The Quiet Storm with Mark Ervine

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’m Mark 👋😅 I’m in my 30’s so old enough to know better, but that doesn’t stop me acting my shoe size every now and again. Currently living in a quaint little seaside country town in Northern Ireland with my partner, who claims she’s the better half of me (well, I let her think that anyway 😂) I’m a retail store manager by day, and a radio fanatic by night. Music is a big part of my life. I start my day with Alexa on in the kitchen, the radio then in the car on the way to work, and then the music on the shop floor in work. In the words of the iconic Stevie Wonder “music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand” truly resonates with me.

How did you start out in radio?

There are two answers for this 🤣 Age 5 when I got a Fisher Price tape recorder/player machine with a microphone. My best Christmas present, which I’m sure turned out to be my parents worst Christmas present they got me 😂. The real answer was when I was 14, I started out with a few friends in the online world in a gaming community. Since then I’ve very much been a part of online radio in a gaming community and over the years have expanded my skills, knowledge software and set up to that of a semi professional (or so I like to think ). 15yrs or so later I’m still very much apart of that scene. I stumbled across Radio Essentials in October 2022 and decided to branch out into something a little more real life for me and have been looking after your week day evenings since then.

What is your favourite takeaway? 

Hands down it’s a Chinese Takeaway. Sweet Chilli Chicken with fried rice, and if I’m feeling gluttonous I’ll throw in a side of salt and chilli chips 😍

If you could make any kind of crisps flavour what would it be?

I’m a crisp person over anything else, but I would love to combine my love for caramel square tray bakes with crisps. Do you think that would work? 🤣

Tell us one fact that nobody knows about:

I once dinged my mums Rover Metro quite badly back in the day with the handlebar of my bike 🙈. 8yr old me blamed it on my younger brother, who got such a telling off. 25yrs later she has no idea it was me 😅

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 90’s, in a seaside town not far from the capital city Belfast. I’ve since moved on around the coast a little bit but still reside 20 minutes from my childhood home. I couldn’t imagine not living by the sea, listening and watching it throughout the year - it’s very tranquil and calming

Who would play you in a TV show or film?

With my rose tinted sunglasses on I would have to say someone like Keanu Reeves, Daniel Craig, Ryan Reynolds etc but once I take my rose tinted specs off, I’d settle for local actor Adrian Dunbar who was in the police drama Line of Duty not that long ago. I love his voice and his one liner catch phrases 😅

Favourite music or artist?

Oh now this is a question and a half isn’t it?😅 I’d be lying if I said I had a favourite. I really like a bit of everything. My very first CD that I bought all those years ago for my first car which was a very unglamorous Renault Clio was Tina Turner’s Tina! Album in 2008 😅 I really enjoy anything uplifting and upbeat throughout the 80’s to todays stuff from the likes of David Guetta and Jax Jones. That said I really enjoy the chilled out tracks - the classics, which I play here on The Quiet Storm too, the likes of Dido, Foreigner, Sting and the Police right through to Lewis Capaldi. (Shameless plug 🤣)

Hobby or interests?

I quite enjoy gardening, even though I’m not very good at it, as most of what comes home with me from garden centres usually ends up dead within a few weeks 😅 I grew up camping and caravaning in the great outdoors, so this is something I wanna pick up again in the next few years - always such an adventure to be had usually on your own doorstep.