Showplace lobby named for Sean Eyre

‘People’s DJ’ made a huge contribution to local music

Everyone needs a little sunshine in their lives and Friday morning some shone on Showplace when the entertainment centre’s lobby was named for Sunshine Sean Eyre.

Country singing star Carroll Baker was there to sing Sean an 80th “Happy Birthday,” celebrating not only the honour of his name in golden letters of the lobby but the entrance into his ninth decade.

Sean is a graduate of Appleby College. His father, Karl Eyre, was mayor and MP for Timmins where Sean started his radio broadcasting career. He moved to CHEX radio and TV in Peterborough in 1961 where he was a weatherman before replacing Al Porteous on the radio airwaves’ 1-3 p.m. country music show.

The Wired Woodshed would eventually be featured which, along with fellow broadcaster George Franks (Elwood Cranston), became a must-listen for Peterborough and area residents in the 1960s.

Sean would go on to CKPT, always playing the country music he preferred. As the crowd of about 100 people heard Friday when the CRTC introduced mandatory 30 per cent Canadian content on radio, Sean was already playing 70 per cent, especially the big voices of newcomers like Stompin’ Tom Connors and Carroll Baker, both who would go on to successful careers.

Canadian music means so much to Sean Eyre, as does Peterborough talent, which he never ignored. He never shied away from playing local talent on his shows and as Baker said Friday if it wasn’t for Sean playing her songs on the radio they may never had been heard.

Other guest speakers were Warden J. Murray Jones, who remembered working on the competitor’s radio network when Sean had his afternoon show and, of course, “Nobody was listening” to Jay’s show.

Pathway of Fame vice-chair Geoff Hewitson talked about how Pathway chair Sean started the Pathway of Fame. Now, close to 300 people have been inducted. The annual ceremony recognizes local people with various talents from music to good Samaritan. Sean wasn’t afraid to induct people such as uneducated Paul McFarland who ran to raise funds for charities with no organization be

hind him before such events ever became popular, or on the other side of life, internationally acclaimed writer Robertson Davies.

There were almost a dozen Pathway of Fame inductees at Friday’s event, although notably not present was a single member of city council, even though Sean has done so much for the community and sat on council for a term as Town Ward representative.

Local 100.5 Fresh radio announcer Gord Gibbs spoke about Sean’s many talents, pointing out the ability to know his audience and appeal to it. He would take phone calls from anyone requesting a song or even wanting to hear their own song on the radio. He was the people’s DJ.

The host of the event was longtime friend and business partner Brian Edwards, who owns Rocklands Entertainment. The company has booked more than 5,000 shows that Sean was involved in across Canada and into the States including Nashville at the Opry.

Brian was a little boy when he heard a song on the radio and would call Sean to play it again and he did every time he called. By the time Brian was 17 he was working with Sean as a booking agent and they’ve been friends ever since.

He decided to do something special for Sean’s 80th birthday and worked with Showplace to make it happen.

Sean looked around at the familiar faces Friday, people such as longtime CHEX TV newsman Graham Hart, former Trent University athletic director Paul Wilson, investor Peter Duffus, Showplace founder Beth McMaster, entertainer Hank Fisher and former rocker Ian Hully, who still has the tape of Sean’s last radio show called the Wired Woodshed.