HARTLEPOOL radio star Paul “Goffy” Gough is marking 30 years in the industry with a celebration in Middlesbrough this Spring.

The BBC Radio Tees presenter’s celebrations are going ahead in 2022 as he looks back to the launch of Goffy Media in January 1992.

The programme of events will kick off on Sunday March 13 at North Ormesby Working Men’s Club, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, with a show featuring Harry Cambridge, who is renowned for his acclaimed theatre portrayal of the soul legend Luther Vandross and his music.

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Goffy, who hosts and produces weekend shows for BBC Radio Tees, said: “It has been an incredible journey and I have been so lucky to meet so many inspirational people along the way that have driven me on.

"I started with a rusty old transit van and it was very much my own work - hosting youth club nights around Hartlepool. Like so many people, nothing was handed to me or passed down, it was just a case of head down, having a go and trying to forge my own road.”

The Northern Echo: Goffy Media launched in 1992Goffy Media launched in 1992 (Image: Goffy Media)

Goffy progressed to host breakfast show, ‘Goffy in the Morning’, on Century Radio over a ten year association with the popular regional station.

He was then headhunted to present shows via a joint deal with Metro and TFM Radio.

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Nine years ago he teamed up with BBC Radio Tees where he still presents and produces his own shows for the station.

Goffy said: “Along the journey I am so very grateful to the thousands of radio listeners that have been alongside me through the years, and to this day still send me lovely messages.”

Goffy has also raised money for various charities over the years.

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He said: “I calculated some years ago that my involvement in charity projects had raised in the region of £2.5m. I can confidently double that now and estimate it be around £5m. So it really has been much more than playing a few tunes on the radio – making listeners feel involved is always the aim.

“One particular event I am proud of is the £100,000 pounds raised in one night following an Alan Shearer dinner after the sad loss of my lovely sister Angela O’Hara in 2003. We were able to get Ant and Dec to help us with a meet and greet at one of their TV shows and that brought in close to £10,000 alone.

“The six figure donation was handed over to the Alice House Hospice in Hartlepool to build a garden for loved ones to share precious moments together in the most challenging times of life. It was named Angela O’Hara Gardens and has a memory stone highlighting the fact. It doesn’t get much better than that - it will be there forever and bring peace and calm to many lives in my hometown.

“On the media front, heading around the UK and setting up the press across the country to promote Paul Gascoigne’s two books with him will forever remain memorable. Meeting my radio hero Steve Wright at BBC Radio 2 was a highlight of it on those tours too.”

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Goffy said: “I am thrilled that Harry Cambridge will kick off the celebrations.

“His Luther Vandross tribute show is taking the theatres all around the UK by storm. They can’t get enough of him as he packs them in wherever he appears.

“Harry was one of the very first acts that I highlighted on my BBC Radio Tees shows and he has sent messages to me saying how grateful he has been since I first spotted him working in Benidorm and we instantly made a connection. He promised me to mark my anniversary celebrations and he kept his word which is fantastic.”

An Evening with Harry Cambridge is taking place at North Ormesby Working Men's Club, in Middlesbrough on March 13 at 8 30pm.

Tickets cost £12 and are available via Goffy Media on (07990) 588424 directly from the North Ormesby Working Men's Club, Westbourne Grove, Middlesbrough.

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