Chatterbox, when the stars talk, they talk to
Nick and Sue. And welcome back to the Chatterbox
Redux podcast with Nick and Sue. Today our special
guest is former Radio 1 DJ, television presenter
and co -founder and presenter of the Heritage
Chart, Mike Reid. Nick and Sue with Chatterbox
giving you all you need to know about musical
attainment Chatterbox, the best interviews with
Nick and Sue Chatterbox, the best news And now
on Chatterbox UK, we're just lucky enough to
welcome, for the very first time, DJ and TV presenter
Mike Reed. Mike, welcome. How are you, sir? Hello,
Mike. I'm very well, thank you. Yeah, very good.
Very good. I'd like you to be on. Mike, I can
remember you, I think it was back before Radio
One days, you were Radio Luxembourg. Yeah, and
can remember you very briefly as a young kid
listening right into the night when I should
have been asleep like most people have and Yep,
so that's my initiation towards you big fan into
1980s with the radio one and stuff like that
and you know, it's been a Saturday Superstore
remember you on that so I'm a one of those age
group that of course was a big big fan and you
know remember a great pleasure of quite a lot
of your shows and yeah it was just just great
listening and growing up and of course a great
ambassador for radio for people like myself to
follow and want to be like so uh always a hero
there to a lot of us so uh it's great to be chatting
to you at last mike excellent that sounds good
to me i don't know whether i can better that
but yeah good If you can better perfect do it
but yeah, that's all good and of course more
recent times the heritage chart, which is a great
amazing thing and And we're also here to talk
about a Christmas TV spectacular Linked with
the heritage chart heritage TV. So that's what
we're really here to talk about today. So Let's
start the basis of the heritage chart I'm sure
people really do know, but just in case they
don't, what is the heritage chart, when did it
start, and why? Well, it started, probably the
germ of it was around the spring of 2020, talking
with Limahl initially. and other artists like,
you know, Toya, Kim Wild, Paul Young, Howard
Jones, Nick Kershaw. They say, well, you're playing
our new music, but nobody else is. Radio 2 aren't
playing it. They're playing our old stuff. And
I say, yeah, but your new stuff is as good. It's
right up there. And they say, yeah, we know,
but they still only play our classics and don't
venture into the area of our new material. So
I thought, well, we need to do something about
this. So I created a platform with the Heritage
chart in July 2020. That was when the very first
one went out. It's been going four and a half
years, two and a half years, three years ago.
I started it as a weekly TV show as well, like
a top of the pops because there was no top of
the pops going out. So really we gave a platform
for artists to have a reason to write songs,
have a reason to make an album, have a reason.
to make a video, because there was a possible
platform for them. Brilliant, and a lot of those
people that you mentioned, of course, we have
had on Chatterbox, and one guy, I absolutely
adore Lamar, what a lovely guy he is. I treasure
that interview right to, you know, right to my
last day, I will, but there's some real talent
there. Of course, going back... Radio one where
it was status quo were the first victims perhaps
of radio one because you know They would get
played if they're in the top 40 But they weren't
on the playlist anymore and as time moved on
of course radio one stopped being a top 40 station
Whatever it classes itself as now, but then again
It wasn't just a described it followed like en
masse to all the stars of the 70s 80s few from
the 60s and so on so yeah without the platform.
Great for you doing that and you know being in
a position where you're well known and of course
to get a big platform from it because we we all
try and do it as in on RNi and all the other
channels but of course it's a bit small compared
to what what you're able to to bring and thank
goodness you do it and Never a week goes by where
we don't look at the heritage charts because
we'd like to see who's out and who we could email
to interview on and things like that so it is
also a big Bible for stations like RNI and all
the ones that take the show it's a great Bible
we say to base our shows on because then we're
not just being classic stations we're playing
all these great legends going back over the years
so it's a fantastic thing so it helps all round
to make great shows for us and also really helps
those deserving artists. yeah and people vote
on them the whole premise of it rather than sales
is voting so people can go on the website and
vote and we generally get between 80 and 90 countries
voting every week obviously some places a handful
of votes you know the Cape Verde Islands or the
Philippines but the big voting comes from UK,
USA, most states vote every week. Germany, Italy,
France, Spain, those countries, and Netherlands
always big. So, yeah, we have between 80 and
90 countries voting every week, which is great.
It's a good platform for the artists. And you
can go on the website, which is heritagechart
.co .uk. You can vote on there. We've got the
merch on there. We've got the weekly TV shows
on there. We've voted on there a couple of times,
haven't we? Absolutely, yes. And you helped someone
we interviewed. on the present chatterbox you
actually helped him go up to number 10 this week
see oh well brilliant uh billy jay crane has
just been on the last show so uh it's great to
see him doing well with his new stuff as well
so uh great This week's number 20 the stereophonics
seems like you don't know me at 18 the hit parade
Daniel takes the train John Lodge is 17 whispering
angels Allison Russell and Annie Lennox is 16
super lover Don't look any further the flex and
Jackie Graham at 15 14 sparkling cyanide Bill
Hendrix and Billy Idol at 13 still dancing 12
this week Owen Paul mad about the girl and the
gems former number one funeral pyre at 11 We
will do social media at the end so everybody
knows how to find it for sure right at the end,
but glad you mentioned the Philippines because
we are on a English speaking station that covers
the whole country on AM or whatever it might
be over there so yeah so hopefully all the listeners
there listening to us talking about the heritage
chart hopefully you'll get a a load more from
the Philippines let's let's hope so yeah so anyone
in the Philippines all around the world take
a look at the heritage chart it's easy to go
through to the artists indeed it is indeed it
is Um, okay the heritage chart because obviously
we're busy with our own radio thing, especially
on a sunday what time Does the no someone's listening
to it live when it goes out? What time does the
heritage chart actually go out for the new chart?
Well, we got a friday on a sunday at five o 'clock
a different uh, different radio stations put
it out at different times like maybe one or two
I think regency probably take it the same time
as us but five o 'clock on a sunday is when it
goes live and i try and do the social media while
i'm going as well and then after that it goes
out on tv and it goes up tv goes on the website
and various other channels as well so yeah it's
uh it's very good and they say the tv Christmas
Spectacular has been going out. We've got 17
artists on that. Goes out on Talking Pictures
on Christmas Eve afternoon on XBTB on the 26th,
27th, 28th. It's been going out on now Christmas
TV, which is now 80s TV. So yeah, it's good.
We've got 17 artists. We've got people like Cliff
is on there, Leo Sayer, Tony Hadley, Ty Fitt,
The Fizz, Basil Brush, The Real Thing. uh so
yeah it's uh the 17 artists all together and
limahl your pal limahl is on there bless him
bless him absolutely this is nick and sue with
chatterbox giving you all you need to know about
musical entertainment Today, with the 10th anniversary
edition from the North Thistral Beach New Quay
with special guest Alan Freeman and star DJ Mike
Reed. Welcome to New Quay. The sun's shining,
we've got a wonderful crowd. Thanks to Simon.
And we're gonna kick off with a bit of the double
gene. Gary Glitter. Is there any possibility
of Going back to the days of the old radio one
-star road shows. Is there is it possible to
do that one summer and all you guys on Heritage
radio that you know, you actually go around to
all the towns. I remember seeing Tony Blackburn
in Eastbourne and David Hamilton in Hastings
and things like that. Is there any possibility
or marketing that anymore from a audience? Say
my age, you know that from the radio one road
show days era you think and that's health and
safety is kicked in i mean now it'd be like oh
well how do we control the traffic what do we
do how many lose are there and all the rest of
it health and safety i fear would probably bring
it crashing down now so i think the place to
do it is in private is places like longleat like
nebworth who are already set up and probably
have a license and probably have insurance and
car parking and loose who are used to doing that
kind of thing so i think it would probably work
better even though i love doing it by the sea
uh realistically you'd have to now go through
local councils uh and they would tell you what
you couldn't couldn't do and it'd be a drawn
-out process and maybe a costly process as well
so i i think that will probably be tricky now.
We did one on Brighton Pier at the end of August
which is great fun with Smiley Miley and one
of our old Radio 1 producers came back to produce
so we did that and it was very very successful
so yeah it will be nice to do some certainly.
Brilliant yeah it's just such a great I just
remember the atmosphere so well but I also accept
that everything you've said is the reason why
you know times have changed to move on I totally
accept that. The UK's favourite DJs Radio One!
Radio One! Mike Reed! Have you got anything for
Mike? Yes I have. Hi Mike. My question is, how
does an artist get their song onto a heritage
chart? Well, they submit it like they used to
with Radio One or Radio Two. You submit the song
and if it's good, I mean we've got good commercial
ears, you think... we're quite like that then
we put it in the um into the breakers and which
is underneath the 40 uh to vote and see if it
gets any traction um see if the guys play it
you know if i like it and some of the other guys
go oh i like that what play that and the more
we play it the more people will hear it and potentially
the more traction it will get and the more votes
um sometimes things don't get much traction you
put them on there they will put it there and
see what happens and you know none of the guys
really pick up on it or they do and play it but
nobody really votes on it so i think you can
tell when something is going to take off you
can generally look and go oh yeah i can get the
i just get the vibe i just get the buzz that
people like that song so yeah that's that's how
it works i mean you know it's basically heritage
artists people that have been around for a while
uh whether they've been successful or not so
uh yeah that's the that's the route anyway So,
and I noticed I'm just looking at the radio schedule
as well. There's also heritage chart playlist
as on quite a few times a day, which now. I take
it that's probably an auto DJ thing maybe, but
does that, so all the new songs that you're getting
sent each week, the ones that you selected, do
they come onto this heritage chart playlist as
well? Give people the chance to give them? Yeah,
the playlist has three categories, quite a lot
of rotation, less rotation, not much rotation,
or in the waiting area or Christmas area. so
yeah i dive in and when something comes off the
40 we generally take it down a category so it
still gets played but not as much as when it's
in the 40 and others you know you think oh maybe
it's a bit tired now we played that a lot let's
take it out for a while then bring it back in
later so yeah we're constantly moving the playlist
so it's uh but you know what is really good the
difference is between um in the you even though
they're great songs you're hearing the same songs
again and again and again and again whatever
they say how much they claim to uh play you know
not as many as other people uh we have a usp
unique selling point that is in fact uh very
very different simply because of that because
we have new songs coming in the whole time so
it refreshes it washes its face they stand a
chance for a few weeks and then move on and more
come in so uh it's it's more exciting radio i
think Yeah, I'm also, it's also great to see
that obviously you're doing the Might Read Breakfast
show, so it's obviously great to see you in that
position. I mean, I was where you were there,
but I'm just letting people know that would remember
you on radio. Well, I think we're going to give
that a listen, you know, but yeah, we also get
sent a lot of songs from these artists as well,
but the Heritage Chart is good for ourselves
because on Radio North Sea International on a
Sunday, this is so popular, we do a thing called
hit and miss and pretty obvious what it is but
of course there are some songs from artists that
don't get through to us so we can see that coming.
So we played the song and the people in the chat
room vote hit or miss you know and it's not just
like two or three people voting we've had it
where 70 something have voted for and so it's
a reasonable size it's all good fun and so that's
what we do but you've helped us create that because
you've opened the window up make it bigger as
to how large this heritage, these heritage acts
and that sort of part of radio really is. So
what you created is something fantastic and you've
made it easy for people like ourselves to continue
and do it in our own ways and things like that.
So it's opened up to an even bigger audience.
So that is, it's just helped these heritage artists
so much all the way around and helps us do a
great show, of course, you know. Yeah, excellent,
excellent. stuff right mike um is there anything
left on your bucket list at all he's been a great
career uh well i'm always doing stuff i'm doing
a new series of blue plaques with uh talking
pictures tv i mean i do the show every sunday
with the foolish detectives on there which has
become their most popular program is now up for
tv program of the year on the final four out
of hundreds uh so we wait until february to see
if we've won that uh just finished a series of
blue plaques on there and i'm doing a new series
of eight or six i forgot um which we're going
to film and a new series of uh talking books
called a good read on there doing a series of
sherlock holmes things on there so yeah early
next year i'll probably have four 44 shows coming
out on talking pictures tv as well as other stuff
so yes it's always always stuff to be done always
new musicals to write new songs to write new
books to write i mean i'm doing a series of uh
books on a thousand years of a London Street
and I've had two years ago I had Cheapside out,
a thousand years, two years ago I had Denmark
Street out, last year I had a thousand years
of Cheapside and I've very nearly finished a
thousand years of Piccadilly which will be the
next book out. And they're all roads that are
known the world over, so even people listening
to this in Canada or New Zealand will know all
those roads that you've mentioned, so yeah brilliant
stuff. Yeah sure I do. Okay Mike, well it's been
fascinating chatting to you, it's great to meet
you finally and just a reminder of that website
it is heritagechart .co .uk And do take a look
at the chart and don't forget to vote for your
favorite artists. It's a there's some really
great stuff out there It's so easy to vote as
well. It's so simple and even Mungo Jerry. It's
such great stuff It's as good as what he was
doing in 1970, you know says it's a it's a great
thing Mike and I'm just so grateful and I'm the
artist obviously I say grateful for you've created
it needed it but and it has moved us from just
playing classic songs with what you said So to
open it right up to oh Marty Wild's got a new
one all this stuff and that's how it works. It's
opened up to us and of course the radio audience
and it's just great that you've done it and thank
you so much sir yeah. Well you know I mean you
know that you've heard people say well I can't
stand modern music I hate the music and I wish
you went back to the day I hate the modern music
and I say have you listened to some of the modern
music no I hate it no no no but have you listened
to the songs that you didn't realize were out
you know all these artists and they go oh we
had no idea they were putting these songs out
we thought they were all like they stopped recording
years ago so yeah it's good from that point of
view but people often don't realize you know
it's uh which is great there there is good music
and there is acceptable music around that's not
just sort of produced for radio too which is
good yeah absolutely absolutely well it just
leaves me to say for now Well, hopefully we'll
chat again because you've got so many fingers
and so many pies it sounds like and you've already
got the beginning of next year planned and that's
already massive. So hopefully we'll chat again
sometime Mike and whatever you're doing next.
But in the meantime, just leave me to say thank
you for coming on Chatterbox UK. Thank you so
much, sir. It's a pleasure. Thank you, Chatterbox.
Thank you. Cheers, Mike. Take care, Mike. Thank
you. Thanks very much. Take care. Three, two,
seven, five and two and five Five feet, five
feet, that's the way I want it This week's edition
of Chatterbox Redux podcast was presented by
Nick and Sue and we thank our special guest who
was former Radio 1 DJ, television presenter and
co -founder and presenter of the Heritage Chart,
Mike Reed. All inquiries please to nickelbum
at myyahoo .com Alternatively, we have a mailing
address which is PO Box 26, The Old Observer
Building, Telford Road, St. Leonard's -on -Sea,
East Sussex, England, TN389LZ. We thank you for
your company and look forward to welcoming you
again next time on the Chatterbox Redux podcast
when our special guest will be Dean Freeberg.
Catch you then. Bye bye.