August 5, 2025 • 21 mins
Christian speaks with journalist Andrew 'Bucky' Bucklow about breaking new ground in radio, why the other networks are now having meetings on "how to deal" with him and why human connection and community is more important than ever.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
iHeart Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You can hear more Gold one I four point three podcasts,
playlist and listen live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Got anything good?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
This is the Christian O'Connell Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hey this is Christian O'Connell and this is a very
different kind of podcast. So this week on the show,
I announced that the show from January next year, twenty
twenty six, is going national live at breakfast time, to
the entire country of Australia. Big news, exciting news. It's
never been done before. January can't come quick enough for
(00:47):
me and the team. We're so excited now. Obviously a
lot of people have got a lot of questions. How's
it going to work? Why, Why are you so excited
about it? What's it going to mean for the show?
What does it mean for the show is more stories,
more funny stories from all of Australia and a chance
to wake up this great southern land together, which is
why I'm so excited. Anyway, been doing a lot of
interviews this week and there's some one who's interviewing me
(01:09):
a couple times before. I always have such a blast
with him and it was good fun chatting to him
this week. I wanted you to have a listen to
it as well. If you're new to the news that
this breakfast show goes national all around Australia from January
next year. This guy's called Andrew Bucklow, Bucky I call him.
He's on news dot com dot aus Daily podcast from
the newsroom.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Hear me chatting then about the big news of the
show this week with Bucky.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Well, he dominated radio in the UK and now thanks
to his humor, he's heart and he's hustle, he is
dominating down under.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
It's Christian O'Connell.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Gooday, listen, good ann Can I just say a big
thank you over the weekend you referred to me as
a megastar in the UK. I took a screenshot of
that showed it to my children, who were eighteen and
twenty one. They still won't impressed with that.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
What will it take?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But thank you for trying to do your bit to
give me some internal good points as a call down.
But yeah, it's lovely to chat to you again and
it's exciting. You've got to talk about what happening next year.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, well you made your big announcement on Monday morning. Now,
because I meant to be a very serious report. I
want to get the fact straight. So next year your
breakfast show will be heard on Gold FM in Melbourne,
in Sydney, in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, though, will you
be heard on DAB digital stations or on the FM band.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Are beyond DAB digital stations there and there's a lot
of people available to grow over the couple of years
who are listening on digital radio. And this happened in
the UK about fifteen years ago, so that the national
radio show I did in the UK was on an
FM station in London. Only around the UK it was
(02:46):
all on digital radio. And you know, I grew that
show over the years. I did that for twelve years,
up to two and a half million a week we're
listening to the show. So the future of radio listening
in this country, as it's been shown with TV as
well it is about, is digital as well. So it's
a great way to be able to roll it out.
FM in Sydney and FM in Melbourne, two of the
(03:07):
biggest cities. It kind of like twin cities of Australia.
You know, ten or eleven million people, it's almost half
the country on FM radio and then the rest of
it growing it yeah, on digital radio, which is really exciting.
It feels like, you know, this is a first Australian radio.
There's never been a live, commercial breakfast show to go
around the country and the fact that it is in
the emerging technology of how radio is listened to, it's
(03:30):
really really exciting to do it. Once in my career
in the UK was incredible and I've missed it, you know,
much as I love being in Melbourne, you know, I
always hoped that if it went well enough and I
survived the first year and a half and to get fired,
I really would love the opportunity to make a national
breakfast show here that gave people an opportunity to actually
connect and come together, which I know radio does, but
(03:51):
actually not nationally. I just thought, you know, Australia is
such a it's quite a unique country. I've never known
anything like it where it's kind of divided. Obviously got
these state divisions, but it breaks down into even no
real national sport. And obviously the success of the Matilda
has showed us actually Australians desperate to come together. They
want they want excuses and moments to have a national
(04:13):
experience of shows like what it's like to be Australians
and to get around each other, and that's what I
want this show to do. When I saw what was
happening with the Matildas and those you know, the biggest
TV viewing events ever, bigger than any of the NRL
AFL Grand Finals, was the Matildas, and it was such
a It just reminded me that, you know, sport divides
(04:34):
often during the year. Device it's like, you know, well,
in New South Wales we don't care so much about AFL.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
In Victoria's well, we're AFL here.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And it was a real kind of a lot to
get my head around when I first moved here, like Australias,
so wait, Australia's a concept, it's not a country. And
then that got even worse during lockdown when everyone was
like turning on dirty old Victoria for being unclean, and
it was just like what this is? And so yeah,
the show for me is it's offering people some choice
on the dial that if you want to wake up
(05:04):
with Australia and here people like you from all over
the country. That's something new, it's something exciting, and I think,
you know, we are in times of increasing isolation and loneliness,
and I just think radio is like this.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
To me.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
While I still love radio after twenty seven years of
doing breakfast radio is I think there's something quite special
about how it brings people together.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And I think we need that now more than any
of the time.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And with the rise of AI, which is happening like
day by day, week by week, is getting quicker and
bigger and becoming more of our lives, I think the
human connection is under threat actually, and people are going
to think they're talking to somebody when they're talking to AI,
and that is not human connection. It's something really different
and I'm noticing this in the last especially the last
(05:49):
couple of months, and I.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Think we're going to see more of that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So radio bringing a country together and it's something that's
really in my heart. I think I did in the
u K for twelve years and I loved it. I
loved speaking to a bit of every day, whether in London,
whether in Manchester or Liverpool, and I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
It can't come soon enough.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Meet next year well Jonesy and Amanda, who've been hosting
the goldf Fan Breakfas show in Sydney for about twenty years.
They made a bit of a rushed announcement last week
that they'll be moving to afternoons from twenty two.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I know that work us up Friday. I've got to
be honest.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I know my phone was going to actually burst into
flames during Friday's breakfast show.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yes, yeah, I'm not saying that.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It wasn't planned that I'll be talking to you today anyway,
but it was meant to be in a couple of
weeks time. But hey, you know what, they deserve to
have their news first. I mean that they've been fantastic
and they will be fantastic on the same station. I'm
going to be National in the morning, They're going to
be in the afternoon. So on one stage you're going
to get two brilliant shows, Jones and Amanda and obviously
me on Breakfast in the morning. So no, they deserve
(06:52):
to say they've been incredible for you know, they've woken.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Up Sydney for so long.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
A lot of people, you know, a lot of people
are really going to miss them, and I really respect that.
And Amanda and I swamp messages Friday and we've always
been big fans of each other's work and she said
to it. She's very glad that the new guy is me,
and she's invited me to come out for a long
lunch and a couple of weeks time so we can
talk about it all. But yeah, I think Amanda is
one of the best broadcasters in Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
She's incredible. Whenever she's come.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
On the show to do stuff with me, I get
nervous because it's like, you know, I know I'm funny,
I know him good, but I really have like, well,
you really got to have your a game really because Amanda,
it's just like she's like a ninth damn black belt.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So yeah, I'm looking forward to being.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
On the same radio station as those two and I've
been really nice to me over the years, so I'm
glad that they're still going to be on the station
and grow a national radio station for Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
But now I look, it is surprised everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I'm not gonna I'm not going to b SU, but
my god, Dad's who really deserve to do their news
when they think it feels right, and like the way
I do radio as well. The most important thing you
have if you're doing radio right, The most important relationship
you have is with the audience, and it's all about trust.
It's built on that. And so I get that they
had this big thing that was going on. It must
be hell for them to not be to talk about it.
(08:10):
And also radio is the leakiest industry in the world.
I've never know anything like it. It's like you work
with spice.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
If that's the standard of our spies, We're we're in
trouble around the world, aren't we like this? Yes, I
wanted to ask you obviously got a text from Amanda Keller.
Who else have you heard from in the radio industry?
Any other stars reached out to you, shot you a text.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I tell you who.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
The people that run the other radio stations have all
been sending me messages. I've got a friend who runs
is high up in the Nova network and he said, right,
we now have to have meetings about how to deal
with you. I like the fact that I'm going to
become a problem. I was seven years ago and now
I'm a national I'm a national problem. That might be
(08:54):
the title of my next book, a national problem.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yes, what about Kyle and Jackie? Have you heard from them?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
No?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So no, But you know what a when I've got
two big radio stows, the two big radio shows that
are going to be growing over the next couple of years,
and you listen to what you like, you listen to
the show that you connect with, and I think that
it's going to be a really really exciting couple of years.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
It is. How could it not be.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
This is a next This is the next big thing
happening in radio. It happened in the UK with networking
shows getting bigger. Look, I love radio, and none of
this is about killing local radio. I'm building a national
radio show. This is brand new. I'm breaking new ground.
Local radio isn't going anywhere. It's still really important, and
(09:43):
I think with national shows growing, I think it's just
I think it's just about choice, and it's people will
people will settle on the shows that they connect with,
and I think there's something really honest about that.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
In radio.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I still think it's like it's built around human connection.
I think radio is in real threat of eating itself.
I don't think it's getting better. The standard of shows,
I think is getting worse. I think it's lost a
lot of people from radio, breakfast radio especially, and so
I think that try playing the noisy game of stunts,
buying listeners with noisy cash giveaways isn't about human connection,
(10:17):
and so I think there's something I think. I feel
there's something quite old fashioned about what I offer, which
is genuinely built around community and connection. And when I
came here that suddenly became more important to me than
any time in my twenty years in UK radio because
actually I actually needed it. Only hit me the other
day over the weekend when I was thinking about this
(10:38):
ahead of announcing it. Why it was such a big
emotional thing for me. It was because actually, when I
moved here, I actually had to build a community. I
didn't have one. You know, It's just me, my daughters
and my wife. We didn't know anyone here, and so
for me, the radio show has been a second family.
And I don't mean that in a cheesy way. I
genuinely mean that. And I think if you ask anyone
(10:59):
who listens to my show, they would say that, well,
we do feel like we know him and I know
them as well, and so I really like radio. How
it's still a magical medium to me is that it's
got this opportunity to bring people together. The power of
our shared human voices has still got this, he's still
got this magic to me.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Let's talk about your show.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
There will be some people listening to this right now
who haven't heard much of it from around the country.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Just introduce your team members for us.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Okay, Well, first of all, there's the powerhouse that is Pat's.
Pats does the news on the show. Pats is I've
got to be honest, every time Pats speaks on the show,
I'm slightly terrified is she because she's she's wild, and
she's unpredictable, and she's a very unique female voice in broadcasting.
(11:47):
Most women, sadly on radio shows here, are put into very,
very very narrow roles. They're not allowed to free range
rome that men have. And when I first met Patsy,
she had these big glasses and I was like, Hey,
I really want you to say whatever you want. Don't
laugh anything I say just because you think that's your job,
not in and tell me what you really think. I
(12:08):
think I'm more interested than that. And I said, I
already want to build you on the show. I think
you've been under used, and she was like this, looking
at me, like, yeah, you've got the eighth guy who's
come in here and said all of this, but bit
by bit she's just opened up and opened up. She's
an inspiration. She's an inspiration to so many women. She's
now doing this podcast, Rage Against the Menopause, which have
been encouraging her to do for years, and it's brilliant.
(12:30):
So pats is a powerhouse on the show. I love Patsy.
She's great and Australia are really going to take Patsy.
Mums will relate to Patsy on the show and even
if you're not a mum. She's country tough. You know,
there's like the city slickers around and then there's the
country tough people who are mad, actually crazy, people who
like you know, might chainsaw off a couple of fingers
(12:52):
and then carry on working on the farm and then
drive themselves to hospital. That's what Patsy She's has made
differently from the rest of us. We've got some Johnny
cum lately. He's been on the show for two weeks.
Alex Cullen, who obviously was on Channel nine in the
morning and you know, we know what happened there and
he's integrated seamlessly to the show.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
He's brilliant.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I really wanted someone who who actually was from Sydney,
who was warm and likable, and as soon as he
got spoken to Alex, I just liked him.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
We hit it off.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
He's got three young kids, he's a brilliant journalist as well,
and so I always thought that the sport could be
done differently on this show, and I wanted sport with personality.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
It's a sport mad country.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
It's not a sports show, but sport is entertainment and storytelling,
you know, And so I thought it could be done differently,
and Alex is doing a fantastic.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Job of that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
And obviously next year we got the Matilda's back in
action at the Asia Cup and then it's the Men's
World Cup as well in American so big sporting year
for the country next year. So yeah, Alex has been
doing a great job. I mean, obviously he's done eleven
shows with us and we're now going national. He's jumped
on a very lucrative bandwagon. And then Rio, who's someone
(14:06):
who's been working on the show for a couple of
years as a producer, and then we're speaking more and
more on air and just being so naturally quick, very smart,
joke iq and a great storyteller has come on leaps
and bounds. And so when Jack Post, who obviously does
a podcast with Amage Nandy and was on their show
for ten years, just quit two months ago, I didn't
(14:28):
want to knee jerk into finding another comedian or a
funny person. Rio stepped into the fold and has done
a fantastic job. So the liner will be me, Rio,
Pats and Alex. And then the other part of that
is it's the people that listen to the show. You
don't just listen to my show. It's a conversation, right,
That's what I'm obsessed with in life is conversations. And
so whether that's a silent conversation like in your car
(14:50):
you're going, oh my god, I've got a teenage daughter,
like that Christian who thinks seven am is the middle
of the night, and you're kind of nodding your head,
or you're going no, there's no way that this is
not true, and you want to call in or share
your story. It's a conversation. So we make the show
with their audience. And if you've heard in him my
show's Bucky, you know that that is every single day.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
It's genuine. It's the calls the stories.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I'm obsessed with storytelling, but as part of that, it's
the story receiving as well. I love sharing my stories
to then get stories from people who are listening to
the show. The best bits of the show are the
stories ours and the people that listen as well, and
so getting what excites me about National Radio. It all
comes down to it's more stories that are being to
(15:34):
get from all over the country. That and what we
might hear, what we might find out, what might make
us laugh and cry. That surely that's something to get
excited about.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
One hundred percent. I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
One thing that Australia is going to hear when they
tune in next year is your incredibly smooth voice.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
I bloody love it. Edything guys in public from your voice.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I had to go and I pictures some strange kidney
infection or whatever it is in holiday in Fiji a
couple of weeks ago. I had to go and have
some blood tests last week and I go into my
blood tests and it's a lot of seven am and
I go in and they check your details, you know,
and I start speaking. This woman goes she actually takes it.
I wish I was filming it. It would have made
a great TV advert for next year. She takes the
(16:20):
glasses or she goes, oh my god, I recognize that voice.
I listen to you every morning and I'm like, well listen,
what's your name? Thank you very much, and she goes,
oh my god, I'm sorry, but I'm getting really nervous
now find I'm going to make a mistake taking your
blood and I went, please please don't do that. I
can't be bleeding out on air tomorrow, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Please please please steady yourself. So yeah, it's one of
those strange things that there's not many.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I think it's just me, the only English guard on
the radio in Australia. So yeah, when I'm out and about,
people recognize me from my voice, which is so strange
because I start talking and people go, oh my god,
I know who you are and I'm like, who am I?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
It's such a big existential question. I'm fifty ten. I'm
still trying to work out who am I.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
If you can help me, I'm really I'm still trying
to find out who I am.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Live radio is so unpredictable. Anything can happen. That's what
we all love about it. What is the most bizarre
thing in your mind that's ever happened to you while
you were live on air.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'm sure there's hapes to choose from here. Uh no,
one always comes to mind. So I've done this competition.
I think I did it twice here and I will
be bringing it back. It's called Who's Calling Christian And
the idea is is that we say to listeners, contact
to celebrity, you know, whether you do that on social media,
and get them to call the show and they could
(17:38):
win thousands of dollars for the charity of their choice.
And all celebrities do work for charities.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
And you win.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
If your celebrity wins the vote at the end of
the two or three weeks, you win thousands as well.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And so did it in the UK. And I remember
one moment.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
It was like the last half an hour the show
on a Friday, and it's all about to end. Liam
Gallagher had just called in. Rod Stewart had just called in.
Liam Gallagher said their word thirteen times right and in
the in a radio in the UK that is not cool.
But he offered to pay any fines and he'd been
on a three day drink bender. He told us as well,
(18:15):
and I remember saying to him, this is all live radio.
There's no preparation, right, I'm just saying to him because
there's like Friday light, that what does he do today?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know? And he goes, he was off, He's off
to Harry Potter World.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
But then literally in the last ten minutes, my producer goes,
you're not gonna believe he's on the line right now,
and I thought, obviously live unpredictable interview with Liam and
then Rod Stuart before that was enough, and he goes,
it's the Prime Minister live and number ten.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I went well calling this competition and.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Then I was I was like, I looked at the
clock and I was like eight minutes left, and my
producer said to me, he needs to do this right now.
Like we were in the middle of an outbreak, so
we had to kill the autbreak and we went live
to number ten Downing Street, and I remember, I never remember,
I'll never forget what my idiot producer said to me.
And obviously I'm trying to just suddenly ground myself in
(19:06):
this moment light the moment I go live and the
Prime Minister comes on to enter this competition, everyone's going
to turn the radio and go, oh my god. And
you've got to meet these moments, right, you ask people
to do this, and you've got me, and I'm thinking,
what the hell.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Am I going to say?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And I remember it was like three seconds it went
from he's got to do it now it was like
five seconds. I had my producer goes to me, don't
fuck this up, and I remember just getting angry. We're like,
why would you even say that? Now?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
The only thing I hear is fuck up.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
And I remember just like trembling, putting the faders up
and the producers label up called as names obviously in radio,
and it just said that the Prime Minister. And remember
we did this ten minute live interview and he was
at his desk at ten Downing Street and it was
just like all in one show you'd go from Liam
gallaka what Stuart and then the Prime Minister. There was
(19:58):
like the greatest line up on a chat show. And
so yeah, that in terms of anything could happen. And
then you've got to try and make magic out of
nothing and people are going come on then to do
the magic trick, and there's something really exciting about that.
You're on a tight row every morning and sometimes you
fall off it. But there's no other medium that can
(20:20):
offer that TV. It'd be rehearse planned. Here are the
no go areas. This is all live radio and that's
still the magic and joy. I think for people listening,
WI radio still matters. And if you look about you
know the opinion about Cain J Melbourne over the last
eighteen months, the one thing that shows breakfast Radio is
still alive. It's really important people really care about who
(20:43):
they listen to, they have good opinions and that I'm
really glad that people still care about that morning radio
show and what they want from it and what they
don't want from it.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Well, it's such a personal connection, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
It's like we feel like we know you guys, we
love you guys, that we have ownership of you guys
almost and so it is important and it's so discomforting
when it changes.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
But I'm so excited about.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
What you and your team are going to going to
do in the next couple of years. Is I can't
wait to see what you guys achieved. And thank you
so much for chatting to us at news dot.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Com dot you.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It's a pleasure to chat to you at news dot
com dot au, your News, your Way, your Newsnews dot
com dot au.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
That'll be our promo from now on.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
You need a podcast called the News with Bucky or
BUCkies News or BUCkies Lucky.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
You're going to try and cut Alex's grass and join
your show.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
It is always such a joy chatting to you and
and really thanks for all your support over the years
as well.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
The Christian O'Connell show podcast
iHeart Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
You can hear more Gold one I four point three podcasts,
playlist and listen live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Got anything good?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
This is the Christian O'Connell Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hey this is Christian O'Connell and this is a very
different kind of podcast. So this week on the show,
I announced that the show from January next year, twenty
twenty six, is going national live at breakfast time, to
the entire country of Australia. Big news, exciting news. It's
never been done before. January can't come quick enough for
(00:47):
me and the team. We're so excited now. Obviously a
lot of people have got a lot of questions. How's
it going to work? Why, Why are you so excited
about it? What's it going to mean for the show?
What does it mean for the show is more stories,
more funny stories from all of Australia and a chance
to wake up this great southern land together, which is
why I'm so excited. Anyway, been doing a lot of
interviews this week and there's some one who's interviewing me
(01:09):
a couple times before. I always have such a blast
with him and it was good fun chatting to him
this week. I wanted you to have a listen to
it as well. If you're new to the news that
this breakfast show goes national all around Australia from January
next year. This guy's called Andrew Bucklow, Bucky I call him.
He's on news dot com dot aus Daily podcast from
the newsroom.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Hear me chatting then about the big news of the
show this week with Bucky.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Well, he dominated radio in the UK and now thanks
to his humor, he's heart and he's hustle, he is
dominating down under.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
It's Christian O'Connell.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Gooday, listen, good ann Can I just say a big
thank you over the weekend you referred to me as
a megastar in the UK. I took a screenshot of
that showed it to my children, who were eighteen and
twenty one. They still won't impressed with that.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
What will it take?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But thank you for trying to do your bit to
give me some internal good points as a call down.
But yeah, it's lovely to chat to you again and
it's exciting. You've got to talk about what happening next year.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, well you made your big announcement on Monday morning. Now,
because I meant to be a very serious report. I
want to get the fact straight. So next year your
breakfast show will be heard on Gold FM in Melbourne,
in Sydney, in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, though, will you
be heard on DAB digital stations or on the FM band.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Are beyond DAB digital stations there and there's a lot
of people available to grow over the couple of years
who are listening on digital radio. And this happened in
the UK about fifteen years ago, so that the national
radio show I did in the UK was on an
FM station in London. Only around the UK it was
(02:46):
all on digital radio. And you know, I grew that
show over the years. I did that for twelve years,
up to two and a half million a week we're
listening to the show. So the future of radio listening
in this country, as it's been shown with TV as
well it is about, is digital as well. So it's
a great way to be able to roll it out.
FM in Sydney and FM in Melbourne, two of the
(03:07):
biggest cities. It kind of like twin cities of Australia.
You know, ten or eleven million people, it's almost half
the country on FM radio and then the rest of
it growing it yeah, on digital radio, which is really exciting.
It feels like, you know, this is a first Australian radio.
There's never been a live, commercial breakfast show to go
around the country and the fact that it is in
the emerging technology of how radio is listened to, it's
(03:30):
really really exciting to do it. Once in my career
in the UK was incredible and I've missed it, you know,
much as I love being in Melbourne, you know, I
always hoped that if it went well enough and I
survived the first year and a half and to get fired,
I really would love the opportunity to make a national
breakfast show here that gave people an opportunity to actually
connect and come together, which I know radio does, but
(03:51):
actually not nationally. I just thought, you know, Australia is
such a it's quite a unique country. I've never known
anything like it where it's kind of divided. Obviously got
these state divisions, but it breaks down into even no
real national sport. And obviously the success of the Matilda
has showed us actually Australians desperate to come together. They
want they want excuses and moments to have a national
(04:13):
experience of shows like what it's like to be Australians
and to get around each other, and that's what I
want this show to do. When I saw what was
happening with the Matildas and those you know, the biggest
TV viewing events ever, bigger than any of the NRL
AFL Grand Finals, was the Matildas, and it was such
a It just reminded me that, you know, sport divides
(04:34):
often during the year. Device it's like, you know, well,
in New South Wales we don't care so much about AFL.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
In Victoria's well, we're AFL here.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And it was a real kind of a lot to
get my head around when I first moved here, like Australias,
so wait, Australia's a concept, it's not a country. And
then that got even worse during lockdown when everyone was
like turning on dirty old Victoria for being unclean, and
it was just like what this is? And so yeah,
the show for me is it's offering people some choice
on the dial that if you want to wake up
(05:04):
with Australia and here people like you from all over
the country. That's something new, it's something exciting, and I think,
you know, we are in times of increasing isolation and loneliness,
and I just think radio is like this.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
To me.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
While I still love radio after twenty seven years of
doing breakfast radio is I think there's something quite special
about how it brings people together.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And I think we need that now more than any
of the time.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And with the rise of AI, which is happening like
day by day, week by week, is getting quicker and
bigger and becoming more of our lives, I think the
human connection is under threat actually, and people are going
to think they're talking to somebody when they're talking to AI,
and that is not human connection. It's something really different
and I'm noticing this in the last especially the last
(05:49):
couple of months, and I.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Think we're going to see more of that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So radio bringing a country together and it's something that's
really in my heart. I think I did in the
u K for twelve years and I loved it. I
loved speaking to a bit of every day, whether in London,
whether in Manchester or Liverpool, and I can't wait.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
It can't come soon enough.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Meet next year well Jonesy and Amanda, who've been hosting
the goldf Fan Breakfas show in Sydney for about twenty years.
They made a bit of a rushed announcement last week
that they'll be moving to afternoons from twenty two.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I know that work us up Friday. I've got to
be honest.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I know my phone was going to actually burst into
flames during Friday's breakfast show.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yes, yeah, I'm not saying that.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It wasn't planned that I'll be talking to you today anyway,
but it was meant to be in a couple of
weeks time. But hey, you know what, they deserve to
have their news first. I mean that they've been fantastic
and they will be fantastic on the same station. I'm
going to be National in the morning, They're going to
be in the afternoon. So on one stage you're going
to get two brilliant shows, Jones and Amanda and obviously
me on Breakfast in the morning. So no, they deserve
(06:52):
to say they've been incredible for you know, they've woken.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Up Sydney for so long.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
A lot of people, you know, a lot of people
are really going to miss them, and I really respect that.
And Amanda and I swamp messages Friday and we've always
been big fans of each other's work and she said
to it. She's very glad that the new guy is me,
and she's invited me to come out for a long
lunch and a couple of weeks time so we can
talk about it all. But yeah, I think Amanda is
one of the best broadcasters in Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
She's incredible. Whenever she's come.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
On the show to do stuff with me, I get
nervous because it's like, you know, I know I'm funny,
I know him good, but I really have like, well,
you really got to have your a game really because Amanda,
it's just like she's like a ninth damn black belt.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So yeah, I'm looking forward to being.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
On the same radio station as those two and I've
been really nice to me over the years, so I'm
glad that they're still going to be on the station
and grow a national radio station for Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
But now I look, it is surprised everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I'm not gonna I'm not going to b SU, but
my god, Dad's who really deserve to do their news
when they think it feels right, and like the way
I do radio as well. The most important thing you
have if you're doing radio right, The most important relationship
you have is with the audience, and it's all about trust.
It's built on that. And so I get that they
had this big thing that was going on. It must
be hell for them to not be to talk about it.
(08:10):
And also radio is the leakiest industry in the world.
I've never know anything like it. It's like you work
with spice.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
If that's the standard of our spies, We're we're in
trouble around the world, aren't we like this? Yes, I
wanted to ask you obviously got a text from Amanda Keller.
Who else have you heard from in the radio industry?
Any other stars reached out to you, shot you a text.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I tell you who.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
The people that run the other radio stations have all
been sending me messages. I've got a friend who runs
is high up in the Nova network and he said, right,
we now have to have meetings about how to deal
with you. I like the fact that I'm going to
become a problem. I was seven years ago and now
I'm a national I'm a national problem. That might be
(08:54):
the title of my next book, a national problem.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yes, what about Kyle and Jackie? Have you heard from them?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
No?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So no, But you know what a when I've got
two big radio stows, the two big radio shows that
are going to be growing over the next couple of years,
and you listen to what you like, you listen to
the show that you connect with, and I think that
it's going to be a really really exciting couple of years.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
It is. How could it not be.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
This is a next This is the next big thing
happening in radio. It happened in the UK with networking
shows getting bigger. Look, I love radio, and none of
this is about killing local radio. I'm building a national
radio show. This is brand new. I'm breaking new ground.
Local radio isn't going anywhere. It's still really important, and
(09:43):
I think with national shows growing, I think it's just
I think it's just about choice, and it's people will
people will settle on the shows that they connect with,
and I think there's something really honest about that.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
In radio.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I still think it's like it's built around human connection.
I think radio is in real threat of eating itself.
I don't think it's getting better. The standard of shows,
I think is getting worse. I think it's lost a
lot of people from radio, breakfast radio especially, and so
I think that try playing the noisy game of stunts,
buying listeners with noisy cash giveaways isn't about human connection,
(10:17):
and so I think there's something I think. I feel
there's something quite old fashioned about what I offer, which
is genuinely built around community and connection. And when I
came here that suddenly became more important to me than
any time in my twenty years in UK radio because
actually I actually needed it. Only hit me the other
day over the weekend when I was thinking about this
(10:38):
ahead of announcing it. Why it was such a big
emotional thing for me. It was because actually, when I
moved here, I actually had to build a community. I
didn't have one. You know, It's just me, my daughters
and my wife. We didn't know anyone here, and so
for me, the radio show has been a second family.
And I don't mean that in a cheesy way. I
genuinely mean that. And I think if you ask anyone
(10:59):
who listens to my show, they would say that, well,
we do feel like we know him and I know
them as well, and so I really like radio. How
it's still a magical medium to me is that it's
got this opportunity to bring people together. The power of
our shared human voices has still got this, he's still
got this magic to me.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Let's talk about your show.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
There will be some people listening to this right now
who haven't heard much of it from around the country.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Just introduce your team members for us.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Okay, Well, first of all, there's the powerhouse that is Pat's.
Pats does the news on the show. Pats is I've
got to be honest, every time Pats speaks on the show,
I'm slightly terrified is she because she's she's wild, and
she's unpredictable, and she's a very unique female voice in broadcasting.
(11:47):
Most women, sadly on radio shows here, are put into very,
very very narrow roles. They're not allowed to free range
rome that men have. And when I first met Patsy,
she had these big glasses and I was like, Hey,
I really want you to say whatever you want. Don't
laugh anything I say just because you think that's your job,
not in and tell me what you really think. I
(12:08):
think I'm more interested than that. And I said, I
already want to build you on the show. I think
you've been under used, and she was like this, looking
at me, like, yeah, you've got the eighth guy who's
come in here and said all of this, but bit
by bit she's just opened up and opened up. She's
an inspiration. She's an inspiration to so many women. She's
now doing this podcast, Rage Against the Menopause, which have
been encouraging her to do for years, and it's brilliant.
(12:30):
So pats is a powerhouse on the show. I love Patsy.
She's great and Australia are really going to take Patsy.
Mums will relate to Patsy on the show and even
if you're not a mum. She's country tough. You know,
there's like the city slickers around and then there's the
country tough people who are mad, actually crazy, people who
like you know, might chainsaw off a couple of fingers
(12:52):
and then carry on working on the farm and then
drive themselves to hospital. That's what Patsy She's has made
differently from the rest of us. We've got some Johnny
cum lately. He's been on the show for two weeks.
Alex Cullen, who obviously was on Channel nine in the
morning and you know, we know what happened there and
he's integrated seamlessly to the show.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
He's brilliant.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I really wanted someone who who actually was from Sydney,
who was warm and likable, and as soon as he
got spoken to Alex, I just liked him.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
We hit it off.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
He's got three young kids, he's a brilliant journalist as well,
and so I always thought that the sport could be
done differently on this show, and I wanted sport with personality.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
It's a sport mad country.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
It's not a sports show, but sport is entertainment and storytelling,
you know, And so I thought it could be done differently,
and Alex is doing a fantastic.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Job of that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
And obviously next year we got the Matilda's back in
action at the Asia Cup and then it's the Men's
World Cup as well in American so big sporting year
for the country next year. So yeah, Alex has been
doing a great job. I mean, obviously he's done eleven
shows with us and we're now going national. He's jumped
on a very lucrative bandwagon. And then Rio, who's someone
(14:06):
who's been working on the show for a couple of
years as a producer, and then we're speaking more and
more on air and just being so naturally quick, very smart,
joke iq and a great storyteller has come on leaps
and bounds. And so when Jack Post, who obviously does
a podcast with Amage Nandy and was on their show
for ten years, just quit two months ago, I didn't
(14:28):
want to knee jerk into finding another comedian or a
funny person. Rio stepped into the fold and has done
a fantastic job. So the liner will be me, Rio,
Pats and Alex. And then the other part of that
is it's the people that listen to the show. You
don't just listen to my show. It's a conversation, right,
That's what I'm obsessed with in life is conversations. And
so whether that's a silent conversation like in your car
(14:50):
you're going, oh my god, I've got a teenage daughter,
like that Christian who thinks seven am is the middle
of the night, and you're kind of nodding your head,
or you're going no, there's no way that this is
not true, and you want to call in or share
your story. It's a conversation. So we make the show
with their audience. And if you've heard in him my
show's Bucky, you know that that is every single day.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
It's genuine. It's the calls the stories.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I'm obsessed with storytelling, but as part of that, it's
the story receiving as well. I love sharing my stories
to then get stories from people who are listening to
the show. The best bits of the show are the
stories ours and the people that listen as well, and
so getting what excites me about National Radio. It all
comes down to it's more stories that are being to
(15:34):
get from all over the country. That and what we
might hear, what we might find out, what might make
us laugh and cry. That surely that's something to get
excited about.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
One hundred percent. I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
One thing that Australia is going to hear when they
tune in next year is your incredibly smooth voice.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
I bloody love it. Edything guys in public from your voice.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I had to go and I pictures some strange kidney
infection or whatever it is in holiday in Fiji a
couple of weeks ago. I had to go and have
some blood tests last week and I go into my
blood tests and it's a lot of seven am and
I go in and they check your details, you know,
and I start speaking. This woman goes she actually takes it.
I wish I was filming it. It would have made
a great TV advert for next year. She takes the
(16:20):
glasses or she goes, oh my god, I recognize that voice.
I listen to you every morning and I'm like, well listen,
what's your name? Thank you very much, and she goes,
oh my god, I'm sorry, but I'm getting really nervous
now find I'm going to make a mistake taking your
blood and I went, please please don't do that. I
can't be bleeding out on air tomorrow, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Please please please steady yourself. So yeah, it's one of
those strange things that there's not many.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I think it's just me, the only English guard on
the radio in Australia. So yeah, when I'm out and about,
people recognize me from my voice, which is so strange
because I start talking and people go, oh my god,
I know who you are and I'm like, who am I?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
It's such a big existential question. I'm fifty ten. I'm
still trying to work out who am I.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
If you can help me, I'm really I'm still trying
to find out who I am.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Live radio is so unpredictable. Anything can happen. That's what
we all love about it. What is the most bizarre
thing in your mind that's ever happened to you while
you were live on air.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'm sure there's hapes to choose from here. Uh no,
one always comes to mind. So I've done this competition.
I think I did it twice here and I will
be bringing it back. It's called Who's Calling Christian And
the idea is is that we say to listeners, contact
to celebrity, you know, whether you do that on social media,
and get them to call the show and they could
(17:38):
win thousands of dollars for the charity of their choice.
And all celebrities do work for charities.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
And you win.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
If your celebrity wins the vote at the end of
the two or three weeks, you win thousands as well.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And so did it in the UK. And I remember
one moment.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
It was like the last half an hour the show
on a Friday, and it's all about to end. Liam
Gallagher had just called in. Rod Stewart had just called in.
Liam Gallagher said their word thirteen times right and in
the in a radio in the UK that is not cool.
But he offered to pay any fines and he'd been
on a three day drink bender. He told us as well,
(18:15):
and I remember saying to him, this is all live radio.
There's no preparation, right, I'm just saying to him because
there's like Friday light, that what does he do today?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know? And he goes, he was off, He's off
to Harry Potter World.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
But then literally in the last ten minutes, my producer goes,
you're not gonna believe he's on the line right now,
and I thought, obviously live unpredictable interview with Liam and
then Rod Stuart before that was enough, and he goes,
it's the Prime Minister live and number ten.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I went well calling this competition and.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Then I was I was like, I looked at the
clock and I was like eight minutes left, and my
producer said to me, he needs to do this right now.
Like we were in the middle of an outbreak, so
we had to kill the autbreak and we went live
to number ten Downing Street, and I remember, I never remember,
I'll never forget what my idiot producer said to me.
And obviously I'm trying to just suddenly ground myself in
(19:06):
this moment light the moment I go live and the
Prime Minister comes on to enter this competition, everyone's going
to turn the radio and go, oh my god. And
you've got to meet these moments, right, you ask people
to do this, and you've got me, and I'm thinking,
what the hell.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Am I going to say?
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And I remember it was like three seconds it went
from he's got to do it now it was like
five seconds. I had my producer goes to me, don't
fuck this up, and I remember just getting angry. We're like,
why would you even say that? Now?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
The only thing I hear is fuck up.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
And I remember just like trembling, putting the faders up
and the producers label up called as names obviously in radio,
and it just said that the Prime Minister. And remember
we did this ten minute live interview and he was
at his desk at ten Downing Street and it was
just like all in one show you'd go from Liam
gallaka what Stuart and then the Prime Minister. There was
(19:58):
like the greatest line up on a chat show. And
so yeah, that in terms of anything could happen. And
then you've got to try and make magic out of
nothing and people are going come on then to do
the magic trick, and there's something really exciting about that.
You're on a tight row every morning and sometimes you
fall off it. But there's no other medium that can
(20:20):
offer that TV. It'd be rehearse planned. Here are the
no go areas. This is all live radio and that's
still the magic and joy. I think for people listening,
WI radio still matters. And if you look about you
know the opinion about Cain J Melbourne over the last
eighteen months, the one thing that shows breakfast Radio is
still alive. It's really important people really care about who
(20:43):
they listen to, they have good opinions and that I'm
really glad that people still care about that morning radio
show and what they want from it and what they
don't want from it.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Well, it's such a personal connection, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
It's like we feel like we know you guys, we
love you guys, that we have ownership of you guys
almost and so it is important and it's so discomforting
when it changes.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
But I'm so excited about.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
What you and your team are going to going to
do in the next couple of years. Is I can't
wait to see what you guys achieved. And thank you
so much for chatting to us at news dot.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Com dot you.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
It's a pleasure to chat to you at news dot
com dot au, your News, your Way, your Newsnews dot
com dot au.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
That'll be our promo from now on.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
You need a podcast called the News with Bucky or
BUCkies News or BUCkies Lucky.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
You're going to try and cut Alex's grass and join
your show.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
It is always such a joy chatting to you and
and really thanks for all your support over the years
as well.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
The Christian O'Connell show podcast
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