Pop visionary David Marsden created Canada’s first alternative music station

“The medium was the message and, for a moment, the message was Dave Mickie,” noted broadcaster, musician and impresario Jaymz Bee, in one of many online tributes.

Official response and confirmed impact

In the 1960s, he transformed from the babbling Dave Mickie to the slow-talking, intimate hipster David Marsden, his most famous persona.

The long-haired, openly gay man loved pink Cadillacs and wild promotional schemes attracting new followers with his freeform, eclectic style at several prominent FM outlets.

He found perhaps his greatest success at CFNY, in Brampton, Ont., where he served as DJ and program director and created Canada’s first alternative music station.

After hearing what Mr. Marsden imprinted on CFNY, Rush recorded one of its biggest hits, 1980s fan favourite The Spirit of Radio, a gumbo of reggae, pop and metal that drummer and lyricist Neil Peart said he wrote to “represent all that radio should be.” The song’s title was taken from Mr. Marsden’s slogan for the station.

After Mr. Marsden’s death, following complications from a fall, there was an outpouring of accolades on radio and social media.

Many came from people who worked with him, praising his love of format-free radio and passion for new music.