Young, Gifted And Er, Back?
A trip back to the early 1980s finds Simon Young in especially sarcastic form when quizzed by Hot Press' Jackie Hayden (who wasn't shy to reveal his true feelings either). The result was a fascinating back-and-forth. Were they joking? You decide...
Jackie Hayden, 19 Sep 2011
2fm’s Simon Young is the archetypal disc-jockey with all the accoutrements – deep voice, flash car, a full filofax and a mature moustache. But as the man Tony Fenton affectionally calls ‘Simes’ reaches a crossroads in his career, Hot Press decided to find out exactly what makes Simon Young, er, tick.
Jackie Hayden: Do you spend a lot of time choosing the music for your programmes?
Simon Young: Well no. I wouldn’t have time for that, what with opening supermarkets or shopping centres up and down the country and going to lunches and receptions and so on.
So how do you decide what to play?
Well there’s usually a few records lying around the studio. Or if I was badly stuck I could get a few off the fella who does the programme before me. It’s not a problem. There’s always a few tapes in the car. You know yourself.
Simon Young isn’t your real name is it?
Well, no. But I think it suits me.
But why not use your real name?
Well you don’t use your real name, do you? I never heard of a Saint Jackie. At least there is a Saint Simon. He was born in Caupessino in Northern Spain in 1047, and was tortured and boiled in oil by brigands who crossed over the border from Southern France converting people to Sikhism. Simon refused to surrender his faith they boiled him in oil. But I don’t like thinking about it very much.
How did you get into RTE in the beginning?
Well I had three uncles, a brother-in-law, and five, or was it six aunts who were all here before me. RTE runs in the family, and I suppose you could say that the family runs in RTE. I think I was destined for RTE, don’t you?
Why do you have a moustache?
When I first became a DJ in clubs and that, I bought a copy of the RTE Guide one week, and nearly everybody in it had a moustache. I was only about fourteen at the time and I thought it might be compulsory or something (laughs). So I grew one myself when I was fifteen. I still have it. The same one. It’s a footballer’s moustache. Five a side!! (laughs).
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