FEATURE:
Station to Station
IN THIS PHOTO: BBC Radio 6 Music’s Shaun Keaveny/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
Song Seven: Shaun Keaveny (BBC Radio 6 Music)
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I have three music-related ambitions…
PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
that I want to fulfill in my lifetime. The first, obviously, is to interview my favourite artist, Kate Bush – one feels that this is unlikely given the fact there is stiff competition and I am not in a position to command an interview of that calibre. The second ambition is to have my own show – a one-off or regular – on BBC Radio 6 Music; where I can play my favourite tracks and fulfill every much lover’s dream! My third, actually, is to appear on Shaun Keaveny’s show as a guest - again, I have to achieve something and develop a talent! I know that sounds strange but, as an avid listener every weekday, his show is one that attracts the ear and eye! Where to start with Shaun Keaveny? Why include him in a feature that focuses on radio icons and inspiring figures? Well, I would give you a potted history, Wikipedia-style but, as I’m not sure how accurate the biography is there, I will have to go with what I know: the fact he is a fabulous broadcaster on BBC Radio 6 Music and someone who has a lot more years in the industry. I will pepper in a few Keaveny links throughout this feature – apologies as it is not going to be linear; I think he would approve of that! The past year or so has been busy for Keaveny. At the start of last year, he moved from the breakfast slot on BBC Radio 6 Music (a relief and chance for a lie-in), and now occupies the 1 – 4 p.m. slot. I was actually in attendance when he delivered his final breakfast broadcast at the legendary Maida Vale Studios on 14th December, 2018 (if you look at the still image on YouTube, I am the tall streak of piss standing up at the back dressed in a black Beastie Boys T-shirt!).
Like the other BBC Radio 6 Music presenters I have included in this feature – Mary Anne Hobbs, Lauren Laverne and Mark Radcliffe -, Keaveny helps make the station truly addictive and essential! Every presenter has their own style and sound, but I especially love Keaveny’s show because of a few things. He jokes – or is at least half-serious – that the wheels will fall off or he is a bit shoddy at times but, like any broadcaster, helming a radio show is like air traffic controlling! He is a masterful impressionist and funny as hell; he has a cartwall (a bank of clips and sounds that can be called upon to add sparks and colour to any link or moment) that he can access and organise ninja-like, and he has to juggle that with the usual duties of a broadcaster: speaking with callers, playing songs and providing links etc. I will move on to his radio show in a bit but, in the past, Keaveny has been at the front of some great podcasts. Look up Shaun Keaveny’s Not So Simple. He also provided Show & Tell but, for some reason, the series is not on Spotify anymore…or it has moved. It is a shame, as Keaveny sat down with a number of well-known peeps – including comedian Bridget Christie -, and it was utterly engaging and fun (not sure whether it has been removed for some reason or Cup & Nuzzle, the production company behind it, have done something with it?!).
I hope Keaveny does return with a new series, as there are options he could take. From speaking with musicians about their musical memories and favourite songs – much like Matt Everitt does on his The First Time with… series on BBC Radio 6 Music (more on Keaveny’s music news cohort later) – to discussing something specific, I think there are avenues he could take – I have a few, but it is sort of me pitching ideas vicariously; stuff I cannot do as, a) I have very little money and, b) I have nowhere decent to record a podcast. Keaveny has recently welcomed a daughter into the world – he already has two sons -, so I imagine family life is taking up any free time he has! There was a period where people tampered with his Wikipedia page; they made up names for his daughter and made outrageous claims. It is back to normal now and, in fact, is a bit out of date – it says Keaveny is a single dad to two sons. I am not sure what his daughter’s name is, but that does not matter – he seems to have, ironically, gained a lot of new energy and happiness from the new arrival! You can follow Shaun Keaveny’s show on Instagram, and make sure you catch Keaveny speaking with Professor Brian Cox and Brian Eno from Christmas, as it is only available for a few days more! I wonder why BBC Radio 6 Music does not have its own Spotify account or retain shows, as there are so many golden episodes and moments that are subject to entropy and archiving – it would be wonderful to be able to access some of Keaveny’s older broadcasts and specials!
What else is there to say about Shaun Keaveny?! He is a mega fan of Led Zeppelin – as veracious and passionate about them as I am about queen Kate Bush –, and he is a pretty nifty guitarist (he has played in bands before). He is originally from Leigh, Lancashire, and currently resides in London (probably nicer than the area of North London I am in!). He is one of BBC Radio 6 Music’s best broadcasters and, now and then, can be heard on BBC Radio 4 doing the odd bit here and there (maybe he could do something called Hear and There about his favourite current and older music – I digress, mind…). You can hear Keaveny share his Inheritance Tracks, or catch him on Saturday Live from 2018. He has been on the Fortunately… with Fi and Jane podcast before (more than once) and, in 2020, I am sure there are various irons in fires. When writing about BBC Radio 6 Music before, I have dissected Shaun Keaveny’s shows and what makes them great. As a presenter, he has this ready wit and incredible humour; a thick skin – some of the listeners can be pretty cheeky/insulting/soul-crushing -, and the music he plays is among the best on the station. Each month, Keaveny has a new music guest to play live for him, and I have discovered some great artists by listening to his show – including Brighton-based Penelope Isles. I often wonder whether, despite them being my favourite station, BBC Radio 6 Music is too cool for school at times; opening their channels up to incorporate different music would lend them a larger demographic.
By that, I mean (BBC Radio 6 Music can play) the sort of older hits BBC Radio 2 might spin; some of the new artists that pass by their radar – Keaveny is someone who accommodates this and plays a pleasing mix of the BBC Radio 6 Music ‘sound’ – artists who are on the cooler side of the spectrum –, and some nice cheese here and there! I was delighted when Keaveny played a Belinda Carlisle track (last year, I think) on his afternoon show; I think a caller had requested it on a Friday slot where Keaveny is the landlord of the fictional Open Arms pub - he chats to members of the public who order a ‘drink’ and select a tune from the jukebox. The fact Carlisle was played struck me – as I am a big fan -, and shows that he can blend the mega-cool and hip with songs that, well…are just a bit better and make you happy and lifted. There are great features on Keaveny’s show. He has the long-running Small Claims Court (listeners reveal their brush with minor celebrity); there is Uncle Funky Frank’s Friday Floor Fillers (that’s some serious alliteration!). There is Circadian Rhythms, where Keaveny announces a topic and the listeners have to choose a song appropriate to it; Keaveny picks his choice and the listeners decider the winner. Keaveny plays lesser-heard tracks from legendary artists – BBC Radio 6 Music often (the majority of the time) plays the same three Kate Bush songs from Hounds of Love (a personal gripe of mine!); Keaveny goes off the grid a bit (which is what you want from a broadcaster!); I have heard him play some lesser-exposed Beatles tracks, too, and you can tell music hits him as hard as anyone out there! Although Shaun Keaveny is not doing stand-up anymore, one feels like he may be back on the stage in some form this year.
IN THIS PHOTO: Shaun Keaveny alongside actor Maxine Peake at Leigh Library in 2014
Another great component of Keaveny’s afternoon show is the music news. It is presented by the brilliant Matt Everitt – sometimes Georgie Rogers presents; as does Siobhán McAndrew now and then -, and the relationship between them is incredible. They have been on the show together for so many years, and one hears the affection and connection between the two friends. Although they like to tease one another, the brotherly banter and bond always makes me laugh, and it is that humour that means you’d be a fool for overlooking Keaveny’s show. Matt Everitt is someone who, like Shaun Keaveny, is a recent dad (Everitt for the first time (a daughter); Keaveny for the third time), and they both keep pretty busy outside of BBC Radio 6 Music. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to spotlight Keaveny, but I have written about him a few times when dedicating space to BBC Radio 6 Music. That magic spark and to and fro between Matt Everitt (who is someone I can imagine presenting his own show (without guests) very soon) is a pleasure to behold (I have a fondness for this clip). I am going to wrap things – as I do prattle on a bit! -, but I wanted to bring in a couple of Shaun Keaveny interviews/features before I do. Whilst colleagues like Lauren Laverne are featured in the press fairly regularly, there are relatively few articles and interviews concerning Keaveny – which is a shame, as he is an inspiration for so many people getting into radio.
Although his life has changed significantly recently – given his new daughter and move from the breakfast show –, I wanted to bring in an article from The Guardian in 2017, where Keaveny discussed a number of things. The way he speaks about his family and their role struck me in particular:
“My parents did everything for me when I was growing up. I was like one of those Italian sons who don’t have to lift a finger. The hilarious apotheosis of this came when I was studying at college at Leeds. My parents would insist on driving me there and picking me up at the end of each term. One Easter, I went with my mates from Leigh to see Living Colour play in Leeds and we planned to stay at my student house. My mate Leon drove us and on the M62 he said to me, “So, how do we get to your house?”. I didn’t have a clue because I had never had to navigate my way there.
Everyone thinks I’m Dr Fun, always having a laugh, but when it comes to being a single parent to my sons, Arthur, eight, and Wilfy, six, I’m not that guy a lot of the time. I remember stopping at some motorway services during a hellish and torturous journey. I was trying to get the boys’ seat belts on and they kept playing about. In the midst of gales of laughter, Wilfy said, “Oh, Daddy. Why do you never smile?” It completely flattened me. These are things that happen as a parent; your ego is checked at the door every single day.
My dad is the main reason I do the job I do. He is renowned as being a card. He’s always got the mot juste; he has always got the gag ready much quicker than I have. He has always got hilarious jokes in his locker. Occasionally, he will text me a bit of material that I’ll use on my 6 Music breakfast show.
My parents are quintessentially proud parents. My mum will be rushing out to read this interview when it hits the newsstands. My dad sent me a lovely text the other day while I was on the air. It read, “I’m just in heaven here sat in my back garden, the sun’s out, I’m holding a freshly brewed cup of coffee and my boy’s on the radio. It’s fantastic”.
Shaun Keaveny’s breakfast show was the first I heard on BBC Radio 6 Music so, in many ways, he is responsible for me and so many other people being hooked and in love. Keaveny treats his listeners – the loyal, lovely fans and snarky cu*ts alike – with respect and friendship. I think striking up that tone is hard. Many broadcasters are a bit cold or they try too hard with their listeners. Keaveny is matey and warm, but he has a professionalism that means he is not overly-matey – if that makes any sense at all?! He is a compelling and inspiring voice who plays awesome music – he recently played Steely Dan’s Night by Night; a band that are shockingly under-played on BBC Radio 6 Music – and has made Wogan House (on Great Portland Street), London his second home.
"It was important for me to be myself and make space for someone who looks and sounds like me in this industry and not ask for permission."
— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) December 13, 2019
Here's 6 things we've learned about Brittany Howard (@blkfootwhtfoot) from her conversation with @ShaunwKeaveny. pic.twitter.com/nxtTZkmMcI
I know the late Sir Terry Wogan is someone Keaveny admires and, nearly four years after the legend’s death (he died on 31st January, 2016), I think Wogan would be proud of him. I am just going to bring in a fairly recent interview – from 4th January, 2019 -, where Keaveny was asked by Prospect about his new show and transitioning from breakfast to the afternoon. He was asked about his path into radio and, like other interviews, parenthood and family:
“Prospect: When did you think this was something you wanted to do?
Keaveny: I remember being at uni—I went to Leeds Trinity All Saints college—and I was utterly rudderless. Completely without direction. I had no idea what I wanted to do. But I did enjoy writing little not-necessarily-very-funny comedy skits. We were allowed free rein in the studio, occasionally. We could attempt radio comedy. I really enjoyed the freedom of that. That was the first time I thought maybe there’s a career in this somehow.
When I came out of college I was basically unemployable. If I could just get a job on the radio doing anything I’d be quite happy. And that led to me getting a job as a radio copy writer for a few years and that was brilliant because it’s sort of the same metier, it’s the same arena, isn’t it? It’s using voices and using comedy, mixing them together.
It’s not always like that. Sometimes you’re selling Ford Fiestas for 4995 including VAT, there’s nothing funny in that. But occasionally you were given free rein to try and come up with something that would make you laugh and that was a really great start point for me. It started me off thinking about how you can just use people’s imagination and a few sound effects and a few funny lines to paint a picture and I think that was quite an influential moment for me.
I first got on air behind a microphone in April 2000 on what was then known as London’s 104.9 Xfm. I used to do this arduous, tortuous six-hour, midnight to six am show Sunday into Monday. It was horrible. You can’t imagine what it’s like to try and talk bullshit for six hours. Three is a stretch. But six. And you’re on your own.
It gets real Colonel Kurtz. You put on a long song, you nip to the toilet and you stare at yourself in the mirror and it’s 4.43 in the morning and you think what am I doing here. Everyone that I loved at that point, all my friends and family, they’re all up north and I’m there in Leicester Square thinking ‘what on earth.’ I’ve got to get back because Heroes by David Bowie is about to finish and I’ve got to come up with some wry comment about the news.
It took about six years from that point to get on the BBC. And it has been a dream come true in many ways because it is still the best broadcasting corporation in the world as far as I’m concerned.
Prospect: Are there things that make you more worried than five or ten years ago?
Keaveny: Yeah. I’m dreadfully worried at the moment. I’ve got two kids who are 10 and eight. When you’re that invested in society and the future of it I think you’d have to be pretty stupid at the moment to not feel concerned about the path that we’re on. I’m not going to get political about it because it’s not my place to do that. But yeah, it keeps me up at night, the sort of things that are happening, internationally, economically.
It seems that we’re losing our way a bit at the moment, things are getting a little darker than they were 10 or 15 years ago. I don’t think we realised how optimistic and how comfortable a place we had societally a few years ago. We were doing alright and it feels like now the wheels of the tea trolley are coming off a little bit”.
I am excited to see where Shaun Keaveny’s year heads and what he has in store for his listeners. As he is in his mid-forties, I can see him being in radio for at least a couple more decades. One feels radio is where he was born to be and it is a sort of calling! In th interview from Prospect, Keaveny was asked about the afternoon show and what he hoped to achieve:
“Prospect: What are you trying to achieve with the new show?
Keaveny: It feels like, more than ever, we humans need safe spaces to just relax and to have fun with each other and not judge each other. I’m imagining the show to be a bit like the holiday I’ve never achieved where I’ve rented a huge villa, somewhere really beautiful and there’s like two swimming pools and there’s 30 rooms and there’s a games room there’s a lovely garden and there’s the beach over there and there’s a huge kitchen. You invite everybody and loads of different people show up and your son’s girlfriend comes along and a couple from around the corner and the only rule is you have a good time, you tell a story, you have a chat around the fire, you play some amazing music, you pass around the Spotify. That’s the kind of vibe we’re trying to create. But it won’t be that different. It’ll be me and the music and the listeners.
For people like me – journalists, music lovers etc. – Keaveny is an inspiration and someone who provides guidance. I think he was right with what he said above – how there is the need for a safe space in these hectic times. It is hard to find a person who makes us feel more together, warmer and safe but, with an afternoon show that keeps getting stronger…
IN THIS PHOTO: Shaun Keaveny and Matt Everitt/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
THAT is just what Shaun William Keaveny does (and we offer him so much love for that!).