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| The Howard Hughes Q&A Interview Exclusive to talkSPORT1089.co.uk Howard Hughes started his radio career at the age of 16, winning a DJ contest in his home city of Liverpool. After graduating in Politics, the same station hired him for news and sent him on the prestigeous print and radio journalism diploma course at University College in Cardiff, Wales. Howard's career then continued with stints in news and presentation at commercial radio stations across the country, from Birmingham to Portsmouth. There was even a spell on Dublin super-pirate Radio Nova. In 1993, Howard joined Capital Radio to write and read the news for Chris Tarrant. This meant numerous trips across the globe. In one year along, he flew 70 thousand miles! During his 9 years with Capital, Howard won 5 awards and single-handedly got a 2002 Sony Award nomination, up against teams from the BBC. Howard has been part of breaking some of the big news stories including the Gulf War on LBC/IRN, announcing the death of Princess Diana, covering September 11th and, live from New York, he covered the one year anniversary of September 11th at Ground Zero in the heart of the Big Apple. Before joining talkSPORT last year, you worked for LBC as newsreader on Nick Ferrari's Breakfast Show. What were your specific roles for LBC and what preparations did you make for your bulletins? I presented and produced a morning news show from 6:00am-7:00am then produced, wrote and read all news for the Nick Ferarri Breakfast show. I also did a weekend show about radio around the world called Howard's World. It was a 60 minute show on a Saturday evening between 7:00pm-8:00pm on LBC. What were the reasons behind you leaving LBC as you had a significant gap between appearing on talkSPORT and last being heard on LBC? The gap between leaving LBC and joining talkSPORT was six weeks. I was working for the BBC before joining talkSPORT and also working as a broadcast trainer for Radiolynx, so I was busy! I am thrilled to be at talkSPORT as it is the UK's best talk station by a mile. You also managed nearly a decade on-air with Chris Tarrant on the Capital FM Breakfast Show. What was it like to work with Chris and do you still speak to each other at all now? Chris was like my older brother. We were and are great friends taught me a lot. I massively respect him. During your 9 years at Capital, you won 5 major radio awards and single-handedly received a Sony Award nomination in 2002 where you were up against whole teams from the BBC. What did you do in order to receive the nomination from the Sony Awards? It sounds strange, but I worked my gig really hard. I tried to be a one man news-team using correspondents and friends across the world and all over the UK. It meant a lot of effort but I have no regrets. You have worked for other radio stations before talkSPORT, LBC and Capital FM in the UK as presenter and journalist. Which others stations have you worked for during your broadcasting career? I have worked for Wyvern FM, Power FM/Ocean FM. Radio City in Liverpool, Radio Berkshire, BBC Sussex, BFBS, County Sound, Radio Nova in the Republic of Ireland and BRMB in Birmingham. I also worked on the Jazz FM Breakfast show and worked for IRN for two years as well. You have covered a number of major news stories over the past few years, including the first Gulf War, the death of Diana and September 11th. Apart from some of the major stories, are there any that stick with you to this day? The Diana story. I broke the news to London and was the only voice heard on Capital FM that day, it was an emotional rollercoaster. Also 9-11, I covered the story then went to Ground Zero in heart of New York and reported live on the first and second anniversaries. Who has been the most famous person you have interviewed over the years and who was the most interesting person to interview? Prince Albert of Monaco was the most famous. The most interesting was US space expert Richard Hoagland. How did you get onto the talkSPORT airwaves and what are your impressions of the people you worked with on The Unexplained? I love working at talkSPORT as it has a fantastic team spirit. I got the gig by contacting them after I left LBC and suggesting The Unexplained as a show-idea! Nobody else would have had the guts to let me do it. The people we have on the show often can't get on radio and TV but I feel they need to be heard. Listeners decide if they "buy" what they hear but we give them a chance to hear it. Over the last few months there have been a wide-range of topics discussed on The Unexplained. Are there any discussions with a guest or caller that have changed your mind about a certain topic or made you believe something? I liked TV medium Colin Fry's explanation about life after death. It made a lot of sense to me. He thinks we stay the same people "on the other side" as we are now... Is there anything that has been included on the show that you simply couldn't take seriously or believe that was true? I had problems with past life progression, where people are supposedly hypnotised into future lives, hundreds of years from now!! What has been the most interesting topic, to you, that has been discussed on the show since it began on talkSPORT last year? Dr Louis Turi, an alien abductee and predictor of the future! He is amazing! To present a show like The Unexplained, you must be an open-minded guy when it comes to discussing some of the topics on the show. Have you experienced something during your own life to question the things around you? There are too many strange experiences to list but I have talked about them on air as my life has been full of them. I am convinced life is not random events! Programmes which include discussion about the supernatural and paranormal seem to be able to generate a relatively large audience, including shows like The Unexplained, Most Haunted and The X-Files. Why do you think programmes like these are able to command such an interest and audience? Broadcasters and media bosses sometimes deny it but people are truly interested in these subjects and are often denied information on which to make a decision and judgement. Does your show receive a larger number of women in its audience compared to the other programmes and shows on talkSPORT since the majority of the station is sports orientated? You'd be really surprised at the number of male callers we get. Men are just as interested as women. Do you think Benitez has the ability to take them forward win the Premiership in the next few seasons? I do. I think he is doing a really good job. Merseyside has rallied round him and that's what counts! With Steven Gerrard being constantly linked with a move to Chelsea, do you think he will be finally be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season whether you make the Champions League or not? Football is full of surprises as my psychic side tells me he'll be staying at Liverpool! Would you like to see the return of Michael Owen to Liverpool with him being linked with a move back from Real Madrid on a regular basis? Michael's a Merseyside hero, like so many before him. I think he'd be welcomed back home. When was the first time you visited Anfield - Who did you play and what was the score? I can't remember who Liverpool played - but I remember it was the end of the Bill Shankly era and the atmosphere was fantastic. Who were your idols and what did you aspire to be as a child? Tony Blackburn, the late and great Tommy Vance and Stuart Hall. What was the last film you saw at the cinema and what did you think of it? It was a Bond movie - I can't remember which but I know I had nightmares after it!!! What was the last CD you bought and who are your favourites musical artists? I last bought Kirsty MacColl's "Anthology". She was a true talent and I miss her! What was the most recent book you have read and are there any others you would like to recommend? I bought it in the US: "How to Hunt Ghosts" by Joshua P Warren. Thanks to Howard Hughes for the chance to interview him. You can hear Howard on The Unexplained on talkSPORT on Saturday between 8:00pm-11:00pm. The Howard Hughes Q&A Interview The Unexplained April 2005 |
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