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The Martin Kelner Q&A Interview
Exclusive to talkSPORT1089.co.uk

Martin Kelner is a freelance broadcaster and journalist with
25 years experience in newspapers, radio, and television and
author of When Will I Be Famous, Martin's best seller of a warm,
funny and affectionate journey into the chilly backwoods of a
celebrity world and is currently available at all good book shops.

As well as a weekly column on Monday's in The Guardian, Screen
Break, covering sport on TV, Martin writes on a number of subjects
for magazines including GQ, Men's Health, and the Mail On Sunday's You Magazine. He also presents a daily football phone-in show on BBC Radio Leeds called Kick-Off with Kelner from 6:00pm, and makes regular appearances on BBC Radio Four, BBC Radio Five Live and talkSPORT with Hawksbee & Jacobs.

You currently present Kick-Off with Kelner on BBC Radio Leeds and the new Late Night Martin Kelner Show on the BBC's Yorkshire stations, can you tell us about both shows and what you hope to achieve?
Kick-Off with Kelner is a football phone-in, sort of, concentrating on fans rather than players or managers. Simon Jose from Leeds United's Independent Fans Association is a regular guest so we tend to take a fairly cynical view of recent developments at Elland Road. The Late Night Martin Kelner Show is just myself and a few mates playing some tunes and having a laugh.

Can you give us a brief history of your broadcasting career on radio - which stations have you worked for and what were your roles with those stations?
I started as a radio producer and reporter for Central Office of Information. After that I went to Radio Hallam as Morning News Editor and switched to presenting the Late Show there. Since 1978 I have been a presenter at Radio Aire, Pennine Radio, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Five, Jazz FM, and now BBC Radio Leeds with sincere apologies to any radio stations I may have overlooked.

Are you aware of the large numbers of fans you appear to have on the BBC Radio 2 messageboard and would you ever rule out a return to them?
I am aware of the postings on the message board and am very flattered about them. As for returning to BBC Radio 2, never say never, but I think it's unlikely at present.

When did you make your first appearance on talkSPORT and for what reasons?
I made my first appearance a couple of years ago when Hawksbee and Jacobs first started on their weekday show. I had appeared on a short-lived BBC Radio Five Live show called Early Doors, produced by Andy Jacobs, and he thought I would make a good guest on their new show.

You are often a guest on talkSPORT with Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs. How long have you known Paul & Andy and what do you think are the reasons that make their show sound as good as it is?
I first met Paul when I did the show, and I think he is one of the very best broadcasters I have ever worked with. Andy has every quality you would want in a co-presenter, understanding the role perfectly. He is lets the show breathe, knows a punch line when it is coming and does not step all over it. I love the programme.

Often, talkSPORT is mentioned in your radio review and sport articles in the Guardian newspaper. What shows do listen to and enjoy the most?
Hawksbee and Jacobs, obviously, and also the Sunday Sports Breakfast with Lee Clayton and Andy Townsend. I try and catch MIke Parry and Alan Brazil on The Sports Breakfast a few times a week as well. Barking mad, but I love it. I also listen to James Whale as I worked with James years ago, and I still think he is absolutely the best at that thing he does, whatever it is.

You are also a big fan of TV, what shows do you regularly watch or set the recorder for?
I watch the usual stuff. My all time favourite is Seinfeld, but I also watch The Simpsons, Larry Sanders, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Harry Hill's TV Burp, The Office and Phoenix Nights

Which sports teams do you follow and how are they doing at present?
I'm actually a supporter of West Ham but grew up watching Rugby League side Swinton, who are top of National League 2 at time of writing, although frankly that doesn't mean a whole lot.

Who were your idols as a child, sporting or otherwise?
My idols were West Ham legends Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds and Daz Davies, Danny Wilson from Rugby League. In entertainment, I idolised Kenny Everett, Woody Allen, Peter Sellers, and Laurel & Hardy.

Do you have an all-time favourite sporting moment?
Trevor Brooking's winning goal in the 1980 FA Cup Final, simply due to the fact that I was there to witness it.

Recently, you released your new book, When Will I Be Famous?, which is priced Ł6.39 on Amazon.co.uk, how long did it take to write it and what exactly is it about?
It took me about ten months to write, on and off. It's about a twilight world of entertainment, wannabes and never-will-bes. Also, there's a fair bit about me in it as well. Remarkably there are a few copies still available!

Are there any non-fiction books, not written by yourself, that you would like to recommend?
Lost In Music by Giles Smith, My Life in Orange by Tim Guest, Peter Sellers biography by Roger Lewis.

What was the last CD you bought and what sort of music do you listen to?
The Strokes, primarily to play on my late show. For preference I like jazz and soul, the kind of stuff I used to play on Jazz FM and on my show on BBC Radio 2.

Do you have any films that you would like to recommend?
A Mighty Wind is the best film I have seen recently.

And finally, who is the most famous person you have on your address book on your mobile phone?
Sir Ron Atkinson.

Thanks to Martin Kelner for the chance to interview him. You can hear Martin weekdays on BBC Radio Leeds from 6:00pm and as a guest on Hawksbee & Jacobs on talkSPORT.

The Martin Kelner Q&A Interview
BBC Radio Leeds: Kick-Off with Kelner
April 2004