Real Life with John Cowan

Leighton was born in Australia in 1946. He had his first taste of radio at the age of 15 as a “junior disco jockey” on SCH in Sydney.

Moving to Wellington in 1980 for a one-year stint at 2ZB, Leighton ended up staying for 5 years. After briefly dabbling in radio in Adelaide, Leighton moved to Auckland to work at 1ZB, now renamed Newstalk ZB, and has remained there ever since.

Having dominated morning radio for more than three decades, Leighton announced his retirement from Newstalk ZB in 2017 and will sign off from his long-held morning slot at the end of this year.