interview28

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The Bill Young Q&A Interview
Exclusive to talkSPORT1089.co.uk

Bill Young is Programme Controller of CN Radio's Citybeat 96.7FM, Belfast's popular
music radio station, with an audience of 124,000 listeners in Belfast alone.

The radio station now in to it's eighth year of broadcasting has proven a consistent hit with
Belfast audiences and was last year named NTL UK commercial radio station of the year
as well as gathering an impressive collection of 5 prestigious Sony Gold Awards in recent
years. Broadcasting on 96.7FM and province wide on digital radio, Citybeat also caterers for
the several large commuter towns from Carrickfergus to Antrim, Lisburn and Newtownabbey.

Citybeat is the voice of Belfast and if it's happening in the city, you'll hear about it on
Citybeat. Their presenters are knowledgeable about the area and the music they play,
talking about things that matter to the audience: topical discussion, entertainment,
competitions and interviews are a typical day, plus the essential information.

You became the Programme Controller at Citybeat in Belfast last year. How did you
adapt to your new role & did you find the change from presenting to management to be a hurdle for you?
It wasn't really that much of a change having been around for the last thirty years I had been consulting various people and I had been Programme Controller for the launch of WABC in the West Midlands. To be honest I really wanted to get back into management but people kept offering big money to stay on air and so I did, but the management side of things I really enjoy especially developing new talent!

Did you have any hesitation in moving across to Belfast, taking into consideration the fact that you would have to move to what, in reality, is another country and the history of terrorism in Northern Ireland?
Not at all. Northern Ireland is very much socially and politicaly like West Central Scotland, which is home for me, so it's like being home. There are more myths about Northern Ireland than you could ever believe The people are great and Belfast as a city is one of the most vibrant in Europe. Having said that, I do commute from Scotland I get the last flight Friday and the first back on Monday, pretty much as I did at talkSPORT.

You have been involved in the radio industry for over 25 years and worked for many radio stations around the UK. Which stations have you worked for and what were your roles at each of them?
I worked for a wide and varied bunch of stations and kicked off with BFBS in Malta where I still have an appartment, then I joined the BBC and worked at Radio Medway now Radio Kent, from there I did some work for Radio Hallam before joining Chiltern in 1981 for it's launch, I had 8 great years there!

I left Chiltern in 1989 and went to Beacon for 2 years where I worked with Chris Ashley and did the Programme Controllers job for the AM service before leaving to join Great North Radio in Newcastle I was there 10 years including when it became Magic and also worked for Scot FM before joining talkSPORT for the first time, for most of the time I was doing mid-mornings and phone-ins.

You presented a number of programmes on talkSPORT in the summer of 2001. Did you enjoy your initial presenting role on the station and would have you liked to have stayed longer?
I loved it and actually quit over an incident where my producer was sacked over an issue related to the Woodgate and Bowyer case. When they fired him I went as a matter of principle, they kind of took it for granted that I would get it out of my system and then come back to present Tartan talkSPORT but by the time they got back to ask me to do it I had signed to Real Radio. talkSPORT weren't amused! So to answer your question, I could have stayed longer and guess on reflection should have. It's national radio it's the big time!

In 2003, you left your position at Real Radio in Scotland to become talkSPORT's new host of the Drivetime show. How did your permanent move to talkSPORT actually materialise?
I'm not sure to be honest. We had been talking on and off for ages and it just sort of happened they were looking to make the change and Real's Football Phone-In was huge so they made me an offer but I don't think either off us had really thought it through. I remember arriving at Gatwick on the Sunday ready to start Monday. My father picked me up and was really excited and I remember losing my temper with him and saying this could last a day, a week, a month or a year. That's truly how I felt which was probably the wrong attitude.

What were your impressions of your production team and management you worked with at talkSPORT?
It would be easy to lay the blame at other peoples door for the show not working out but that wasn't the case. If I had to criticise management it would only be that 8 different people were telling me 8 different things that they wanted from me and the show. The actual team of guys that I worked with were great but when you've come from the type of radio I was used to and find yourself working in that type of team it's difficult to adjust you start to feel like the least important person in the process.

It was clear from your first show that the show would be phone-in based, and took a totally different format to that of previous host Richard Kaufman. Was this the choice of yourself and did you believe that it was the right format for the timeslot?
I think it could have been but there again to many people were offering an opinion on what way the show should have been handled. We started from scratch and had a full switch board every day from day one plus over a hundred e-mails a day and that isn't bad. Trust me! Remember that was from a standing start, in closed season and it was also minus the producer that I was supposed to be working with as he got married and wasn't available until the week they pulled the show.

Did you believe that the format of the show would be altered once the start of the new football season got underway or was the format going to remain as it was?
I don't think the principle of the show would have changed but obviously events during the season would have led the content in various directions and shows like that, in fact any show, finds its own level, of course it would have been different whilst still being a phone-in!

You departed talkSPORT only a matter of weeks after accepting the role as Drivetime host. What were the circumstances surrounding your departure in such a dramatic fashion?
Simple. I got a call saying the programme was being pulled and that was that. I hope that doesn't sound bitter because it's not. When you're on a national station you're playing at the top level and the pressure to deliver is enormous and certain people at certain levels have to make judgement calls only time proves them right or wrong. The call was made on the show and that's the way it is. You know that when you move up to that level and that's fine at least you can say been there done that and it doesn't hurt your CV.

Did you ever feel pressured or reluctant to do certain things on talkSPORT or did you have a free role in how you wanted your programmes to sound?
I never felt like I had any control over the content of the show and at times did voice concerns about what we did, but I have to say whatever we did the team made sure I had all the facts and figures although to me it should have been more personality led. The funny thing is to this day I still don't know what the brief was for that show and to me that's what doomed it from day one.

What did you make of your replacement team of Patrick Kinghorn and Tony Cascarino. Did you feel that they had the quality to present such an important timeslot for a radio station?
That isn't really for me to pass judgement on especially if you consider my demise. I do think that it continued to reflect a state of knowing what they didn't want but not knowing what they did want and maybe had they teamed me with someone like Adrian Durham then things might have taken the route they were looking for. Sometimes things at talkSPORT are too black and white.

Do you feel bitter at all about your time at talkSPORT? Would you work for the station again if asked?
It was an experience I wouldn't have missed and probably would feel more at home in that environment now they have a lot of great and talented people there and if the opportunity came up to work there again I would give it very serious consideration and so should anyone else.

Before joining talkSPORT, you presented the Real Football Phone-In alongside former Scotland International Goalkeeper Alan Rough. How did you feel working with such a legend of the Scottish game and have you worked closely with any other footballers over the years?
I've worked with a few players over the years Charlie Nicholas and Richard Gough to name a couple but Roughy was King for me and I still miss working with him even now. From day one it was a marriage made in heaven we just new how to push the right buttons on each other and it all came naturally that very rarely happens but when it does the results are magical, we had almost as many women as men listening to the show which for a football phone in is no mean feat!

You have worked at a number of stations following your departure from talkSPORT and before accepting your role at Citybeat in Northern Ireland. Which radio stations did you work for and what were your roles?
When I left talkSPORT, I made a conscious decision that it should be a crossroads in my career and so took time to think about what should come next during that period I worked for Capital Gold, Century FM in the North East and River FM in West Lothian where I helped an old mate Donny Hughes reformat the station and take it to where it is now which I think is to make it one of the biggest little stations in the country.

You have worked in both music and speech based radio. Which style of radio do you prefer to present and which genre of music do you prefer to host and why?
I enjoy both equally. I really do. There are so many elements which are common to both that it isn't as difficult as you might think to do both although everyone I've ever worked for tell me very few people can do it well! Musically, I like working the Adult Contemporary format as it's a good variety of music.

Despite being the Programme Controller at Citybeat in Belfast, are there any other radio stations or programmes you like to listen to? Are there any presenters in local or regional radio that you feel could make it onto a national level?
I listen all over the dial to all sorts of things we are very lucky in this country not just to have a good choice of radio but mostly a high standard to. I must be honest, no one stands out as being the next big thing but that's at this time there are people who when they learn their craft could make it big and there are some that I feel should have but the season past them for some reason.

There is a feeling within the industry that local commercial music radio stations in the UK have become devoid of personality, originality and local-ness. As a Programme Controller, are you aware of these feelings and do you believe in the "less talk more music" format?
I believe completely in personality radio, no more to be said!

Do you believe Alex McLeish is the right man for the job at Rangers? When he departs the club, who would you like to succeed McLeish?
I think he's the right man at the wrong time if that makes sense. It's a difficult time for any Rangers boss! As far as a replacement goes that's a difficult one, pretty much because you don't know when he might go.

When there is nothing to talk about the subject of whether Rangers and Celtic should join the English Premiership crops up. Are you in favour of such a move and what impact would it have on both the Scottish Premier League and England Premier League?
Yes I am, although I don't think it will make life any better for the teams left in Scotland 80% of fans in Scotland support them they won't start supporting the teams that are left because Rangers & Celtic play in England.

Not only are you a Rangers fan, but you are also a follower of Sunderland. Do you think they will maintain their lead at the top of the Championship and do you believe the club has the strength to ride high in the Premiership once again?
I think they will go up this season but they will have to learn from their previous mistakes!

Were you one of the critics of Peter Reid whilst he was manager at Sunderland? Did you believe that he should have been credited more for his job at the club after taking them to 7th in the table? What were the mistakes that meant he failed to build the success in the League?
Peter's biggest mistake in my opinion was not spending when he had funds available and breeding the type of team that when plan A didn't work there was no plan B.

Scotland look very unlikely to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Do you believe that Berti Vogts had a fair crack at the job or do you believe that he was destined to fail due to the lack of quality Scottish footballers in the SPL and English Leagues?
I don't want to discuss Vogts. As far as talent is concerned there is enough around to do better than we have been doing and that's as much as we should expect!

As a Scotsman, I'm sure you wish the English all the best in their quest for World Cup glory. With the players at his disposal, do you believe Sven is the right choice to lead England to success in Germany next year should they make it to the tournament?
Why? England haven't done anything since 1966. Unless you win tournaments you're just a statistic as another loser sounds harsh but true coming close in penalty shoot-outs in the latter stages doesn't make you a good team winning tournaments does.

Who were your sporting idols as a child and did you have anyone in the world of broadcasting that you looked up to and wanted to emulate?
My sporting idols included Muhammad Ali, Jim Baxter Bobby Moore, Niall Quinn and Tony McCoy. Broadcasters I idolised include John Peel, Roger Scott, Jack Armstrong, Dr Don Rose and Alan Freeman.

Have you read any books recently that you would like to recommend?
The Dark Side of Camelot which is about the Kennedy dynasty!

What was the last CD you bought and what CD's have you got in the car at the minute?
I haven't bought a CD in 25 years in the car. I listen to Joe Cocker, Van Morrisson and John Barry I've got some country stuff in there as well!

You off anywhere nice this year for your holidays?
Out to the apartment in Malta!

Thanks to Bill Young for the chance to interview him. Bill is the Programme Controller for Belfast's Citybeat 96.7FM, attracting 124,000 adults each week in Belfast alone.

The Bill Young Q&A Interview
Programme Controller, Citybeat 96.7FM
April 2005