Where and when were you born?
- I was born in London some time in the last century
Where do you live
now?-
I now live in
Southern California, to the west of Los Angeles and not far
from Malibu.
Why did you move
to Las Angeles?-
People are always
asking why I moved out here and thats
because they havent
moved out here. If they had, they wouldntt
ask the question! This is the land of year-round summer
and not an English summer either. That said, the weather is
what the local TV news lives for. If there are a few drops of
rain in the forecast, the sort of shower that in Luton would
go unnoticed on a daily basis, then here in LA, its
enough to put us on Storm Watch! Then after the rain were
on Mud Slide Watch!
waiting to see if all the hillsides stripped bare by wildfires
are going to slide now theyre
a teensy bit soggy. And then the sun comes out, the sky goes
blue and were
on Fire Watch! because its
hot, dry and theres
nothing else to talk about except Paris Hiltons
new pink Bentley or Mel Gibsons
pregnant Russian girlfriend.
Ok
so why did I really move out here? Well, it was actually to
work. I spent a lot of time in the 1980s
going back and forth between U.K. radio and U.S. radio, with
stints in New York, San Diego, and Hartford, Connecticut, while
holding down my main presenting gig at Beacon Radio in the West
Midlands and Shropshire. Then came stints at BRMB, Buzz FM in
Birmingham, MFM and a bunch of others. After starting up Sunshine
855 in Shropshire as its first program director, I jumped at
the chance to Go
West
and join the crew at KBBY, a radio station near Santa Barbara,
California.
But inevitably,
when youre
in this part of the world, all roads lead to Hollywood and by
1996, I was an intrepid showbiz reporter filing celebrity interviews
and stories back to BBC Radio One and BBC Radio Five Live. It
just grew form there and soon clients included Mentorn, IRN,
Carlton, IPC Media, BBC Online and Yahoo! as well as other print,
radio and TV outlets around the world including here in the
U.S. who relied on my company Showbiz Networks for entertainment
news, celebrity video footage and exclusive interviews with
movie, TV and music stars.
How did you get
into Radio?-
Its
all a long way from London where I began my radio and broadcasting
career. One of my earliest jobs was as the warm-up jock for
Roger Scott at various London nightclubs. Now theres
a great broadcaster and one who, I have to say, is probably
my biggest influence when it comes to radio. He was a nice guy,
too, and it was Roger who suggested I should go to the States
to learn about radio.
I eventually got
into radio because a program director in Wolverhampton, in what
was undoubtedly a rash moment on his part, actually offered
me a job, and, in an equally rash moment never having been to
the West Midlands or even north of Watford, I accepted.
Who influenced
you the most?-
As well as Roger
Scott, American music radio was another gigantic influence on
me. It didntt
always win me Brownie points over the years with my bosses but
I worked hard to bring the kind of radio presentation style
and overall sound that I heard in New York, Los Angeles and
San Diego to my own career. One of my biggest thrills whilst
at Beacon was going to Dallas to oversee the creation of new
jingle packages and making sure that they really rocked!
What is the best
and worst thing about radio today?-Thanks
to the Internet, one of the best things about radio today is
that you can listen to stations broadcasting from around the
world which means you no longer have to put up with the crappy
stuff emanating from your local ILR or BBC station. OK - yes,
I will admit theres
crappy radio in the U.S.A. too but there are still great stations
out there like KLOS in Los Angeles and in the 1980s, WHTZ in
New York would blow you away. The U.K generally still has an
awfully long way to go when it comes to truly wondrous music
radio. Thats
one of the reasons I joined Radio Caroline in 2007, because
it still represents great rock and roll radio. (Actually I was
first approached to join Caroline in the 1980s
when I was propositioned in a Wimpy Bar but thats
another story
..)
The worst things
about radio today are the liner cards and voice tracking which
completely destroy any sense of what radio is about and robs
the medium of its immediacy and personal interaction. I am also
frequently appalled at the complete lack of passion or even
competence of many presenters.
Radio Caroline
still represents a radio station that puts music and personality
first. Like any kid growing up in the sixties, I listened to
the music flooding in from the North Sea ships and was thrilled
by the fun and free radio-style that wed
never previously heard in the U.K and I knew immediately what
I was going to do with my life. Its
that spirit that it is so important to keep alive in todays
radio world and Radio Caroline allows me to embody what I believe
about radio and still be a part of the essence of what its
all about.
What do you dislike
doing?-
One of the things I dislike doing the most is playing music
that has been chosen for me by a computer or being forced to
plays song that I just loathe. There is a BBC station in the
north of England that shall remain nameless which hired me and
then forced me to play Al Bowley! Fortunately, they soon
fired me because I didntt
sound like everyone else at the station and I kept replacing
Al Bowley with Bruce Springsteen.
What are your
5 most Iconic Tunes?-
Which brings me
to another great love of mine
Bruce and The E Street Band, my rock and roll heroes. So you
wont
be surprised to learn that Bruces
Born to Run is one of my 5 most iconic tunes along with Don
Henleys
The Boys of Summer, Heavy Load by Free, Be my Baby by the delectable
Ronettes and Tom Pettys
Refugee. I could go on if you want
.
What was the first
record you bought?-
The first single
I ever bought was, I think, My Minds Eye by the Small Faces
and the first album I ever bought was Sergeant Peppers
Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Who is the most
famous person that you have met/Interviewed?-
One of the perks
of living and working in L.A. is getting to meet some of the
people behind the songs who didnt pass through my studios when
I was in the UK. I had a great chat with Paul Rodgers backstage
at a nightclub on the Sunset Strip after he did a gig showcasing
his Muddy Waters tribute album, lounged by the pool at the Sunset
Marquis with Lou Gramm and Mick Jones of Foreigner, interviewed
The Whos
John Entwistle at a showing of his art and have hung out with
Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Sting, Ringo Starr, Mick Fleetwood,
Aerosmith, and Britney Spears
. Oops! Yes, I have met Britney
and yes, I have met Paris Hilton on several occasions and she
really does say its
hot a lot but she is cute!
You should never
ask me who the most famous person is Ive
ever met because its
just a free pass for me to name drop. Its
actually easier to ask me who I havent
met. From Gregory Peck, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Sophia
Loren, Bob Hope, Walter Matthau, and Jack Lemmon, Ive
met nearly everyone whos
been anyone in the past 30 years of Tinseltown magic. I knew
Will Smith before he was a worldwide star and alien killer,
Arnold Schwarzenegger before he was a Governor, and Brad Pitt
when he was with Gwyneth, and then with Jen, and then with Angelina,
as well as JLo and all three husbands!
I can honestly
say that I am definitely taller than Tom Cruise who, yes, once
discussed orthodontics with my wife and whether or not invisible
braces were a good thing when it came to curing an overbite
(his, not my wifes).
And yes, George Clooney is horribly good-looking and debonair
and has a nasty habit of kissing my wife every time he sees
her, like I can compete with that! In fact, George once invited
her to his mansion in Lake Como if she was passing through there
so I have hidden her passport.
I can still recall
the evening I chased Tom Petty across a parking lot with a TV
cameraman in tow because his publicist had promised me an interview
with him but forgot to tell him! So when he saw me he took off
like a bat out of hell and I wasnt
taking no for an answer. And I can still recall the time when
the always amusing Sharon Stone captivated me with a tale of
being trapped in her car in an alley behind her house by the
local bin men as she tried to take her child to school.
There was also
the occasion when a publicist for John Travolta uttered the
immortal words Youll
never work in this town again! Apparently I had broken all
the rules by actually asking Mr. Travolta a question as he stood
directly in front of me with his wife Kelly Preston because
it was her movie and it was supposed to be all about her
. Suffice
to say, John Travolta and I and the god Xenu are still speaking
and I am still working in this town.
One word of warning
though. If anyone ever asks you who youd
like to be stuck on a desert island with, do not under any circumstances
be tempted to say Sean Connery. Hes
the most miserable man I have every met in Hollywood and deserves
to be on a desert island by himself (oh he is
he owns a chunk of The Bahamas!).
Right, its
time I put together another Breakfast Show for Radio Caroline.
To those who asked, yes I have a free hand to choose the music
I play but thats
because I am 7,000 miles away from the boss. And thats
one of the most important things I have learned about radio
stay as far away from the boss as possible and always open the
microphone fader before you open your mouth!
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