'Cheeky' Mark has his say
2003-11-17 12:20
Cape Town - Popular DJ and Big Brother presenter Mark Pilgrim, who was axed from 5fm last week, says it is a pity that his association with 5fm had to end this way.
Pilgrim says he was axed following an on-air remark about the romance between fellow DJs Gareth Cliff and Nicole Fox as well as for not sticking to the playlist.
A statement issued by the station says Pilgrim's contract has been terminated because of breach of contract and issues of trust.
"The previous station manager, Anthony Duke (a legend in the radio industry and someone I still respect), taught me that you had to be a bit irreverent on air.
"That's what makes 5fm a personality based station. Yes I was a bit cheeky. After being reprimanded by the programme manager when I spoke about the romance of two fellow DJs, I went back on air and told my listeners why I just got slapped on the hand! Unfortunately he felt that I was being insubordinate and was disparaging him," Mark says.
"I also played a rock song by a band called Simple Plan that was continually rejected by the 5fm music department, but has been on the MTV top 10 for the last three months. 5FM is a hit music station. It is important we play the big hits the public want to hear, even if 5fm's music direction is now leaning more towards hip-hop and R&B. Basically my passion for rock and pop-rock music got me fired."
Mark has a degree in Industrial Psychology and was in marketing for 10 years before getting into broadcasting.
Joining 5fm eight years ago, he started on the Weekend Graveyard shows and moved on to host 80's Hour on Saturday afternoons for five years. In 1998 he took over the Weekend Breakfast Show from Darren Scott.
"The saddest thing about me being booted so suddenly is that I never got a chance to thank everyone that has supported my shows over the last eight years. I owe them so much and will miss my show and listeners dearly. My first love is radio, and I hope to be back on air one day," Mark adds.
He is still involved in the broadcasting industry, hosting a weekly music feature on M-Net called Retail Therapy. He also spends a lot of time in studios doing voice overs for commercials and is co-owner of a nightclub in Johannesburg called Nitefever.