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Dublin diva is the rising star of British airwaves
By Amanda Diamond
 Annie Mac is currently the youngest female DJ on Britain's premier youth radio station, BBC Radio 1. But her rise to fame has not been an easy one.
Amanda Diamond visits the Radio 1 studios in central London to meet the station’s hottest new star.
“THE first job I got speaking on Radio 1 was on this punk rock show called The Lock Up because the producer liked the way I said ‘punk’ in my Dublin accent,” Annie Mac tells me as I ask her about her fledgling career on Radio 1, Britain’s biggest youth music station.
“My producer was like ‘no way, I love the way you say punk’ so I got to do some links over songs.
“So it is genuinely down to my accent that I got this job.”
Having an Irish accent has literally catapulted the Dundrum diva from the relative obscurity of production assistant onto the nation’s airwaves every Thursday night.
Just a few months ago the youngest female DJ on Radio 1 was living her life as plain Annie MacManus secretly dreaming of being a radio DJ. Now she is living that dream.
“It’s a massive advantage having an Irish accent,” Annie says enthusiastically at our meeting at the Radio 1 offices in central London.
“English people love the Irish accent — they love the Irish. I’ve been living over here for four years now and I’ve only ever had positive experiences with people loving my accent.”
Being Irish has certainly worked for Annie. After completing several successful voice-overs on the late night show The Lock Up, Annie was given regular slots reading the news.
And bosses were so impressed with her husky voice and soft Dublin accent they offered her the chance to host her own show — a chance she grabbed with both hands.
“Ever since I discovered Radio 1 at college in Belfast this has been what I wanted to do,” Annie tells me passionately.
“It feels absolutely brilliant to be doing this job. I think I’ll probably look back on the last six months as the most exciting period of my life. This has been when all my dreams have come true.”
But Annie’s Thursday night dance show has not been handed to her on a plate.
Years of drive and determination, with sleepless nights and loneliness, along with a year living in a town that consisted of a roundabout, a shopping centre and three pubs have all contributed to creating Annie Mac — the Radio 1 DJ sitting before me.
The 26-year-old graduate from Queens University in Belfast has been hosting her new radio show for just over three months now.
But Annie is no stranger to Radio 1. Prior to landing the job of her dreams she had been working behind the scenes at the station for over two years in the capacity of production assistant.
In her spare time she created demos to give to her bosses subtly indicating to them that she had designs on becoming a DJ. And luckily for Annie they paid attention.
She first became interested in DJing after getting involved in the club scene as a student in Belfast.
Annie started working on the door of Belfast nightclub Shine and regularly started going clubbing:
“I was blown away by the dance music,” Annie remembers fondly.
“I loved the community of it all and being a regular at a club and seeing the same people every week, making loads of friends and feeling like I belonged. It was amazing.”
Annie was well and truly smitten. Although she completed her degree in English she was determined to follow her dream and in her third year at college bought her first set of decks.
She has been practicing in her bedroom ever since.
But the long journey from music novice to Radio 1 DJ was a tough and often disheartening one.
Following her degree, Annie found herself doing an MA in Radio at a college in a small town near Guildford.
“It was a kind of no-mans-land,” she melodramatically tells me.
“It had no soul and it didn’t seem to have any sense of community. It was such a culture shock because the place just seemed dead. It was a really difficult year.”
Annie’s next stop was London. She lived in a large house with members of her brother’s band.
She spent a lot of time by herself because her housemates were often touring with the band. This meant her first few months in the capital were extremely lonely and sometimes very tough.
Not one to be put off Annie sought out the jobs pages and landed the big break she was looking for. It came in the shape of a job on a little internet station that went bust after eight months.
But this was simply the beginning. She soon moved into a job presenting and producing on SBN — the Student Broadcast Network — from which she got a job at BBC London.
“I worked freelance for BBC London and covered for people when they were sick or on holiday. But I was working two jobs and long hours.
“But I had made some contacts at the BBC by then and I just emailed a lot of people and let them know I was here — gentle reminders I call them.”
Annie was eventually called into Radio 1 to cover for two days. The two days turned into three weeks which then turned into a full-time job leading her to where she is today.
“It is literally a dream come true. The moment I opened my mouth live on Radio 1 was the biggest moment of my life in terms of dreams coming true.
“I remember being really, really, really nervous. I had this really weird sensation where I just wanted to cry.”
Annie got through it though and is now firmly ensconced in the weekly Radio 1 schedule. But it was not all plain sailing getting to this point.
“It can be really disheartening. And it is really hard work. There were times I would ask myself ‘what am I doing? I don’t have a life’.
“But God it’s worth it in the end. Yeah it’s worth it. Just look at me,” Annie insists with her baby blue eyes nearly popping out of her head.
But the Dublin lady from Ireland’s fair city is not merely satisfied with sitting behind the radio mic.
She likes to take her show to different places and DJ at different clubs across Britain.
And Annie’s next stop is Belfast. She will broadcast her show from the city in which she was bitten by the DJ bug — but this time she will be returning as a successful new star of British radio.
“I’ll be doing my show from the Garrick Bar in Belfast on November 4 which will be brilliant.
“Whenever I go home to Dublin I always go to Belfast for at least one night to see friends from college because it’s so easy to lose touch.
“It’ll be great to go back there and DJ. It will be really special.”
Annie Mac is on Radio 1 on Thursdays from 9-11pm.
- The Irish Post has two tickets to give away to see Annie Mac DJ live in Belfast at The Garrick Bar on November 4.
For a chance to win write your name, address and telephone number on a postcard and send it to: Annie Mac Comp, The Irish Post, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith, W6 0LE.
Some quickfire questions for Annie Mac...
What is your greatest fear?
Rejection / being dumped — every woman’s greatest fear.
What keeps you awake at night?
Things that I have to do or things I haven’t done. Also, conversations I wish that I’d had with people.
What was the first album you ever bought?
Double cassette of Guns n’ Roses Use Your Illusion I & II. I loved it.
Which person living or dead do you most admire?
That’s a very difficult one but I have to say my dad.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Worrying. I worry a lot. I worry when I have nothing to worry about.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Buying unnecessary clothes. I now have to take a different tube to work so that I don’t have to walk past shops on Oxford Street.
What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you?
Loads of weird things have happened to me. But the most surreal moment in my life was when I was introduced on the decks by Shaun Ryder of The Happy Mondays at a club in London a few weeks ago.
What would your motto be?
Work hard and treat people with respect.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who made people happy, especially through the music I play. I’d like to be known as someone who made people smile.
What advice would you give to aspiring young DJs?
Get work experience. Theory is all well and good but you need to be able to do it.
What is the key to making it as a DJ?
Any contact you have, you need to treasure it. Treasure it, cherish it, but don’t abuse it.
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