Longtime Ago People

The Count of Lanzarote

• M I L E S • Season 3 • Episode 1

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0:00 | 38:57

Rhys 1963 

son/father/count/dj/islander  

When I catch up with Rhys — or “The Count”, as he’s known on air — I’m taken straight back to 1976, when two twelve‑year‑olds (we are the two twelve-year-olds) walked into a school classroom and realised they were the entire class. From that moment, a friendship was built on shared trouble, fast laughs, and the kind of music discovery that rewires your brain for life.

I trace the soundtrack that shaped him: early punk, the Sex Pistols, The Jam, and those late‑night sessions with Radio Luxembourg under the pillow. We talk about the ritual of taping the Sunday chart, praying the DJ wouldn’t talk over the intro, and the thrill of buying your first record with pocket money. There are stories of Sid Vicious, chapel rebellion, and the gigs that still live in your chest decades later — from the emotional punch of Live Aid to festival moments that turn grown adults into emotional wrecks.

Then the conversation widens into real life: leaving school, scraping together work, joining the Merchant Navy, even getting deported from the US, before eventually building a long career in a trade that somehow keeps brushing up against pop culture. The biggest pivot is Monster Radio Lanzarote, where Rhys explains how a modern community station really works: no playlists, real presenters, giveaways, listener interactivity, and a commitment to local charities. It’s a brilliant reminder that radio is far from dead — it’s simply evolved.

If you love music podcasts, radio stories, 1970s and 1980s nostalgia, or honest conversations about how songs help us carry joy and loss, you’ll feel right at home here.

And if you’re listening, share it with someone who still remembers their first Walkman, and leave us a review with the one song you’d play to your younger self.

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Two Pupils Arrive At Boarding School

SPEAKER_01

I just want to set the scene for you. Right, so it was a long, hot summer. It's 1976. And at the end of that summer in September, I went to Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight at the age of 12. When I arrived at Bembridge School, I got there to find out there was only two people, just two people in my class, me and my guest today, Reese. Now, Reese, tell me, what do you remember about that very first September 76 meeting?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's legendary, huh?

SPEAKER_01

Only two people in the class. Just you and me. I mean, I know that come January or whatever we were joined by another five or whatever, but initially it was just weird, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00

Just two people.

SPEAKER_02

I think we hit off quite quickly. I don't think we had a choice. I think we were both as naughty as each other.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, that's why I ended up in Brimbridge School.

SPEAKER_02

It was a novelty for the rest of the school, too.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was. That's true.

SPEAKER_02

Um, you know, when whenever we walked up the drive or in the food hall or whatever, the refectory, we were a novelty to be quite honest with you. Uh one of my favourite stories would be that I actually came second that year.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know how I came first, by the way. I could hardly read when I went to baby school.

SPEAKER_02

Be proud of it. Tells you how thick I was. Well, I tell a story, I don't actually tell people that there were two people in the class. I still kept second in my class, and I think I've still got the book with the numbers in.

SPEAKER_01

I think that was quite weird. I was thinking about the other day. You've got numbers, you you were always positioned in the class, weren't you? Like one, nine, or whatever you were. Yeah, I definitely got second written on mine. Quick question for you why did you end up at Bemborg School? I mean, I definitely ended up there because I think my parents were wits end with me and just stuck me there.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I uh it was quite weird because all my brothers went to a local secondary school, or my and my sister went to a local secondary school, and they thought I was getting too much in trouble locally. They sent me to Bemidge, not knowing there's probably more worse of people at Bembridge than there were in secondary school. I think in the first year, two of our friends were expelled for breaking into a chalet and nicking loads of booze from up in the Culver Haven turning up to detention, drunk.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, not good.

SPEAKER_02

It was all part of growing up, I was told.

Punk Rock Enters The Classroom

SPEAKER_01

Definitely was. Okay, so we're gonna touch on music. Do you know what was number one in September 1976?

SPEAKER_02

It's quite funny you should say that. My show tomorrow night, and in 1963, on April the 24th, I was born. And so I'm actually doing the number ones from April the 24th from 1963 to date. I would say it was the Bee Gees.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it was actually Dancing Queen, believe it or not, by ABBA. There we are.

SPEAKER_02

I bet your Bee Gees were either the one after or the one before. And I've got the list just out there as well. So I'm gonna cancel a few and add some alternative charts because when I got to 18 on these lists of music number ones on April 24th, they started getting a bit no, I didn't really listen to that. So I've started to go into the more alternative charts, like the bluesy rock charts and the indie charts and things like that. So I've gone off on a tangent after 18.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, all good stuff. Well, we're definitely gonna get into music. So I've got I've got a nice actually, let's just do it, let's just do it now. So one of my fondest memories of you, because you were obviously you were like a legend to me because you introduced me to music. I think what had happened, I'd come to Brimbridge School, I'd I'd grown up in a hotel. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not I'm I grew up listening to Franks and Archer, I grew up listening to Elvis Presley. So I I grew up listening to that type of music that my parents were listening to. And then I I turned up at Brimbridge School and started, well, because of my relationship with you, you introduced me to punk rock. And I'm talking early punk punk rock and whatever. One of my fondest memories of you was a little bit later on in 1979 when Sid Vicious died. And I don't know if you if you remember this, but you put a black armband on that day. You went to school, and we had a physics teacher called Mr. Lee, who who we did called Lee. Uh who was actually probably my favourite member school teacher if I'm allowed one. He was really and he he looked at you and he said, I'm really sorry, Reese. I'm really, really I'm I'm so sorry. Um I'm sure you're struggling today, you're having a bit of a bad day. Do you mind me asking who's died? And you said to him, Sid Wishes, and he said to you, get it a bloody armband off.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know if you remember that, but I remember that. It was really good.

SPEAKER_02

I remember that uh we all had designated seats in chapel, and I had changed my hymn book to all the pistols songs to sing pistols songs instead of a hymn we used to have to sing at half past eight. Good stuff.

Beatles Encounters And First Records

SPEAKER_01

I don't know, I think I mentioned this to you on on Facebook or on a message before, but I did I recently watched the the the the um the TV series uh uh pistol, which I really did enjoy. It was sort of like tracking the Sex Pistols um and it's on Netflix or or Prime or whatever. But uh if if anybody hasn't seen that, it's it it was really good. I didn't realise how close uh Christy Hind was to being almost she could have almost ended up being a Debbie Harry into the Sex Pistols, Debbie Harry into Blondie, honestly. So what's the first piece of music? I mean, you touched on just a second ago. I mean, gang on let's just let's just re-rewind a bit. So your parents went to the Highlight Festival in Six Night and they recorded Bob Didden. I've got right. You got it, so they recorded it out loud just on a cassette player there and then. Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02

That weekend, mum was being a housekeeper in Bembridge, and three of the Beatles stayed in there, Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison.

SPEAKER_01

That's incredible.

SPEAKER_02

And she cleaned the house for the band. She met them. I ended up fitting floors for three out of four of the Beatles.

SPEAKER_01

Did you? I was like, um tell me more.

SPEAKER_02

But his wife was nice.

SPEAKER_01

That's true. Um girl.

SPEAKER_02

I'll tell you my favourite one was Madness Recording Studios up in Camden. I pulled up outside and van load of stuff, and I rang the bell and this lady said, Who is it? I said, I've been driving in my van. I went fun with you today, aren't we?

SPEAKER_01

You had a floor fitting business, and so this was you were actually fitting a floor in Madness's studio, yeah?

SPEAKER_02

The job should have taken two and a half hours. I was there from nine in the morning till six at night watching them mucking about and recording.

SPEAKER_01

Let's go back to your first piece of music that you can remember being truly yours, not your parents, but yours.

SPEAKER_02

Believe or not, saving my pocket money from a paper round, I went with my 50 pence into a record shop and bought Melanie Brand New Key.

SPEAKER_01

I don't I don't know that, which I hate to admit.

SPEAKER_02

There's been covers of it. Can't think who did it. I think pick like the Worlds, but yeah, it's a good track, Melanie Brand New Key, would be the first actual record I bought. The set the first album would be Nevermind the Bullets.

SPEAKER_01

Definitely. I would I would I would expect that to be covered.

SPEAKER_02

But if you talk about looking up to me about music, I actually really looking back over the years, you introduced me to some great sounds. Had we left school in 1980.

SPEAKER_01

Well, no, but we were still there.

SPEAKER_02

That was you walking down the drive with a smile, big as anything. The jam had just gone straight to number one with going underground, and you had followed them for a couple of years anyway. The modern world and you know, you're going now the jam, the jam. You know, they're still one of my favourite bands to date. The police, you were like, you know, you look like sting out of um out of the corporate. I tried my hardest. You know, I saw them before they were famous, so they they were good, good band.

SPEAKER_01

I've seen Paul Weller, but I never saw the jam. I can't believe I never saw the jam. It's one of my biggest. Yeah, it is sad. It is, it's it's one of my biggest.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I'd have loved to have seen the jam. I've never seen the jam.

SPEAKER_01

Never saw the jam. Obviously, saw Paul Weller many a times and seen him at the Isle of White Festival. And it's too late, you know. It is too late because obviously Rick Butler's no longer with us, but uh tardy. It is sad.

SPEAKER_02

We love Weller, but he uh he has been a bit of an arse over the years. But the band was the jam was yeah, but he did good do good things after the jam.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I've enjoyed all forms of poor weather, you know. He's uh he's been very much part of my life throughout my life and uh remains. Were you at Live A?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, indeed.

SPEAKER_01

You were there, fantastic.

SPEAKER_02

I've got um people who say you know, they were at Live A, you know, everyone talks about Queen, but there were so many other parts of the day that were just superb. Then walls come tumbling down was one. Yeah, remember I've got it all on tape. Yeah, two total strangers and crying when Bowie did heroes and yeah, fantastic. It was a moving day, it really was a moving day.

SPEAKER_01

No, I'd like to have uh I'd like to have seen that. I happened to be out on the stag weekend on the Isle of Wight going from nightclub to nightclub and from ride to sand. Sorry, drink till your puke tour. Yeah, it was. It was uh Tim Bailey's stag weekend, bless his soul.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, bless his soul. I mean, like you said about pictures, all my memorabilia is at the radio station. And I I'm on tomorrow night, I can flick a few pictures over to you from the t-shirt from Live A Live was there, tickets for I've got the blowshirs, weren't the um pamphlet up there, uh picture dumped. I've got you'd love the entrance hall to the radio station. I've got all my memorabilia of Chuck Berry, Gig, um all the t-shirts are all up around the studio of George Thorogood and you know, all the gigs I've been to. So I've piggy a few pictures over if you want.

Leaving School And Finding Work

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, please do. Let's let's just go back. You went from memory school. Did you go straight into the flooring business or did that come later?

SPEAKER_02

I didn't. I left Bemridge School with high hopes of being um nothing. I'll tell you, I do tell people this funny story. On my on my stag night, you turned up, I think, with Tim Milichip, Marcus Waldrum, and you bought Warren Beck's housemaster to the yeah, great guy. I don't know. When I left Bendbridge School, he said, You've got one accolade Lloyd. I said, What's that then? He said, I've never caned a boy as much as I've caned you. Tell me about it. Anyway, I applied for Dustman's job, because that was in the paper, and I didn't get it. I thought, right, this is going nowhere, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01

So much my private education.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly. I couldn't even get a dustman's job. So I thought, right, sod this, I'm up, I'm off to London. Jack McGear uh moved into a one-bedom apartment with three girls, didn't have a job, so I was like cooking and cleaning for them for a little while, but joined the American merchant navy. If I went to America, I was a bar waiter for about a year and a half, and I broke all the rules and was deported out of America.

SPEAKER_01

You've just unlocked a memory somewhere in my brain.

SPEAKER_02

So that was good. I ended up going back there through flooring, but when I got back, the money was so good on the boats. I thought, God, this life I've just been living, what am I gonna do? And I just went straight into a trade and stayed with it for 40 years.

SPEAKER_01

And that's obviously the flooring, and you've uh, as you said, you did madness's floor, Beatles' floors. Anybody else? Loads, loads of the floors.

SPEAKER_02

I hand sewed a border on Mike Rutherford's apartment, and his stereo was worth more than my van. Talk to it, and it would go on in each different room. And he was a lovely guy, he was he was smashing, he was just a nice guy. I've done loads. Andrew Lloyd Webber drove to his house from we worked out of just off Towerbridge Road, drove Berkshire, where his country house was. Four hours driving there, get there, big sweeping drive, said to the guard, where do we go, mate? He went, go round to the left and park round the back, go in the tradesman's entrance. Okay, what's he like? He said, Well, I've worked here for eight years and he's never ever said hello. So I said, Well, we won't be talking to him then.

SPEAKER_01

The question is obviously you've mentioned the real estate. How did you end up in Lanzarote? So we've got Monster Radio in Lanzarote. How's that happened?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I've loved music all my life, and when my friend was setting it up, Dave Oldervale, he asked my advice. Not on, it wasn't on the the radio side, it was the business side. Because we'd had a business here for probably 14, 15 years. It's not as easy setting a business up in Spain as it is in the UK. A lot of paperwork, and um, you do need the language. So Sam spoke the language, my wife. And he used to ask me for advice, so I helped him. And the first year he was going in the wrong direction. I was going, This is rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. You need a direction. He had, well, it was just on and off all the time. Anyway, he contracted a very bad disease, a wasting away disease. And on his deathbed, he said to me, Would I take over it?

SPEAKER_01

So you did.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I said no to begin with. No, no, no, no, you're not dumping that on me. But and he did, and I took it over. We've now got 30 presenters, five and interactive, quite unique for the Canaries. You can bring in, you know, text into the station, all the presenters. Yeah, it's it's good fun. Up past seven in the morning to 11, seven days a week, lots of giveaways. We raise a lot of money for the local charities, and we play damn good music. We've got something for everyone.

SPEAKER_01

That's all good. How long have you been out there now?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, 22 years now.

SPEAKER_01

Twenty-two years. You're still presenting yourself on a Friday night?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, uh, I do a five-hour show because the house music presenter didn't go down that well. Okay. Um, probably because I don't like it either. But a couple of times he he just said it's not for him. So at the minute I stay on from seven till midnight. It's the longest show on there at the minute. And we're always looking for new blood, and someone will do a late night show ten till one whenever they want to take it on. But at the minute, I'm quite enjoying a five-hour show. I do cover shows when presenters are on holiday and ill and things like that. But yeah, we've got a manager there, Steve Wells, he's very popular around the island, raises an awful lot of money for the local charities, homeless people, and things like that here.

SPEAKER_01

Do you get to put your own playlist?

SPEAKER_02

The rule is you don't get a playlist. You it's your show, you do what you want. And we've got a reggae show, we've got a soft rock show, we've got a blues show, we've got I mean, the blues show is actually number one on the mixed cloud charts around the world of southern rock. He's built that up over the last 10 years. Most as we go for 10 years, I've been taking it the helm seven and a half years, but we've got a show for everyone, but during the day it is five presenters, they can play what they want. A lot of requests because people like to write in and hear their name on the radio and the competitions. We've got loads of giveaways during the day, no playlist. No. So you know, you can't being a established legal radio station, we are governed by laws, by the uh censorship, and you're not allowed to play certain records for obvious reasons, Gary Glitter and people like that. Sure, really, because one of the best gigs I went to was a Gary Glitter gangster.

SPEAKER_01

Unfortunately, I did go even see Gary Glitter more than once. Well, I mean, it was an entertainer, but it was it used to be a Christmas thing. We used to just go and see him at Christmas. I mean, who knew? I mean, that was it. But uh the clue was in the titles, I guess. Do you want to touch me and all that sort of stuff? Yeah, maybe I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

We pay royalties, we pay all our taxes, we play um, so we have to abide. We launched Monster TV last well, about four months ago, and we've got a podcast room doing podcasts with local residents, just talking about the island and some of the musicians. We did a um Rory Gallagher this week. He's a local musician from Ireland, not the Rory Gallagher, obviously. And he's you know, he's been number one in Ireland, he's a character around the island.

SPEAKER_01

Again, I spent the station is just playing to expats mainly, or have you got Spanish people listening as well?

SPEAKER_02

Our last figures online with 33,000 people listening in. You can monitor online listeners because you can see it's all there in front of you. So we've got an app where we can monitor who's listening. Last week I had someone listening from Denmark, from Canada, and from somewhere weird, like one of the Far East countries, listening in, not interacting, but you can see where they're listening.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. No, for some reason I've got lots of people that listen to me in uh Baldwin in Oregon. Hello, Baldwin in Oregon. Thank you for listening as well. Uh I'm pleased to go. But that's the beauty of your app, because you've obviously got the I've got the app on my phone, so you know you've got that uh ability to just listen wherever you are.

SPEAKER_02

When I took over, they didn't have a direction, so I did actually say we are gonna target the tourists here so that when they come on holiday, they've got a local radio station that's giving away drinks, food, everything else that you give away, hats and pens and t-shirts. But what we didn't realise once we hit the app, it went quite white. And a lot of people come here, enjoy the island, and take Monster back to England with them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, brilliant.

SPEAKER_02

So it's we've got a big thing. But we did a poll this time last year. So if people advertisers ask us what are your numbers, we can show them online, 33,000 last month, but our poll said that 67% of our listeners are local residents and uh on you know on the FM signal. We're on an FM signal here, so yeah, it's probably about 40 to 45,000 people a day tuning in.

SPEAKER_01

So radio's definitely not dead then.

SPEAKER_02

No, and you know that was a worry, Miles. I I don't know about you, but I grew up with radio, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Snap.

SPEAKER_02

You must remember the top 40 on a Sunday afternoon and getting your tape machine ready to tape it.

SPEAKER_01

I've kept my tapes as well. Yeah, Tom Brown. Owen Bates did it. I mean, they all did it eventually, the top 40, and you you listened in all the way up to seven o'clock to find out what number one was.

SPEAKER_02

That was quite and you got to hear what was going on. I mean, you look at pirate radio. I did a show on pirate radio before, I didn't realise how bad it was in the 60s where it was banned, right? You weren't allowed to play rock and roll on the radio, the BBC banned it.

SPEAKER_01

No, that's right. It's a hit's up. They were in ships, weren't they? Off the coast of England.

SPEAKER_02

Get my note, I'm called the Count.

SPEAKER_01

I was gonna come on to that. So yeah, that's good. So why are you called the Count?

SPEAKER_02

Most of them try and pronounce it right, and uh a few of them who know me sometimes miss the uh uh oh out, but it's nothing to do with Dracula. A film that moved me a lot was The Boat That Rocked. Have you seen it?

SPEAKER_01

I have seen it, not recently, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Right, so that was all about pirate radio. When I joined the presenting team at Monster, I wanted to do it for a couple of shows to see what they were all moaning about, the equipment, different things that were going not behind the scenes that the presenters were moaning about. So I said, okay, I'll do a couple of shows and I'll see for myself. So I wanted an alias so they didn't know it was me. Being a bit distinctive. So I picked the count off the boat that rocked. I gotcha. Which was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, fantastic actor.

SPEAKER_02

And his part was based on a guy called Emperor Roscoe.

SPEAKER_01

I remember, I remember him.

SPEAKER_02

Who was an original pirate radio?

SPEAKER_01

He was, he was there, wasn't he? We used to listen to him late at night in the dormitories uh on our little radios when we were tuning to Luxembourg or whatever.

SPEAKER_02

Luxembourg, that that's my first memory of radio. And that could so you're you're actually talking probably 74-75. Yeah, squeeze box, the hoof, radio Luxembourg, under your pillows.

SPEAKER_01

Into radio when you're supposed to be going to sleep.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, I enjoy it. It's a good when I give up actual hard grafts, which I do, I can't wait just to give more time to the radio. Our older presenters are getting more and more. We've got Johnny Towers, he's 80. We call him dancing man. He dances to every record in the studio. If you're in studio two, you look into studio one, he's on live on air, he dances to every record.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I mean admiration of some of our older presenters, and they play from 60s right up to nowadays stuff. So I mean it's they're good.

SPEAKER_01

But and I suppose they've got the they've got their stories, how they've ended up there at Month.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, 100%, and a few of them are old 60s, you know, when you had the mobile discos turn up at at your youth club or wherever. You know, a few of them are old school, and soon they'll retire from the radio. So we've got an age group around my age ready to take over the older boys.

SPEAKER_01

The older boys, got it.

SPEAKER_02

And we've got young youngsters coming up through, got lovely 21-year-old Irish girl on the Saturday who's buzzing. She plays things from the Beatles right the way through.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's that's nice to know.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So we when you're looking at your playlist, do you start with a particular decade or do you just think, uh, watch what shall I play tonight? Do you what's what's your format? What do you do?

SPEAKER_02

I'm renowned for researching records. Play stuff that most people would never have heard of. And I like it. Even last night, writing my show for tomorrow night, thought it would be fun doing number ones through the years. But Miles, I don't I won't sit there and play music that I don't like. As I said earlier, I diversified into more different. Charts. It didn't have to be the mainstream chart. But it was interesting to me. The first question you asked me, who was number one in 76? And I just thought, well, actually, now we're coming into R kind of when me and you you were really experimenting with music. And do you know what? Not one of my favourite bands was number one between 76 and 82. There was an explosion of new stuff. Here I've got the list there of I've just got to check your 1976. You're bloody.

SPEAKER_01

Oh no, what I'm talking about September the 4th.

SPEAKER_02

Oh no, I did April.

SPEAKER_01

You did April, yeah, because obviously your birthday, April.

SPEAKER_02

Right. 78 was the BGs, I told you. 27 was a Habba, knowing me, knowing you. And 1976, God forbid me, if I have to play this, was the Brotherhood of Man Saviour.

SPEAKER_00

Save all your kisses for me. No, good God.

SPEAKER_02

I did the first 80 up until I um in fact it gets worse because on my 18th birthday, Bucks Fizz was number one. And I said, Maybe I'm not gonna do all of these because I've started going through the years, and I just thought, no, I'm not gonna go, I'm not gonna do it. I mean, it started getting worse, and I don't like you know, the last five were bright eyes, art, garfle, night fever, the beees, making your mind up. And I'm and I'm just thinking this show's gonna turn into something that I really don't want. So I wrote a quiz on 1963. We're gonna do give a giveaway tomorrow night, uh, a little quiz on 1963. But as it started getting up, yeah, I mean, look, S Express, Des New Orleans, I'm not gonna play 'em. So I've I've just started going into RL Burnside. Have you ever heard of him? No. Dumb day, baby, what a track. I see a ball, I've seen her live twice. Leon Russell, legend, Jules Holland. Yeah, so I've got it's gone that way. Now, the Pixies, Black Crows, the bad examples, Bob Hugh Bob from 1929.

SPEAKER_01

Where did your music love come from? You was it from both your parents or your mum or your dad?

SPEAKER_02

I mean I I didn't particularly like their music on Boxing Day when we had to be forced to listen to it. Looking back, you were an ex you were definitely part of, as I said, you know, when you're the smile on your face when going underground went straight to number one.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, that was their first speaking number one hit.

SPEAKER_02

But it was the first ever band that ever did it. And the smile on your face, the jam's huge of me. So if I look back in time, school days were really when that changed. I mean, did you were you doing a music O level with Mike Smith?

SPEAKER_01

I no I started one with Dave Angus, but it didn't go anywhere. I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't play anything. I love music, can't sing, can't play anything, can't read music, no.

SPEAKER_02

So uh you remember Mike Smith?

SPEAKER_01

I do, yes.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I was learning the trombone with him and to do the music O level and the sex pistols came out and it it just went. I just went, I'm not learning it anymore. Why should I play Glenn Miller when the sex pistols are in? They haven't got a trombone, mate.

SPEAKER_03

No, they haven't got a trombone.

SPEAKER_02

But anyway, looking back, I still play a bit of Glenn Miller because it's fantastic stuff.

SPEAKER_01

That's good. No, I'm I'm impressed that you're playing music from sort of like every decade. What's your favourite decade? Come on, that I'm forcing you in out. I'm a blues man, I love Sunny Terry, Brownie McGee, you know, even some of the old blues somehow I'm impressed with that that you've gone from in my world punk rock to blues.

SPEAKER_02

It's uh I still play pistols regularly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, no, no, you do. I tuned in, I've only tuned into you once, and you were playing the sex pistols. I went brilliant.

SPEAKER_02

I couldn't read this better. You know, favourite some George Thoroughgood would be one of my favourites. You ever heard of them?

SPEAKER_01

No, no. I was worried about this when I was I knew I was going to be speaking to you that you'd be throwing these because I like to think I'm I'm up on music, but I'm up on I realize I'm up on popular music rather than all music. Are you a film buff? I am a film buff as well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

One of George Thoroughgood records is played in most of the films, it's been the most played record in films from the 80s onwards.

SPEAKER_01

Bad to the bone. Bad to the bone, yes, I've heard of that.

Family Loss And Staying Resilient

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you probably would have seen it on a lot of heard it on a lot of films are gone. Well, it's not a bad record, but it's rhythm and blues, what we know as rhythm and blues.

SPEAKER_01

So your mum, where does she live now? Uh well, you know my sister was murdered. I didn't know your sister was murdered, no.

SPEAKER_02

That's all right. Yeah, she was murdered, so um that was twenty six years ago. I'd already left the island, my brother had left the island, Gareth. David.

SPEAKER_01

I saw David at the Highlight Festival uh back then.

SPEAKER_02

What was his ad on?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but he's out on that. I've got a picture of him with his ad on. I thought I saw him, I went over and said hello.

SPEAKER_02

Anyway, so what happened was my sister's daughter, Melanie, my niece, they bought a house together and they lived together. Melanie married two, three kids, and grandma lives downstairs. And lives downstairs, which is really handy because you talked about your dad going in a home. I could I couldn't bear it from here, knowing that she's lonely in the home. Um, so they've they live together, so it's really nice.

SPEAKER_01

She looks after her. Your family's had a bit of a rough, rough time from the beginning, then, really, has it hasn't it?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, really, yeah. Well, do you know what, Miles? I look at her, my mum. She's lost two husbands, you know, one in a plane crest, one just had a heart attack. Saugter, murdered, Oscar, my brother, cancer. All her brothers and sisters, bar one have died, and she comes over here once, twice a year for a month. And do you know what? She's got more life in her than most people I know.

SPEAKER_01

Amazing.

SPEAKER_02

She still likes to talk, she still likes to see Sam, my kids, and yeah, it's nice. So I look at other people when I don't look at sadness in my eyes, I look at it through other people's eyes. It's always some of the worse off.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's definitely the way to look at it. And you're I've got fond mum memories of your mum, too, really. We go down to your house and she always used to feed us, and that was really good reading. And then years later, after I left Bemidge, I walked into the prop, the propeller end in Bemory, and she was in there, and she was wondering, and she was so happy to see me, it was great. And so we used to go in there a little while until I moved off the island.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, so with the compensation for dad's death, because he died on a big plane crash, she bought dad's local DC 10 out of Paris, 356 people. So to be near dad's friends, because he used to drink in the prop, she bought the pub, and so that's where that's how that came about, really. See, I mentioned this earlier, and you but you swerved it.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, gone, eh?

SPEAKER_02

But it might be because you don't remember it. Yeah, but I after the pub one weekend, and you turned up.

SPEAKER_01

I do remember this. Yes, I do remember this.

SPEAKER_02

I drink till I puke tour. Yes, and you came in and went, Oh, look who's here. And I went, boys, you're more than welcome. I'm gonna leave you buckets, don't upset the locals and have a good time. And I'll tell you what, it was one of the funniest weekends. It's one of the funniest weekends we had there. Mum came back and went, Who was drinking in it's Saturday? I said, I had some friends from Bemidji School. She said, That's the best day we ever had. I said, Yeah, but it was a good afternoon, it was lovely to see you boys, anyway.

SPEAKER_01

So it was definitely a good afternoon, Reese. Uh I actually remember it now you mention it. It's funny how your memory unlocks.

SPEAKER_02

That quantity of booze, anyway.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02

And when you when you visit Lands Royalty, you don't have to come and do it.

SPEAKER_01

No, I mean the irony of it all is that I did go to Lands Royalty not knowing you were there back in 2017. And then when I realised you were there, I told my brother Adam that you were there, and he came to see you because he was there. I said, he was there, and I said, I didn't see Reese when I was there. Look him up, and he looked you up and you met him.

SPEAKER_02

He came, he came to an outside broadcast, but it's lovely to see him actually, uh, because it was really just me living memories of you, really. So he came to this outside broadcast in Porto Calero. It was great to see him and his wife. And I said, you know, it shuts at seven. Do you want to come back for dinner? We got a curry takeaway and sat and whiled away a few hours. His wife drove, I think. So yeah, we had a good afternoon. Nice to see him.

SPEAKER_01

Good afternoon. Well, I will I will definitely check you out. I I've only ever been, that's the only Canary Island I've actually personally been to.

SPEAKER_02

Where did you come to?

SPEAKER_01

Uh I can't remember now. Player something, I think it was called.

SPEAKER_02

Player Blanca.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, that was it. And there was a nice, there's a curved bit that you could walk along, nice promenade.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, yeah, there's nicer places, but the uh Playa Blanca is the newest of the resorts here.

SPEAKER_01

I did a Segway tour, which I really enjoyed. We went everywhere on a Segway, which was a bit of a laugh.

Lanzarote Tales And Island Change

SPEAKER_02

But uh I worked with a guy who took over Segway, a guy called um he's got six houses here. Jimmy, there's a character round the bars. He he invented the bricks for Fort Bastion. So Fort Bastion is like the size of Norwich in the Middle East, yeah? And he but he invented these bricks that were like huge, and you ship them out, they were made of hard plastic, and all you had to do was fill them with sand. So the whole of Fort Bastion was made out of these bricks. So he bought the Segway Company, and his land around Leeds, where he used to live, was massive. So he used to go around it on a Segway, and it was National Trust land, and he was going round a week before his retirement, and he reversed his Segway over the cliff and died. And I've fitted for all his family here, they're lovely people. Um, yeah, Jimmy, bless his heart. And uh a week before his retirement, that's just not fair, really. Be careful of them segues. I introduced these floors to the Canary Islands. Don't forget they were they were under a dictatorship in the 70s. Women weren't allowed credit cards, and uh you know, they were second-rate citizens. It was an awful time for them. Yeah, now and when when the uh uh the parents died, the boys used to get left the land in Lanzarote, and the girls used to get the coastal houses. Now look at it now, of course, it boomed in 80s. All the women are now walking around with Gucci like film stars, and the boys are still making the land like their potatoes. Um yeah, it's an interesting place here, I must admit. So you who's that on your t-shirt then? Oh, one of my favourite t-shirts, bit.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, good old Keith Moon, then yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Keith Moon, um, I'm a collector of nice uh DJTs I use.

SPEAKER_01

I like that.

SPEAKER_02

They say to me, What do you want? Nothing. I will buy my own t-shirts, thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Your own t-shirt, good stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Christmas, I've got Raikuda, C6 Steve, and uh one t-shirt just saying what papaloula or what bamboo on it.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Well, I think I've got enough there, Reese. So thank you very much for your time. It's been absolutely fantastic talking to you again.

SPEAKER_02

If you want to do a thing on memories of music, I listed from school. The lower six used to le listen to super tramp. So I've listed you going underground, David my brother Fats, Domino, Oscar the Rock, the Rubets and Queen he used to g uh like a lot. Yeah, Garrett Slade and David Essex. At that age, in the early 70s, I used to like Wizard. And we mentioned Radio Luxembourg, Steve Harley was my first kid. Do you remember him? Come up and see me sometime. I just think music is I'll tell you else, Gents. Yeah, Richard Gentle. He had a good taste for music. I went and stayed with him at in Serbon, I think he used to live. And we went to the Ot and Hop. Jimmy Percy was in there, and he was they mentioned it on either Herschel and Boys or Sam Cine. So they were a good band, anyway.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, they were a good band. They were fantastic. All that all that stuff that came out in the late 70s, I just absolutely loved it. It was just such a great time to be alive and such a great time to listen to music.

SPEAKER_02

It was just but even now, if you look at funerals, you pick your favourite records, weddings, you pick your favourite records, and memories are good. It made my first record on Monster Radio, by the way, was George Thoroughgood. Get a haircut, get a real job. The lyrics are hilarious. Why can't you be like your big brother Bob and get a haircut and get a real job? Which I refuse, by the way.

SPEAKER_00

No, I can see that. It's all good. It looks the same as it did all those years ago.

SPEAKER_02

School haircuts, my god.

One Song For Your Younger Self

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so that's enough. You could just do a podcast on that alone. I'm gonna finish off with like one one question. Okay, so if you could play one song to your youngest version of yourself, a boy that's discovering music around you, what would you play and what would you want that Reese to feel?

SPEAKER_02

Okay, I'll answer it by saying that when Ella was living at home, my daughter, and she was listening to Harry Styles or One Direction, which she made me sit through a couple of concerts live on television. I said, Good luck to them, they're trying. So I put in front of her face suspect device by stiff little fingers.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

That's what I was listening to at your age, and she just went, Wow, I love that. She said, anyway, but the answer to your question is a record I've already mentioned, and that would be get a haircut, George Fellow destroyers.

SPEAKER_01

It's been good catching up with you. Um lovely to see you, mate. Love to see you, and we will we we will do something at some stage, I'm sure. But thank you very much for your time today.

SPEAKER_02

It's been a um you'll do a show and you'll we'll see him and get you on a podcast as well.

SPEAKER_01

No, I'll I'm I'm up for it, mate. Just uh just tell me what you want me to do. I can come up with a playlist, that's not a problem.

Festival Tears And Walkman Memories

SPEAKER_02

If I've got a guest, I normally say you either pick a concert or a a festival that you've been to that you like and want to relive it, and we actually play all the records that were played at the well, it's funny you say that.

SPEAKER_01

My favourite Isle of Light festival, favourite one, is 2013, and the reason it was is done that one, I deserve it. Okay, well, it was Bob Girl of the Boom Town Rats, absolutely Boom Town Rats. Now you know the Boom Town Rats because they were one of your bands that you need to. I still love them. Um absolutely, and he came out and he sang Rat Trap, he sang them all. When he sung Don't Like Mondays, honestly, Reese. We were standing, they were they were on in them in the afternoon. He wasn't the headline, he was on Sunday afternoon, it was a beautiful day. All us 50 summits at the time were standing around watching him singing it, and he he it he just sang all. We were all crying. Everyone, all the 20-year-olds were just looking around, going, What's wrong with all these all these older guys? We were just standing there in floods of tears because he absolutely stole it, it was fantastic.

SPEAKER_02

And they're still touring, you know. I love the boomtown rats map. I mean, I when I was 15, I went into a local hairdresser and said, Cut my hair like Bob, which just went, ruffled it up, said hey, I'll get out.

Final Thanks And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01

I've said this before in a previous episode, but the first thing I ever listened to on a Walkman was uh Vienna Ultravox. But the second thing, the second thing I listened to was clockwork. We were at school and we'd gone down and I was watching a rugby match being played, and I had like clockwork in my ears, and it was just unbelievable the way that it was tick tock, tick-tock, and uh um it just blew me away. Because don't forget, we hadn't been able to walk out with music in your ears until the Walkman came along, you know. We just didn't. I mean, people take it for granted when you got you plug in your iPhone and you've got Bluetooth and all this stuff. But I'm there with this Walkman and it's 1980, and I'm listening to the boom terrorists. Thank you very much for your time. I will see you another time. Thank you very much. Take a double bit.

Head Shot

Miles

Host