In Memoriam

A Tribute to Adrian "Uncle Buck" Buckland

Six years ago, when we launched Zone Radio here in the Valley, we invited people to join us as presenters and become part of our founding team. One by one they came through our doors to be interviewed.

Among them was a gentleman named Adrian Buckland.

At the time, Adrian was already well into his seventies. I remember asking him why, at that stage of his life, he wanted to start something as demanding as radio. Without the slightest hesitation, he replied:

"If you're going to start a radio station, you need passion and special talent to do so... and I'm here to help you with that."

How could anyone respond to that, other than to say, "Welcome aboard."

And so, Adrian became one of Zone Radio's very first presenters, taking to the airwaves every Sunday with the Sunday PM Zone. Little did we know then just how much he would become part of our family, or how deeply he would touch the lives of our listeners.

It was Janet who first started calling him "Uncle Buck." The name stuck, and before long it became impossible to think of him as anything else. His larger-than-life personality, his unmistakable booming voice, and his genuine love for people endeared him to everyone who tuned in.

Around the studio, however, he earned another nickname — "Biscuit Buckland." Rarely did a Sunday pass without Uncle Buck arriving with a packet of biscuits for the presenters. And almost every Sunday, Janet would receive a message asking, "Do you need anything?" It was simply who he was. Kind. Thoughtful. Generous.

Yesterday, our hearts were broken by the news of his passing.

Just last Sunday, Uncle Buck was here doing what he loved most — sitting behind the microphone, entertaining listeners with the same passion he'd always had. Today, that microphone is silent, and all of us — his fellow presenters, our staff, and our listeners — are left trying to come to terms with an enormous loss.

Uncle Buck was truly one of a kind.

He gave every show everything he had. He was a team player with no ego whatsoever. He simply loved radio, and it showed every time the "On Air" light came on.

His delivery was uniquely his own. His links were never predictable, and who among us hasn't smiled — or groaned — at one of his wonderfully corny dad jokes?

Was everything always plain sailing? Well... not quite.

Technology wasn't exactly Uncle Buck's greatest strength. He mastered the basics, but after every three-hour Sunday show, Janet often had to quietly reset the studio. As the years passed, his memory sometimes let him down, and he'd forget how certain things worked.

But that was a very small price to pay.

Because every single time Uncle Buck opened that microphone, you knew you were about to experience something genuine, heartfelt, unpredictable, and wonderfully entertaining. That's something no computer can teach, and something we'll all miss deeply.

At 82 years old, Uncle Buck was our oldest presenter, and quite possibly one of the oldest active radio presenters anywhere. Yet age never diminished his enthusiasm. If anything, it made us admire him even more.

Uncle Buck, thank you.

Thank you for everything you gave to Zone Radio. Thank you for your friendship, your humour, your generosity, and your unwavering commitment to this station and its listeners. But above all, thank you for simply being you.

You once told me that a radio station needs passion and special talent.

You brought both in abundance.

Your voice may no longer echo through our studios, but it will forever echo in our memories and in the hearts of everyone whose lives you touched.

Rest in peace, Adrian "Uncle Buck" Buckland.

You leave behind a silence that will not easily be filled.