David Marsden, Canadian radio pioneer, dies at 85

Canadian broadcasting pioneer David Marsden has died at the age of 85. He passed away on Friday, September 25.

Marsden was most notably the programmer and voice behind Brampton’s CFNY-FM during its “Spirit of Radio” era. Under his direction as program director, the station became a groundbreaking free-form alternative outlet that significantly influenced music formats and new music discovery. The band Rush famously wrote the song “The Spirit of Radio” as an homage to the station and its programming philosophy.

Throughout his extensive career, Marsden worked at various stations including CFCO-AM, CHLO, CKEY-AM (where he performed as Dave Mickie), CKGM-AM, and CHOM-FM. He also played a role in bringing Pink Floyd to Toronto for their first performance and helped elevate the CFNY U-Know Awards to a national stage via the CASBY Music Awards in partnership with CBC Television.