Draft:Daz Hale

Darren (Daz) Hale (born 26 April 1968) is an English DJ and former musician. He is best known for hosting the BBC WM breakfast show, before switching to be the main host of the BBC WM West Midlands Football Phone In.

He has also appeared on various BBC shows, such as Midlands Today and BBC Inside Out and spent 10 years in the band The Moneygods.

Early life
Daz Hale was born in Norton Canes on 26 April 1968.

Music career
From 1988 to 1998 Hale was the lead vocalist and lyricist in the indie group The Moneygods,  who gained a large local following on the strength of their explosive live shows. During this time they supported the likes of Radiohead, Dodgy & The Verve. Their debut EP All Roads to Sedgley peaked at Number 2 in the indie chart, thanks to frequent plays by John Peel on Radio 1 & by Paul Flower & Jenny Wilkes on BBC Radio WM. The video for the lead track “Wish you were Here” was also aired on MTV’s indie show “120 Minutes” (hosted by Paul King). In 1991 the band released the album “A Perfect Case for Celibacy ” which reached 41 in the indie charts. Their next release didn't come until 1997, a 4-track EP entitled “The Shitehouse Family”, which reached Number 67. All three releases are now available on Spotify, although “ The Shitehouse Family” EP has been renamed as “Poundland Boyband”.

Radio career
During the last few years of being in the band, "The Moneygods", Hale was also appearing more & more on the radio. His first show as a presenter was in 1997 on the 5-Live magazine show “ The Way Out”, as stand-in for Samantha Meah, whom was getting married. Hale & Meah went on to host the BBC Radio WM Breakfast Show together more than 20 years later.

Hale joined BBC Radio WM , full time in April 2002 & has been with the Station ever since. During that time he has presented shows across the schedule, including Sunday mornings with his close friend Alison Hammond. In August 2021 Hale left his breakfast role and took over as host of BBC Radio WM’s Football coverage, presenting a nightly phone in on the station as well as the midweek & Saturday local football coverage.

Hale has also broadcast from outside venues for other features, such as schools concerts churches shopping centres and universities

Television career
As well as appearing on the BBC TV news show “Midlands Today", Hale was also a regular panelist on a football show broadcast on regional television station “Big Centre TV" and has also appeared in a BBC 2 “Arena” documentary. He also appeared in a moving TV documentary about his colleague Ed Doolan's battle with dementia - the BBC Inside Out documentary.

Other
Hale is a lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers fan and as well as appearing in several books and podcastsabout his beloved football club, he also narrated the official 2006 DVD “Wolverhampton Wanderers FC - The Official History".  Daz is also a keen supporter of Birmingham charity Libby Mae’s Little Angels, as well as being a patron of Walsall-based cause Smile for Joel.