Ever since the much-mentioned statement, Mr Bundy has kept mum over the whole incident, the rumours around him growing. A full-time move to either PBS or Max Plus was being mentioned in television circles, together with talks of a private venture in the entertainment business.

MaltaToday caught up with the DJ for the real story behind his split from Radio 101. Mr Bundy was more than willing to talk, stating that he’d been with the Nationalist radio station since its very inception and that he still considered his resignation as ‘unfortunate’.

“The dispute between myself and Noel Mallia, the radio co-ordinator at 101, was a purely domestic one. I simply could not agree with his arrogant attitude not just towards myself but also towards my colleagues at the radio. Everyone was treated very unprofessionally and I could not accept it. I was a bit like the Daddy of 101, having been there for so long and it hurt me to see the others treated so arrogantly,” he stated.

Why couldn’t he reach a compromise on the issue with Mr Mallia, I asked.

“On the contrary, the dispute escalated. I informed the management about the situation but they thought it would pass. Then one day things simply became too much and I decided that for the benefit of the station it had to be either him or me.”

Mr Bundy then handed in his resignation, which was immediately refused by the management.

“We had a meeting and again I told management that the situation was untenable and it was either Noel Mallia or me. I was offered a post in the Sales department, which I refused instantly. After some other meetings, we reached an agreement that everyone would calm down if I were to do TV only. I accepted this proposal and even suggested that I become a contributor with the company rather than a fulltime employee. We nearly reached an agreement then,” Mr Bundy said.

As everyone knows no agreement was reached and the DJ proceeded to leave Radio 101 amidst a storm of rumours. What really happened according to Mr Bundy was that MediaLink managers decided that production of Bundy’s programmes would no longer be in his hands but would be given over to other recruits.

“I did not want that. The programme was mine and I wanted to produce it myself as I had always done. I did not believe I needed any additional help in producing my shows as I had always managed very well. This was on Friday the 16 August and on the following day I left for a holiday in the States with my family. When I came back from holiday the first thing I found in my letter box was a letter refusing my proposal for the TV show and stating that my resignation had been accepted as of the first of August.”

Since that day, Mr Bundy has managed to keep a low profile, although speculative press reports about the reason of the rift were plenty.

“It was not an easy decision for me to leave Radio 101 but I honestly believed that the quality of the radio station would have deteriorated had I been forced to work with Noel Mallia. Our relationship was like a time-bomb waiting to explode. Unluckily I never commented about the reason for my resignation, merely saying that there had been a domestic disagreement and not partisan one.”

This was before Noel Mallia spoke about the DJ’s resignation during a radio show on 101. The reason for the resignation was stated as being that Bundy ‘made a set of conditions that the company could not agree upon’. Upon hearing the statement, Bundy immediately phoned in to give his side of the story but was cut off after some 15 minutes. Later, Joe Saliba, the Chief Executive at Radio 101 made a public statement to the media. The statement explained that the DJ had resigned because he did not agree with certain policies of the company and would only work for the radio station if his conditions were met. The statement, Bundy insists, is a complete fabrication.

“In my letter of resignation I merely said that I did not want to be part of a dispute at the workplace. I still have a copy of that letter. Through all the time I’ve been at Radio 101 I’ve never contested any policy, not one policy to do with radio or even with party matters. I was there to implement the Nationalist and Radio 101’s policies and not to disagree with them. I always obeyed every single policy,” he said.

What followed after Mr Bundy’s resignation was four months of unemployment.

‘Needless to say, it’s been a tough four months. Waking up first thing in the morning with the thought that there was nothing useful I could do… the thought has been like a spectre over me and my family, it cast a shadow over all of us,’ he said.

Today things are looking up for the former DJ. Besides hosting a weekly promotion show on PBS, he has also formed a small promotions company based in Fgura with a partner. And, a surprise for many, he is also general manager for the Hard Rock Café in Malta.

“I’d already been approached when Hard Rock Café first opened here, but back then I was still immersed in Radio 101 and obviously I was not interested. Now I’ve been approached once again and I’m happy to be at the helm there. I’m still in the entertainment business,” he said.

Regrets? As the song goes, a few.

“I was the first voice on Radio 101 and I was not there to celebrate the 10 year anniversary. I was very sorry about that. They also tried to leave my name out when mentioning the people who were involved in Radio 101 these last 10 years. But I was not having that, I made sure I called them and told them that you cannot remove history. I did so many things for that station, the marathon for the Guinness Book of Records is only one of them but it made me something with Radio 101. I never really wanted to leave Radio 101,” he concluded.

Would he consider doing another show with another radio station?

“I do miss radio every day. Radio was my baby. I’d rather wait to join a good station. If I join a station, it has to be the best.”