Steve West: From Pirate Radio To 91X To The Great Beyond

This morning a friend sent me an obituary for a man I never knew, but who at one time I felt I did know, and I also felt he knew me.

The obituary was for a man known as Steve West and he was a DJ on 91X in San Diego when I was living there in the 1980's.

Steve West was his on-air persona - his real name was Steve Vinter, and he had immigrated from England to the United States in the early 1980's. He had started in radio as a teenager on one of those infamous Pirate Radio stations that broadcast off the coast of Great Britain, and later honed his craft over the British airwaves on legal stations before bringing his talent to Southern California at the dawn of the 1980's. 

The mid-'80's for me was a rough period, and the music Steve played was almost salve-like in the way it could take away the harshness of life. He played a lot of what I would classify as the cheerier side of Punk or New Wave - what's referred to as Modern Rock or Alternative music now.

That was the music that did it for me. Every time I listened to his afternoon show, when he'd play everything from the goofiness of Captain Sensible's "Wot" to the slightly off-kilter surf guitar-ishness of the Hoodoo Guru's "Let's All Turn On," as well as the occasional Sex Pistols or Clash tune, I would find myself thinking that this DJ had a perfect playlist.

Perfect to me that is, and judging by how popular he was, perfect to thousands of other SD radio listeners.

He also hosted 91X night at a long-gone club in PB called Diego's. I won tickets to an English Beat concert from him on one of those nights - for having the biggest feet (of those in attendance that is - I do not have unusually large feet).

Thanks for all the great music Steve, on nearly a daily basis for several decades you made life a little better for many, many people.