He was educated at Mosman Preparatory School and Knox Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. He began his radio career in 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo before working at several rural radio stations and joining 2UE in 1957, the first of four terms at that Sydney radio station, during which time he became one of the first Australian disc jockeys to play rock 'n' roll music along with Bob Rogers, Tony Withers and Stan Rofe). Laws is said to have pioneered the practice (soon taken up by Rofe) of using contacts in the airline industry to supply him with the latest international pop releases, giving him an edge at a time when Australian releases of many British and American pop records might be delayed for months.