in 1976, that he 'just did not feel in tune with the country' and spent just ten months 'Down Under'.
On his return, he landed a job with Tyne Tees Television as an announcer and stayed there until 1967 when he went freelance once more. He went on to work for every Independent Television Company bar three. A great deal of this work was with Plymouth's Westward Television - it was visits to Devon that made Colin settle in this part of the UK. From an early age, Colin took a strong interest in matters of a psychic and spiritual nature. Having gone freelance, he entered what he calls 'a most difficult period from a career view point'. Apart from an occasional commercial for television, a small part here and there for some television series, life was treating him harshly. But during this difficult time, that he experienced many wonderful experiences. These events took his interest in psychic and spiritual matters to new depths. But the difficulties faded and he found himself with a challenging job with Plymouth Sound, found himself happily married and living in a fairy tale cottage, reputed to be 1,000 years old. He once met a medium who predicted in 1970 that he would be involved with the launching of a radio station. Plymouth Sound didn't even exist then, as neither did commercial radio at all. Upon the launch of Plymouth Sound on 19th May 1975, Colin found himself presenting 'Sunrise Sound' from 0600 to 1000 Monday to Friday and the Sunday morning show which stretched from 0600 to 1200. Besides this radio work, he did Clairvoyant work with Tarot cards and acted as a Lay-Minister of the Unitarian Church.
Colin has appeared in such TV classics as episode
16 of Boon called 'Day Of The Yokel' in which he played a Station Officer,
episode 78 of Boon called 'Stamp Duty' (in which he played a Court Usher),
Brookside, Byker Grove, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Onedin Line, Peak
Practice, Shadow of the Noose, Signs & Wonders, The Tommy Cooper Show, and
Woof amongst many others. He also compered the 'Hinge & Bracket' TV
series. His theatre work includes 'The Flanagan & Allen Story' (in
which he played Chesney Allen), 'My Three Angels', 'Educating Rita', 'Dial M For
Murder' and 'Pygmalion'. He also toured for Derek Nimmo in 'Barefoot in
the Park'.
Colin's voice has been heard on many commercials including such brands as Fairy
Liquid, Farley's Rusks, ICI, Guinness, Rizla, and Shell and on talking books
titles including 'Ransom Town', Tunnel', '633 Squadron', 'Fire Ship' and many
other titles. Corporate videos for Boots, NHS, DSS and 'Death Of A
Station', about the London Victoria Station. He was also the solicitor in
a film called 'Derek'.
His radio work in the UK has been dominated by six years worth (1989-1996) of 'The Golden Years' on BBC Radio Nottingham, playing music from the 20s, 30s and 40s. He still lives in the Nottingham area, and recently returned from giving talks as a guest speaker aboard the Cunard cruise ship 'Coronia' on it's journeys Cape Town.
Whereabouts:
Colin continues his various media-based work as an actor and voice-over, and he is also an accomplished author. He is on the books of Hemel-Hempstead based Parker Entertainments as one of their available 'after-dinner' speakers - www.parker-entertainments.com. He is also a member of Icon Actors Management who represent actors in all forms of live arts and mechanical media, and his contact details (for legitimate contact only) can also be found at Speakers Corner On-Line via this link. His speeches are said to be thoroughly entertaining, and interesting without the use of crudity.