BBC Marc Riley urges graduates ‘do what you’re good at’
Monday 25 July 2016
BBC DJ Marc Riley advised new graduates to ‘do what you’re good at – or what you love’ when he accepted his honorary degree from the University of Salford.
Marc, aged 55, presents on BBC6 Music and is a regular face at the University’s MediaCityUK campus, where he has worked with students to produce the All Shook Up online music show.
He began to carve out a career in music as a teenager when he joined The Fall as a bass guitarist in 1978, after a brief period spent worked with the band as a roadie.
Five years later, the musician used his experience to secure a role as a record plugger, promoting the music of hugely popular groups, including The Happy Mondays.
In 1990 Marc began to forge a new career in radio, when he was known by his nickname of ‘Lard’.
Marc worked alongside presenter Mark Radcliffe, broadcasting on BBC Radio 5 and BBC Radio 1 for more than fourteen years, and has now presented his weeknight BBC6 Music show for 12 years.
Accepting his doctor of arts award during a graduation ceremony at the Lowry Theatre, he joked that he’d had what he’d call a ‘proper job’ for about three months of his life, but had known from the age of 11 – when he first saw David Bowie performing on television – that he wanted to be involved in music.
He said: “Doctor of arts: honoris causa – I looked it up, it means ‘doctor of arts: only joking’. I feel compelled to thank the North of England – my home. I’m honoured – quite literally.
“You’ve all chosen to take a much more dignified way of starting your adult lives than I did, and I applaud you for it.
“If I were bold enough to offer any advice it would be to use the building blocks in a creative way while taking every opportunity with both hands and a tight grip.
“The moral of the tale is to do what you’re good at, but if – like me – you’re not particularly good at anything, do what you love.”
True to form, after a career spent championing obscure and experimental music, he quoted a song by a Texan psychedelic punk band, which begun with the lines: “It’s better to regret something you have done than something you haven’t.”
Earlier, Marc said when he learned he was to be given the honorary degree: “To say I was taken aback when I opened the letter would be a huge understatement. I got it in early April and for a while was convinced it was an elaborate joke. To be honoured in this way - by such a wonderful and respected place of learning – is both humbling and terrifying. Does this mean I have to grow up now?”
Geoff McQueen, lecturer in television and radio at the University of Salford, said: “Marc's allegiance to the North and to Salford is well established. His support of new music and our students makes him an excellent choice for this recognition.”
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