Ed Bain has always known that humour and imagination are powerful tools in the radio business. He’s managed to use that knowledge to work in the morning radio market in Victoria since 1987 and, at 68 years of age, he shows no sign of stopping.
Bain came to Victoria in 1987, leaving what was, let’s say, a challenging gig in Langley.
“We had a zero audience there. It was a rough couple of years,” Bain said.
But in 1987 he made the move to launch the fledgling Q! 103 radio station, and he’s never looked back.
“Yeah, I’ve been here since day one. I pushed the first button and played the first song,” said Bain.
“It was ‘Start Me Up’ by the Rolling Stones,” he recalled, smiling. “Seemed appropriate.”
Those early years relied on Bain’s quick wit and keen sense of humour to garner an audience that appreciated the early morning gift of a smile. It’s an audience that has continued to grow.
“Radio has changed a lot since then, but I sometimes miss those early days when you could create characters and create mental images for people. It was the theatre of the mind, and it was a lot of fun.”
Although the reliance on characters has lessened through the years, humour continues to be a cornerstone of the show.
Take the Polka Monster segment. Bain airs a track of a popular song played on an accordion (he won’t admit to playing the songs himself, but it’s notable that his studio does have an accordion on a handy shelf). Folks call in and try to guess the song to win prizes.
The guesses are often pretty funny and may provide a hint as to why the accordion is not a staple of rock bands.
It’s a funny bit, but Bain’s shows have always had a humorous twist.
“Over the years we’ve had some pretty creative contests,” Bain said. “In 2000, we won an award for the promotion of the year. That’s when we gave away a house in our ‘Little House on the Prairie’ promotion,” Bain said.
“Well, we sort of gave away a house.”
The contest did, in fact, advertise that the station was giving away a house, but there was a slight catch.
“We described the house, but we never really said where it was. We’d bought a lovely house in Golden, Saskatchewan for $5,000 and that was the prize.”
When contest finalists were told the house’s location, they were mollified by the fact that the station flew them to Regina to attend a Rider’s game, put them up at a good hotel and then took them to try their keys on the house.
“We ended up just giving the winner $5,000 and donating the house back to the town. They turned it into a library.”
Bain glanced around the various posters, trinkets, and memories in his office and smiled. An Ed Bain bobblehead sits next to copies of his comedy CDs, and his book, ‘Men are from mars (Chapter five purports to list all the women in his life. The pages are blank.) There’s a toy accordion and posters everywhere.
“We’ve done a lot of funny stuff over the years, and I’ve always been lucky enough to work with such great people and have owners that allowed us to be free to go, never handcuffing us from trying new bits.”
It takes a little coaxing to get the self-deprecating Bain to talk about his contributions to Victoria, the community he loves.
For example, he’s spent decades raising money and awareness for the unhoused and working poor through the Q! Morning Show’s Feed the Need food drive. He also raises about a million dollars a year with the Golf for Kids fundraiser and was one of the oldest participants in the Tour de Rock.
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“I don’t just do this stuff to promote the show, although I believe that you have to get out there and earn your audience. The truth is that I love Victoria and I’ve always felt that if you have a profile in the community, you have a responsibility to do some good things with that profile,” said Bain.
Bain has extended that profile by taking on a feature on CHEK News called, The Upside. Joined by co-host Jeff King, Bain highlights fun and positive stories in our community and around the world.
“That program has been so great. I ate my first raw oyster in Fanny Bay, did the zip line at Mount Washington, gone square dancing and worn a tutu. It’s just a lot of fun,” Bain said.
With the love of the community and the respect of his colleagues, Bain seems to be an irresistibly funny force of nature.
Ross McIntyre, a writer, producer, and Bain’s 35-year friend and colleague summed it up.
“I’m not sure what it is that drives him, but whatever it is, somebody should get the recipe and bottle it,” he said.
