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
Who are you own favourite artists?
You mean for playing at home, like?
Yes. Who would you listen to on a night off?
I wouldn’t actually listen to music to be honest with you, between you and me. But I suppose for the old image I should mention a few trendy names, yeah? (laughs). Let me think now… Motorhead, I’d play them. The Brotherhood Of Man, Roger Whittaker, and Judas Priest. Sometimes, when we’re entertaining at home, my wife Phyl, allows me to put up the framed gold discs I made.
I notice none of those you mentioned are Irish?
Well, there aren’t that many Irish records released any more, are there, and you hear them all on the radio all the time anyway, don’t you?
Did you enjoy your spell on the Beat Box?
Well, it was great for the first couple of weeks, and then the novelty wore off. But if did mean that I’d be recognised everywhere I went and you’d get complimentary drinks here and there, and the supermarket would knock a few quid off the bill at the checkout, you know what I mean? The perks were great! (laughs). To be honest though, I think it was time for a change. That’s what Mr. O’Donovan said anyway.
How did you first become a radio DJ?
When I first started buying records I couldn’t figure out why they had long intros before the vocals came in. Then somebody on the radio, I think it was Arthur Murphy, explained one day that that was to allow DJs to introduce the record and give out time-checks! So I rang one of the uncles in RTE and he said fine, can you start Tuesday with your own show from 8 to 11, and when I got my photo in the RTE Guide I knew I’d made the right decision.
I don’t mean to be offensive but I think you’re crap actually, a lot of the time.
To be honest though, I don’t think you’re hearing me at my best. Or maybe you’re confusing me with Mike Moloney. Couldn’t that be the case?
I don’t think so. I just don’t think you’re very original.
Oh, I think originality is grossly over-rated. Grossly. Look at it this way. Everyday you and I drink tea or coffee or Guinness. There’s nothing original about that, is there? But you wouldn’t say to someone drinking tea, ‘hey, that’s not very original is it?’. I leave all that originality stuff to people like Pat & Elaine. By the way, do you know they’re really just one person? But, anyway, originality is a bit of a cult thing, it’s for a small elite. I’m much more interested in the preoccupations of the ordinary listener.
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