AN IT specialist with a passion for pop is helping a veteran DJ keep retro music alive.
Founder and MD of Resilient Business Systems Andy Read is the technological support behind Heritage Chart Radio, which is run by former BBC pop-picker Mike Read.
A typical day for the Darlington-based consultant will see him helping clients all over the country with their IT one minute and talking to seasoned popstars the next, many of who he now calls friends.
Heritage Chart Radio runs a weekly chart and streams its music and TV programmes all over the world.
Andy, who was brought up in Stockton and now lives in Middleton St George, talks to Mike every day about the programming, security and technical support.
He also comes into contact with popstars of yesteryear including Don McLean, Cheryl Baker, Paul Young, Owen Paul, Limahl, Nik Kershaw, Toyah Willcox and Rick Astley.
“It has been a fantastic journey and I feel very fortunate to come across people who were my heroes,” said Andy, who works in his IT business with his wife Michelle, son Dan and his best friend Eddie McGee.
“Mike has provided a platform for these artists not only to perform their classics but also to showcase new material, thereby letting loose the energy that is still inside them.
“They are getting an absolute buzz out of this and helping them get back out there gives me a great feeling, particularly as Resilient is supplying the IT security which is helping to protect the artists’ interests.”
After leaving school in Stockton and moving to Yarm, Andy found himself working for a roofing contractor as a young man. He soon realised it wasn’t the life for him and with a passion for computers he went to work for a plastics moulding company which needed someone to look after its IT.
“I took to computers like a duck to water,” said Andy, who is known affectionately by Mike, the listeners and many of the stars as ‘The Man With the Technical Spanner’.
He the wrote a tooling programme that caught the attention of another business which he later joined and helped grow, picking up other clients along the away, including BT.
In 2005 he launched Resilient Business Systems, which specialises in making its clients’ lives easier and more efficient. “Our aim is that IT systems should just work for our clients so we do everything in the background to make this happen,” said Andy.
A contact put him in touch with Mike Read who needed someone to record interviews for a biography and, after chatting, the DJ got Andy involved with Heritage Chart Radio.
“We chat every day and I now consider Mike a friend,” said Andy. “The station has a phenomenal reach and people vote for the Heritage Chart from all over the world. It’s also amazing to see so many artists and DJs coming out of the woodwork as a result.
“I seem to work 24/7 but I absolutely love it and whether I’m talking to a plumber or a popstar they are treated in the same way as I have a passion for everything I do.”
