December 15, 2025 • 11 mins
Christmas carols are back with Nick Tansley in the studio with Nick Mills. The Nicks discuss Carols by Candlelight, the vibe in Wellington this Christmas, then live in studio Nick Tansley sings a medley of his favourite Christmas songs.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said, b we have the.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
One, the only Nick Tansy in the studio to have
a chat. Good morning. It's lovely to see you and
you look magnificent.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
What a lovely thing to say. I you know, this year,
I actually feel quite magnificent because it feels like at
Christmas time when I get back into doing what I do,
which is just get involved with Christmas music, is I'm
just so happy.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
You know. We talk about it every year in my house.
We talk about it every year in the studio. We
talk about it every year at work. Why don't we
have the big carols by candlelight? Is that what they
were called? Carols by candlelight? Over the big ones, the
big shows. I mean it started in what yeah, eighty.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Well eighty nine was the first show I was ever
involved in it as a presenter, and then I got
so enthusiastic. I basically, over many years, I just started
taking over the show until it all became mine.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, yes, but in a good way, in a great way.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Abundant energy and that whole thing about celebrating probably the
most positive time of the year.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And we did it as a city. We missed that.
We missed that going out with your kids and taking
them to carols and celebrating the city exactly like we
did on the weekend with the premiere of Avatar. You know,
the city gets together and we sing, we all sing,
yeah didn't we?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah? We did?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Why can't we bring them back? Well?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It's odd, isn't it? Because you think the capital city
would be the one that would have kept their big show.
But they still do a huge one in Auckland and
a huge one in Christchurch, and we don't do one
here anymore. And all I can see, by being the
person that had to watch this go through its time,
was that capital funding dropped out, sponsors dropped away. People
(01:59):
wanting to use this time to celebrate the you know,
with the community. They probably had to focus through some
things happening within Willington On. I guess other things that
weren't as important or as they thought, were more important
than goodwill.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Are we talking absolutely massive money to put on a
big carol shows? Are we talking a million dollars?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Say? No, not at all, not at all. Probably a
tenth of that to get something quite amazing. The thing
about Christmas is the show's already there. All you're doing
is present you are presenting it. So you could start
off with a loud hailer and then you can move,
you know, or no amplification at all. Then you can
put in some speakers and some stage, and then some
speakers and biggest speakers and biggest speakers. So what happens
(02:44):
is it's not the show that costs the money year
by year. It's the infrastructure, and it's things like people
charging for venues, or everyone starts charging for super screens,
and then everybody starts charging for huge PA systems, and
everyone start charges for a stage, and before you know it,
you're you're putting on account has gone through the roof.
(03:08):
Yet getting your singers to stand up there and sing
to a five year old is exactly the same coss
as it was the year before. So isn't that funny?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It is funny. But you know, I'm sitting here listening
and thinking in my mind's racing it is. How easily
could it be put back together? If someone came to
you and said, come on, Nick, we want to do this.
We will find the money for you, will help you
put it together. An organization that's got an infrastructure to
raising money and to do it. Could it be done?
(03:36):
Would you do it again?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Yeah? Of course, And they can just they can just
say we will, we'll pay for it for whatever reason
we want to get out of it. And they often
means that they've got their their killboards everywhere, or their
name all over it, or they get the CEO to
stand up and wish everyone a happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Who were your major sponsors? You had major sponsors ZM
where obviously it was the ZENM one for a while.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yes, for a very long time. We had Westpac in
the old days, we had so, we had quite a
few banks. We had the trust en z CT. You know,
they did it for a while. They were wonderful. And
then we've had lots of other sponsors that have come
on and you know, car dealers and that have given
a certain amount of money. The way to do it
(04:19):
is just anyone who wants to get involved. But like
a you know, a funding group, wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
It be a for willing to the n Z to
do I mean, you know that's the Yes, that's their baby.
I mean, wouldn't that be a great thing for us
to celebrate Christmas as a city again.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, I think so. I think it's really positive to
sing Christmas carols in front of particularly families, young kids.
And the funny thing is that splits up. We have
this continuous role of young five, six seven year olds
of course and less, and then the teenagers get to
an age where it's not cool to be singing Christmas
(04:56):
carols with the reindeer gear on anymore. It's funny, isn't it.
It's just and so we've got this always this new
group of young kids coming on that want to be
entertained and parents that want to be celebrate.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I obviously can remember because I had a family
member involved for many years with you doing it. I
can remember looking at the crowd as a young guy
myself thinking there is everyone from five to ninety in
the audience. Now, where do you get something like that
where you have mom and dad and grandma or granddad
(05:29):
and the kids, the grandkids and everyone with a smile
on their face because it's Christmas time. And Father Christmas
used to come in and it used to be a
guy that's working next door. I think he used to
dress up as Father Christmas. If you know who I'm
eating without giving it the day away used to arrive
and how much fun did we have?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, and that's right. It's just pure fun. And it's
in a time that we need that kind of stuff
and it lets you leave your worries at the gate,
I always say.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And you're still doing that right now. You're still doing
your little shows, little like Cardle and Medium. So okay, sorry,
I shouldn't have.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Biggie anymore in the live Engineer, but we do. We
do cover a lot of ground, and we do about
ten right through December, and they as far north as
Carleton and then a lot of the areas around the world.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Engine area and same format, same fun, same excitement.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Exactly the same. I mean, it's the same songs. It
has to be. They're the only ones there.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You're not going to split out and do a bit
of Michael Jackson, are you.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
No? But it feels like we're doing because it's the
same songs. Jingle Bells becomes our song and when the
kids hear it, they think we've written it.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I'm getting a little bit goosey now thinking about come on,
put sing us a song, Come on, Carol's for it,
Come on, I've put my little guitar Is that a
guitar or ukulele.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
It's actually an eight string ukulele. You better watcher, you better,
not gray, you better, and not pound. I'm telling you
why Sam s Close has come in to town, and
I thought I'd just do the whole show really quickly,
do the show. Wish you a merry Christmas. We wish
you Americ Christmas. We wish you Americ Christmas and a
(07:05):
new Year. I'm dreaming I'm a wise Christmas Jones, like
the ones I used to know, Slave House Ring, I
listening in the lane snows, listening our beautiful side. We're
(07:26):
happy to night walking in the winter underland. I mean,
these songs I've sung for thirty five years, I'm never
sick of them, and they're so beautifully positive and the
audience join in. I mean, what more could you ask for?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And it just feels so Christmas is just love you.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Listen. Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way, rude out,
the red Nose, ring, deer hand verver, shining nose, the
music come out. In the First World War, the bloody
red baron was flying once more the ile of command
of God all of his men, and called on Snoopy
(08:03):
to do it again. Christmas bells, Christmas bills ring through
the land, bring in peace to all the world, and
this is the big one, and good will to man
and women. I mean, come on.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Well, fantastic love. You tell me, do you think we've
lost the Christmas Birder? But do you think that the
world's changed a little bit?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
No? I don't, actually, And that's why I think I
keep doing it as I get older. Is that for
that very short time of you know, sometimes an hour
and a half of doing a Christmas show, I see
kids smiling, parents smiling at their kids, smiling, grandparents smiling.
So all I get is that goodwill and what they
might be going on or through at home is sort
(08:50):
of lost during Christmas. It's like a really good Christmas dinner,
isn't it, For just that time when you get all
the people together.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
With all the words gone, all the worries have to go.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
The moment somebody puts the silly hat on and pulls
the cracker, you were like, yeah, here we go a
little bit of goodness for a while. And then if
we have to, we start, you know, of course, picking
on each other and reminding them that we only liked
them being around for one day and they'd seen them
off again. But for the Christmas time, we do our
really best, don't we.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I'm going to try and use my contacts. I'm going
to actually make it a determine. It's my New Year's resolution. Wow,
it's to try and see whether we can restruct, reinstruct
is that the word? My restructure? Restructure the Christmas Carols
to the big concert in the city, and I reconnize people.
The park down the White White Tongue, you park would
(09:39):
be just perfect.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Well, we were just there for the during the Avatar
time and it was really lovely, you know, because so
much was going on. That Avatar weekend reminded me of
Wellington had its best, didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
I was going, I had it? Have you got that tune?
Grace and that little that time I just listened to
this for a second and this you're hear it? You're
here at Can you hear that?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
No?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Grab your head? Cool?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah, when I that's that's when.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I was down there this weekend and I walked around
and saw everybody just getting into the whole idea of
having the best city in the world and having the Avatar,
and then Carol's and Cricket. We were just packing them in.
All I saw was joy. I saw it was great,
you know it was and I had missed that. I
had missed that through the year because we constantly have
(10:47):
the maybe no Joy day.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I'm gonna I've written that down. All I can see you.
All I could see was joy, Nick Tansley, What a
great way to finish it. All I could see was
joy by Dick Tansley. And that's what I saw, too.
Lovely to see you in the studio and have you
in the studio again.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Your lovely Mack. You're a good mate and and I
really thank you for making me, you know, be able
to talk to people about, you.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Know what, Friday face off. I've been trying to get
you on Friday face off, so for so long I'm
going to get you on Friday, going to be opinionated
and loving.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I'm very opinionated. But today I'm joy.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Your joy. Great to see you, Great to have you
in the studio. Nick Tansley, the one and only Nick Tansley.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said, b we have the.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
One, the only Nick Tansy in the studio to have
a chat. Good morning. It's lovely to see you and
you look magnificent.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
What a lovely thing to say. I you know, this year,
I actually feel quite magnificent because it feels like at
Christmas time when I get back into doing what I do,
which is just get involved with Christmas music, is I'm
just so happy.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
You know. We talk about it every year in my house.
We talk about it every year in the studio. We
talk about it every year at work. Why don't we
have the big carols by candlelight? Is that what they
were called? Carols by candlelight? Over the big ones, the
big shows. I mean it started in what yeah, eighty.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Well eighty nine was the first show I was ever
involved in it as a presenter, and then I got
so enthusiastic. I basically, over many years, I just started
taking over the show until it all became mine.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, yes, but in a good way, in a great way.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Abundant energy and that whole thing about celebrating probably the
most positive time of the year.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And we did it as a city. We missed that.
We missed that going out with your kids and taking
them to carols and celebrating the city exactly like we
did on the weekend with the premiere of Avatar. You know,
the city gets together and we sing, we all sing,
yeah didn't we?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah? We did?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Why can't we bring them back? Well?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It's odd, isn't it? Because you think the capital city
would be the one that would have kept their big show.
But they still do a huge one in Auckland and
a huge one in Christchurch, and we don't do one
here anymore. And all I can see, by being the
person that had to watch this go through its time,
was that capital funding dropped out, sponsors dropped away. People
(01:59):
wanting to use this time to celebrate the you know,
with the community. They probably had to focus through some
things happening within Willington On. I guess other things that
weren't as important or as they thought, were more important
than goodwill.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Are we talking absolutely massive money to put on a
big carol shows? Are we talking a million dollars?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Say? No, not at all, not at all. Probably a
tenth of that to get something quite amazing. The thing
about Christmas is the show's already there. All you're doing
is present you are presenting it. So you could start
off with a loud hailer and then you can move,
you know, or no amplification at all. Then you can
put in some speakers and some stage, and then some
speakers and biggest speakers and biggest speakers. So what happens
(02:44):
is it's not the show that costs the money year
by year. It's the infrastructure, and it's things like people
charging for venues, or everyone starts charging for super screens,
and then everybody starts charging for huge PA systems, and
everyone start charges for a stage, and before you know it,
you're you're putting on account has gone through the roof.
(03:08):
Yet getting your singers to stand up there and sing
to a five year old is exactly the same coss
as it was the year before. So isn't that funny?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It is funny. But you know, I'm sitting here listening
and thinking in my mind's racing it is. How easily
could it be put back together? If someone came to
you and said, come on, Nick, we want to do this.
We will find the money for you, will help you
put it together. An organization that's got an infrastructure to
raising money and to do it. Could it be done?
(03:36):
Would you do it again?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Yeah? Of course, And they can just they can just
say we will, we'll pay for it for whatever reason
we want to get out of it. And they often
means that they've got their their killboards everywhere, or their
name all over it, or they get the CEO to
stand up and wish everyone a happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Who were your major sponsors? You had major sponsors ZM
where obviously it was the ZENM one for a while.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yes, for a very long time. We had Westpac in
the old days, we had so, we had quite a
few banks. We had the trust en z CT. You know,
they did it for a while. They were wonderful. And
then we've had lots of other sponsors that have come
on and you know, car dealers and that have given
a certain amount of money. The way to do it
(04:19):
is just anyone who wants to get involved. But like
a you know, a funding group, wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
It be a for willing to the n Z to
do I mean, you know that's the Yes, that's their baby.
I mean, wouldn't that be a great thing for us
to celebrate Christmas as a city again.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, I think so. I think it's really positive to
sing Christmas carols in front of particularly families, young kids.
And the funny thing is that splits up. We have
this continuous role of young five, six seven year olds
of course and less, and then the teenagers get to
an age where it's not cool to be singing Christmas
(04:56):
carols with the reindeer gear on anymore. It's funny, isn't it.
It's just and so we've got this always this new
group of young kids coming on that want to be
entertained and parents that want to be celebrate.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I obviously can remember because I had a family
member involved for many years with you doing it. I
can remember looking at the crowd as a young guy
myself thinking there is everyone from five to ninety in
the audience. Now, where do you get something like that
where you have mom and dad and grandma or granddad
(05:29):
and the kids, the grandkids and everyone with a smile
on their face because it's Christmas time. And Father Christmas
used to come in and it used to be a
guy that's working next door. I think he used to
dress up as Father Christmas. If you know who I'm
eating without giving it the day away used to arrive
and how much fun did we have?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, and that's right. It's just pure fun. And it's
in a time that we need that kind of stuff
and it lets you leave your worries at the gate,
I always say.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And you're still doing that right now. You're still doing
your little shows, little like Cardle and Medium. So okay, sorry,
I shouldn't have.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Biggie anymore in the live Engineer, but we do. We
do cover a lot of ground, and we do about
ten right through December, and they as far north as
Carleton and then a lot of the areas around the world.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Engine area and same format, same fun, same excitement.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Exactly the same. I mean, it's the same songs. It
has to be. They're the only ones there.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You're not going to split out and do a bit
of Michael Jackson, are you.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
No? But it feels like we're doing because it's the
same songs. Jingle Bells becomes our song and when the
kids hear it, they think we've written it.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I'm getting a little bit goosey now thinking about come on,
put sing us a song, Come on, Carol's for it,
Come on, I've put my little guitar Is that a
guitar or ukulele.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
It's actually an eight string ukulele. You better watcher, you better,
not gray, you better, and not pound. I'm telling you
why Sam s Close has come in to town, and
I thought I'd just do the whole show really quickly,
do the show. Wish you a merry Christmas. We wish
you Americ Christmas. We wish you Americ Christmas and a
(07:05):
new Year. I'm dreaming I'm a wise Christmas Jones, like
the ones I used to know, Slave House Ring, I
listening in the lane snows, listening our beautiful side. We're
(07:26):
happy to night walking in the winter underland. I mean,
these songs I've sung for thirty five years, I'm never
sick of them, and they're so beautifully positive and the
audience join in. I mean, what more could you ask for?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And it just feels so Christmas is just love you.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Listen. Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way, rude out,
the red Nose, ring, deer hand verver, shining nose, the
music come out. In the First World War, the bloody
red baron was flying once more the ile of command
of God all of his men, and called on Snoopy
(08:03):
to do it again. Christmas bells, Christmas bills ring through
the land, bring in peace to all the world, and
this is the big one, and good will to man
and women. I mean, come on.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Well, fantastic love. You tell me, do you think we've
lost the Christmas Birder? But do you think that the
world's changed a little bit?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
No? I don't, actually, And that's why I think I
keep doing it as I get older. Is that for
that very short time of you know, sometimes an hour
and a half of doing a Christmas show, I see
kids smiling, parents smiling at their kids, smiling, grandparents smiling.
So all I get is that goodwill and what they
might be going on or through at home is sort
(08:50):
of lost during Christmas. It's like a really good Christmas dinner,
isn't it, For just that time when you get all
the people together.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
With all the words gone, all the worries have to go.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
The moment somebody puts the silly hat on and pulls
the cracker, you were like, yeah, here we go a
little bit of goodness for a while. And then if
we have to, we start, you know, of course, picking
on each other and reminding them that we only liked
them being around for one day and they'd seen them
off again. But for the Christmas time, we do our
really best, don't we.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I'm going to try and use my contacts. I'm going
to actually make it a determine. It's my New Year's resolution. Wow,
it's to try and see whether we can restruct, reinstruct
is that the word? My restructure? Restructure the Christmas Carols
to the big concert in the city, and I reconnize people.
The park down the White White Tongue, you park would
(09:39):
be just perfect.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Well, we were just there for the during the Avatar
time and it was really lovely, you know, because so
much was going on. That Avatar weekend reminded me of
Wellington had its best, didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
I was going, I had it? Have you got that tune?
Grace and that little that time I just listened to
this for a second and this you're hear it? You're
here at Can you hear that?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
No?
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Grab your head? Cool?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah, when I that's that's when.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I was down there this weekend and I walked around
and saw everybody just getting into the whole idea of
having the best city in the world and having the Avatar,
and then Carol's and Cricket. We were just packing them in.
All I saw was joy. I saw it was great,
you know it was and I had missed that. I
had missed that through the year because we constantly have
(10:47):
the maybe no Joy day.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I'm gonna I've written that down. All I can see you.
All I could see was joy, Nick Tansley, What a
great way to finish it. All I could see was
joy by Dick Tansley. And that's what I saw, too.
Lovely to see you in the studio and have you
in the studio again.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Your lovely Mack. You're a good mate and and I
really thank you for making me, you know, be able
to talk to people about, you.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Know what, Friday face off. I've been trying to get
you on Friday face off, so for so long I'm
going to get you on Friday, going to be opinionated
and loving.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I'm very opinionated. But today I'm joy.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Your joy. Great to see you, Great to have you
in the studio. Nick Tansley, the one and only Nick Tansley.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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