Things I would tell my younger self: CNA938 radio presenter Lance Alexander

If you were a teen or young adult growing up in the late ’80s, you would likely remember when Singapore got its very own 24-hour Top 40 radio station – Perfect 10 98.7FM. Before its launch in 1989, those of us who wanted to listen to the latest hits would have to tune in to a radio station broadcasting out of Batam, Indonesia, where the deejays had animal names.

One of the OG DJs on Perfect 10 was Lance Alexander, then 28 and fresh from university.

Now 60, Lance is still in the broadcasting game and back on radio – albeit no longer playing the hottest music hits. He currently co-hosts the 5pm to 8pm timeslot on CNA938 with on-air partner Daniel Martin, a pairing that started last year, where they discuss the day’s news and talk to newsmakers.

After more than 30 years in the industry, Lance’s career has come full circle with his radio stint, after many years in between spent hosting several news and sports programmes on television.

Throughout the years, the common thread was his constant desire to learn and to grab opportunities as they came.

HOW IT STARTED

Lance shared that he got into broadcasting “in a sort of accidental manner”. He’d just returned to Singapore from New Zealand where he had studied education and psychology and was keen on getting into something like counselling.

“But there was this ad in the paper. It said pilot of the airwaves,” Lance said, adding that a friend working at then-Singapore Broadcasting Corporation – an earlier iteration of Mediacorp – urged him to give it a try.

Lance described the Perfect 10 audition process, where he was in an office packed with hundreds of hopefuls. “They give you a number and you go into a room and read a script. They can't see you but if they like your voice, someone comes out from another door and says, ‘Okay we’d like to get more details from you’.”

He aced the interview and the written test and with “no experience, nothing” and a little training, was given the 2-5pm time slot.

It was an exciting first job for sure. He was paid to play music, which he loved anyway. He got to meet and interview popular singers and bands; he recounted a story where he pushed open the studio door not realising Seal was behind it and dinged the Kiss From A Rose singer’s guitar, and how Jon Bon Jovi “was a bit of a diva”.

Lance’s life could have taken a completely different path. Around the same time, he was offered another job – with the National Productivity Board. There were also several moments during his career where he could have dropped out of broadcasting entirely, but somehow, he always found a way back.

After his 18-month stint at Perfect 10, he moved to television, initially to be an entertainment producer for AM Singapore, Singapore's first ever English-language morning show on Channel 5 that launched in 1994. However, when one of the presenters couldn’t continue, he was asked to co-anchor the show instead – without any TV experience.

“You're nervous, but you were given an opportunity, and you take it. And that's what I did,” Lance said.

He didn’t fully give up on radio though – he was still producing alternative music segments for Perfect 10 for the next three years.

DEAD AIR

Though he said he has mellowed now, Lance admitted that younger him was a lot more passionate.

He related an incident from his time on AM Singapore that could have cost him his job.

As someone “very passionate about animal rights back in the day”, Lance had requested to not read a script concerning a circus that was coming to town.

However, that request was not relayed to the studio director and when it came time for that part to be read out live on air, the camera trained on him, and a confused Lance fidgeted but was adamant that he would not read the lines. The dead air that ensued lasted around 40 seconds – an eternity in a live broadcast – until the camera cut to his co-presenter.

Lance thought for sure that his career would be over after that. However, he managed to explain the situation to his bosses and was given another opportunity.

“I sort of think I've mellowed a bit,” he shared. “But if you're serious about something, you've got to stand up for it. If you believe in a cause, you've got to say something. And I think that's just something that is part of my DNA.”

What would he do if he were put in the same situation now? “It's a hard one to call," he said. "I’m still not sure."

A CHANGE OF SCENERY

Arguably the best part of his morning show job was that he met his wife, Angie, who was there as a producer for a short period of time.

Several years later, Angie got seriously ill due to a bacterial infection and had to have open heart surgery. “It was very touch and go,” Lance shared.

While at “a very good point in (his) career”, Lance, who was in his late 30s at the time, realised that he needed to “reevaluate things” and the family, which, at that point, included his two young sons, made the move to New Zealand for a change of scenery.

There, he couldn’t get good employment and worked at a retail chain where he was “stacking shelves and loading up these 10kg bags of fertiliser”.

Lance wasn’t completely removed from broadcasting during his 10 years in New Zealand, though. He would take his vacation days and occasionally come back to Singapore to host certain programmes or events like the SEA Games.

He was eventually offered an opportunity to start a sports department at CNA as a sports executive editor, lead producer and presenter. So, in 2012, he went back to broadcasting – and to Singapore.

WHAT’S NEXT

Lance is thankful that he still gets to do something he enjoys.

“It's a good feeling when you come to work still having a few butterflies in your stomach and you still have that nervous energy,” he said, adding that he thrives on that.

He admitted it’s a harder task to connect with an audience now who have a myriad choice of things to tune in to.

Lance is a firm believer in knowledge sharing and giving the younger generation a chance to shine.

“I've always wanted to help maybe look after the next bunch of presenters,” he said, adding that the industry needed to nurture new talent.

“I think it's so important. I love young people. And I think you need to do more to get them excited about this industry. I think kids are more confident these days. They're so used to social media, and they're not afraid anymore.”

He wishes he’d been a lot more confident when he was younger and not spent as much time second-guessing himself. And he wishes he’d been a lot healthier. Now, he said he’s “trying to play catch-up” with his health by going on regular runs.

“I make sure I stay more calm. I don't get upset, you know, laugh things off. I think humour is a great platform because there’s no point getting angry. How long can you stay angry for?”

Tune in to Singapore Today with Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin on CNA938, every weekday from 5pm to 8pm.