User talk:William desbordes

Born on the 3rd day of the third month and depending on where you start counting your days of the week,the third day(Wednesday) in Dusseldorf Germany, William des Bordes aka Lovin'C who worked for five years as Editor for the English Department and Anchor for the Current Affairs programme NEWSLINK, says its been a very challenging route to the outfit he still strings for-Deutsche Welle (www.dw-world.de).Cee the second of five children says he couldn't have done it without God on his side plus humility, hardwork, perseverance, determination and self-confidence.Education and respect for mankind is also key.. he adds.

Born to two medical practitioners Dr.Louis Des Bordes and Dr (Mrs) Irene des Bordes,showbiz in any form was always going to incur the displeasure of his strict parents.Lovin.. Cee who fell into a swimming pool in Neuss-Germany at age 3 but survived miraculously,recalls having to tip-toe around midnight during his teenage years, when his parents were asleep to scale walls, so he could make it to FOX TRAP NIGHT CLUB(his second nite club as a full-time DJ) where he was the main centre of attraction.The first was The City Hotel(now Golden Tulip) Night Club where he was issued with a death threat by his co-DJ who realised that Cee could take over his job.KIRA-VI NIGHT CLUB was his last before he left for Germany in March 2003. ..I was stunned when my mum yelled at me after one of my numerous forays one early morning in the early 90..s indicating that my colleague had warned her to ask me to quit the job or cease to exist but I never relented and forged ahead until I got an offer from FOX TRAP to join them in 1991.FOX FM 97.9 (fox979online.com) which is in Kumasi-Ghana the land of the great Asante King(Asantehene) Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is an offshoot of this classy night club FOX TRAP in the 90..s.Its also given birth to Accra..s HOT FM 93.9.Cee says he was overjoyed and felt lucky when KIRA VI won the Ghana Tourist Board BEST NIGHT CLUB AWARD in the year 2001.A very remarkable achievement at the time since clubs like GLENNS and LIPPO LIPPS were at their peak.

There were days when revellers would pay and get into the night club and settle down to jazz music while Mr Francis Poku(Afro)CEO of this business would drive surreptitiously to my house after midnight and wait till I sneak out stealthily before the real jam could start...But Cee says it paid off in a way when they were voted the BEST NIGHT CLUB in Ghana in the year 1994 by the Ghana Tourist Board.This was against HOT CLUBS in Accra like MIRACLE MIRAGE,BALM TAVERN,HIS MAJESTY..S etc.

His Colleagues at the time were Alan T (then a student with KNUST) who is now one of the Bosses for the Shell petroleum company, Magic Sam formerly of Accra..s KOTTON CLUB..& FOX FM, Joe Davies formerly of MIRACLE MIRAGE NITE CLUB in Accra who has passed on and Rastaman King Batuka now residing in London. Lovin..Cee..s passion for music could be traced back to his days at Prempeh College in Kumasi(www.Prempeh.org) in the mid 80..s where he spent most of his pocket money on buying TDK,MEMOREX and BASF etc tapes to record brand new.. R N B..,Soul,Pop,Jazz joints released monthly. But how did he get behind the console? He explains that his frequent trips to recording studios earned him a very good acquaintance with most of the top disc-jockeys in Kumasi including Jimmy Young,Soul Bambaata who is now a politician and Waf Jay. He was following their mobile spinning group called DEF JAM when school was on recess to most of their gigs around town and even out of town...The turning point was when their MC Bambaata as controversial as he was then, failed to show up at an INTERCO/SUPERZO JAM at Freeman Hotel in Kumasi because he had a gig at DIMLITE NIGHT CLUB that very night,so Jimmy was left all alone and he usually spun without talking so he gave Cee the microphone to fill the vacuum for Bambaata and that was it...People marvelled at the dexterity Cee unleashed behind the microphone at that tender age...I later added two more young dee jays to the DEf Jam Squad who later became known as MC Jermaine( now Saint Kankam) and MC Bugatee.

I was a teenager schooling at the time and will join extra classes most of the time completely worn-out.I remember one lecturer at UST Koo Armah who was taking me through English literature had a tough time with me owing to my truancy but in the end it paid off and i made the grades. LOVIN CEE reveals that ..the secret to his success in showbiz was the fact that he hardly missed spectacular shows by KWESI KYEI DARKWA aka KKD-the finest who is his mentor after their group DEF JAM performed with him at the UNITY HALL WEEK in UST in the early 90..s and they..ve been great buddies since then...I will never forget his encouragement and advise to fight ahead and make it big in this industry.He even offered me a motivational tape delivered by the renowned American speaker LES BROWN which was very helpful.....I still remember when he use play tracks like My Grandfather..s Clock,Quincy Jones.. Back on the block..and Kool Moe Dee..s ..How ya like me now.. on his POP CHAIN shows and Late Afternoon Shows on GBC...I was also all ears to Tommy Annan Forson,the late Charlie Sam and the late Barima Ohemeng Kwatia of GBC Radio and TV... On the international scene he reiterates that he listened to BBC..s Multi-track shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays and ..DEAR DLT.. hosted by one David Travez on Saturdays.William says he also used to also listen to mixed tapes from FUNKMASTER FLEX OF NEW YORK..s HOT 97 fame so when Cee finally crossed into mainstream DJ-ing, he was already armed to the teeth..even till date, as was showcased recently when he held people spellbound at a party in East Hartford ,Connecticut- USA before Christmas last year.

He is also a great fan of CNN..s LARRY KING and RICHARD QUEST.William also enjoys watching and listening to HBO..s REAL TIME host BILL MAHER.Listening to music,reading, watching movies and sports, remain his favorite pastime.On the International music scene he admires R& B crooner USHER and sexy Diva BEYONCE, who Cee says commands the greatest stagecraft at the moment after watching her perform live. However he still cant do without listening to music from RAP icon TUPAC of blessed Memory and the late BOB MARLEY because of the message their music carry... ' LUDACRIS has got the humour which Rap Music has been craving for today' he says yet he prefers the way T.I. presents himself.But one can never underestimate the incredible talent of R.Kelly who is timeless in his opinion....Lovin Cee says. Apart from the disc jockeying Lovin C often organised Inter School Rap Contests,fashion shows,Dancing competitions and Beauty Pageants at a popular joint in the heart of Kumasi called THE SPHINX and also at The UST POOLSIDE and City Hotel.Cee points out that this was where talents like Lord Kenya,Okyeame Quame and Hakeem of TV3 mentor-fame were unearthed.Also outdoored at the time were Accra-based NANANOM comprising Sidney,Jyoti and Omanhene Pozo whose debut single ..Agoro..was at the embryonic stage.William des Bordes has also hosted shows for the late South African reggae star LUCKY DUBE and Ghana..s Afro pop icon KOJO ANTWI among others in Ghana and also the ever popular MR FLEX at the Kwame Nkrumah University for Science and Technology(KNUST)GREAT HALL all to the admiration of the audience.Lovin C says the disc-jockeying job has been made a lot easier nowadays because the manufacturers of the sound equipment are always thinking of coming out with gadgets that will enhance the sound quality and also allow the DJs more time to have fun.In times past you just had to get your 33rpm and 45rpm..s right on the vinyl, before u could mix,scratch or loop a track.These days with the CDs and PC..s you mix with cheeky ease...In former times you also had to be able to write your rhymes and possess that gift of a gab and be ready to re-mix any song in the club by filling- in the instrumental bits on a particular record with rap. I still miss playing along side DJ/Artiste Azigiza Jnr, Fiifi Pratt and Joe Davies at GLENNS NIGHT CLUB, MIRACLE MIRAGE and FOX TRAP. Mark Okraku Mante of TV3.. MENTOR fame,who at that time was DJ at BALM TAVERN and also sold records to me is also one person i will not forget.William is forever thankful to Ghanaians for their immense support and prayers even in difficulties.

William des Bordes aka Lovin C always relished the idea of making it to the top in the broadcasting industry.So he put in an application at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in 1994 when they decided to go regional with their FM broadcasts...It was a very tall list but I managed to scrape through after an intensive Interview conducted by the top hierachy of the National Broadcaster -GBC with guys like Nana Boakye Yiadom( NBY),William Twumasi,Wendy Nortey of blessed memory ,Kwame Owusu Ansah-THE AFRICAN CHILD(actor/broadcast journalist)who died in a fatal accident on Friday May 2nd 2008,the late Benji Kumassah, George Yaw Okyere(now with Peace 104.3 FM Accra) etc .William says if he has come this far in this challenging industry then thanks to GBC who discovered his talents and sharpened his skills on-air...In those days you just couldnt afford to make even a simple slip on air..he says. William makes special mention of Mr S.A. Fosuhene the head of the Ashanti Regional branch of National radio and television and the late James Amartey who did the voice training and polished their pronunciation and delivery.Veterans Charlie Sam and Harriet Techie-Menson put the icing on the cake with their regular critique...I recall when I wanted to over-impress on-air and started raping on radio...Joe Coffie called me quitely one morning and said ..young man if you want to go far in this profession, you..ve got to drop that.. and it paid off. The most hectic time at GBC according to William was when they were camped within the premises of the National Broadcaster in Accra in the year 1995 for intensive training at the Radio Training School which was set up by the British.He says the school could still be very helpful to radio in Ghana if it still exists.

William claims the Kanda mosquitoes had a field..s day feasting on them at night, but they never gave up because they were bent on making it...After the course I was given a chance to host the popular Ghana Television(GTV)programme "MUSIC FOR YOU" and also report for the "2nd GENERATION" Television programme.My producers at that time included Moses Gyapong and Festus Allotey.My co-presenters at the time were Nana Yaw Tenkorang(Tinko) Ebenezer Okrah,the late Kwame Owusu Ansah and Kwantwi Barima.This was the time when FM broadcasts were spreading across Ghana with presenters like Earl Ankrah, Gabby Adjetey, George Brun,Giles Bossman, Sefa Kayi, Fiifi Banson, Kwame Faakye, Fisho,Bushke, Kweku Sakyi Addo,Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, KSM, Odeefuo, Azigiza Jnr etc giving it their all.Stations like Joy FM, Radio Gold,Radio GAR,Vibe FM etc were also trying to outdo each other.On Television, BB Menson the virus,Eddy Blay and Cindi Anafo were on fire with their Smash TV programme.. and the RTV magazine owned by one Robert Mills was all ears listening to the goofs which will come up for their next edition...We just couldnt help but learn at any given time to be ready to excel on every programme and avoid mistakes..!! In those challenging years william says he used to listen a lot to the BBC,VOA and even RADIO GABON since they had a very good mix of music and interviews on their network.

In that same year 1995 THE THOMSON FOUNDATION IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE BRITISH COUNCIL AWARDED a CERTIFICATE IN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING AND FEATURE WRITING to William for excelling in that area of journalism. CEO..s started poaching from every corner to strengthen their programmes in that same year...I recall having to turn down an offer from KKD to join SUNSHINE RADIO(now CHOICE FM) 102.3 FM in Accra because I just couldnt imagine leaving all the goodies in Kumasi behind..William says he made up his mind to stay forever with GBC but was not able to withstand the pressure...I wasnt feeling the heat because of the money but I realised the private stations were giving their on-air personel more room to excel but it was the reverse with GBC because of bureaucracy. Cee nearly joined Luv 99.5 FM the sister radio station of multimedia broadcasting service's Joy 99.7 fm in Accra.

Lovin Cee was a member of that team that did the auditioning and recruitment for Luv FM before they started broadcasting in Kumasi in 1998.That team included the late Dusty Wayne,Mark Okraku Mante,Cox Tamakloe, Ananaa Annan,Kwame Okai, Alhaji Addo and Theressa Ayoade (now with Charterhouse a major event organiser in Ghana).In fact Lovin Cee was the first Presenter/DJ on Luv 99.5 FM playing the test transmission for three weeks singlehandedly with occasional support from Kwame Okai(Coach Israel) while the likes of Nuamah Fameyeh who later became the General Manager, were doing the monitoring as to how far the station could travel within the Ashanti Region. Among the staff recruited for Luv FM were Okyeame Quophi now with HITZ FM and TV Africa in Accra, Akosua Dwomoh Fokuo and Lawrencia Thompson. Cee did this job for multimedia while still working for GBC because of the way the national broadcaster functioned then-prefering old hands to up and coming talents. Lovin C left for KAPITAL RADIO 97.1 FM in 1999 after he was hired by the General Manager then Judith Agyeman and rose to become the Programmes Director in 2000.

KAPITAL RADIO won the NATIONAL MILLENIUM EXCELLENCE AWARD in that year and William des Bordes was voted the RADIO PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2001/2002.His passion for sports also shone when in 2001 he covered partly the CAF Cup final match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and WAC of Morocco for the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) which the latter won on the away goal rule.Ben Dotsei Malor and Martin Davies of the BBC were very helpful at that time he says.Ben Malor is now with the United Nations in New York.His colleagues at Kapital Radio then included Kafui Deh,Chris Attoh (now with the Charterhouse events management team),Patti Daps, Daryl Eshun, Akua Adubea Obeng, and Rev. Joshua Kas Vorsah. In 2001 Deutsche Welle Radio Germany..s International broadcaster and that country..s version of CNN,BBC,VOA, etc organised a course on BROADCAST MANAGEMENT FOR PRIVATE RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS for all re broadcasters around the world in Cologne Germany for over 30 programme executives and CEO..s in managerial positions around the world.The course was designed to explore present trends and future developments in commercial radio broadcasting and also to provide an insight into western European radio systems and their approaches to modern radio management.The course programme focussed on Innovative radio formats,marketing,computer aided radio,on-line media and team management.William excelled and was rewarded by the German government together with Deutsche Welle.Then he was approached on the sidelines by the Head of the English Service at the time Susan Killick and confronted with that difficult question whether he was ready to switch camps and he responded in the affirmative. So he was asked to put in an application on return to Ghana. After 2years he was asked to do his medicals with the German embassy in Accra and proceed to Germany.

William des Bordes aka Lovin C(Editor/Anchor at DW)has been hosting the 30-minute daily current affairs programme NEWSLINK FOR AFRICA for the past 5 years and was also Editor for that programme."NEWSLINK" runs from Monday to Friday from 19:05 -19:30 UTC with repeats on 20:05 on 21:05.The programme is also live on streaming audio on dw-world.de.We found out that William virtually sets the whole programme up and chooses the salient African topics for broadcast in collaboration with the hundreds of Deutsche Welle Radio correspondents around the globe and the duty producers.He writes reports as well and conducts interviews for the show apart from the moderation.Sports coverage in Africa is also part of his duty depending on the importance of the event.An example was the 2006 World Cup in Germany where he covered most of the matches involving the African teams at the tournament. He says working with greats like Tony Durnham,Rick Demarest,Brian Pickering,Diet Simon,Meggin Leigh Doody,Susan Killick,Ian Johnson,Sue Cox,Mark Caldwell,Alex Sisto,Grahame Lucas,Uta Thoffern among others at Deutsche Welle, has really enriched his presentation.His most memorable time at DW was when he was called to lecture a group of graduates from the United States of America, on how developing countries report issues of pollution in the media in Africa and also to take employees of the UNITED NATION's(UNFCCC) through how to answer questions during TV interviews at the Deutsche Welle Radio Training School.William also gave a lecture to students from the University of Florida, USA and University of Aix-en-Provence in France, on media reportage on the pollution of water bodies in Africa.

William des Bordes aka LOVIN CEE became the first person to interview Ghana..s former President J.A. Kufuor while in office, on phone in the year 2000 after he won the Presidential election on KAPITAL RADIO..s morning show called DAYBREAK and followed it up by interviewing his wife Mrs Theressa Kufuor.He also interviewed Ghana..s former first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings on Valentines Day 2001 asking her about how romantic her husband was and crowned it all with a live interview with former President Flt Lt J.J. Rawlings on DW-Radio on two occasions...But I just cant forget my interview with the renowned Pan-African writer Professor Ali Mazrui on KAPITAL RADIO' he says. Mazrui told me back then before I joined Deutsche Welle, that I would be moving up in my career very soon and it did materialise...There have also been numerous interviews with Nana Akufo Addo while serving as Foreign MInister for Ghana on issues bordering on the Mano River Region (Ivory Coast,Liberia,Guinea,Sierra Leone) of West Africa and also with Heads of the World Food Programme,The FAO, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UNAIDS, The War Crimes Court in Rwanda,The Hague etc.

William also interviewed Former Liberian President Gyude Bryant after Charles Taylor went into exile and Jendayi Frazier of the US State Department overseeing the friction between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the horn of Africa region.William also interviewed Ghana's current President John Mahama when he was Minister for Communications on countless occasions,while hosting the morning show on Kapital Radio.Other interesting interviews include those with African Best footballers like George Weah,Roger Milla,Kalusha Bwalya,Abedi Ayew Pele, JayJay Okocha and some Human Rights activists around the globe. Some hardline rebel leaders on the African continent and former leaders like Nigeria's General Abubakar, Kenya's Raila Odinga, renowned Togolese opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, Zimbabwe's Morgan Tsvangirai and his wife plus the Current Head of the ACP countries Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas have also taken their turn on NEWSLINK FOR AFRICA hosted by Ghana..s William des Bordes.Just recently William spoke to the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town South Africa Njigonkulu Ndungane who formed the renowned African journal ..THE AFRICAN MONITOR..on the failure of G8 countries to meet their pledges to the African continent.William also reported on the 2008 Africa Nations Cup in Ghana which was won eventually by Egypt and later Ghana"s landmark elections in December 2008 as correspondent for Deutsche Welle in Ghana.

William des Bordes aka Lovin Cee says going beyond the sky, is the limit and for him the game has just begun and he is bent on achieving more laurels by the grace of God.