Sir Jimmy Saville (1926-2011)

30 Oct 2011 1 Comment

by delboy1969 in General Blog Tags: Sir Jimmy Saville

I was genuinely sad to hear of the passing of Sir Jimmy Saville yesterday.  A larger than life character and true British eccentric.  He was one of those bods you’d bet your life savings on reaching a ton.  Sadly alas not to be.

Such authentic passion is stirring simply because – and this has never happened with a deceased celebrity before – I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing the man back in 1998.  Christmas day to be exact.  Having over celebrated Christmas Eve a little too much for my own good, I ambled into Nevis Radio to present the lunchtime slot.  When I volunteered to undertake such a shift it seemed a good idea.

There was little remnants of a bottle of malt back at HQ and head thumping I unwisely drove – probably well over the legal drink drive limit – to Nevis towers.  I really did not want to be there.  Mouth dry, I felt like hell warmed up times two.  Actually make that three.  No let’s up it to ten plus.  It was one of those post-drinking mornings where you still felt a little bit tipsy.

Presenting a radio programme in such a mess is not recommended.  I staggered through the first hour on auto pilot churning out rubbish tacky Christmas hits, being as cheery as what one could in such a state and praying the clock would reach 1 PM sooner rather than later so I could top up alcohol levels and eat a hearty Christmas meal.

I rarely smoke when suffering from a hangover like that.  However I decided to pop out and wrestle with a cancer stick as I was at the point of no return.  Then one of those moments in life which stick with you forever came my way.  In walked Sir Jimmy complete with all accessories – sparkling jewellery, tracksuit and naturally massive cigar.

He had a house in Glencoe not far fromFortWilliam, often staying there over the festive period.  When he did he popped in and visited old folk homes in the area.  He decided since he was in the Nevis Radio vicinity to pop in the station and wish us a Merry Christmas.  There were only two of us present holding the broadcasting fort.

I was taken aback, shook the man’s hand, wished him a Merry Christmas back and said would coming on air for a chat.  Well of course such a broadcasting legend wouldn’t refuse such an offer!  So into the studio we trot – Sir Jimmy still puffing away, didn’t have the balls to tell him to stub it out – and I proceeded to chat on air for ten minutes or so.

A usual procedure for me at the time was to record every programme onto cassette.  However I so didn’t want to be there and had no desire to listen back to a half drunken ramble of a show I refrained from this usual procedure.  Quite why I never got a copy of the interview from the logger tapes (everything in radio has to be recorded and kept for just over a month for legal reasons) is a question I still cannot answer to this day.

The actual conversation is sketchy but boy it was fun.  As I recall just two radio presenters – one novice, one veteran – heartily ripping the piss out of each other.  Radio as it should be – casual, entertaining, comfortable and enduring.  Up there with the best ten minutes on air in my thousands of hours of broadcasting.  Thankfully my colleague David Treasurer got Sir Jim to record jingles for me and him.  Thus we became the envy of the rest of the team.  Have to admit we both felt very smug having specially recorded name checked jingles from the man himself!

It is the only concrete proof the whole thing actually took place although I was astounded at the sheer amount of people who heard.  Folk walked up to me in the street and commented what a fine listen it was.  I’m gonna dig out a copy of the jingle and post it online.  Every time I hear a smile beams on my face.  I phoned my parents up afterwards buzzing.  It was great to say I’d interviewed someone they’d heard of!

I’ve interviewed many folk in my broadcasting career but Sir Jim was undoubtedly the most high-profile.  He was part of my childhood and I am honoured to spend 15 minutes of my life in his company.  He was exactly the same in real life as you saw on the telly or heard on the radio.  Sir Jim I salute you and may you rest in peace.  A complete one-off and bloody British legend.  You will be missed.

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