FEATURE:
Stay in the Sun
IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne at the 2021 Audio & Radio Industry Awards (The ARIAS) at The May Fair Hotel on 26th May, 2021/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images Europe
A Future Broadcasting Icon: The Incredible Work of Lauren Laverne
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I couldn’t really find…
IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne with actor Paul Mescal/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
a title for this feature that was a pun on a song or suitable for Lauren Laverne. For that reason, I have been a bit direct with the naming (well, the top line refers to a Kenikie (her former band) song from their second and final studio album, Get In (1998). I sort of do as yearly feature about Laverne, and I have no idea whether she ever sees them (I can’t imagine so!). It is coming up to Christmas, and I wanted to look back and salute (once more) one of the nation’s broadcasting giants. This is not that random. An upcoming Desert Island Discs special is a big reason why I am returning to the shore of Sunderland’s proud daughter. Before getting to specifics and something approaching a constructive flow, I wanted to muse and put a few things out there. I have probably raised this a couple of times. I am sure Laverne has an executive or P.A. handling all her affairs and hectic schedule, but I would imagine that to be a dream job, as she seems not only to get busier and take on so many cool projects and things; there is also this honour of being involved with a mighty talent. I also wonder whether there will be an official Lauren Laverne website at any point. She is on Twitter and Instagram, but there is so much to unpick and store. She has presented award shows, been on T.V. shows, done a load of Desert Island Discs episodes on BBC Radio 4 (as she is the host), some great stuff on her BBC Radio 6 Music breakfast show, in addition to the odd podcast here and there (though I feel she is someone who should be invited on a lot more podcasts). She is also the Music For Dementia ambassador and wrote a thought-provoking and brilliant feature about the power of music.
I can see from her Instagram feed that Laverne is filming something for the BBC about iconic music institutes. She has been pictured outside Abbey Road Studios and the BBC’s Maida Vale studios. She recalled how she was there thirty years ago with her band, Kenickie (she was the lead and one of the principal songwriters for the Sunderland quartet). I have often wondered when there will be an alternative music T.V. show like Jools Holland’s Later… on BBC. That show is legendary - though it has been going thirty years without much competition. I feel Lauren Laverne would make a perfect host/co-host! Maybe something on BBC or Amazon, it could have a mix of huge artists and newcomers, with some features and interviews. There is not really too much like that. Combining the feel of classic music T.V. shows of the past with something current, it would be something perfectly suited to her. That said, I doubt that she has any free time in her schedule! Various music audio/visual documentaries spring to mind when I think of Lauren Laverne. I imagine her writing another novel or an autobiography. A more regular podcast or a specially commissioned project also seems like a possibility. Again, how does she fit that in?! It brings me back to the idea of a website (so that this can all be listed and categorised) and a darned good P.A. (though I guess her agents take care of a lot and help with a schedule). I am just about to get to a few specific points relating to stuff that has happened this year – plus some exciting things on the horizon.
I am intrigued by the project Laverne has suggested on her Instagram feed. She has such a varied T.V. career. From hosting the Mercury Prize to a couple of presenting stints on Pointless with Alexander Armstrong, she is so natural and varied! She was at this year’s Glastonbury but, due to the unexpected death of her mother, had to pull out. I know that she will be there next year as Elton John headlines the Sunday night in his final U.K. gig! Laverne also joined Sky Arts series, The Big Design Challenge. As much as I love her T.V. work, it is her twin presenting roles on BBC Radio that has made such an impact in 2022. In many ways, this year has been even tougher and scarier than the past couple. The pandemic is not really over, but events elsewhere, coupled with economic crisis and environmental concerns has really hit people hard. Lauren Laverne, alongside her dutiful, passionate and phenomenal colleagues at BBC Radio 6 Music, have been exceptional. She is always such a warm and energetic broadcaster. I may have written it before, but she is a broadcaster I can see being on the airwaves for decades more (maybe moving to BBC Radio 2 or another station in years to come).
PHOTO CREDIT: Lauren Laverne via Instagram
Such a calm, cool and collected presence, her humour, kindness and intelligence make her weekday breakfast show a must-hear. 2023 is not guaranteed to be an easy year by any means, so many listeners will continue to listen to her show as a source of balm, safety and companionship. Her radio shows on 6 are always so wonderful! Whether speaking with Professor Hannah Fry for The Maths of Life, launching House Music (where she invites listeners to share occasions where household items imitate songs), putting out the weekly People’s Playlist or speaking with a guest, it is essential listening! I have so much respect for her commitment to the station and how she can always lift the mood. She has faced challenges and loses in her personal life, but she always remained so professional, dignified and composed. Someone who will go down as one of the great radio idols and icons up there with Annie Nightingale. I think my favourite moment of her show from this year is when she chatted with the legendary Jeff Goldblum. They even duetted during a rendition of Moon River (first performed by Audrey Hepburn during 1961’s Breakfast of Tiffany’s). It was beautiful! I genuinely do hope that Lauren Laverne provides some vocals for a future album by Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
This all brings me to something that is happening on Desert Island Discs over Christmas. There are a few special castaways, but the big news is that Kirsty Young is a guest. This is special for two reasons. For one, her career, story and music choices will be fascinating to hear. Young was the host of the series before she had to step down because she was diagnosed with secondary fibromyalgia. Laverne took over in 2019 and has been an exceptional host. I guess it is strange hearing Laverne’s predecessor talk with her, but it will be a very respectful and must-hear conversation. In addition to Christmas specials, Desert Island Discs is also eighty! That anniversary is being marked (Baz Luhrmann has recently appeared), as The Guardian explain:
“The turntables will be turned on Kirsty Young this Christmas Day, the BBC has revealed, when the former Desert Island Discs presenter is to be asked to choose eight of her favourite pieces of music as a castaway on the famous show.
Young, who has marooned almost 500 other guests on the fictional island in her time, revealed this weekend that she found it strange to be at the other end of the famous Radio 4 format: “It was a slightly discombobulating and thoroughly enjoyable experience,” she said, adding: “Although making anyone narrow down their favourite discs to just eight is frankly unreasonable. It’ll never catch on.”
Young, who stepped down permanently from the role due to ill-health in 2019, has admitted that she found it too upsetting to listen to the interview show because she had been forced to leave before she was ready to go. “I don’t want to overstate that or be melodramatic about it, but that’s how it felt – it was like, ‘I’m sad I’m not doing my job right now’, so it would’ve been uncomfortable to listen,” she revealed in May.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne with Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs/PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Benson
In a pre-recorded interview, the 54-year-old, who is married to Nick Jones, the founder of the international Soho House club chain, will be heard telling Lauren Laverne, her successor as host on the programme, about the key achievements of her journalistic career, which began in news and led her to a news anchor role on Channel 5 and then to the presenting job on BBC One’s Crimewatch.
Most recently, Young returned to broadcasting as the face of the BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s platinum jubilee in the summer. She was then called upon to preside over the BBC’s presentation of the late monarch’s funeral in September. Young is to tell Laverne about the emotion she felt when she ended the live broadcast after the service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, choosing the closing words that moved many of the millions who were watching.
The presenter will also discuss the challenge of interviewing radio guests on the show with Laverne, who initially took over her job temporarily in 2018. Young was struggling with the debilitating symptoms of the condition fibromyalgia. The Scottish journalist had been misdiagnosed at first and suffered from extreme pain and fatigue.
IN THIS PHOTO: Cate Blanchett
Among Young’s favourite encounters during her years in the job were the programmes with Dawn French, who spoke movingly about her mother’s hopes of joining her late father when she died, and with the surgeon David Nott, who discussed his work in war zones.
Laverne’s interview with Young is a highlight of the station’s festive programming but is also designed to mark the end of the 80th year of the prestigious radio show, and so it comes as the finale to a particularly starry lineup of guests. This Sunday’s episode features the Australian film director Baz Lurhmann, who is candid about the way his colourful movies, including Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet, have often divided critics and audiences, and about how frustrating this can be.
“It’s not [about] me but all the people I’ve led down the road,” he says, “particularly a new actor or even the financiers – they’ve believed in you and they’ve gone out on a limb so I have to go out and do hand-to-hand combat to make sure that the film is not beaten to death like a baby seal.”
Luhrmann adds: “It’s up to history to decide whether the underlying notions or the underlying big ideas have relevance or presence, or resonance.”
Also talking to Laverne next month will be Steven Spielberg and Cate Blanchett. On Sunday 11 December, Blanchett will discuss a career which has brought her two Oscars, three Baftas and three Golden Globes, and which saw her rise to international attention with the starring role in the acclaimed 1998 film Elizabeth.
IN THIS PHOTO: Steven Spielberg
Spielberg, the most famous living film director, will be the guest the following Sunday when he reflects on a lifetime behind the camera, dating back to the childhood mini-movies he filmed and which gave him power over the popular kids who had once ignored him.
The Hollywood giant will also recall the first big impact he made on cinema audiences, with the tense truck-chase drama Duel. He tells Laverne why the child’s perspective has always been important to him, steering him to make films such as ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The BFG and, most recently, The Fabelmans”.
I am going to write a couple of other features before the year is done saluting and recognising brilliant broadcasters who have made this year much brighter and more palatable. I think artists get a lot of credit and fandom, but that is not always the case with broadcasters, presenters and D.J.s. I have been listening to Lauren Laverne’s radio shows for years. I was a fan of Kenickie and her subsequent music collaborations and projects, but it is her radio work that I find is so amazing and inspiring. I hope 2023 provides a lot of happiness, stability and opportunity for Laverne! I know she’ll be presenting at Glastonbury and continuing her fine work across BBC Radio 6 and BBC Radio 4, but I feel like there will be some huge T.V. projects and honours. Whether that is awards or something like a new podcast, I know there will be this incredible, wonderful year! I may have to move out of London soon – due to impending redundancy -, and it will be a real shame.
Rather than this being a feature designed to complement Lauren Laverne for no real reason at all, I wanted to recognise an awesome and much-loved broadcaster, D.J., presenter and writer. So many people have had a very challenging year made much better because of her. It is such a hard job broadcasting and delivering these terrific radio shows each morning. Lauren Laverne is consummate and assured, she makes it look so effortless. One of the very best in her field, I know that so many people out there would like to send their love and thanks. She is a very special human, and one that has guided us through a very tricky and unpredictable year. I hope, after such a busy 2022, that she gets time to relax over Christmas and eases into the new year. I am sure 2023 will be a packed and eventful one! I have said it once (or more), and I will say it again: she is very much…
A national treasure.